Member-only story
How can you reach your desired retirement age with plenty of money to spend? How can you do so without undue stress? How can you do so without taking on undesirable jobs or any undesirable jobs at all?
The following are nine tips for those who want to retire early and retire happy.
1) Start saving as much as possible in your 20s.
This is the best time to save because it is during our most productive years when we are able to save the most money. By putting away just $200 each week over a 40 year career, one could have more than $1 million by retirement age, assuming an annual return of 5%.
2) Don’t just sock away your entire paycheck each week.
Make at least a portion of your contributions as automatic monthly payments. The setup is as follows: If you receive $1,000 per month, set up payroll deductions for $500 and deposit the remaining $500 automatically into a savings account. Any time you receive a paycheck, deposit it automatically into an investment account, such as a brokerage account or an IRA. This may require additional bank and/or payroll fees but it will be much cheaper than setting up direct deposits to your checking account each month. Do not try to ‘beat the market’. The…
