Can I retire at age 43 on $48,000 annually?

Retiring at 43 on a modest annual income is the kind of goal that sounds either reckless or enviable, depending on who's looking. This piece takes the question seriously and works through whether it can realistically hold. The math behind early retirement is unforgiving in ways a normal timeline isn't: the savings have to stretch across potentially fifty years or more, government benefits like CPP and OAS are still decades away, and inflation has a very long runway to chip at spending power. It examines how a portfolio might be drawn down to last, what a lean budget demands in discipline, and where the plan is most fragile. The verdict is that it's tight but possible. It's a thoughtful read for would-be early retirees testing whether their numbers survive contact with a long horizon.