Is it possible to retire early on just salary savings?

My simple answer is yes, if you start early and spend less than you earn. Way less. Put the surplus in safe investments. Manage your debt, as in don't create new ones. Plan ahead. Live modestly. Let rationale rule over emotion. Learn to seek happiness in things that don't cost money. Learn to spot situations that might ambush you into risking your reserves.

In my opinion, using one's savings to finance early retirement is more of a spiritual challenge than a financial one. I say this because like a fighter pilot, you cannot hope to survive for long periods on low 'oxygen' without having some kind of foundation. I'm referring to a mindset that believes life can be happy even if its not centered around consumption.

Messing around with mindsets is tricky business. Can you unlearn 30 years of retail therapy and adopt a set of values that puts a leash on desire? Will you be forcing yourself to go on a cheaper menu or can you willingly embrace the fact that the cheaper menu has all the nutrition you need at a much lower cost. Are you prepared for the possibility of being alienated from your friends and relatives because they don't wish to associate with your lifestyle?

Lifestyle addictions will probably be your biggest stumbling block. From schooling age, we've been conditioned to be competitive by keeping an edge over the next guy. Sometimes that means having the latest things to show. Gadgets, CDs, apparel, cars, homes, etc. Things are not much different as a grownup. I'm quite certain everybody knows they have a choice. They just don't like to deal with the consequences of exercising these choices.

This is why I maintain that cutting the umbilical cord of employment early is a spiritual challenge. If spiritualness cramps your style and there's no way you can save, there are other ways to cut out early from the rat race it but it will involve increasing your income. There are pros and cons in either choice. Which way you go may ultimately depend on your personal threshold of pain.