Marking the 5 year anniversary of our early retirement: Our thoughts and observations in our personal journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early)…
Dalai Lama: “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”
I consider 5 years to be a fairly important milestone whenever we partake in an endeavor. Sure, early retirement isn’t really an endeavor, but it’s pretty close to that for me.
With every fiber in my being telling me every day I was working, that I needed to get out of this job that had become so stressful the last couple of years. I was tired, stressed, and wanted to be free from the shackles of modern day rat race.
I was so relieved when I finally called it quits after working for 20+ years, with 14 of those coming from my last job (Information Technology field) that I would retire from. August 17th, 2020 would be my day of independence, my day of saying goodbye to the rat race.
Who would’ve thought just 25+ years ago when I was starting out, earning money on my own to pay my own bills, that I would be retired (early, thank you very much)? When I started working for a paycheck, it just seemed so far away to even think about retirement…
My colleagues at my workplace used to tell me what to do when it comes to picking 401k investments, but back then, it all sounded Greek to me. Nothing made sense.
There were too many unknown terminologies like stocks, mutual funds, bonds, bond funds, index funds, that my head was spinning. I couldn’t make out what I should be selecting as my retirement funds, nor could I even say in all honesty, how these things were going to make me retire some 35-40 years down the road.
My, how times changed…
Somehow, someway, my wife and I figured out how to make all these to work in our favor. We worked together, often supporting one another when one was going to school to learn a new skill.
In our twenties, we never had enough money. It seemed every paycheck we got was for paying those never ending bills. Oh, and we did eat out often, do lots of takeouts, and spend plenty on entertainment. *We were in our twenties once, and we traveled quite a bit just like most twenty year olds…
There was also a time when we bought our first apartment, and we were house poor. We barely had $100 in our checking account. It got so bad that my wife couldn’t even attend a colleague’s wedding ceremony!
Somehow, someway, we let it all work out. We owe most of it to the discovery of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement. After years of struggling to make ends meet, we found out how we can retire early.
The concept was simple: 1) Figure out what you spend yearly, and 2) Accrue at least 25 times that yearly expense to retire early. For example, if you can live on $25,000 per year, then you need $625,000.
It was like seeing a light at the end of a long, a very long tunnel. It made us focus, with laser sharp intensity, how even us regular folks, can retire early!
We created a plan, followed through on that plan, cut down our expenses, embraced minimalism, and voila, here we are!
The journey was in no way, an easy one. Just like anything worthwhile is only earned through sacrifice, hard work, delayed gratification, and patience, we had to earn it.
We forwent expensive vacations, opting to visit parks with our dog Toby, ate out less often, opting to do takeouts, and we bought much less stuff as years went by, opting to sell stuff we had accrued over the years.
Oh, and we put away good chunk of our hard earned money into our retirement accounts each month, and we paid down our mortgage principal every year.
After living our own journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement these last 5 years, here are our thoughts and observations as we celebrate our 5 year anniversary:
- The concepts of FIRE movement work
We were sold on the idea of living on less, while saving/investing for the long haul. I think with proper planning, sacrifice, and discipline, almost anyone can do it.
If you’ve ever gotten good at something in your life (learned an instrument, learned a new language, learned to be a car mechanic, etc.), then you too can become financially independent.
How it’s done is rather easy in concept. What’s hard is for you to be diligent in your quest to learn something new and to keep with it. I consider being good at finances similar to working out and maintaining your weight.
Both require dedication, sacrifice, and learning to be the best version of yourself. If you can control your body and your mental side of things, then you too can be good at controlling your finances.
Just like you had to first learn how to exercise, learn an instrument, play sports, you just have to start. Take in as much finance related material as possible, create a plan (something solid, not I want to be a millionaire), then work every month on building your wealth.
We came from nothing and made something of ourselves. Learn a skill that pays well, spend less, save/invest, believe in the power of the US stock market to find a way to create new markets.
Even after we retired, the concepts still work. Things like having an emergency fund to get you by when markets tank, and the need to spend within your budget, are still very important after you retire. We are living proof.
- Spending time with loved ones
We spend roughly 4 months out of the year with our parents which is one of the best things about early retirement. Had we both worked, there’d simply not be enough time to see our parents that much.
Sure, we’d see them 3-4 times a year, for a total of 12-15 days a year. But it would be nowhere near the time we spend together these days.
Everyone forgets how fragile life is. One minute we’re happily living our lives, then one minute all that can be taken away. We need to think about the important things in our lives that truly matter, like spending time with our loved ones, and creating memories with them.
We are so grateful we’re able to do that since our early retirement…
- Traveling!
In the past 5 years, we’ve used plenty of AirBnB’s, hotels, motels, and bunking with family and friends. Along the way, we managed to explore this great country of ours in depth.
We spent month (or longer) at places far and wide thanks to websites like AirBnB and VRBO. We’ve also started to use hotels since around 2022 which has added to our enjoyment of traveling.
What’s not to like about traveling? It is absolutely one of the best things in life!
Had we not traveled, choosing to just stay in one place to save money (to just survive every month), would be a cruel fate, a fate that is not even fit for your enemies. What’s the point of retiring early if you’re not doing the things that bring you joy, happiness, and fulfillment???
I still get goosebumps planning, researching, and actually visiting new places (and familiar places sometimes). It gets my brain fully engaged when I’m traveling, and I’m at my most zen-like, totally content state when driving on a vast American interstate system anywhere on the west/southwest.
The scenery is amazing, sunsets are spectacular, and the natural beauty of the otherworldly landscape in the US is truly breathtaking. We are infinitely thankful that we’re retired and doing the things that bring so much joy.
- You have to be flexible and constantly adapt…
I was always a planner. I liked planning for our finances, for trips, and for figuring out how we can maintain our ideal weight through diet and exercise.
It’s just who I am. With this character trait comes an added benefit: that is, to always plan for the worst case scenario, as well as the few not-the-worst-case-scenarios in between.
I was always good at hoping for the best, but always planning for the worst. This is how I live my life.
We lived through some of the most traumatic moments the last few years: our early retirement, quitting our jobs, selling our home to live like nomads, selling almost everything we owned, and coping with the deaths of our family and our beloved Toby.
Those were, definitely not easy. But in every instance, we figured out how to make it work. It certainly helped that we did it together. You know what they say, “Things that don’t kill you, make you stronger.”
Life is full of changes, challenges and tribulations. The better we deal with them, the better human beings we will be. Retirement, just like life, is no different.
Always plan for the worst case scenario so you won’t be surprised when something bad happens. That means having an emergency fund, knowing that stock market will crash, maintaining your weight (as that is just as important as your finances), and investing for the long run.
Remember, stock market awards those who have the patience, the time, and the willpower to save money diligently.
In conclusion:
5 years sure went by fast! It feels just like yesterday when we were leaving our home of 14 years, onto our new chapter in our lives.
We are grateful, healthy, and happy after early retirement. We hear some fellow retirees are going back to work to find fulfillment and happiness, but we’re just fine, thanks.
We quit our jobs to find enjoyment, fulfillment. Jobs were means to an end, and definitely not something that define who we are. We’ve certainly spent our first 5 years in of retirement together and happy. We hope this continues.
Thank you all for reading and we wish you luck in your own journey to FIRE!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
