SIMPLE FINANCE TIPS FROM A WOMAN WHO RETIRED EARLY
I had the pleasure of staying with my best friend's mother recently just outside of Orlando Florida. Years ago she lived close by in the Toledo, Ohio area and moved to Florida in her 50's to begin retirement. I had honestly never heard of early retirement when she chose to retire and was surprised to hear she was retiring so young.We had a discussion while I was visiting, regarding my website and what I do with saving joyfully. I mentioned that my goal is financial freedom and someday I would love to have the opportunity as she had to retire young. One thing I have learned over the years is to seek advice and counsel in life from older and wiser individuals. Seeking advice from those you respect can provide you with great insight on life and wisdom beyond your years. What I recognized here was an opportunity to learn from someone who actually successfully achieved the goal that I am aiming to reach. She provided me with some actionable steps to begin to execute in my own life and some ideas to pass onto you all.Her suggestions on saving and managing her finances make a lot of sense when working on your financial goals. I believe these ideas can really help us all whether we are trying to reach early retirement or just trying to live a more frugal life.
These are her suggestions to help you reach your financial goals
Live within your means
Save, save, save whenever possible
You do not need the newest electronics or the newest vehicles
You and your kids do not need designer clothing and accessories
Work hard while you are young
Pay close attention to your budget
Don't spend your money on expensive vacations
Learn about the power of compound interest
Start saving for retirement when you are young
She is right about so many of these things. Many of us want to live our lives in the here and now and do not give enough thought to the future. We do not plan for the future and we do not sacrifice enough now. If you want something different from what you already have, then you must do something different than you have been doing it previously.There is a challenge in this for all of us. Whether we are aiming for an early retirement or just trying to get our finances in order now. Begin to make some simple changes today and you will begin to see bigger results the longer you continue with those changes. Saving money is often like losing weight, small changes over the long-term can make a huge difference. A young person who begins to put aside money in their retirement at a young age can start very small and yet by the time they reach retirement they could end up becoming a millionaire.
My challenge to all of you
Start to think of the small simple changes that you can make in your life today. What can you do today that will get you closer to your goals of financial freedom? I would love to hear what things that you decide to start doing or what you are currently doing to reach your goals.here is a great post you may appreciate from a finance professionaland an excellent post on what you should have saved by every age Why you should start saving early
