How to Retire Young

When people hear the word "retirement," most associate it with only the 60+ age range or with people who "just got lucky." In reality, it's very much a planned event. Unfortunately, it's also something that most of us have been taught to not even think about or even put off until the last minute. If you want to "retire" from a job young--which I take to mean free yourself up to do what you love and not just sit around all day--there are things you can do to accelerate the process. I'm going to discuss these in this article.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The desire to retire younger than the average person.

1. First of all, you have to understand that this issue is something you first have to work on internally before you'll feel comfortable taking action to pursue it.
   
   You have to get your mind in the attitude that not only is it all right to retire young and have the money to enjoy it, but that you can be a more effective and positive influence in the world because of it.
   
   If for example you've been raised to believe that money is the root of all evil (the Bible doesn't say that by the way--somebody left out the part that the love of money is the root, not money itself), it can hold you back even on a subconscious level. A more common mental obstacle is thinking that if you do what you love, you're not going to make any money at it. This keeps people in miserable positions and over time discourages people from trying new ventures.
   
   With a lot of these issues, getting around positive and encouraging people will help--especially if those people are in a position to pull you forward. Educating yourself in practical areas of business and finances help as well.

2. The next step in all of this is coming up with a plan that links where you are right now with where you would like to be.
   
   You need to set a time frame on when you'd like to retire. I personally set the goal at 19 that I was going to retire before the age of 30. I'm 24 and am right on the verge of it--much sooner than I expected.
   
   You need to take into account your skills, connections, and what you enjoy in your plan. Ideally what you want to transition into is something that can generate an income for you but is so fun it doesn't feel like work.

3. Financially, you have to make decisions that not everyone in society is willing to do.
   
   Getting out of debt (or never getting in) is a major one. It's also important to use what you have to the best of your ability, which as far as actions means creating a budget. The best person I know as far as a common-sense and practical teacher in this area is a financial counselor named Dave Ramsey. He has both a TV and radio show, as well as books on the subject.

4. About mid-way through this whole process, I learned something else about why a person should want to retire young:
   
   There is a lot of joy and satisfaction in being able to help other people with whatever gifts you have in life instead of just keeping them a buried hobby. Put yourself out there and give yourself away, and you'll never be bored with the time you're going to gain back.

Tips & Warnings

• Obviously one article can't cover this topic to the degree I would like, but I'm including as many helpful resources as I can that have helped me. Best wishes to you!

Resources

• How to Find Your True Passion in Life
• How to Get Out of a Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle
• Life Lessons From Being an Entrepreneur
• The Basics of Residual Income
• Book Recommendations
• How to Have More Time to Enjoy Life
• More How-to Articles by Cougar1002

[jsmith1]

on 6/18/2009 Thanks for sharing your point of view on retiring young. Congrats on writing a novel!

[taskeinc]

on 8/6/2008 That's one goal that most people have - to retire early .. thanks for sharing

[acole]

on 8/5/2008 Good insight. Thanks!