Can one retire early if they have the ability to significantly cut back on discretionary spending during retirement if they must? A recent article on the MadFientist blog claims that following a Discretionary Spending Rule in retirement can significantly increase a retirees Safe Withdrawal Rate. And with a higher SWR, one can retire early.

Karsten Jeske (Big ERN) of Early Retirement Now responded with his own article. He called flexibility in retirement a myth, and detailed why he thinks the Discretionary Spending Rule won't work.

In this episode I give my take on both articles. We also look at a free Safe Withdrawal Calculator you can use to model your own retirement plan.

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