Retire Early?
Financial Freedom is a dream to most people.
An unrealized goal that some people get to experience and others struggle to attain. We are told from a very young age that we can only retire when we hit age 65 or even older!
This has been true for decades and the entire US of A accepts that and moves on.
This post, Dear Reader, will dispel that myth and give you a heads up on the real truth of the matter.
I will also show you my inspirations and who helped me to see the light. Trust me, there is a lot of light at the end of this tunnel!
As you know from our prior posts, we aren’t there yet, but something sparked us and put us on this path. We read from a few sources that early retirement wasn’t for the wealthy and rich alone.
It was for regular working stiffs like you and I.
The issue as we’ve addressed before, was that we as a people spend too much and save too little.
The reading and research I’ve done recently completely blows that notion up and gives us all a look at what Financial Freedom truly is.
Our Inspirations
It all started with a blog that stumbled upon completely by accident. His name is Mr. Money Mustache and his claim to fame is that he retired by the age of 31, before he and his wife had even had their first child!
While you may be thinking that the lottery does amazing things, you would be wrong, Dear Reader. Mr. Money Mustache retired after being in the workforce for 10 years and now has never looked back. The secret to his success lied with saving, not the 10% we are told to, but upwards of 66% of every check went into savings and investments.
While that seems ridiculous on the surface, Mr. Money Mustache searched for ways to stop spending and in areas that they had to spend, he cut those down significantly.
During their working years, they managed to live on way less than was coming in. They are frugal and that helps immensely, but it’s simply understanding that every dollar that comes in is precious.
Mr. Money Mustache says that it should hurt to spend! While I don’t necessarily agree with hurting, it should be a very conscious thing when that money leaves an account and goes somewhere else.
Our Plans
AM and I are planning to push the boundaries of how much we can save.
I am personally aiming for 50% of our income going into savings or investment accounts.
The only thing stopping that at this point is the immense debt that we are suffering with. So instead of putting that money away towards Financial Freedom, we are putting it towards debt.
Which is my advice for anyone in our position, make sure that your debt is paid first.
It’s the highest return you can make on that money, otherwise you could be giving someone else 20% returns on your cash.
As this blog goes on we’ll talk more about what we are doing to achieve our goals and what tips and tricks we’ve come across.
I really want everyone to be inspired to take control of your financial lives and realize that the only thing holding you back is yourself.
We can retire early, and we will have financial freedom, but it requires us to do things differently than we are taught.
I am including some links that started us down this wonderful road, so check them out then come back to journey with us!
Mr. Money Mustache – Blog about early retirement, including tips and tricks, and helping to live sustainable lives.
Early Retirement Extreme – Very good blog focusing on taking your savings to the next level and reaching Early Retirement.
JL Collins – An excellent blog about investing and financial well being, he originated a saying about saving “F- You” Money.
What’s Next?
Hopefully you are as inspired as we are to get started on this path.
A huge part of why we do this is for you, and making a difference in other folks lives means the world to me. Big dreams take big action and we wants to hear about your actions.
Our ultimate goal is Financial Independence, Retire Early in less than 11 years.
That means retired by 50 for me! Damn that sounds old, but I’ve wasted too much time and now is the best time to start. You are never too old to start!
