This is not a new phenomenon, but the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) Movement gained quite a bit of momentum over the past few years. As the pandemic raged on, many people started to question their quality of life, workplace satisfaction, and their connection to family, friends, and the outside world in general. For most of us, this was a normal reaction to an extremely stressful situation; however, a handful throughout society decided they had had enough and hit the road for greener pastures.
Depending on which article you read on the internet (there are hundreds!), this may sound like a reality anyone can achieve, but I noticed quite a few details were either left out or not applicable to the general population. In order to cover this topic in full, I decided to break it up into two posts – one focusing on income, and the other focusing on expenses – so if you are thinking about retiring early…read on!
Income…. Where will it come from now?
News flash – your cash flow will be significantly impacted by retiring early. Gone are the days of receiving a regular paycheck from an employer. So, how do people make it work when we think of the typical “early retirement” age as 59 ½ or 62 (for Social Security purposes)?
- For starters, it is a little-known fact that there are MANY ways to retire before the age of 59 ½ without being hit with the dreadful 10% tax penalty, but you must qualify for it.
- You may read that some FIRE-achievers received severance packages, inheritances, own rental properties, and/or save upwards of 75% of their income (primarily in taxable brokerage accounts).
- And most importantly, many continue to work. Unlike their previous career, however, they typically work part-time through the gig/freelance/app economy, and/or their new work finally enables them to follow a passion.
Come back next month for the discussion on expenses (hint: it has a lot to do with the cost of healthcare!).
