I agree with you that retiring as soon as your portfolio can support you without working, but at a low standard of living, is not the way to go.

If you feel that this is what you must do, then you'd better figure out why you're working a job you hate so much that you'd rather give up all the small luxuries that make life enjoyable.

Ideally, you want to find work that you enjoy and feel is worthwhile, live a lifestyle that balances investing for the future with enjoying life in the present, and stop working once you've accumulated enough to live a life you'd enjoy in retirement.