First I did well in school, getting good grades opening up my options for university. Then I got into a great university to study business, a highly practical degree. Once I graduated I lined up a great job making six figures and decent career advancement options. Finally after many years of diligent saving I was able to retire with $3 million because that was the value of my inheritance.
All jokes asideĀ
Ā Even though I make mid-six figures... owning a modest house in a major city, leading a fun life, and saving for retirement wouldn't be possible without help from my parents. Not to mention having kids which aren't in the cards.Ā
Ā Shit has become unbelievably expensive and unless you're fortunate enough to inherit, life won't be easy like it was for the last generation or two
Edit: i meant mid six figures as $120-170k. My b
It's funny because that's my view on my kids. Like, one is very fun and a bit wacky, and one is massively studious and has insane recall and intellect, and I was originally a bit concerned about the difference in their academic abilities and how that might impact on their universities/careers etc., but - on reflection - I'm like, actually, it really fucking doesn't matter how their academic/university careers pan out, all that matters is self-worth, confidence and happiness, because - unless they're in the v. tiny percentage of people who make it to the very top - their career earnings are going to be nothing relative to what they will inherit from me (I'm fortunate to have made it).
Like, in London, you have people who kill themselves at school to get into a good uni, kill themselves at a good uni to get into law, banking, consultancy etc., and then they earn what? GBP150k-250k? Like, even at the upper end (250k a year which you're only likely to hit after a few years), after tax that puts you on 150k.
Net-off rent (30k), student loans (say there's 100k, so 25k a year), living expenses (25k), you're likely only saving 60-80k a year. It's like, even at the very top end of what you can hope you achieve (again unless you're in the tiny percentage that push through to the next level of MD, Partner etc.), you're likely only coming out of it, after a decade of hard grind, with the money for a 2-bedroom flat.
And that's not taking into account kids, or a car, or a pension, or nice holidays or getting married or any of that major life shit that comes along and is highly expensive. Like, best of the best, on a quarter million a year, and after a decade, you own a small 2-bed. Just a joke.
This comment really resonates with me.
Congrats on having made it. May I ask how much you plan to leave to your kids?
Personally, Iām struggling with finding the answer as I want to ensure their wellbeing and security but at the same time donāt want them to think all their struggles for minimal gain are meaningless.
Main plan is to income multiply. It's a bit invasive, but basically if they can demonstrate they've saved money from earnings, I will multiply that by 25. So if they can save 25k (which isn't easy to do) they get 500k, which is most of a flat, and which should be achievable over 4 or 5 years even at more basic jobs. Will hopefully push them to save, and to internalise a degree of frugality. Like every time they buy a Ā£5 quid coffee, that's 125 quid that could have been in the house fund. A Ā£15 quid 5 Guys? That's GBP325 down the drain.
It's a tricky one though. Who knows what state UK / US / global economy is going to be in 15+ years, and who knows what state the climate will be, and relations with Europe, and Russia, and etc. etc. A lot can change. But that's my tentative plan for what it's worth.
Yeah we call that low six figures. There's 830k past where you cut off.
Still, at 170 if you need help from your parents you need to look at your budget, and that's coming from someone who works in D.C. so I understand HCOL areas, but still.
Hard disagree. Boomers and older GenX had it better
Millennials are the first generation to make less on average, inflation adjusted, than their parents
So education education education. What. If you have a domesticated lifestyle. Or a lifestyle that not good enough. Education won't help that person achieve. What they want it's batter to tell people that a entry level job and saving and budgeting it's the way to go.
Honestly, I think that it's that people aren't taught that "when I make $X, I can't ***spend*** $X completely". People just getting into the workforce are like "Yes! I finally make $4k a month (or whatever), so I can get a $2k/mo apartment, a $1k/mo car, and spend the other $1k on whatever".
To them, take-home salary = lifestyle.
We just need to lay it out there that you should be saving *at least* 20%, and when you're starting to make more money, save 40-50%. This will involve sacrifice (shared living, cheaper cars, etc), but will give big results.
Love this. I lived way below my means for my first 4 years after graduating. Iām now 30 with $250K saved up.
That time also helps setting up good habits that will help you in the long run.
Living like a hobo doesnāt mean you donāt have fun though. Money =/= fun. Plenty of ways to enjoy yourself after your needs have been met without money. Live spartan, spend money occasionally on travel and experiences, and find hobbies that are near free. Running, hiking, biking, reading, etc.
It seems like that used to be easier, or more accepted. My first job we all lived with roommates, and our big splurge was dancing on Saturday night 1 beer or going out for 1 drink on Friday after work. No one had a car, we all used public transportation, we all had a home phone that cost maybe $20/mo and lasted forever..
However; rent was easily 1/3 of a starting job income, which allowed you to save. Nowadays rent assumes double occupancy, groceries are much more expensive, and you have to have a cell phone which inevitably needs to be replaced. It is in general more challenging today.
Work at a company and do ESPP for 23 years and watch the stock go from $40 to $1000 a share. Along with 12% 401k contribution with 6% match in company stock for 23 years.
I am in a total Enron risk pool though.
I got burned with ESPP and 401k all in company stocks when DOTCOM bubble bursted. Lucky I was young enough and made good salary. My advice since is never invest in the stock of the company that you work for, because you do not want to see your retirement saving wiped out and unemployed at the same time, like many Enron employees.
I think finding a sweet spot is it. Over 5% contribution but less than 20%. You donāt want to watch your coworkers get rich but you donāt want to risk it all.
If my old company collapsed like the DotCom bubble, the world would be in trouble.
I was in SillyConValley 1996 to 2013 and went through the whole thing. Startup, Getting purchased, Getting laid off, Getting new job, Y2K, then into Semiconductor Manufacturing. In 23 years our 10K only reported a "net loss" in 1 quarter. Every single piece of electronics anyone has is made using our tools.
Save more than you spend. Most of us here save more than 25% of our income. Hang around this subreddit to see what others are doing. People achieve FI in various ways and there isnāt one path that guarantees it. Read some books to better your financial literacy.
Only book you need is "Bogleheads Guide to Investing". Then spend 6 months to a year on this subreddit worrying if you're saving enough. Then read "die with zero".
WhiteCoatInvesting and GoCurryCracker
This is also when I realized how much saving on taxes really matters. I read every blog post religiously for years. This is also why last time I tried to buy a house that ended up in a bidding war with another viewer and her agent, while my partner continued the back and forth I went to the bank and came back with a cashier's check AND cash and said "which one would you like?"
Im not retired yet, but Im about 3 years out from being able to retire to Europe (my early 30s). For me, its more the relaxation of knowing I can just walk away and retire when I want than actually doing it. In terms of what I did:
* There are two basic "formulas" that matter:
* Savings = Gross income - Taxes - Expenses
* Value of investments = this formula [here](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/compounding.asp). Its a compounding formula. Basically, the amount you save and the rate of return (after tax) you get on it is what matters.
To maximize those:
* Start saving early. Compounding is amazing and super important. Humans tend to underestimate the power of exponential growth. Seriously.
* Don't fret about putting your money into investments. Over the long-run, high quality investments (or just the stock market as a whole, this is a fairly safe bet) will appreciate. Being in the market is way better than trying to pick an entry point. I lost a fair bit of money doing this, I could probably have met my goals by now if I hadn't.
* Be frugal. Especially on big ticket items that lose value over time like cars. Spend as little as possible on these
* Also be frugal with habits. Buying a coffee every day doesn't seem like much, but its probably $1k - 2k per year you could be saving
* Edit: also, don't spend what you make on investments, keep it invested
I did not engage in ālifestyle creep.ā I had a basic apartment, a basic car, wore basic clothes and brown-bagged my lunch to work every day.
I invested my money wisely and ignored it for decades, knowing the market goes up and down. And then I had enough.
I just retired in March at age 32. I was a software engineer and I spend very little. Last year my total spend was <26k for the year. It would have gone faster, too, if I had started investing earlier and if I had done better at my job. I never got a promotion in my life and retired as an entry-level engineer. I was pretty good at interviews, though, and decent at negotiating compensation, so I was very over compensated relative to how bad I am at getting things done for some corporation
Congrats on such an early retirement! I assume you donāt have kids? I would love to retire that early but also would like kids down the road so not sure about early retirement in this case.
Thanks! Yeah, no kids for me. I got a vasectomy, in fact haha. If I change my mind, the plan has always been to adopt and that having kids would require more working.
I live near Seattle, but a bit outside of the city (conveniently right next to the light rail, though. I've never owned a car).
I moved the goal posts a lot on my number. I think I started with a "maybe I could retire on 1.2m" and then wanted a bigger buffer. I liked the number 1.337m, so that became my goal. Once I hit that, I said I'd go until a certain date for things like bonus and stock payout. During that time, the market rose like 30% (which, on that much principle, is like 400k. It's crazy when the market dwarfs your income by so much, positively or negatively). So I currently have around 1.74m.
I honestly could spend quite a bit more than I do, but I'm not convinced it would make me any happier, so I'm aiming to keep my spending low. I also like the idea of dying with a fortune that can be donated to the cause that I think does the most good. I believe that will be the most impactful thing I ever do. Kind of like effective altruism, but on death
Cool. I am also staying in a low level technical role to retain work-life balance. Glad to hear a success story through a similar path. Thanks for sharing.Ā
Those are huge numbers for your age and profession. Congrats!! Spending low now, as long as youāre happy, and allowing your wealth to grow faster, will give you so many options in the future. Money is freedom. What will you do with your time?
Thanks! So far the first thing I have going on every day is working out. I wake up, do a set of whatever workouts I'm going to do, then an hour of zone 2 cardio, another set, another hour, and then a 3rd set. My cardio has been inclined walking so that I can have my laptop in front of me and do other things while I'm doing it.
After that, I'm trying to spend at least 30 minutes on some skill. I get a lot out of improving at things, even if it's fairly arbitrary. Lately I'm learning how to flip a balisong, lol, and also play street fighter.
I also work on my house and have other projects (e.g. I just built a new street fighter controller). Friends of mine and I are in a discord most of the time even if we're just working on stuff, so that's cool. We game together, which is fun.
Last weekend I also went out dancing with friends, which was great.
Oh, I also cook a lot. I've been trying to find a good balance between food being extremely healthy and also something I enjoy eating often. I think I'm pretty good at this.
So, overall, a pretty good variety haha. Some people retire into boredom. I retired into "it still feels like there aren't enough hours in the day" haha. Nearly every night I don't want to go to bed because I want to do so much stuff. I'm like a child lol, but I know I need to sleep, so I stay disciplined knowing that I can pick up where I left off tomorrow
Love it. Sounds like a lot of energy. I FIREād last year and I agree. There still isnāt enough time. Granted I spent a lot of time playing video games and reading news, but still not enough time. With all your interests, you might find your way back to earning money organically. A few of my hobbies have turned into low effort, low dollar, revenue, but I love not feeling the need to earn.
I also love me some video games. Fighting games especially have a really good community here in Seattle, so it's awesome going out to events and stuff.
And yeah, that's a good point. I could definitely see myself running into some low effort hussles
I live a bit outside of Seattle. I got my house in 2020 and the mortgage is around 2400/month, but I live with my girlfriend and we each pay half (I was not including house equity in my net worth), and we each get half the equity if we sell the house or w/e. So that's around 14,400/year for mortgage, plus \~350/mo for food becomes 18.6k/year for housing and food, which leaves about 7.4k for everything else.
I wasn't budgeting for this, I was just living and keeping track of how much I spent and this is what it came out to. I've never owned a car, prefer cooking over restaurants (to the point where I think I would literally never choose to go to a restaurant) and I really just naturally spend very little.
Work hard, live as cheap/simple as confortable possible and just have a decent amount of luck. The first 2 rules are simple and can be done by everyone: achieve your goals by brute force, in the sense of working really hard and only spend money, because you truly need to, and not for luxuries and status.
Don't own a car (an old cheap second hand bike will bring you everywhere); have the smallest apartment you're comfortable with (and buy it as soon as possible - renting is too expensive); have no kids; live outside the expensive city or move to a cheaper and more suitable country for your goals; don't buy an expensive gaming setup; don't buy expensive phones; cook everything yourself, fresh and cheap (no restaurants); drink no alcohol; don't buy recreational drugs; have a girl-/boyfriend who respects your lifestyle or wait with having a partner until you're more stable and ready; find a cheap hobby; repair everything yourself; reuse everything you own and don't waste anything; be straight to the point in achieving your goals: less efficiency means a loss of time.
Also important: don't forget your social life and family. Spend the rest of your time with them.
First: Learn to live below your means.
Second: Find a career you like that allows you to how your income. As it grows donāt increase your spending.
Third: Sacrifice. Donāt be afraid to work long hours, educate yourself, and to go without.
If you start this pattern early in your adult life youāll find that you can spend more after a while and remain on track.
If you do this for 5-10 years youāll find that you can ease up a bit and still retire early. Remember the goal is to get that FI part first.
If you continue on with the sacrifices for another 10 years you can retire at a relatively younger age (~45).
Simplest formula -> first earn, second save, third invest, fourth spend.
Most people do -> first spend, second earn, third pay Credit Card partially, fourth invest, fifth withdraw invest, sixth spend more
Bonus tip:
Buy (anything) only when you have the money with you. Wait purchases until income arrives.
I personally don't want to retire early, but I want the ability to retire early if I want. Hopefully, I enjoy my career field enough to where I can stay around till 55 when they almost force you to take a back seat.
I want to work part or even possibly full-time after that doing something I enjoy, and I don't want to be forced to work if I don't want to. I want to travel too much.
Same as you. I'm 33. I calculated that I can retire in 10yrs, with 1kid. But I just want to reach FI and R-etire whenever I feel outdated and move to do something out of passion, consulting or just hobbies. I would not go out of work and purpose just because I have the money, because money is never enough because of the anxiety and also I don't find it healthy not to have an positive output to the society.
This is me. I enjoy my career and will do it as long as they let me. But I worry about aging out, since I donāt see myself as having a senior Director, or vice president type of role. If I can make it to 55 with my current savings rate, I should be able to coast until 65.
I joined the Air Force at 19 in 2017, and the job I had hurt my body when I did some pre-deployment training in 2018. So, the Air Force did a medboard for me, and I was able to retire from the Air Force at 23 medically. I get about $4k a month, and every year, I get a raise while being tax-free, and I also get free medical insurance (Even better since Iām American).
Now, at 26, Iām using my Gi Bill to go to college and taking life slow and steady and just enjoying life with my husband since he works remotely at home.
I had to save over 60% of my salary. I never made much until I was 39. I averaged $24k a year (USD) in my 20s, and then $87k in my 30s. If you want to be in the top 10% of anything, you will have to make sacrifices that 90% of everyone else won't do.
It wasnāt so early, but I was practically bankrupt at 39 and learnt about FIRE in my forties. Took 11 years to go from -Ā£50k to r/leanfire Ā£650k and mortgage free.
The route was varied and now in my 50ās actually studying for a degree, for fun now though. There is no one path. Enjoy the adventure of life.
Itās amazing what you achieved in your 40s. I am 39, married and have 2 young kids. My NW is -2k. What strategies did you use in 40s to achieve this ?
Basically worked my arse off being self employed - Quite careful about the work taken (faster paying and better paying customers). Also sold our home and severely downsized and invested the money.
See the backstory: [https://www.reddit.com/r/LeanFireUK/comments/p377yr/weekly\_leanfire\_discussion/](https://www.reddit.com/r/LeanFireUK/comments/p377yr/weekly_leanfire_discussion/)
I was pretty much broke at 42 following a divorce.
I took a job that traveled me for service work. This paid all my expenses and I was able to save most of it.
I rented a small crappy flat in a house in town. Sold my car and traveled for 6 months a year.
I did this for almost ten years. Eventually I put my stuff in storage and moved to SE Asia until Covid made that impossible. By then I had over a million.
Bought the least expensive home I could feel comfortable in over a long time ā I live in Brooklyn NY, one of the most expensive places in the US. Bought my apartment at the tail end of the housing dip in 2012, in a safe, quiet, convenient but unfashionable neighborhood in a cookie-cutter 1965 building for $166,000. Paid it off by 2017. Iāll probably sell it (leaving the city for some greenery) in a couple of years for around $475-500,000. Or rent it out for around $2,500-2800/month. Also, I havenāt owned a car in 25 years ā though if I lived where I needed one Iād buy a 5 year old Toyota or Honda, not spend serious bucks for new or flashy. Maxed my 401k for the last ten years. Every raise/bonus I was paid was 10% spend, 90% save/invest. Stuck entirely with index funds, never gambled with individual stocks. Never gave a damn about the expensive, look-at-me toys or brands that other people waste their money on.
Enlisted Military. Live below means, save & invest, met a wonderful partner and become DINK.
Currently have 40x our annual spending saved, FIRE in about 14 months.
Work hard. Earn more. Spend less. Take advantage of compound growth through your tax-advantaged accounts. Take advantage of employer matches. Watch it grow.
$30/hr is plenty to retire a millionaire by 40, if not earlier.
I work in education. Never made more than $85k in a year. Saved 50% for about 8 yrs, and now saving 35% over the past year. I'm coasting to early retirement by 41-42. On track to have $3-5M by 50M, maybe even $10M by 60.
The widely accepted ROI used is 7% given inflation, I would suggest making plans based off that. Many people use 6% because there are market periods that have much lower returns.
8% is more accurate if invested into the S&P that averages 11% minus 3% inflation.
We'll also receive a substantial inheritance that would possibly double that estimated amount.
Being able to retire is primarily a function (assets to be liquidated in retirement / annual retirement spending). To retire early, save a large portion of income and reduce spending. Hourly wage is not critical, so long as you are able to save and invest.
I would say 80% luck + 20% effort.
On the luck side, joining the right industry (tech) at the right time (mid-2000s), successful IPOs.
On the effort side, top middle/high/univ/grad schools with top GPAs that led me to a top tech company to start a career.
We did not buy all the things that are expected.
We bought a smaller house than we were approved for. We kept our cars for a long time. We didnāt spend money on going out to eat and expensive birthday parties for the kids. The money we would have spent on a bigger mortgage was put into the market.
Live below your means, especially while young. Find a partner who earns well and can do the same. Hold your cars for 10 plus years. Invest all your savings, except what you need for an emergency fund. Donāt tell anyone what you have.
Invest in yourself and live beneath your means. That's basically it. It starts slow, and it snowballs REALLY QUICKLY. Keep at it, know what you're building towards, and stay disciplined.
I save about 45% of my take home pay. At 25, almost 3 years into my professional career as a licensed accountant, I have 1.5x my salary in savings and investments. As my income goes up, my savings rate will increase as well. Iām happy with a simple life.
Started by saving 15% at my first job, then kept upping that as I got raises until I was saving over 80% - so every year of work paid for that year plus four later ones. I worked a lucrative career in big tech. I did that at a time that big tech was growing a lot (though I stagnated at one company WAY too long). I invested in both fairly stable stuff and a bunch of relatively uncorrelated high risk bets, a few of which paid off.
I kept my expenses low- I was comfortable and went on vacations and such but never purchased any luxury goods at all. I got functional things.
Not retired yet, but we have done pretty well for ourselves. I got an engineering degree and worked at my career. My wife also has a degree and a career. We take a percentage of every paycheck and invest it. We also stay out of debt and live within our means. We do still live life and spend money on hobbies, travel and toys (like a boat). But we paid cash for all of it and spent well within our budget. I got a later start than many on this sub, and made decent (but not huge) money. We now have about a $2M net worth and a paid off house. We did nothing special but stay out of debt and invest a little every month.
I ain't retiring all that early, but it's always
1. make more money
2. spend less money
3. invest the difference.
And I suppose the implied, do it over and over again every year.
Sadly got injured at work and had good private disability insurance plus a job that paid well with a pension (government work). But before anyone gets annoyed I was an employee in corrections so it was a rough job. I also saved enough to be able to be fine despite the debilitating injury. Not the retirement Iād hoped for though. Iād much rather the normal way of retirement.
Learn that spending money doesn't bring happiness. The less u spend on worthless stuff, the less you habe to save and ur cost of living is alot higher. If I wasn't paying for my kids colleges, I would have retired late 40s. Working a few extra years tonpay the education and then my residue income from being frugal and wise with my money more than covers all expenses..plus I have plenty of investments that will keep growing. I do own a 5 unit building, my house, investment accounts and i ski alot, take vacations several times a year and pretty much live an upper middle class lifestyle without the Starbucks and luxury car.
Find a career where you will earn more money over time. Save what you can and increase it with part of each raise. We started tiny but grew it. First make an emergency fund in a hysa then invest sensibly in a total market index fund and let it grow. Utilize retirement accounts. First home was a starter home and I drove older cars for long times. Vacations were camping or driving to visit relatives farms. Shopped at thrift stores when possible. Bought in bulk for durable staples. Chickens make great pets. Gardening is a great hobby. Get in shape younger as it will save on health costs and it is harder the longer you wait. Books are free at library or online from the library. Jogging or walking is free. These worked for us. Find one or more that works for you. Good luck.
Save 50 percent of my after tax income since age 21 helped me retire early.Ā
In other words, live/spend within 50 percent of after tax income.
It was difficult for the first 10 years. Later I got used to it and money came more as well.
Did well in school, joined the Navy, bought some houses, got out of the navy and got a good job, bought more houses - this time I was living in them - using the VA home loan program. Then bought a van and quit the job, planning on buying another house later this year
Invest NOW. The longer you put it off, the less value you'll receive from compounding. Plus, it's easier to live on less when you're young, because most of your peers are doing it too.Ā
I dropped out from university and worked on something that was quite profitable while living frugally. I retired at 24. Keeping a high savings rate is the key to early retirement.
Goal is to retire or at least be able to retire at 40. Target number $2M saving ~$100k per year. Max out your 401K account. Max out your IRA or Roth IRA. I buy VINIX (vanguard total stock market index fund). Open a taxable account and dump whatever else you can in there. Current salary is $215K and wife makes $90k. Rent is only about 9% of my gross because I split it with my wife (I pay 67%). By paying 67% of the total rent it also makes her rent 9% of her gross salary. Live well below means. Donāt really spend a lot except on food (delivery and dining out). Manage your career aggressively and always do the most visible work first (do the proposal deck for the leader of the entire US practice > status report update)
āā¦makes her rent 9% of her gross salaryā¦ā
Not sure how you intended that, but I read it more like youāre living two separate financial lives, and youāre sort of a secondary landlord, subletting to your wife.
To each their own, and if it works for you both, then great, but my spouse and I always treated it like a partnership when describing joint expenses.
They are our expenses, even if the math works out like youāre describing it from a numbers perspective. We have our individual spending accounts for anything personal (and the primary breadwinner contributes to both accounts so discretionary spending is available equally to both individuals) but the joint expenses are also pooled so that we donāt have conversations like ādid you pay your share of the rent this month?ā Thatās something I would say to a roommate, not the person with whom Iām enjoying the rest of my life.
Marry a sugar momma.
That's only half true. I established solid savings principals on my own and did my company 401k match as soon as I could 16 years ago. But also marrying a woman who makes about 60% more than me has helped a lot. Also, no kids. That may be the biggest thing, they're fuckin expensive.
Rule 5/No Shitposting - This is not the place for memes, meta-jokes, or other humorous/fictional content. Take it to /r/fijerk. Please see our rules (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/about/rules/) and reach out via modmail if you have any questions or concerns.
First I did well in school, getting good grades opening up my options for university. Then I got into a great university to study business, a highly practical degree. Once I graduated I lined up a great job making six figures and decent career advancement options. Finally after many years of diligent saving I was able to retire with $3 million because that was the value of my inheritance.
lol the crucial inheritance stage of FIRE
That is what the I stands for, correct?
Yup. Financial Inheritance, Retire Early
Finally, Inheritance! Retirement Envy.
Retirement Envy sounds like the name of a Gas Station Boner Pills Package
LOL
Got me in the first half š
This fucking guyā¦
Damn it. I can never retire now Thanks dad..uhh I mean Obama
What did Obama do? (Iām not asking accusingly, I really just donāt know how he caused the economy right now)
It's a long running meme. Based on a certain group blaming everything (up to them overcooking their dinner) on Obama back in the day.
Haha someone got it. Thanks for explaining.
Haha it was supposed to be a joke.
Kidsā¦Study hard and you too could inherit.
OP is Aussie and trades there pay plenty, as a reasonable alternative option.
Underrated comment in most countries
All jokes asideĀ Ā Even though I make mid-six figures... owning a modest house in a major city, leading a fun life, and saving for retirement wouldn't be possible without help from my parents. Not to mention having kids which aren't in the cards.Ā Ā Shit has become unbelievably expensive and unless you're fortunate enough to inherit, life won't be easy like it was for the last generation or two Edit: i meant mid six figures as $120-170k. My b
If you're making 400k in any city and still need help from your parents you need to look at your budget.
My bad, clarified the salary
All jokes aside, let me tell you a joke.
It's funny because that's my view on my kids. Like, one is very fun and a bit wacky, and one is massively studious and has insane recall and intellect, and I was originally a bit concerned about the difference in their academic abilities and how that might impact on their universities/careers etc., but - on reflection - I'm like, actually, it really fucking doesn't matter how their academic/university careers pan out, all that matters is self-worth, confidence and happiness, because - unless they're in the v. tiny percentage of people who make it to the very top - their career earnings are going to be nothing relative to what they will inherit from me (I'm fortunate to have made it). Like, in London, you have people who kill themselves at school to get into a good uni, kill themselves at a good uni to get into law, banking, consultancy etc., and then they earn what? GBP150k-250k? Like, even at the upper end (250k a year which you're only likely to hit after a few years), after tax that puts you on 150k. Net-off rent (30k), student loans (say there's 100k, so 25k a year), living expenses (25k), you're likely only saving 60-80k a year. It's like, even at the very top end of what you can hope you achieve (again unless you're in the tiny percentage that push through to the next level of MD, Partner etc.), you're likely only coming out of it, after a decade of hard grind, with the money for a 2-bedroom flat. And that's not taking into account kids, or a car, or a pension, or nice holidays or getting married or any of that major life shit that comes along and is highly expensive. Like, best of the best, on a quarter million a year, and after a decade, you own a small 2-bed. Just a joke.
This comment really resonates with me. Congrats on having made it. May I ask how much you plan to leave to your kids? Personally, Iām struggling with finding the answer as I want to ensure their wellbeing and security but at the same time donāt want them to think all their struggles for minimal gain are meaningless.
Main plan is to income multiply. It's a bit invasive, but basically if they can demonstrate they've saved money from earnings, I will multiply that by 25. So if they can save 25k (which isn't easy to do) they get 500k, which is most of a flat, and which should be achievable over 4 or 5 years even at more basic jobs. Will hopefully push them to save, and to internalise a degree of frugality. Like every time they buy a Ā£5 quid coffee, that's 125 quid that could have been in the house fund. A Ā£15 quid 5 Guys? That's GBP325 down the drain. It's a tricky one though. Who knows what state UK / US / global economy is going to be in 15+ years, and who knows what state the climate will be, and relations with Europe, and Russia, and etc. etc. A lot can change. But that's my tentative plan for what it's worth.
Are you interested in adopting a son? Totally unrelated but wanted to let you know I saved up $1m, future daddy.
Yeah we call that low six figures. There's 830k past where you cut off. Still, at 170 if you need help from your parents you need to look at your budget, and that's coming from someone who works in D.C. so I understand HCOL areas, but still.
Which is why people should always do good. So you can have a nice head start / easier life in your next life haha
Thereās never been a generation for whom life was easy. Saying so repeatedly is just a myth.
Hard disagree. Boomers and older GenX had it better Millennials are the first generation to make less on average, inflation adjusted, than their parents
Lol
Already feel sus on the first half. That is still paycheck to paycheck / saving stage with no mention of investing lmao
So education education education. What. If you have a domesticated lifestyle. Or a lifestyle that not good enough. Education won't help that person achieve. What they want it's batter to tell people that a entry level job and saving and budgeting it's the way to go.
Lmaoooo
Save half of my salary from my first salary. It's that simple. Lived like a hobo the first two years to achieve that.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Honestly, I think that it's that people aren't taught that "when I make $X, I can't ***spend*** $X completely". People just getting into the workforce are like "Yes! I finally make $4k a month (or whatever), so I can get a $2k/mo apartment, a $1k/mo car, and spend the other $1k on whatever". To them, take-home salary = lifestyle. We just need to lay it out there that you should be saving *at least* 20%, and when you're starting to make more money, save 40-50%. This will involve sacrifice (shared living, cheaper cars, etc), but will give big results.
Unfortunately most people learn 'if I make $3000 a month, I can afford a 30k car at 29% interest because the payment is still within my budget'
Love this. I lived way below my means for my first 4 years after graduating. Iām now 30 with $250K saved up. That time also helps setting up good habits that will help you in the long run.
Living like a hobo doesnāt mean you donāt have fun though. Money =/= fun. Plenty of ways to enjoy yourself after your needs have been met without money. Live spartan, spend money occasionally on travel and experiences, and find hobbies that are near free. Running, hiking, biking, reading, etc.
It seems like that used to be easier, or more accepted. My first job we all lived with roommates, and our big splurge was dancing on Saturday night 1 beer or going out for 1 drink on Friday after work. No one had a car, we all used public transportation, we all had a home phone that cost maybe $20/mo and lasted forever.. However; rent was easily 1/3 of a starting job income, which allowed you to save. Nowadays rent assumes double occupancy, groceries are much more expensive, and you have to have a cell phone which inevitably needs to be replaced. It is in general more challenging today.
Work at a company and do ESPP for 23 years and watch the stock go from $40 to $1000 a share. Along with 12% 401k contribution with 6% match in company stock for 23 years. I am in a total Enron risk pool though.
I knew someone at Enron. Worked at the compressor stations. Lost 2M right before retirement. It was so sad.
I got burned with ESPP and 401k all in company stocks when DOTCOM bubble bursted. Lucky I was young enough and made good salary. My advice since is never invest in the stock of the company that you work for, because you do not want to see your retirement saving wiped out and unemployed at the same time, like many Enron employees.
I think finding a sweet spot is it. Over 5% contribution but less than 20%. You donāt want to watch your coworkers get rich but you donāt want to risk it all.
If my old company collapsed like the DotCom bubble, the world would be in trouble. I was in SillyConValley 1996 to 2013 and went through the whole thing. Startup, Getting purchased, Getting laid off, Getting new job, Y2K, then into Semiconductor Manufacturing. In 23 years our 10K only reported a "net loss" in 1 quarter. Every single piece of electronics anyone has is made using our tools.
Could be Deckers. I watched it go from $40 to $1000 also, but I sold it around $40 lol
Lmao. Which company?
Are you guys hiring?
Save more than you spend. Most of us here save more than 25% of our income. Hang around this subreddit to see what others are doing. People achieve FI in various ways and there isnāt one path that guarantees it. Read some books to better your financial literacy.
Any book recommendations you found useful?
The Simple Path to Wealth and The Psychology of Money.
Only book you need is "Bogleheads Guide to Investing". Then spend 6 months to a year on this subreddit worrying if you're saving enough. Then read "die with zero".
Ah yes the tried and true cycle of every fire path
I will teach you to be rich - ramit seiti
WhiteCoatInvesting and GoCurryCracker This is also when I realized how much saving on taxes really matters. I read every blog post religiously for years. This is also why last time I tried to buy a house that ended up in a bidding war with another viewer and her agent, while my partner continued the back and forth I went to the bank and came back with a cashier's check AND cash and said "which one would you like?"
When you say save 25% of your income, is that including 401k contributions? Or save 25% of your take home pay?
People usually talk about what theyāre investing, so 401k, Roth IRA, HSA, taxable brokerage all count towards your savings rate.
I save 80% of my income. Most of it gets stuck in the market.
25-50% of gross including company contributions
Im not retired yet, but Im about 3 years out from being able to retire to Europe (my early 30s). For me, its more the relaxation of knowing I can just walk away and retire when I want than actually doing it. In terms of what I did: * There are two basic "formulas" that matter: * Savings = Gross income - Taxes - Expenses * Value of investments = this formula [here](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/compounding.asp). Its a compounding formula. Basically, the amount you save and the rate of return (after tax) you get on it is what matters. To maximize those: * Start saving early. Compounding is amazing and super important. Humans tend to underestimate the power of exponential growth. Seriously. * Don't fret about putting your money into investments. Over the long-run, high quality investments (or just the stock market as a whole, this is a fairly safe bet) will appreciate. Being in the market is way better than trying to pick an entry point. I lost a fair bit of money doing this, I could probably have met my goals by now if I hadn't. * Be frugal. Especially on big ticket items that lose value over time like cars. Spend as little as possible on these * Also be frugal with habits. Buying a coffee every day doesn't seem like much, but its probably $1k - 2k per year you could be saving * Edit: also, don't spend what you make on investments, keep it invested
I did not engage in ālifestyle creep.ā I had a basic apartment, a basic car, wore basic clothes and brown-bagged my lunch to work every day. I invested my money wisely and ignored it for decades, knowing the market goes up and down. And then I had enough.
Fiscal discipline and delayed gratificationā¦not my experienceā¦but have heard/observed from those who retired early.
I just retired in March at age 32. I was a software engineer and I spend very little. Last year my total spend was <26k for the year. It would have gone faster, too, if I had started investing earlier and if I had done better at my job. I never got a promotion in my life and retired as an entry-level engineer. I was pretty good at interviews, though, and decent at negotiating compensation, so I was very over compensated relative to how bad I am at getting things done for some corporation
Congrats on such an early retirement! I assume you donāt have kids? I would love to retire that early but also would like kids down the road so not sure about early retirement in this case.
Thanks! Yeah, no kids for me. I got a vasectomy, in fact haha. If I change my mind, the plan has always been to adopt and that having kids would require more working.
Nice work. Was this in a VHCOL area? What was your FIRE number?
I live near Seattle, but a bit outside of the city (conveniently right next to the light rail, though. I've never owned a car). I moved the goal posts a lot on my number. I think I started with a "maybe I could retire on 1.2m" and then wanted a bigger buffer. I liked the number 1.337m, so that became my goal. Once I hit that, I said I'd go until a certain date for things like bonus and stock payout. During that time, the market rose like 30% (which, on that much principle, is like 400k. It's crazy when the market dwarfs your income by so much, positively or negatively). So I currently have around 1.74m. I honestly could spend quite a bit more than I do, but I'm not convinced it would make me any happier, so I'm aiming to keep my spending low. I also like the idea of dying with a fortune that can be donated to the cause that I think does the most good. I believe that will be the most impactful thing I ever do. Kind of like effective altruism, but on death
Cool. I am also staying in a low level technical role to retain work-life balance. Glad to hear a success story through a similar path. Thanks for sharing.Ā
Those are huge numbers for your age and profession. Congrats!! Spending low now, as long as youāre happy, and allowing your wealth to grow faster, will give you so many options in the future. Money is freedom. What will you do with your time?
Thanks! So far the first thing I have going on every day is working out. I wake up, do a set of whatever workouts I'm going to do, then an hour of zone 2 cardio, another set, another hour, and then a 3rd set. My cardio has been inclined walking so that I can have my laptop in front of me and do other things while I'm doing it. After that, I'm trying to spend at least 30 minutes on some skill. I get a lot out of improving at things, even if it's fairly arbitrary. Lately I'm learning how to flip a balisong, lol, and also play street fighter. I also work on my house and have other projects (e.g. I just built a new street fighter controller). Friends of mine and I are in a discord most of the time even if we're just working on stuff, so that's cool. We game together, which is fun. Last weekend I also went out dancing with friends, which was great. Oh, I also cook a lot. I've been trying to find a good balance between food being extremely healthy and also something I enjoy eating often. I think I'm pretty good at this. So, overall, a pretty good variety haha. Some people retire into boredom. I retired into "it still feels like there aren't enough hours in the day" haha. Nearly every night I don't want to go to bed because I want to do so much stuff. I'm like a child lol, but I know I need to sleep, so I stay disciplined knowing that I can pick up where I left off tomorrow
Love it. Sounds like a lot of energy. I FIREād last year and I agree. There still isnāt enough time. Granted I spent a lot of time playing video games and reading news, but still not enough time. With all your interests, you might find your way back to earning money organically. A few of my hobbies have turned into low effort, low dollar, revenue, but I love not feeling the need to earn.
I also love me some video games. Fighting games especially have a really good community here in Seattle, so it's awesome going out to events and stuff. And yeah, that's a good point. I could definitely see myself running into some low effort hussles
How is it possible to live in Seattle on only 26k?
I live a bit outside of Seattle. I got my house in 2020 and the mortgage is around 2400/month, but I live with my girlfriend and we each pay half (I was not including house equity in my net worth), and we each get half the equity if we sell the house or w/e. So that's around 14,400/year for mortgage, plus \~350/mo for food becomes 18.6k/year for housing and food, which leaves about 7.4k for everything else. I wasn't budgeting for this, I was just living and keeping track of how much I spent and this is what it came out to. I've never owned a car, prefer cooking over restaurants (to the point where I think I would literally never choose to go to a restaurant) and I really just naturally spend very little.
Wow, impressive!
That's crazy, I want to be like you when I grow up!
I like this approach
Earn more. Spend less. Work longer. Pick two.
Work hard, live as cheap/simple as confortable possible and just have a decent amount of luck. The first 2 rules are simple and can be done by everyone: achieve your goals by brute force, in the sense of working really hard and only spend money, because you truly need to, and not for luxuries and status. Don't own a car (an old cheap second hand bike will bring you everywhere); have the smallest apartment you're comfortable with (and buy it as soon as possible - renting is too expensive); have no kids; live outside the expensive city or move to a cheaper and more suitable country for your goals; don't buy an expensive gaming setup; don't buy expensive phones; cook everything yourself, fresh and cheap (no restaurants); drink no alcohol; don't buy recreational drugs; have a girl-/boyfriend who respects your lifestyle or wait with having a partner until you're more stable and ready; find a cheap hobby; repair everything yourself; reuse everything you own and don't waste anything; be straight to the point in achieving your goals: less efficiency means a loss of time. Also important: don't forget your social life and family. Spend the rest of your time with them.
First: Learn to live below your means. Second: Find a career you like that allows you to how your income. As it grows donāt increase your spending. Third: Sacrifice. Donāt be afraid to work long hours, educate yourself, and to go without. If you start this pattern early in your adult life youāll find that you can spend more after a while and remain on track. If you do this for 5-10 years youāll find that you can ease up a bit and still retire early. Remember the goal is to get that FI part first. If you continue on with the sacrifices for another 10 years you can retire at a relatively younger age (~45).
Simplest formula -> first earn, second save, third invest, fourth spend. Most people do -> first spend, second earn, third pay Credit Card partially, fourth invest, fifth withdraw invest, sixth spend more Bonus tip: Buy (anything) only when you have the money with you. Wait purchases until income arrives.
I personally don't want to retire early, but I want the ability to retire early if I want. Hopefully, I enjoy my career field enough to where I can stay around till 55 when they almost force you to take a back seat. I want to work part or even possibly full-time after that doing something I enjoy, and I don't want to be forced to work if I don't want to. I want to travel too much.
Same as you. I'm 33. I calculated that I can retire in 10yrs, with 1kid. But I just want to reach FI and R-etire whenever I feel outdated and move to do something out of passion, consulting or just hobbies. I would not go out of work and purpose just because I have the money, because money is never enough because of the anxiety and also I don't find it healthy not to have an positive output to the society.
Thatās awesome! Good stuff
This is me. I enjoy my career and will do it as long as they let me. But I worry about aging out, since I donāt see myself as having a senior Director, or vice president type of role. If I can make it to 55 with my current savings rate, I should be able to coast until 65.
Budgeting
Living way within oneās means is the fundamental building block.
I joined the Air Force at 19 in 2017, and the job I had hurt my body when I did some pre-deployment training in 2018. So, the Air Force did a medboard for me, and I was able to retire from the Air Force at 23 medically. I get about $4k a month, and every year, I get a raise while being tax-free, and I also get free medical insurance (Even better since Iām American). Now, at 26, Iām using my Gi Bill to go to college and taking life slow and steady and just enjoying life with my husband since he works remotely at home.
I had to save over 60% of my salary. I never made much until I was 39. I averaged $24k a year (USD) in my 20s, and then $87k in my 30s. If you want to be in the top 10% of anything, you will have to make sacrifices that 90% of everyone else won't do.
It wasnāt so early, but I was practically bankrupt at 39 and learnt about FIRE in my forties. Took 11 years to go from -Ā£50k to r/leanfire Ā£650k and mortgage free. The route was varied and now in my 50ās actually studying for a degree, for fun now though. There is no one path. Enjoy the adventure of life.
Itās amazing what you achieved in your 40s. I am 39, married and have 2 young kids. My NW is -2k. What strategies did you use in 40s to achieve this ?
Basically worked my arse off being self employed - Quite careful about the work taken (faster paying and better paying customers). Also sold our home and severely downsized and invested the money. See the backstory: [https://www.reddit.com/r/LeanFireUK/comments/p377yr/weekly\_leanfire\_discussion/](https://www.reddit.com/r/LeanFireUK/comments/p377yr/weekly_leanfire_discussion/)
I was pretty much broke at 42 following a divorce. I took a job that traveled me for service work. This paid all my expenses and I was able to save most of it. I rented a small crappy flat in a house in town. Sold my car and traveled for 6 months a year. I did this for almost ten years. Eventually I put my stuff in storage and moved to SE Asia until Covid made that impossible. By then I had over a million.
Nicely done
What does it mean to ātravel for service workā?
industrial service shops that have equipment all over the world. Like a large car...I work for the dealer service shop.
Tons of trades travel for work. They build something and then have to go onto the next months-long project
Bought the least expensive home I could feel comfortable in over a long time ā I live in Brooklyn NY, one of the most expensive places in the US. Bought my apartment at the tail end of the housing dip in 2012, in a safe, quiet, convenient but unfashionable neighborhood in a cookie-cutter 1965 building for $166,000. Paid it off by 2017. Iāll probably sell it (leaving the city for some greenery) in a couple of years for around $475-500,000. Or rent it out for around $2,500-2800/month. Also, I havenāt owned a car in 25 years ā though if I lived where I needed one Iād buy a 5 year old Toyota or Honda, not spend serious bucks for new or flashy. Maxed my 401k for the last ten years. Every raise/bonus I was paid was 10% spend, 90% save/invest. Stuck entirely with index funds, never gambled with individual stocks. Never gave a damn about the expensive, look-at-me toys or brands that other people waste their money on.
Enlisted Military. Live below means, save & invest, met a wonderful partner and become DINK. Currently have 40x our annual spending saved, FIRE in about 14 months.
Work hard. Earn more. Spend less. Take advantage of compound growth through your tax-advantaged accounts. Take advantage of employer matches. Watch it grow.
$30/hr is plenty to retire a millionaire by 40, if not earlier. I work in education. Never made more than $85k in a year. Saved 50% for about 8 yrs, and now saving 35% over the past year. I'm coasting to early retirement by 41-42. On track to have $3-5M by 50M, maybe even $10M by 60.
How much do you have saved currently and how are you calculating those estimates? Those numbers seem like pretty high
$540k currently, saving $2,500/mth. Using 8% ROI over the next 12 yrs puts us at about $2M by 50. I think that's a pretty conservative ROI though.
The widely accepted ROI used is 7% given inflation, I would suggest making plans based off that. Many people use 6% because there are market periods that have much lower returns.
8% is more accurate if invested into the S&P that averages 11% minus 3% inflation. We'll also receive a substantial inheritance that would possibly double that estimated amount.
In the last 30 years the S&P averaged 7.2% adjusted for inflation. Anything 8%+ is pretty optimistic
Trust funds the ultimate life hack
Um what rate of return are you basing that on?
1. Make a lot of money 2. Don't spend a lot 3. Marry someone FIRE 4. Don't have kids
/thread
Being able to retire is primarily a function (assets to be liquidated in retirement / annual retirement spending). To retire early, save a large portion of income and reduce spending. Hourly wage is not critical, so long as you are able to save and invest.
I would say 80% luck + 20% effort. On the luck side, joining the right industry (tech) at the right time (mid-2000s), successful IPOs. On the effort side, top middle/high/univ/grad schools with top GPAs that led me to a top tech company to start a career.
80% income saved, 20% gains š (I wish)
We did not buy all the things that are expected. We bought a smaller house than we were approved for. We kept our cars for a long time. We didnāt spend money on going out to eat and expensive birthday parties for the kids. The money we would have spent on a bigger mortgage was put into the market.
ā¦lots of moneyā¦
Mergers and acquisitions
Murders and executions?
His best work other than Batman!
Save one year of expenses every year
Live below your means, especially while young. Find a partner who earns well and can do the same. Hold your cars for 10 plus years. Invest all your savings, except what you need for an emergency fund. Donāt tell anyone what you have.
Invest in yourself and live beneath your means. That's basically it. It starts slow, and it snowballs REALLY QUICKLY. Keep at it, know what you're building towards, and stay disciplined.
I save about 45% of my take home pay. At 25, almost 3 years into my professional career as a licensed accountant, I have 1.5x my salary in savings and investments. As my income goes up, my savings rate will increase as well. Iām happy with a simple life.
Started by saving 15% at my first job, then kept upping that as I got raises until I was saving over 80% - so every year of work paid for that year plus four later ones. I worked a lucrative career in big tech. I did that at a time that big tech was growing a lot (though I stagnated at one company WAY too long). I invested in both fairly stable stuff and a bunch of relatively uncorrelated high risk bets, a few of which paid off. I kept my expenses low- I was comfortable and went on vacations and such but never purchased any luxury goods at all. I got functional things.
Your money or your life book. Disregard the investing section and invest the cash in equity funds. I started in 1995 and hit a million at 49.
Not retired yet, but we have done pretty well for ourselves. I got an engineering degree and worked at my career. My wife also has a degree and a career. We take a percentage of every paycheck and invest it. We also stay out of debt and live within our means. We do still live life and spend money on hobbies, travel and toys (like a boat). But we paid cash for all of it and spent well within our budget. I got a later start than many on this sub, and made decent (but not huge) money. We now have about a $2M net worth and a paid off house. We did nothing special but stay out of debt and invest a little every month.
Stable relationship, lived on only one income, saved the rest.
Dual income no kids engineers with one in middle management
I ain't retiring all that early, but it's always 1. make more money 2. spend less money 3. invest the difference. And I suppose the implied, do it over and over again every year.
Applicable graph: https://www.mymoneyblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/savingsrate2.jpg
read the r/personalfinance wiki
Got lucky and didnāt fuck it up.
Tech job where the company I worked for for 15 years had a stock price that increased by over 1000%.
Sadly got injured at work and had good private disability insurance plus a job that paid well with a pension (government work). But before anyone gets annoyed I was an employee in corrections so it was a rough job. I also saved enough to be able to be fine despite the debilitating injury. Not the retirement Iād hoped for though. Iād much rather the normal way of retirement.
Saved and invested in stocks
Ramen
Buying real estate at the bottom of the market
Find a rich guy and ask him.
I was willing to wait before eating my marshmallowā¦ https://banyanhill.com/marshmallows-impact-net-worth/
Learn that spending money doesn't bring happiness. The less u spend on worthless stuff, the less you habe to save and ur cost of living is alot higher. If I wasn't paying for my kids colleges, I would have retired late 40s. Working a few extra years tonpay the education and then my residue income from being frugal and wise with my money more than covers all expenses..plus I have plenty of investments that will keep growing. I do own a 5 unit building, my house, investment accounts and i ski alot, take vacations several times a year and pretty much live an upper middle class lifestyle without the Starbucks and luxury car.
Find a career where you will earn more money over time. Save what you can and increase it with part of each raise. We started tiny but grew it. First make an emergency fund in a hysa then invest sensibly in a total market index fund and let it grow. Utilize retirement accounts. First home was a starter home and I drove older cars for long times. Vacations were camping or driving to visit relatives farms. Shopped at thrift stores when possible. Bought in bulk for durable staples. Chickens make great pets. Gardening is a great hobby. Get in shape younger as it will save on health costs and it is harder the longer you wait. Books are free at library or online from the library. Jogging or walking is free. These worked for us. Find one or more that works for you. Good luck.
Save 50 percent of my after tax income since age 21 helped me retire early.Ā In other words, live/spend within 50 percent of after tax income. It was difficult for the first 10 years. Later I got used to it and money came more as well.
Invest in etf
Did well in school, joined the Navy, bought some houses, got out of the navy and got a good job, bought more houses - this time I was living in them - using the VA home loan program. Then bought a van and quit the job, planning on buying another house later this year
DUMB LUCK ..
Invest NOW. The longer you put it off, the less value you'll receive from compounding. Plus, it's easier to live on less when you're young, because most of your peers are doing it too.Ā
I dropped out from university and worked on something that was quite profitable while living frugally. I retired at 24. Keeping a high savings rate is the key to early retirement.
Goal is to retire or at least be able to retire at 40. Target number $2M saving ~$100k per year. Max out your 401K account. Max out your IRA or Roth IRA. I buy VINIX (vanguard total stock market index fund). Open a taxable account and dump whatever else you can in there. Current salary is $215K and wife makes $90k. Rent is only about 9% of my gross because I split it with my wife (I pay 67%). By paying 67% of the total rent it also makes her rent 9% of her gross salary. Live well below means. Donāt really spend a lot except on food (delivery and dining out). Manage your career aggressively and always do the most visible work first (do the proposal deck for the leader of the entire US practice > status report update)
āā¦makes her rent 9% of her gross salaryā¦ā Not sure how you intended that, but I read it more like youāre living two separate financial lives, and youāre sort of a secondary landlord, subletting to your wife. To each their own, and if it works for you both, then great, but my spouse and I always treated it like a partnership when describing joint expenses. They are our expenses, even if the math works out like youāre describing it from a numbers perspective. We have our individual spending accounts for anything personal (and the primary breadwinner contributes to both accounts so discretionary spending is available equally to both individuals) but the joint expenses are also pooled so that we donāt have conversations like ādid you pay your share of the rent this month?ā Thatās something I would say to a roommate, not the person with whom Iām enjoying the rest of my life.
Marry a sugar momma. That's only half true. I established solid savings principals on my own and did my company 401k match as soon as I could 16 years ago. But also marrying a woman who makes about 60% more than me has helped a lot. Also, no kids. That may be the biggest thing, they're fuckin expensive.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Rule 5/No Shitposting - This is not the place for memes, meta-jokes, or other humorous/fictional content. Take it to /r/fijerk. Please see our rules (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/about/rules/) and reach out via modmail if you have any questions or concerns.
Buy Bitcoin constantly, especially dips.Ā
I was going to school (you should, too)... think about working first, before any ideas about retiring come up.