I am 44 years old and about to hit 45 in few weeks. Thus I do not have a high school completion nor any other schooling afterwords. Five years ago I had a very bad accident where I almost lost my life and had a two year span of rehabilitation. I bounced back and took on life by the horns. I live in Toronto Canada where our winters are not that bad and our spring and summers are very beautiful and warm. Where else can you leverage your asset s like you can with real estate. Now the interesting thing is I am always an optimist in life, I believe no matter how bad things look, there is always a route around the mess some how.
I grew up some what poor until the age of 12, my parents where European immigrants that came to Canada with not a penny to their name and worked hard. With no insurance, no real savings, and no real assets accept some real estate, I learned a hard lesson in life when my father had is issue with health. I know I am an above average earner, and I took many chances in life, I have no regrets. My beautiful wife and two children are my reward to all my hardships and accomplishments. Yes Canada has a high personal income tax structure, but our corporate tax structure is quite low compared to most G7 countries.
Get some good accountants, bookkeepers and lawyers behind you and enjoy life. I own my own home and own a rental property. I made the rest of my money when I sold my business, I started. There is no better way to accumulate wealth then having a business. I never thought I would sell my business or that anyone would want it, which is why I saved a lot in retirement and non retirement accounts.
This is a great site and just what I was looking for. It is amazing to see all the people that are doing extremely well saving too, it inspires me and humbles me to read some of the stories. I have been incredibly blessed there is no denying it and will be retiring in a few more years to focus on my family. The Financial freedom my work has provided me, has definitely taken a toll on my family and it is time to priortize them as number 1 and enjoy life before it slips away. That is what I am learning to do now, I actually never thought it would be that hard, but I guess I was wired to just think about ways to make money so for me it continues to be a struggle, but it is a challenge I will overcome.
For all you savers, take it from me and enjoy the ride along the way to your fortunes, after all that is what life is about. I was a pro sportsman in a minor but global sport for 12 years. To me this is a necessary investment if you can deal with the stress. ROI is still good even if using cash. End game is a mid-sized luxury multi-unit run by property managers. This also seems to be a good way to write off some necessary living expenses like car, home office, paying family for work, etc. If all goes pear-shaped, we keep our own assets. Due to this, I judge my assets on personal walk-away not from my son!
I have a lot of quality time to spend with my family, freedom and a little cash to think about other investing ideas. To me this is like death by blonde and bland Stepfordness. Perhaps take a job, though definitely open an LLC, even as a consultant, to funnel expenses through. Invest in rental properties, though understand cap rate and other relevant indices. Get the fundamentals right, and maybe one day you will have a bit of spare cash to throw at higher-risk investments or start-ups, or better yet, explore other ideas unrelated to the accumulation of wealth.
Appreciate the reply and the references. I found the blog because of the thing I was mocking — trying to figure out where I stand. You were diligent, had a plan, and achieved the freedom you wanted at an early age. As is obvious, you still have financial goals, and perhaps need some active income to achieve that.
This is a great achievement and merits a book and a blog. While merited sometimes, other times your comments come off as self-congratulatory and disparaging to others that are making reasonable points. Your story really begins now. Thanks for the feedback Martin. I really appreciate it. There is a fine balance in defending and arguing a point every blogger must go through. Do you have a blog, or write regularly for readers to criticize? Saves me a lot of time and allows me to focus on writing. Do you mind highlighting a couple specific examples of where my comments rubbed you the wrong way?
Puts our net worth at about K — low by your standards we are Also have 60K in s for kids college dont count this towards net worth because its going to be spent! We make about 80K a year jointly. My advice — we built the bulk of our savings and home equity prior to having children. Once the kids arrive, you are going to want to scale back on work and we decided not to move for job opportunities so the kids can stay in the same schools district their whole education. All the money I made I invested in buying homes cash , and now I collect the rent but the rent is not enough to be a amount for me to start my own business again , it just pays for my everyday expenses.
I at the moment working for a company and getting OK money but nothing special. Just waiting for that golden opportunity. I like the attempt here. The biggest thing this example can show is the years worked. Essentially, make sure to get the K match, as its free money. Next establish a safety net against the unexpected. Third max your Roth account. Once all of that is established, start saving for a home. However, even beyond that, marry well. Seriously, having a partner that can both contribute and budget is the best financial decision to occur. The light conversation of who would become a millionaire first arose.
The guy seriously dating a cougar with a bank account was. Second came an above-average clean cut guy working for the government ok, but not great who was marrying a vetrinarian. Third most likely was a guy who, while losing himself to drugs, was marrying a girl who also shared his interests, but came from considerable wealth. Inheritence still plays Finally came our buddy that was a genius and I drew last.
I agree with what you say. Expect the government to take it all away from you! That way, you can focus on investing and saving your after tax money and building alternative income streams. If SS and your K is there when you are , then great! If not, no big deal. I was very much a fan of field.
Defensively, you are less likely to need to raid savings if you have two contributing partners. But the biggest meal ticket is entrance into real estate. For this, one needs to think outside of the stock. It was made that way by design. It was to replace pensions. Seeing it every day makes us feel rich and not broke, but the reality is that I made two errors. Marry late and stick my savings all in a K. The only clawback is children. They are cherished, but they destroy wealth and time like nothing else.
However, it really puts single parents in a difficult spot. Incidentally, of the 5 of us, the predictions were likely correct. But the biggest factor was marriage. Live good lives and the benefits pop up in unimagineable ways. Think they started only in the mids. So the K amounts seem skewed high for the older folks like me. Thanks for your perspective. Hopefully you can replace the K amounts with just regular savings or a pension. Great net worth for your age, and definitely a valid concern getting your MBA. I got my employer to pay for my MBA and did it part-time. Any way you can do the same?
The returns for getting an MBA are going down. However, you can still strike it big, and if you work long enough, you will definitely earn things back. I am 72 and retired, female and divorced, with graduate degrees and 45 years an academic in higher education. Saved throughout my career and lived well but below my means. I have no debts whatsoever, plenty of cash savings, a very healthy retirement portfolio, a nice home all paid for, a good pension plus above average social security payments, so I am able to travel widely and stay in high end hotels.
I am grateful I was able to live with financial discipline so I can relax and enjoy the rest of my years. Oh, btw, I am Hispanic of European descent. Sounds like consistent savings and investing paid off nicely! Recently sold my home to relocate for a job. ZERO debt; car is paid off, no credit card debt, no house payment anymore. The total net worth numbers for me seem right on. I always roll over my k's when I leave a job so it is difficult to know that total.
I just recently hit a salary mark that makes tax deferred saving difficult; Roth IRA is out of reach and even putting in the max k has been an issue for me in the past top heavy contributor companies resulting in my contributions being returned. Remember no debt, yes I am proud of that. I am very surprised at the numbers and that I am just above average. The people I know even college grads with good jobs have nowhere close to this saved up. Most spend too much money and are too far in debt. I asked my financial advisor how I was doing last year compared with people under 50, and he said very well.
He is not one to overstate this since he obviously wants me to contribute more. He did say he sees lots of people doing well at my age but most have an inheritance… SO, for us that worked hard to get where we are wherever that is keep up the hard work. I think if I can stay single and not have kids I will be able to stay on track. So much for me thinking I was saving too much and was well above everyone…. Time to cut back and save more! We were lucky, but many friends who also had great careers and great plans fell by the wayside with job, family and health issues along the path of life, so my advice would be to save as much as you can as soon as you can and try to hold on to it!!
Do you feel you have trouble spending after years of savings? I would also like to add, as others have mentioned, that we also lived the lives of our dreams along the way—by the beach in CA—traveling the world, etc. Your numbers are not grounded in reality — where are they coming from? So what may be possible for a few is beyond the daily functioning of an uneducated materialistic generation s schooled by ignorant libtards who care not about bettering the future of anyone except themselves.
Also life just has a way of getting in the way of the best laid plans — I have never seen tables projecting net worths that high as it pertains to the masses. I would fall above the mean in most of the categories and ultimately above in net worth. Not sure I agree with the aggressive buy a home stance. Essentially when you buy a home you are really renting money. Net I would say buy investment property and rent till you die. I do appreciate owning property but only when you can pay for it up front. This is one of a couple of quick reviews you may find interesting too.
Does above average people NOT help other their parents or siblings or contribute to the charity? By absolute amount, above average people contribute way about average to charity. If you make millions a year, you can donate many fold more. Should we attack rich people for being the most charitable people in our society? We must depend on ourselves. But then you went on, tried to define what an above average person really means.
Does it really matter how they got there? Things get a little confusing when someone has most of their net worth in their home. I live in an area with low home prices and my house is paid for. Well I am sorry I sis this search, we xome no where close to these averages. I started teaching myself everything about making money at the age of I found out trading to be something I easily picked up. I started out with just paper trades and a virtual account. I found out that certain stocks would go up depending upon how much publicity it would get.
I carefully selected certain stocks that had the best probability to go up based on a trading formula I devised. I feel once you make a certain amount of money, life changes for the better. You are free to do more hobbies, activities, and enjoy better meals. I saved up for everything to have a constant capital flow. I could not date, drink soda with my meals, or anything extravagant.
Later, my life changed. I was dating 2 girls a day, not looking at the price on menus, and spending time doing the recreational activities that I enjoyed. I decided to no longer take any more gambles I read so many stories of people making large amounts of money, only to lose it all. I told myself I will be content and be satisfied with what I have. I am selling puts on some stocks which I predict will rise, and I have sold covered calls on safe stocks and collecting dividends, and I have found some good bonds that are paying a good safe dividend.
I am living within my means and using the monthly income to do the things I need to enjoy. Any advice on what I should do next? I want to learn how to create a blog that is successful like yours and would love to learn how. Please contact me by email. My 1 advice is do not think you are invincible.
There will be times you lose money. Really enjoy the article. Given the financial direction of this country, rates will likely have to increase at each income threshold. The general assumption supporting pre-tax accounts is that tax rates will be constant. The general assumption is that we will be in a lower tax bracket. I do think retirement accounts are valuable, but mainly for the average person unable or unwilling to save post-tax. My decision to pay taxes now rather than later has no bearing on federal spending, both now and in the future. I highly suggest doing both.
From an overall investment strategy—not just thinking about each individual dollar saved—people should consider tax diversification as an additional benefit of saving pre and post-tax. I dont fully understand all of this, and this may be a dumb question. So going back to my question, what does the average 23 year old make a year? My current salary is 65K, i rent and own a a shitty pt cruiser and live in New York City. As you know, savings rates of 0. Check out the post. I think the numbers here for the somethings are pretty unrealistic, especially for the tax-deferred number. Where I think the numbers deviate from reality is the tax-deferred savings numbers.
That said, I think the after-tax numbers are pretty spot on. Those numbers are still a stretch but definitely doable. I shared a studio with a roommate. This is an excellent site! I love the article and the tables provided. My suggestion is to refine the tables and make them look more like a curve. There will be smaller slopes increases when you start out and they get steeper after the third year until the the 10th to 15th year.
Then income declines gradually. The reason why I am saying this is because when I first started working I had very little net worth. They were well below your chart. After the third year, then that was the time that my net worth exponentially increased. Can you give some clarity on that? I also lived in NYC and did investment banking — although I started in Was there a special one time bonus given?
Or did you just put in a lot of money? Another comment is that you the readers can have some variations or adjustments to the table as everyone has a different situation. Some people marry early, graduate late, or go to graduate schools with a high cost of tuition IVY Leagues — business school, med school, others so when they graduate they have accrued a high amounts of debt making their net worth tilt to the negative.
But having a goal written on paper that you can see and remind yourself daily can make the difference I do this. I think you can upgrade your life style to some degree. But it is important that you still be modest even though you can afford it. I have kids now and I want to make sure that they see me as being prudent and set a good example for them. I have a hard time believing that Samuri put 15K into the K in The tax deferred limits were not that high at that time.
See the table below,. Being just shy of being 40 years old. It is not easy. Anyway, thanks for the quality post. Also just took out a cash-value whole life policy that I am overfunding so that I can lower my effective rate of taxation in retirement. The long-term cost benefit to me was greater that way than savings during this period of time. All things considered its better than it could have been… but it was definitely a hit. It did, however, allow me to convince him to let me take over our finances, which he was very happy to do.
Sounds like your hubby is on board now and things are going well. Glad to have you. You broke even and learned a lot in the process… more than you can say for most college classes. This is a great website and much needed for the US, more than ever before. I see massive inflation continuing to rise with all the Quantitative Easing. Markets are more correllated than that. Just happened on your site — quality stuff! BTW, I really hope you got some action on the Dow to 8,!
What say you Samurai? Too bad, the least they could have done is bet you lunch — that would have proved to be a good meal for you! I would put my net worth at 1. No doubt about it — great to have the combination of both the db and dc plans, but working 25 years for an oil company will do that for you! Unfortunately, like most companies, mine chose to shift away from the db plan back a few years ago, so they closed the plan to new hires and froze us legacy folks — no additional benefit for service but age still counted in the formula.
Used to be when the plan was still open, that at age 50, your lump sum would basically double… Now, depending on what age you were when the plan was frozen, you see something less than doubling at age The company partially made up for this by introducing a Cash Balance plan. If property values rise, interest rates are generally low since buyers can afford to buy mortgages.
Well, came and went, lots of things changed and lots of things stayed the same. Interest rates were relatively flat compared to historical numbers. Real estate physical real estate posted some decent gains as well…obviously your mileage will vary depending on your location. I certainly wish I had leveraged more. Great approach for those who continue to strive through competitive and comparable methods.
Although my pre-tax contributions fall below the average, my post-tax savings exceeds your calculations. Been working in the energy business like a dog ever since. I plan to increase in for tax purposes and historical fund performance. I would also like to preface this by stating that my approach is not for all ages but can be used to build the strong foundation many people are searching for. Unless luck falls on their side, they will likely see unfavorable results when attempting to invest with limited information as did I.
The last thing a person starting their life needs is to lose hard earned money in the ever changing stock market. Every good house is built on a strong foundation. I believe it is important to begin pre-tax investments early on in life, but leave the market play and real estate projects until you have a firm foundation. This approach also gives you the flexibility to make purchases, take vacations, etc, when you want, and without debt restrictions.
My apologies for the long post, but it is rare to find a group of individuals in one place striving to be above-average. I think it will be very helpful for all! Worked hard to earn promotions and although my salary has more than doubled, my spending has only slightly increased.
I set monthly goals and track progress every week to ten days, adjusting each spending category as needed to meet end of month objectives. The loss of the compounding effect of that conservative rate of return again compared to next to nothing in the bank is a silent killer in this case!!! That said, at 25 there is still time to put a great investment plan in place now and be looking pretty in 25 years!
Start letting that money do some of the work for you — it works! As a 27 year old working on wallstreet I make a salary of just a tad over k. Stated otherwise, I was essentially starting from a point of zero savings. Biggest one day score was 18k. Worst same day loss was 14k. Things get much easier after you get all the spending on stuff out of the system.
Finances get easier the older we get if we stick with our savings. We are business partners. We did not get a dime from our parents. My older brother was in the Army and I was in the Navy so we both qualified for a VA loan with no down payment. While my friends were off buying cars and spending their money at the bar, both my brother and I started off with a triplex with no money down.
I lived in the worst of the three apartments while I renovated and the other two tenants pretty much covered the mortgage at the time. I saved my pennies and bought my second triplex when I was 24 years old and 2 years out of college. In , my brother and I bought a total of 11 properties, in , we bought 3 and we are in contract on 2 properties right now. One thing I disagree with the author is on how often he refinanced his properties.
I agree that 2. This way, I feel like the cost to close the loan makes sense. Two each their own I guess. If you get out of NYC, that is a great down payment on rental properties. I just turned 29 this month. I have a stay at home spouse with our first 11 month old boy. Our net worth is around 23k. My salary is 68k, but 10 percent of all income goes to our church. They are from NM, we live in Richmond for the time being.
Wish we had more assets at this point, but it is what it is. I just with the value of the dollar would stay the same. Better late than never. At least you have no debt! My k is about k and an additional 40k in traditional IRA. Post-tax is in combination of mutual funds, stocks and CDs. Overall I feel I have been to risk averse up to this point and could have gone much more heavily in the stock market. I feel I could have increased my wealth many fold, if I had invested more aggressively.
Do you not plan to ever buy? The benefit of homeownership, besides the tax deductions is the fact that once the home is paid off, you have a rent free place to live forever. All you have to pay for is maintenance and property taxes. Yes, I do plan to buy. We are a single income family of 4 2 kids who are in elementary school. The experience left me uninterested in buying again in the event that we have to move again.
I feel a certain degree of freedom renting. However, I realize that we have been here for almost 4 years now and if we were to stick around for another I do realize that I would have made a mistake by not buying. However, we are too unsure if we will for me to take the leap. The low interest rates are very tempting though.
Eventually we plan on moving to a metropolitan area that is tier 2 or tier 3 where SFH prices are in the range. That is when we would make a decision to buy. As you know, buying can be overrated due to the markets and to maintenance and property tax expenses. I only made 28 k in ; 55 in and will likely make 58 this year. I mostly do temp legal work.
I am going to inherit at least 2. You started investing in real estate 7 years go when you were 21? So in you started buying real estate and are doing well? How far did your real estate investments pre go into the red and have they fully recovered yet? Wondering if you could offer any advise. I also got decent returns by getting into the stock market near the bottom of the collapse. Parents also paid for my college where I got my computer science degree, so I started off with zero debt.
Nothing fancy, I guess. Thanks for the interesting post. I enjoy reading this type of material as I work to convince myself about taking early retirement. I feel we are in a good position for me to be able to walk away from my job in a few years, but leaving behind the max earning years and options that a regular retirement would provide are proving tough. I am 45 and married with no kids. My wife does not work. We have no debt, but also no real estate. Foreign service premiums in hardship locations have provided a nice boost to savings. If I retire at 55 regular retirement at my company , I can take a lump sum pension payout, but would be required to take an annuity if I leave early.
We intend to live overseas in a relatively low cost country and travel extensively in the future. I owned two cars over a year period. I owned one home and sold it before going overseas.
- The Above Average Person is loosely defined as:.
- 60 Years Life/Adventure (2v Set) by John Dill Ross on Apple Books.
- Each Peach Pear Plum (Pocket Puffin)!
- The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Person;
- 60 Years Life/Adventure (2v Set): Sixty Yrs Life Adv Far Et - CRC Press Book.
- Zwischen Ehre und Verlangen (German Edition)!
Choosing a solid field of study, industry, and company has helped our situation out a great deal. I came out of college with a good education and no debt, but no assets or inheritances. The best advice I can give to others is to start early, set short-term and long-term financial goals, track your spending and progress towards those goals, and adjust your spending and savings habits as necessary to stay on track.
Your advice on deferred compensation, tracking your habits and progress, and real estate are all on the mark. Nice to hear from you! Thanks for the post, FS. I worked two jobs after college, slept in living rooms, and bought one meal per day. I learned about investing on my free time, and used that to increase my net worth. For instance, I wrote an article recommending the purchase of common shares in Bank of America when it was trading for far less than it is today.
Young people today have fallen on very hard times. The combination of high rents and low wages makes it very difficult for anyone to save or invest. I recently found a job in Lebanon that pays for my rent and offers a higher wage than I was able to earn in the US, so I have moved; but the civil war in neighboring Syria means I am taking on considerable risk to avoid the plight of my peers. There is a war on young people today and I know that most of my friends and cousins will not have a bright future if it continues.
Esquire has some interesting articles on the topic, for instance: Thanks for your thoughts. Congrats on your net worth. You are a perfect example. It seems like we always know someone who is broke, but never ourselves. I am the chief bread winner and mom , have a great schooling option in my neighborhood for my son, and loathe the idea of a long commute.
I would appreciate your advice on my situation. I am proud of my financial turn around and am motivated to take it to the next above average level. Power to you for being a mom and the chief bread winner!
- Harleys Babe;
- My Best Friend’s Life.
- The Dark Side Of Early Retirement: The Downsides Of Not Working?
- Full Circle.
Not easy I can imagine. I am VERY bullish on real estate now, and we will kick ourselves for not buying today, 10 years from now. I am turning 35 in , Graduated in with PhD, worked as post-doc for 3. With single income in the family, i have to be very disciplined to even come close to this value. I do not know how to achieve the high end, so that i can retire by , may be have another kid and move to my home land. Thank you so much for this! Roth 11K, k 18K, and personal savings 27K, and only 2k in debt thats interest free.
Again thank you for the work you put into this and I like your definition of an above average person. I graduated in when I had just turned 22 had about 40k not unusual in student loan debt and 20k for the car I needed to go to work. Im actually glad I was saddled with this debt cause otherwise I might have bought a house in smirk that the study about houses sited prices at the top of the boom. Not that houses arent a good investment its just that many people are convinced its a sure thing no matter what its better than renting which its not.
Im not sure how a roth doesnt get mentioned here in investment vehicles. I would argue that for somebody in there 20s not getting an employer match on their its a way better investment choice. Plus you can pull your initial investment without penalties if something comes up so it can be safer than stocking it in a in the event of you needing emergency funds. If you have rich parents, then of course you have a likely chance of being above average if you have above average parents. How does your net worth compare to my charts? I love real estate. Net worth is approx.
We plan to retire within the next 10 years. The trade off is that managing 4 properties is pretty tough with a full-time job, and adding more would require some major life changes. One note to the people just starting out: If you are willing to take some risk at first and get your hands dirty, you can establish a good net worth builder with real estate.
It sounds like you guys are doing fine, and since you have a 10 year horizon, there is plenty of time to kick yourself in higher gear. I strongly recommend you visit this page to better track your finances for free. You are in the perfect scenario to take advantage. Good luck and hope you sign up for my e-mail feed and keep in touch! Thanks for the advice. Wife and I just turned 34 and have 2 children living in the Pittsburgh area. We both started out making around 30k and in 12 years later now make around 65k per year each.
We have k in k, 55k in Roth IRA, paid for house worth k, and k in cash — total assets of k. Currently our net worth grows by k per month depending on the stock market about 3k-4k in cash and 4k-6k in retirement accounts. It just takes time and patience and living on less than you earn, dual income helps. Key is to get out of debt early. We had small student loans 12k and new car loans when we graduated but paid them off quickly and then put everything against the mortgage. I graduated college in May with a degree in accounting. I work some weekend jobs for a little spending money.
I feel like I will never be able to reach those numbers. Thanks and great article! Joe, you JUST started your career. The point is you have a frame of reference and a target. Takes a lot of sacrifice and long hours. But trust me when I tell you that if you keep it up for 10 years, you will feel incredibly free. Please spend some time to look around my site and subscribe over e-mail.
I think you will be able to benefit a lot! If you graduated in you are doing FINE! Actually, I read the 4th link in your about me page. I hear you on the car buying thing. It got me thru high school and college. My commute is roughly 50 miles a day and it is a great peace of mind knowing that my car is not going to fall apart on the way to work and if it does it will be repaired at no cost.
CHAPTER XXXIV | 60 Years Life/Adventure (2v Set) | Taylor & Francis Group
Plus there was nothing due at signing. The includes sep, roth, k and hsa. About half of the retirement is after tax e. I disagree with your negative article about a roth…. I converted some money to the roth for some of the obvious reasons, but also for the less obvious: Saved first, invested conservatively, but consistantly in all markets. I am now 49 and have a net worth of over 2 million.
This chart was quite useful, albeit a little upsetting. One thing you should take into consideration is how cheap it is to rent if you are willing to have roommates. Admirable of you to rent and live with roommates to save and invest. After 3 years of working, I got sick of living with roommates and decided to buy. Fortunately, it worked out 9. Samurai — just found your website, very informative. But sounds like most of the people here are doing exactly that! But it doubled my comp and I took off from there, all because I bet on myself and knew I would succeed even though the near term financials were a drag.
Be Mobile — in my opinion, if you buy a home when you are under 30 you are nuts. NOT because a house can lose value, but rather because the mentality it creates when propelling your career. This reluctance really limits people. My example — I lived in 4 different states during the first 7 years after undergrad because I kept looking for the next big opportunity and nothing was going to hold me back, which lead to my success today. So where am I today?
Time of your life, huh kid? Once I graduate my income will grow to around K a year, which will afford me more investment opportunities rather than merely holding down living expenses and loan payments. Hi Mate, makes sense. With your future earnings power, you should do great provided you worked enough years.
Any thoughts as to how to transition to a more aggressive investment stance and whether it makes sense to buy rather than rent? I also fear renting because it provides no return and leaves nothing to the kids. Really enjoyed reading up on this article and the comments. Although after reading some of your personal stories and comments I feel slightly inadequate! I am a 24 year old living and working in Shanghai as a design instructor. This is my first full time post graduation and I make only about 30k a year from my full time position and 9k from freelance work at a publishing company.
I have a total of 6, in savings and my student loan debt total is about 13k which is reasonable from what I hear compared to other fashion design students. I do plan on going back for a business degree within the next three years. My parents own property both in the US, paid my first years tuition in full, and I attained scholarships which peeled of the bulk of my tuition costs.
Just wondering what else I could do to make make a smarter investment for my future especially since I will be going back to school. Especially since I am clearly on the low end of the savings guide. My wife contributes to employer match in k and has contributed to a Roth IRA for about 6 years. I am a 58 years old PhD , married with two grown children. No other debt except normal bills. Always felt I could keep pulling rabbits out of my hat but lately have been nervious about a sustainable future for no other reason than that I am starting to own my age.
From your perspective, how do we look financially at this point? Are there obvious things we should do to further secure our future? Thank You in advance for your response. All you got to do is take your expected life expectancy age e. To minimize regret and stay on top of your finances, I recommend you sign up with the free wealth management online tool, Personal Capital. These numbers seem a bit high to me. Im, 21 and make 30k in California been working since 15, dropped out of highschool jr yr.
I have 2k in bank, 8k in stocks, no credit card payments, do have car payments. My plan is to buy property again, but day trade as my daily job. I will quit my job, go to online school, and get federal financial aid to pay for school and my expenses. My smal business will easily keep me at 24k a year. I learned I need a college degree if Im going to make it to that million by My question to you samurai, is what would be a 21 year olds best move, after selling this house, to be the super above average rockstar?
My plan in 2 months is take 40k and trade. What do you think Samurai? Thanks Financial Samurai, best Believe Ill be reading every single one of these blogs. Knowing all of it is helping me to my financial future. I like your enthusiasm. Is there any chance of you going back to school to get your degree? Perhaps go part time to have a backup? Hi, You have a great site with interesting comments! I just wanted to say that accruing a high net worth is definitely doable!
While we were being severely undervalued ; we were amassing rental properties duplexes , fixing them up, flipping them and putting the money towards more. We did everything ourselves and one property at a time. We even rested for about a year before continuing. We never took a honeymoon or vacation but still managed to have a great quality of life. Our family, on both sides who are serious consumers of luxury goods, think we are low income because we still live in a 2bed, 1 ba house but long story short, my husband started a business online from home at the same time I decided to stay at home as a Mom and go to school part-time.
I am actually taking a break packing for our first vacation together since getting married 6 years ago! We are going to about 4 different golf courses and stay at some awesome priceline purchased hotels. Going into college I had saved up around 15k in mutual funds from gifts and summer jobs yard work, retail. School was basically free because of the work-study tax breaks at the time.
I graduated in 7 years but was able to save about 30k altogether by the time I finished and bought a duplex through a short sale using an FHA loan once I was hired full-time started at 67k. I rehabbed it and it has appreciated a lot. I knew nothing about fixing houses before I started but learned as I went.
I find it hard to see how someone can have a net worth of 80k after 3 years of working. I save 24k a year and am very frugal. With the help of a rising market, things get even better. Did you enjoy school hence the 7 years? I wished I did a 5th year, but I was anxious to graduate and start a career. Absolutely right on real estate Sam. US property looks a screaming bargain right now. Rents have been rising strongly in my US describable cities and now prices are following suit. Should I look for rental place or should I go into real estate and buy a house.
And for saving and tfsa accounts, and RRSP, what should. Be the percentage of income allocated to those areas. Luckily, I left the divorce with no debt other than a mortgage on a starter home that I was living in. Four years later, I built a house and rented out the one I was living in.
The rent on that house covered the mortgage on my new house, so out of pocket housing costs were essentially the same as it had been. Three years later, I refinanced my house , pulled out cash and bought another rental property. Four years after that, I refinanced the original house and pulled out cash to purchase another rental property. Currently, the income from the three rentals covers all four mortgages and all are on 15 year notes. So, by age 57, all will be paid off. Sure, it could be less, but it could be substantially higher.
Then, will quit work and live solely off of the rental income. It is all about starting early, making wise decisions, and not wasting money on unnecessary items, especially late fees, bounced check fees, high credit-card interest, etc. Those can really hurt you in the long run. My husband and I make a combine income of about 60k. We just bought a house with nothing down thanks to the VA loan. Because the government sells a pack of lies to the kids in the military, we have 60k in student loans. Anyone who thinks these numbers are unrealistic is simply doing it wrong.
The only thing holding you back… is you. Your attitude has a lot to do with being above or below average. Below average people make excuses for their results, above average people look for solutions. I think cost containment is a biggie, it takes a lot of discipline to not fall into the lifestyle trap when your assets increase especially when your peers are living large , why drive a 10 year old Camry when you can easily afford a new BMW5? You are crushing it! If so, did you simply hang on and buy more?
I started this site then as a way to deal with the economic crisis. I also recommend you sign up with Personal Capital to get a good holistic view on your money with your kind of assets. Check out my overview post here. I did all my financial tracking through an excel spreadsheet as well until I found Personal Capital. Free and easy to use and I met up with several of them here in SF. I just turned I agree that your numbers especially for pre year olds are next to impossible. My ex husband got the house in the divorce.
I must really be behind in saving. Drinking wine at home this nice Friday afternoon, as I work 4 hours on Friday and 9 hours the other 4. Came across your website and it seems like interesting, real world practical number crunching advice. Zero debt and we buy everything in cash, although we use credit card for the gift points. I plan to retire at 62 latest. What a great site, great niche. Nothing like this online. I got , in cash.
Hi Surio, thanks for your thoughts, all for some reason I have a hard time fully following your comments. Sorry for my lack of reading comprehension! I write my posts in a way that is authentic as possible. Some fantastic insights and comments. I learn as much from others as some do from the posts I suspect. What standard are we talking about, and who are the comparisons? Please read my comments in context with your blog post; the comprehension will come. Not everyone bothers about this concept.
This is a fact. This is my point of view. So much for his parents nurturing his talent and his teachers honing his skills. Nobody gave a damn! It cannot be treated as an absolute Never assume your readership demography on the Net: The goal can be etc. Should I put it any more differently? I am very sorry my comments made no sense in the first place. And here I was, deluding myself that I had a engaging, chatty style of writing and cross-referencing: Better stick to an odd post, and forget about that award-winning novel ;- Ha Ha.
No hard feelings from my side: I think people are so obsessed with retirement because it brings the hope of freedom and choices. My definition of retirement is having enough financial reserve to have the choice to choose what you do on a daily basis without worries. If someone had sacrificed for their family and worked hard all their lives, they might want to spend a few years or more relaxing.
For others, they have gone back into work because they are too bored. There is nothing wrong with any choices. Will that change in the future? People are better off planning to answer this question: Will I have enough assets to pay me a salary without working from when I retire Age here until I am We have retirees today who retired before I was even born. The average life span for someone who is 65 this year is 90 years old. Hi Kim — The hope of freedom and more choices is definitely something that I along with many others look forward to in early retirement. I wish I had your desire and energy, even until 65!
Thnx for sharing your thoughts! I retired at 50 because I was a millionaire. Plus, I had achieved every single thing I ever set my heart to. Or so I thought. No matter what chart or calculator you use to figure out your financial structure, the math never works out correctly. You can try to figure the worst case scenario but trust me, the numbers just never work. Here I am almost 60, I have spent a decade living well a bare bones pace with a frugal lifestyle.
I want back in. The ages will have changed but the procedure will have not. Good luck to everyone. Early Retirement and Frugality Suck. Morrison, you write a truly fascinating, insightful, and poignant post regarding your experience as an early retiree! Was traveling even more not in your desire list?
What about trying to make your blog humungo and monetize it? What about joining a tennis league for those over 50 or 55? Thanks for your candidness!! Retiring early is great if you have a plan. Surio Thanks for further clarification. Can you share with us your age, some semblance of what you need to require to retire, and how you are going about achieving your early retirement goals if that is what you ultimately desire? It takes 7 colours to make a beautiful rainbow. And variety IS the spice of life. So no comparisons ever with apples or pears.
Do not read too much into that. It is just a job. A job is a way to earn income. How you spend your time is your life, and your job is just part of it. I too made bad calls with the real estate bubble, with credit cards, with impulse buys…. Or to simply say, sod all this…. I use a combination of Bonds, mutual funds and Equities, a watertight, frugal lifestyle, NO credit cards believe me, it IS possible!
Fortune is a fickle mistress; She arrives without announcement and leaves without notice. So, I am not at all in favour of using it as a point of assessment. Those with jobs you love, Count your blessings, and hope the good times last I certainly do! Your writing style is very different. And that is exactly what I have been trying to do all the while, in all my comments. To try and bring a slightly macro the 3 billion population point, the globalisation impact on our finances and jobs we love , the Joshua Bell article, etc.
Thanks for sharing your background Surio. May I ask whether getting your PhD contributed to your desire to want to no longer work? What is your PhD in? What do you think about my argument of at least working the amount of time one is in school? In your case, that would be about 20 years or so. I really liked this post. Or to put it another way, you better have some idea what you actually want to do when you retire. Nothing selfish about it. Being a stay-at-home-do-nothing-spouse is selfish. Retiring by living on your own hard earned money is just another life choice. Abusive bosses and 12 hour days.
The pay was nice, but there is no early retirement that would have been early enough from these places. They are just there. So the question is would I keep working if I could retire and maintain the same quality of life? The answer is probably no. If working 40 hours a week gets me a small apartment, used furniture, an ancient car and no real respect, how is retiring going to be much worse? At least if I retired I could move to some place with better weather.
I am also very well aware that one day my career will hit a wall. At this point there are a few options. And your career can get derailed other ways like through mergers and layoffs. If and when this happens I might not have any desire to go through the hassle of sending out resumes which will never be read, trying to BS my way through interviews and moving across country to get another job.
The grind is still the grind. What it does do is provide more opportunities for people to advance their careers thus eliminating a certain sense of career malaise. On the other hand it also makes early retirement easier by allowing people to save up money faster. But there needs to be some way for even the lowly peons to get ahead. Everyone needs to have things that they can realistically work towards. Nothing is more depressing than showing up every day just because you need to pay the rent. Real breaks — If I could take a real break of 3 months to a year and still be able to return to my job it would be the perfect answer to the current deferred life plan.
It just has to be a break so that I can focus on bettering myself. The point is that I want the time to do those things. Perhaps a good analogy is like quitting in a baseball game during the 4th inning while behind I took the thing that I was best at academics and pushed it to its absolute limit.
During the process I learned exactly where my limits are and a lot about what would be needed to surpass them. I think of it more as playing the odds. One very painful thing that I learned while pushing myself to the limits academically was just how much of life I missed out on.
While I try not to be bitter and angry about it I firmly believe that very little comes from such thoughts , the fact is that sometimes when I think about how much I gave up to chase a goal I get pretty sad. Average is fine with me. Search engines, not people, read your resume.
Politics, not results, gets you a promotion. Networking, not your resume, gets you an interview. A merger wipes out your whole department. Work stress ruins your home life. The thought of being able to walk away from all that is very enticing. Honestly, if I liked my job I would probably stay there until I finally got laid off. And in this economy that can be very hard. I was pretty close to becoming one of them a few months ago. But there is another group of people who sponge off their parents, spouses, significant others, relatives, the government, etc simply because they are lazy.
Actually I think the definition of early retirement varies. I will probably do this for 30 years, not for the pension or benefits, but because I just love what I do and it makes me happy doing it. I get to travel a lot, spend time with my daughter, do side projects I own a real estate company teach, and do so many more things.
I hope the military is taking care of you! I love, love what I do, so I do it for me and not because I have to, or because it pays the bills, trust me, money is not an issue. I can buy almost anything I want. When I posted the accurate numbers at his site, Bill went nuts. Hundreds of other people expressed interest in being able to have honest discussions. Do you now understand why there is such a deep hatred of me among some of the people who congregate there?
How would you feel if you not only had gotten the numbers wrong in a retirement study but had thereby caused lots of your friends to suffer failed retirements and had also banned honest posting on the topic at a retirement board? You would feel pretty darn bad about yourself. You could be helping them out by writing about this matter.
We need to get this all in the open so that people can return to sanity. I encourage you and all other personal finance bloggers to do so. Lots of people have been hurt, lots of boards and blogs have been destroyed or seriously damaged and those of us who care about the future of these communities should be doing what we can to help out.
Good luck in fighting for what you believe in! Retirement is different for everyone as many have noted. It annoys me that early retirees show off so much and try and tell us how great their lives are when the rest of us are not retirement. All that serves to do is make people feel bad for doing a normal job.
Retiring from paid employment is simply going back to the way humans were meant to live. Taking care of business food, clothing, and shelter and having fun. Are you kidding me? Why are you calling people who work at their job losers? I just read your profile. You might have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself why you are in the state you are in. As is usual in arguments like this, it degenerates to misquoting.
I would tend to agree. Out of the gazillions of things out there that a person can do with their time, work is just one of them. So I would have to agree with the initial sentiment, that if you can only find friends by working, if you can only find something to do with your day by working, and if you can only feel productive by doing what someone else is telling you to do, you really might be a loser.
No one is happy every minute of every day, working or retired. Will have to disagree. Who are we to say that someone is a loser for loving their work and making an income to boot? I guess my point was that if a happy person can be made to be unhappy simply by removing one activity from their life, that is sad. If someone has complete dependence on one aspect of their life for making them happy, I suggest they are not very well-rounded. As far as the paycheck, I think that is a very good reason to work. Most people need to work because of that little thing called making ends meet, which I fully understand.
Under a bulky amount of assumption in this article, I see an unrefined sense that retirement does not mean one quits having life purpose. What I think man cannot be retired at any age in life. He always have something to do , he can stop earning but still he will need money and it become quite difficult for him to get it from some else. Mostly what i think those people retire early those who either have some hidden mean or some earning coming easy or some one helping him in his loving. I think you bring up a lot of good points including that the lifestyle design movement may shrink if more people are gainfully employed rather than sitting in front of their laptops.
What kind of things would you like to be doing when you hit age 45? Early retirement holds its pros and cons. But I personally was not in favor of early retirement from the beginning when this ideology came up. One of elder cousins is working with a big MNC having very good salary. He planned to retire early around the age of 45 and in doing so he is not able to dedicate any time for his family.
Also what early retirement does is that when we are completely skilled after a certain age and experience, we waste all those efforts we put to get those skills. In fact that is best time to yield all the benefits of those hard efforts put in. Its that type of control that having money can provide. Invest early, invest often, actively manage your assets and let compounding lead the way. Then your options open up later in life. Sound so easy, right? I do like this post and topic — thought provoking. Retiring early is a good hedge against bad health.
What if I get really ill at Are we only here to be slaves to society and submit to its whims? Why not work fewer years than you went to school. Did your mother and father work so hard educating you to see you grow up and be a drone, working away your life feeling shamed at thoughts of self, or did they want you to be happy? We accept certain changes to our lifestyles to avoid work. Even doing what you love if fraught with compromises when you do it for others.
Ignorant management, bad bosses, corporate policy, government regulation, etc. The freedom retirement brings can far outweigh the perceived negatives, allowing us to pursue out life on our terms. Dan, sorry you have such anger. Others could use your helping hand. Wow… I find it really fascinating that people see such a distinct line between being employed and being retired.
The Cable has been Cut! Thnx for your insights. Gotcha, thanks for the insights Rebecca. Please if anyone could give me a hint, or a nod in the right direction to be able to make real money online, please help! I want to feel like a man again! And we truly could use the extra income we lost, when I had to take the disability retirement. Thank You, God Bless.
Perhaps there is a fringe benefit to living most of your adult life surrounded by starving musicians! Since you are a self proclaimed eco-maniac, where do you live may I ask? Love to hear your thoughts on the subject! I have to disagree with the statement of our monetary system is bad. The capitalist system works just fine. Look at how some people can retire, new talented individuals opening their own companies, being better educated etc. When we stop stuffing people into a dependency cacoon and let their genius and creativity flourish you will see a whole new person. No one owes anyone anything.
Those who criticize early retirement forget that we are not retiring to our bedrooms but to the conquering of the rest of our lives, be that what may be. Read up on Adam Smith, see what you get out of it. Russell Roberts is another good economist also. The mind needs to be constantly challenge.
Another Dark Side to early retirement is that the risk of outliving your money could increase. I have never had any desire to retire at Thats a signal that I need to switch, start a new business, or get another hobby. To be honest, all this early-retirement-stuff on the web baffles me. What on earth are you going to do with your life with nothing to do? Any human being needs a goal, a feeling of purpose, something to strive for. I do thing we need to rethink retirement. Working part-time should be norm for older people. Starting up businesses should be easier.
Having a year off should be easier, and it could replace those pitiful weeks every now and then we call vacation. One friend just did that — and he did have to threaten to leave the company for good before getting a sabbatical. It simply shows how narrow our definition of work has become. And I do thing many people would find jobs that feel better than whatever they do now — even if that would not be their passion — if they thought at least a little outside a box. Hi Kirsi — What is it that you do for a living? My field is IT, the tech side, which may or may not come as a surprise…I still remember browsing through all the it mags in the local library, and coding evenings at home secretly, as admitting such a passion would have been a social suicide;.
I think one reason I still love to work is the fact that there are plenty of things to choose from in my field. I started out of passion for coding: I do work hard when I need to, but at some point, one must stop to breathe. I only used 6, and let my husband keep the rest. I also started blogging about those issues. If we get another, we might move abroad for the duration of the leave. I think work is considered too narrowly. People change, and interests change. One must be ready to change what they do when that becomes a burden. There are always times in life when something does not feel exciting — sometimes the feeling passes, and sometimes you need to change the assignment, the job, or even the entire profession.
Maybe less lazy people work this dilemma better…. Kirsi — It is a different world in the US. We only have 3 months maternity leave max, and vacations are less. Europeans are lucky, and I guess Greece is changing that by making Europeans work longer and harder now. I just need to release them. The system should learn. But if I had to rethink about my retirement, I would still choose to retire early. I am glad that I am retired now because I have been able to do things meaningful and enjoyable in the last two years.
Glad you retired early Suzan and have done some great things over the past two years! Also good to hear your husband is treating you well and going on good vacations: Gotta live life to the fullest! I could imagine my mother would love to retire early. She did have a sabbatical a few years ago. But there are other stories, too. My husband knows an elderly man who refereed football for years and travelled even aged 70 years about days a year. Two years later, he does not know his own name.
They literally took his life away. In the end, it is about having that feeling that you are living up to your potential, according to your values, and have a reason to wake up each day. I am seeing, in my mind, someone with very clear vision, striving to live a life to its fullest! What a beautiful and encouraging scene for everyone else to see and to follow! I am sad for the football referee though. Is the only persuit in life selling your soul for money?
To me, no amount of money is worth the constant exhaustion that being employed required. Eventhough I really loved the organization that I worked for, it was a choice between having a job or having a life, and I chose life! I agree with you Rebecca. I have put up with so many people that concept you stated about the only way to stay busy trading your life for money. There are so many things to do out there. Having the freedom to come and go and do what makes you happy is a problem????
I am rereading the book Your Money Or Your LIfe… and the authors retired early; but then did volunteer work; including donating all the money from that book and other work to charity. It is about reaching Financial Independent to not have to work.. At first thought, early retirement is not selfish if you have a family. On second thought, you do have a great point about parents slaving away… Two birds with one stone, retire early enough so you can treat your parents for the sacrifices they have made.
Dunno if there is an ideal age. Reach your potential, but still be healthy enough to enjoy your free time? When is the right time? Most people are naturally greedy so of course they have to fully partake in the money grab! For me, it was an achievement of a goal I set out at 31 years old. I knew I did not want to work for someone forever. At age thirty-eight, I was a full time entrepreneur. It was everything I thought it would be and more!
No, because my wife and I discussed it extensively before I took the leap. Our lifestyle actually improved, because I had more freedom. In many ways, late thirties is an ideal age for this kind of career change. Young enough to enjoy the opportunities that are available and energetic enough for the additional responsibilities. I thought I picked the perfect time to strike out on my own. Although I returned to the working world, I have no regrets. I was able to do what few have accomplished. Success in the market has little to do with a desire to be financial independent. A bull market may make it easier to retire or to become financially independent.
That entrepreneurial spirit is there or it is not. It is what drives people to success. Good to hear about your entrepreneurial endeavors at Why did you return to the working world, and could you have retired and never work again at 45 or 50 years old? It was seven years later 45 yrs. I returned because I was bored! I was not prepared for retirement and it was not stimulating enough for me. The income from my income property was sufficient to maintain a certain level of comfort. The business became a drain emotionally and financially.
I ended up selling it all off and invested the proceeds in the stock market. I have no regrets! I am much more prepared emotionally and mentally to retire this time. I am preparing now starting this blog, starting volunteering, downsized home, children are grown and a much lower lifestyle. My income stream is fixed and guaranteed and my retirement savings will create a very comfortable standard of living. Truly passive earnings versus active earnings. What is one or two things I should emotionally prepare for if I retire? I just wrote out a post for Yakezie.
Your question gave me an idea for a post. I realized many people prepare for the financial side of retirement, but few prepare for the changes that occur naturally in retirement. It is already published as you read this. Thank you for your question and comments. People wants to retire early so they will be able to enjoy life with no worries. There is nothing wrong about it.
It is a normal human instinct. But you need to work for your retirement. You need enough money or even start with a good business early in your life. Sam I think it is kind of selfish, but then again, what isnt? When people go on a diet, who are they really doing it for? Sometimes they say they want to be healthy because of their family or kids or whatever, but they may just want to get healthy so they can look and feel better about themselves.
I also think that people who want to retire may not have found the right think to do yet. Right now, I just need to keep my health up so that I can transition to that later in life. Can you imagine if our blogs lasted for the next 20 years? We could easily retire from our blogs by then imo!
Retiring early may have its flaws but it has its privileges as well. It is a personal choice which should come with proper consideration of so many things. Be it financially, emotionally, psychologically and physically. What ever people may say, an article like this could only let you see what options and choices you have. You cannot box retirement to either good or bad. I also run my own company and because of this, retiring early is not as big of a wish as it was when I worked for someone else. I have no other responsibilities other than the daily house chores and driving my son off to school every morning, and putting up with my annoying cat.
But do you know what I do in between the time that my son is at school and then comes home? Things that I would much rather do than work, whether I enjoyed my job or not. I need to purchase something from Wally world? No long weekend rush to get behind. Retirement is not about being bored.
Hell, traveling the world is only a bonus. Oz, blog, read, work-out, and blog some more. I hope retirement will be everything you want it to be. KrantCents wrote an interesting post where he talked about not being emotionally ready the first go around. I thought that was quite insightful.
I think so long as people ate being productive in their early retirement, they have a chance of doing whatever they want. Fortunately, there will be something available in for acquiring health care should I have trouble obtaining it through other channels. As I always harp on the fact that there are too many people competing for too many resources, including jobs, this should not come as a surprise. Older employees are edged out through many means, and companies know when you hit 50 your needs for medical care go up.
So, my message is: Basically, the current state of things is awful, D. I believe that what you say probably does occur, even though it might to be overt. That really sounds like good advice. What is your age currently? I used to want to do just that. Despite that working very well, and even not-so-well … I realized that I wanted to do something more.
I probably would have needed to get back to work anyway. My caste is not blue as in blood. But then … as I sat around for a year or 3 … spending money, not making it … I started wondering and asking myself questions. Depression, self doubts, even worse for some. I think everyone will work until they die. Something that makes you want to do it everyday. Learn it inside and out. Be all you can be … only push yourself to be better. I found life to be a lot like the markets financial markets … utter chaos.
But there are repeating patterns. You can change your mind. Just stop racing around with rats. Maybe you are in the wrong profession? If a person loves their work, why would they retire? Sitting out around a pool, reading books from my favorite authors. They can still go back to work, if they like. They can open up a taco stand and only work breakfast and lunch crowds.
Retiring without money coming in … is just that.
The balance sheet gets smaller, not larger. But, what if a scenario , you started buying real estate or had enough dividends coming in to live off of? Anything that generated income, right? IMO again , no one in the normal so-called middle class range will ever retire and just graze the golf course, like the uber-wealthy do.
But … even they still work, managing their money. They just do it with aggressive abandon. They love to do it. These people still work, just not for the same reasons most of the population does. J Especially if one does something they really like to do. Go ahead, force me to retire …. Thanks for sharing your incredibly thorough thoughts! Always good to hear different perspectives. I was 44 when I started to retire … from working for someone else. I can still manage trading part time vs. Depite what Gold is doing, SIlver is has been the best bang for the buck.
Selling portions at highs, buying back at lows highs lows are based purely on technical data, NOT financials. Find a way to get your money working for you. Learn the markets, or learn everything there is to know about real estate, or what it takes to run a specialty business restaurant, etc, etc. I would probably not know what to do with it. Sam, your thoughts about why people want to retire early are very true. All of those and probably more… related to the same theme. As mentioned in post below, retire on your own terms. Just be wise and think ahead.
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Not like the unreal visions I originally had. I know I want to keep working, but doing something I enjoy doing like now. With great health benefits at that! One day … many will understand that in full detail. Keep up the great work! I completely agree with this! Many young people are not aware of this natural progression, which is one reason why it is important to save for an early retirement even if it never happens. Not selfish at at, there are a lot of good things that can be done in retirement. Non-profit work, spending more time with the family, pursuing a dream, etc.
I think people should retire before someone else tell them they have to. Do it on your own terms. In my organization I have been successful, promoted, etc. With many employers trying to get by with fewer people, I am sure many have reached a point when leaving is an act of self-preservation. I cannot wait to use my energy and intellect for things that interest me, like college courses and volunteer work probably as a tutor. I would like to encourage you and others to make changes in your work life sooner rather than later if you are not happy.
While it was necessary for me to work these years to amass what I need to retire, I wish I had done it somewhere else — by the time I hit 50, it would have made zero sense financially to leave because of a very good pension plan, so I stuck it out. As to whether it is selfish to retire young — I agree with those who say you are doing a good thing by creating an opportunity for someone else to work.
Indeed, I think many twenty- and thirty-somethings probably wish we boomers would get out of the way. Good luck with whatever you decide. Hi Jennifer, welcome to Financial Samurai! Glad the search engine brought you here. I would just take all my vacations and then some every year until then. I think you will enjoy your retirement in 4 months. All of his friends still worked, so he really had no one to do anything with except for much older retirees. I will work to my grave and would come to work even if I won lottery which I do not play , but I would not judge those who do retire early.
If it makes them happy, and they are not living off social assistance, they should go for it. And, by the way, most of the mortals can make much bigger impact through unpaid work then their job. Take for example stay-at-home moms and dads or those volunteering to feed the hungry and heal the sick. They can make more difference in one year than I can managing my company for 30 years. I retired in at age 45 and it was the BEST thing to happen to me in my life.
I hated the commute, even 2 or 3 days a week, so I had to make that zero days a week. I will never change my mind. I have health insurance and upped my car insurance limits last year. I have not lost touch with local friends and family. In fact, being retired has made it easier to get together with them with my added availability. I am childfree so I never wanted to have kids of my own. Wold you ever ask a similar question to someone who wants to start a family? I intend to retire around My father got his first heart attack at 51 and totally bit the dust at 58, his father before him died at 43, and so on.
So I figure I might last til about maybe 68 if I am lucky. As for giving back to the community or doing something great: My life with the School District has been working with the Poor!!! Working class people at least know their place and know how to behave!! The poor should be forced to work to do something for their money!! THEY are my charity!! They are at least appreciative of getting things for free!! Thanks for stopping by. Have a read of this post: I thought I would work until 40, but found the love of the internet as an X Factor which allowed me to accelerate my early retirement by 6 years.
Here is a 1 year old passive income report which shows what I live off. Way late here, but nobody else has said it. Turns out both are just people! I know a lot of rich, male jerks myself. My wife is awesome and at least as thrifty as me. We are achieving FI together right about now actually and both enjoy our careers and plan to keep working in some reduced capacity.
What an amazingly negative article. And so wrong on all of the over-generalized points. Most friends of which I still have a rich network are impressed with how much younger my stress-diminished Me is. And this family issue? Who is likely maybe a few rare ones to retire so early as to make child-bearing an issue? My wife and I are totally savoring the extra time we have with grandchildren. What a sad approach to life, whether you are retired or not. I wouldnt worry about it so much. My position was eliminated two years ago must have been a sub-optimal performer. I eat healthier, get more exercise, more rest, feel much better and more relaxed.
It would have to be something really interesting though. Congrats on your retirement. Feeling a bit pessimistic these days? Ready to go back to working a 60 hour week and feeling you need to justify it to yourself? I am retired and enjoying it. We chose to retire—although not that early 53 and We find ways to continue to add to the world- like taking care of our family while everyone else is too busy working.
I think it will be ok. You can check on us around We will still, probably, be eating homegrown tomatoes and fishing on the lake! You seem to be defining early retirement as lounging in a hammock. Early retirement for me and my spouse meant financial independence and financial freedom. Free to do whatever we wanted without worrying about money.
Regarding the dangers of early retirement, re: If we change our mind, we can simply rehire ourselves and go back into business. The great thing about being self-employed, besides being the easiest way to amass wealth: Your boss loves you. It enhances your social life, no doubt about it. Raising children too expensive as early retirees? We have two children and we retired in our 40s. Doing so well with your finances that you can retire early is actually a boost to your self-esteem.
Being able to then turn your mind toward tackling the things that really, truly matter to you? Having time to learn? Having time to contribute to society? If you work because you want to work, are you selfish? I retired early because I succeeded — at my business and at managing my personal finances.
I now invest my time in my family, in learning, in doing, in creating, and in contributing to society. Early retirement or financial independence means more choices! Not being tied to a paycheck is a nice feeling. If you are running away from a crummy career or job, it will always be a bad decision. If your focus is truly on yourself, it is selfish. Goals should be formed in everyone involved because it affects everyone. The ideal age for retirement is around forty because you are young enough to still enjoy that freedom.
Who wants to wait until a more standard retirement age when you are in your late sixties.
60 Years Life/Adventure (2v Set)
The bull market may make more people financially independent because it raises wealth and encourages IPOs. I tried to cut through the early retirement mystery last week. I retired at 34 and am 39 now. I do not live on a shoestring budget. In fact I bought my dream car, a Lamborghini LP, this year. It was my present for driving crap cars most of my life. Give me a break. Their jealousy is too obvious. These days with so many people not getting enough hours or advancement, I wonder whether not retiring early when you can afford to may be the more selfish option?
Folks who keep themselves out of the applicant pool in order to give others a chance to earn a decent living may be the heroes. Simply marking time I think is a mistake for both you and for your employer. I think this is an excellent article with many well made points. I appreciate that you were willing to take an opposing view and provide a different perspective. Satisfaction and identity is often derived from doing productive, fulfilling work, and I concur that early retirement is oftentimes not the right solution towards achieving personal fulfillment.
Having given up a career to raise children, I often crave and desire defining myself outside of the home. Being able to do intellectually stimulating work and meaningfully contribute to society is now what I want. A sense of self respect and identity I believe comes from doing work that benefits others beyond oneself.
I also think one of the contributing problems is that many are stuck in dead-end jobs. However, those who quit early may never find their potential or fulfill their true calling in life. Thank you for a well written article and presenting many excellent points. I believe that all the previous comments have been harsh to the writer as I understand his objective in writing this article. This article is for people like myself, I am 19 years old and analyzing my financial options to endure a great lifestyle.
As I was thinking, yes you can retire early if you definitely hate working or you just feel that you have given it all you have and are tired of it and have no need to continue working because you have made enough money in the years you have worked. Now, for those like myself that are starting out, all you read about in other websites is how amazing it is to retire early and live an extremely frugal life.
Honestly who wants to live so frugal? You have nothing coming in, the consumerism guilt is in the back of your mind, the subtraction to your savings for retirement. As in my short years I have realized, as I am a very honest individual. No one likes the truth, they like to be told that every thing will be ok, that every thing will go as planned and if it does not there will be a way.