Post: #1

Found this interesting article on a topic that's close to all of our hearts, how to retire early and live well so I wanted it share it with all of you guys

http://www.nextavenue.org/30-years-ago-t...35-update/

Post: #2

They are a bit old school. He had a traditional job working for a big company and quit to not work at all. It's not necessary to "retire" if you have a location independent business.

Post: #3

I think that retirement is a bit of a misnomer, or at least a loaded word. Retirement conjures up images of fat geriatrics eating dinner at 4pm in Florida. I think that a better term is financial independence - the freedom to do whatever you'd like without worrying about how you'll pay for it. You can even keep on 'working' on things that you like.

I plan to achieve financial independence while I'm still well young enough to enjoy the more epicurean aspects of a man of youth and industry.

Other people have said it better than I could so I'll share the best sources that I've found. Basically it's: 1) Increase income; 2) Reduce expenses; 3) Invest the difference; 4) Wait.

Another way to reach financial independence/to make more money is to really understand the financial, investment, and tax systems and not necessarily work more or spend less, but simply set up your finances in such a way that you earn more money from existing resources, and pay less taxes. Most people have no idea of how finance works but if you take a class, you can save yourself a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent working by just investing smarter and reducing taxes.

Go Curry Cracker

Mr. Money Mustache

Mad Fientist

Jim Collins' stock series

The stock series alone is everything that you need to invest and reach financial independence at a young age.

If you're not in the U.S., the same general concepts apply, and you just tailor them to investment opportunities in your own country.

Here are some of the more helpful articles:

Jim Collins' stock series - The Market Always Goes Up

Jim Collins' stock series - The 401k, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets

Jim Collins' stock series - The 4% rule, withdrawal rates and how much can I spend anyway?

Jim Collins' stock series - Index Funds are really just for lazy people, right?

Jim Collins' stock series - Early Retirement Withdrawal Strategies and Roth Conversion Ladders from a Mad Fientist

Mr. Money Mustache - Luxury Is Just Another Weakness

Mr. Money Mustache - Bicycling: The Safest Form of Transportation

Mr. Money Mustache - Getting Rich: from Zero to Hero in One Blog Post

Mr. Money Mustache - First Retire... Then Get Rich

Mr. Money Mustache - The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Mr. Money Mustache - The True Cost of Commuting

Mr. Money Mustache - A Brief History of the 'Stash: How we Saved from Zero to Retirement in Nine Years

Mad Fientist - Traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA - The Final Battle

Mad Fientist - Retire Even Earlier Without Earning More or Spending Less

Mad Fientist - Lab Rat and Assumptions

Mad Fientist - Traveling Hacking and Slow Travel

Mad Fientist - Shortest Path to Financial Independence

Mad Fientist - The Perfect Life

Mad Fientist - Adventures Abroad

Mad Fientist - The Power of Quitting

Mad Fientist - 30% Higher Net Worth In Just One Year

Go Curry Cracker - The Go Curry Cracker 2014 Taxes

Go Curry Cracker - The Path to 100% Equities

Go Curry Cracker - The Go Curry Cracker 2013 Taxes

Go Curry Cracker - Never Pay Taxes Again

I think that there's a bifurcation of opinion here generally regarding lifestyle. Some guys like to go through all of their money on a gentleman's lifestyle. Other guys like me are pretty happy keeping things lighter and simpler, even if it means giving up some of the perks of rolling in style. Financial independence can be achieved through both but with the former, you'll still need to invest a significant portion of your money - some guys have trouble with that.

A common theme in the philosophy behind financial independence is time. It's my belief that a lot of the social ills that we discuss here could be curtailed if we all had a lot more free time. Time to enjoy your life, to not be so stressed. Financial independence really means having the time to enjoy yourself and do what you want.

A lot of the ideas in these sources go too far for me. There's a difference between cheap (bad) and minimalist/frugal.

I'm happy to share thoughts with anyone on the forum so if you have questions, you can post here for everyone to share, or PM me.

Post: #4

Bumping this thread. Has anyone actually used this Vanguard service that Mustache recommends?

On a related note, what's the basic amount that's worth investing? Say you had 5k, 10k sitting in the bank. Worthwhile?

Post: #5

Vanguard service? Do you mean a vanguard brokerage account? Yeah I keep most of my money with Vanguard.

Any amount is worth investing. If you might need it soon, do something more conservative (even a CD or bank account if you might need very soon). If you won't need for 10+ years, invest in equities.

Post: #6

Cool. Is there much risk/research involved? The main attraction for me is that it takes much of the research out of the process.

Post: #7

(12-28-2015 05:12 PM)churros Wrote:  Cool. Is there much risk/research involved? The main attraction for me is that it takes much of the research out of the process.

If you're buy and hold (which you should be as a newbie), repeat after me: I will not sell.

The worst mistake you could make is selling after a 50% drop because you think it'll go down another 25%. I don't care if every expert says you should. I don't care if your mother says you should. Short of a gun to your head, you do not sell.

Remember that and you'll be fine. The second mistake is putting too much in, because you have to sell if you need the money. A lot of people got double whammied in 2008 because they had to sell at discount prices because they lost their jobs and needed the money.

Post: #8

(12-28-2015 07:59 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  The second mistake is putting too much in, because you have to sell if you need the money. A lot of people got double whammied in 2008 because they had to sell at discount prices because they lost their jobs and needed the money.

Yup.

I still kick myself for not being liquid enough at the GFC to cash in on the £8k Gold Rolexs and £35k Ferrari 360s flooding the market in the aftermath. Cars and watches being a market I know well.

They were the only things the owners had that were liquid enough to see them through a problematic period.

Post: #9

Super easy man.

Either put your money into a target date retirement fund or out money into a few individual funds to save a bit on expenses. The individual funds you want are total stock market index, total international index, and tots bond index. If young you can ignore the bonds.

It's what I do with my money. Other than 401k, I put all of my retirement savings into my Vanguard account.

70% VTSAX (total stock fund)
30% VGTSX (total international stock)