I quit my full time job with just $850,000 and retired at 42 – now I juggle a few side hustles while my savings grow | 397D2WB | 2024-05-08 17:08:02
A MOM of two explained how she retired at 41 with less than $1 million in the bank after working non-stop since she was 14.
Lakisha Simmons retired from her 9 to 5 job in 2021 and hasn't looked back.
Growing up, she had always seen her family do jobs that demanded physical labor.
It taught her that "you do what you have to do to take care of your family."
But she had the goal of retiring at 45 and joining the financially independent, retire early—or FIRE—movement.
She was making $150,000 a year as an assistant professor at Belmont University, and things were getting stressful.
Her classes moved online at the height of the pandemic, and the job became more demanding than ever.
"I looked at my investments even during the pandemic, and I realized how much they had grown," she said in an interview with CNBC Make It.
She realized she could stop working full-time earlier than expected with only $850,000.
Simmons was below her goal of saving 25 times the amount she would need to live on, but she knew she could do side hustles like speaking engagements and running her Etsy store to keep growing her funds.
"I have other ways of creating income, so I knew I didn't have to have my full nest egg of $1 million to live," she said.
She didn't make any contributions to her investments after retiring, but in less than a year, she grew the amount to over $900,000.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Over half of her investment portfolio is in the S&P 500 index fund, and another 25% is spread throughout the rest of the stock market.
Simmons also has some individual stock in companies like Apple and Amazon.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
In retirement, Simmons gets to wake up with and spend quality time with her kids every morning.
Once they're at school, she gets to work on herself and her current ventures.
She even has some mentees that she is helping achieve financial independence as well.
"Believe it or not, the days go fast when you're FIRE'd," she said.
Simmons admits she had to downsize a bit but still lives comfortably.
At the beginning of her FIRE journey, she went through her budget line by line and began cutting things out.
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> "I had a subscription to Audible, and I cut it and went to the library instead," she said.
"I went through everything in that budget, and I said, 'Where can I find a substitute for this?'"
She either tried to get things for free, like switching to the library, or drastically reduced their cost.
"FIRE gives you choices and opportunities," she said.
"I don't want anyone to think you FIRE and then you just ride off into the sunset.
"Now I'm actually living my life more fully. When I think about what's next for me, there are so many opportunities."
FIRED UP
Simmons and many others have used the money-saving strategy known as "lean" FIRE.
This involves creating a very slim budget that cuts all extra expenses.
Tanner Firl plans on retiring at just 35 using the FIRE method.
The 29-year-old has already saved up $380,000 and plans on saving at least $625,000 before retiring.
He makes $135,000 a year as a software engineer but plans to live off of only $25,000 a year from his investment portfolio.
"We also have garnered a reputation with our friends and family as being very frugal and thrifty," said Firl.
"We do end up getting a lot of free things just because a family member will see something free on the side of the road, and they'll think that we might we might like it."
"In life, there's no short supply of experiences, and most experiences that will make you happy are probably free or extremely cheap."
A financial expert recently revealed why the popular 50/30/20 rule doesn't work.
Plus, see how a couple retired at 40 with only $540,000.
More >> https://ift.tt/9tDlfmZ Source: MAG NEWS
