4% seems like a pretty crap return, even if you are trying to be conservative. Just buying some blue chip stocks can get you 5+% in dividends.
If having a wife and kids is a goal, you should probably focus on finding a job that is tolerable rather than trying to plan a way to save enough money to be financially independent from a sufficiently young age. If you plan on staying single, it is probably doable but would you really not want to do some sort of work? A single guy's expenses are pretty minor. My goal would be to reach a stage where I could own my own home and then make enough from part-time work to cover all my living expenses by the age of 35-40. I'd want to have enough saved on top of this to have a significant and growing nest egg so I would have the option of a secure and complete retirement later on (say 60+).
If having a wife and kids is a goal, you should probably focus on finding a job that is tolerable rather than trying to plan a way to save enough money to be financially independent from a sufficiently young age. If you plan on staying single, it is probably doable but would you really not want to do some sort of work? A single guy's expenses are pretty minor. My goal would be to reach a stage where I could own my own home and then make enough from part-time work to cover all my living expenses by the age of 35-40. I'd want to have enough saved on top of this to have a significant and growing nest egg so I would have the option of a secure and complete retirement later on (say 60+).