I don't know what your career is, or how easy it is to get back into it. My situation right now is that I have a great career, making great money, but it's very stressful and takes a toll on my sanity. I'm just under 30, closing in on a net worth of about $500k. My issue is I have my "goal income" of $100k from investments in mind. That's having $2.5 million invested.

If I leave my job now for a 6 month break, it won't be there when I get back. I'm on the fast track to move up, so I should be moving up to a senior management position sometime in the next 2 years. That would be amazing money, especially with my (relatively) cheap lifestyle, would allow me to hit my 'goal' in about 15 years assuming relatively low future rates of return and before factoring in increases in savings.

On the one hand, I have a career that will get me there, be interesting, the only downside is stress and lack of free time. I still get time off for things I really care about, but no 'free' time, screw around time. On the other, I could take a break now.

From my perspective, saving up enough that I could retire and still make more than 2-3 median household incomes after tax, and my only sacrifice is some relaxation that would be nice but not necessary? I'll take that any day. I can still travel the world in my early 40s.

I know what I'm doing. I totally hear you on the burnout. But also look at the positives of your career, not just the stress. Make a well-reasoned decision, and consider what your alternative employment would be. How does your long-term plan look?

At the end, this is about what you want, and you need to be sure you've weighed all options fully.