Financial Independence
Escape the Rat Race
Retire Early, by David K Drews
Retire Early
So you want to retire early. Sounds like a great idea to me. Here is a plan to get you
started.
First, decide how much money you will need to retire comfortably. Make sure that your
nest egg will cover your normal expenses, the cost of health insurance, and money for
travel, hobbies, dues, charitable donations, and even continued savings. A good safe
withdrawal rate from your funds is five percent, but of course, a lower withdrawal rate
would be better because you would be less likely to outlive your funds.
Second, maximize your income. Choose a great career and work all you can. Earn an
excellent reputation in your company as the “go to guy” (or “go to girl”). Be
indispensable at work. Being self employed would probably pay a lot more than
working for someone else if your venture is successful. Pal around with people who
keep you positive and motivated. A bad peer group could keep you from achieving your
dream of retiring early.
Third, keep your expenses as low as possible. Maintain a budget. Keep your
investment expenses from being higher than necessary. Buying and holding quality
stocks through a discount brokerage is a very low cost way to go. Buy a home you can
truly afford. Going overboard on a home can wipe you out. Sacrifice short term
pleasure and status and invest for your early exit from the rat race. As W. Clement
Stone once said, “Of you cannot save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you.”
Fourth, make excellent investments. Take an investments course and read classic
investments text. Reading the Wall Street Journal would not hurt. Find an excellent
broker or do it yourself. If you are a reasonably intelligent human being, you can study
and experiment and make good investments on your own. There are a lot of good
quality web sites and advisors who can help you. The Buyback Letter and Value Line,
for example, are great services. Look into them. Remember to include stocks and/or
mutual funds, and/or rental real estate in your portfolio. If you do not feel you are ready
for these types of investments, you must start studying today.
Fifth, keep learning and growing, continue, even after you have retired. Read and listen
to your sacred texts, like The Bible. Listen to Tony Robbins and other personal
development speakers. Learn about things you may not know about, like art or health
or psychology or history or a new sport.
Sixth, take care of your health. What good would it do to drop dead before or right after
you quit working? You could be the richest person in the graveyard is about it. Maintain
proper weight and be physically active. Taking care of your physical health will keep
your medical expenses lower, which matters a lot with rising health insurance costs.
So you want to retire early. Sounds like a great idea to me. Here is a plan to get you
started.
First, decide how much money you will need to retire comfortably. Make sure that your
nest egg will cover your normal expenses, the cost of health insurance, and money for
travel, hobbies, dues, charitable donations, and even continued savings. A good safe
withdrawal rate from your funds is five percent, but of course, a lower withdrawal rate
would be better because you would be less likely to outlive your funds.
Second, maximize your income. Choose a great career and work all you can. Earn an
excellent reputation in your company as the “go to guy” (or “go to girl”). Be
indispensable at work. Being self employed would probably pay a lot more than
working for someone else if your venture is successful. Pal around with people who
keep you positive and motivated. A bad peer group could keep you from achieving your
dream of retiring early.
Third, keep your expenses as low as possible. Maintain a budget. Keep your
investment expenses from being higher than necessary. Buying and holding quality
stocks through a discount brokerage is a very low cost way to go. Buy a home you can
truly afford. Going overboard on a home can wipe you out. Sacrifice short term
pleasure and status and invest for your early exit from the rat race. As W. Clement
Stone once said, “Of you cannot save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you.”
Fourth, make excellent investments. Take an investments course and read classic
investments text. Reading the Wall Street Journal would not hurt. Find an excellent
broker or do it yourself. If you are a reasonably intelligent human being, you can study
and experiment and make good investments on your own. There are a lot of good
quality web sites and advisors who can help you. The Buyback Letter and Value Line,
for example, are great services. Look into them. Remember to include stocks and/or
mutual funds, and/or rental real estate in your portfolio. If you do not feel you are ready
for these types of investments, you must start studying today.
Fifth, keep learning and growing, continue, even after you have retired. Read and listen
to your sacred texts, like The Bible. Listen to Tony Robbins and other personal
development speakers. Learn about things you may not know about, like art or health
or psychology or history or a new sport.
Sixth, take care of your health. What good would it do to drop dead before or right after
you quit working? You could be the richest person in the graveyard is about it. Maintain
proper weight and be physically active. Taking care of your physical health will keep
your medical expenses lower, which matters a lot with rising health insurance costs.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |