Dreaming of an Early Retirement? These Simple Steps Could Help You Achieve That

Every one of us has different dreams and aspirations in life, but one thing is for sure: we all want to retire comfortably. In order to do that, we need to work hard to save more so that we can eventually leave the workplace without worry that we won’t have food on the table to feed us and our family.

Add to this, we all want to step away from the labor force as early as possible — while we still have youth juices in our body to be able to enjoy life.

Some people work until they reach 65 while others exit the busy scene to focus on their personal lives at half of this age. Which one would you rather be? While it may sound impossible to retire early, several millionaires prove otherwise. Here are some wise moves to make that dream come true:

Be Thrifty

The simplest and most obvious step you could take is to become frugal, a move that will guarantee your savings will balloon. Ali and Joe Olson were just in their 30s when they retired from being teachers, thanks to living on $20,000 per year. Their techniques involve using a single car and avoiding eating outside.

Small changes in your daily spending routines, like making your own coffee, could make a big difference

Just like them, you can add little by little to your retirement savings by making wiser decisions that may entail a bit of sacrifice. Can’t let go of Starbucks coffee on your way to work? Wake up a little earlier than usual and make your own caffeine fix. There are many things you can give up that have cheaper options.

Make More Dollars

Being frugal will add to your fortune, no doubt, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make money aggressively. If you have a job now that’s barely enough to keep you alive, it may seem that there’s no way for you to retire. However, this is where the extra effort comes in — a part-time job.

A part-time job is an effective way to earn more

If you feel that you are underpaid, maybe it is high time that you renegotiate your salary or if not, you can always find another job that pays you well, author Tanja Hester said. Grant Sabatier, who had $1.25 million when he retired, believes it is more important to earn money than to spend less because you can only cut back so much.

Living in Modest Houses

We all dream of having a mansion as a house, but would you still want that when you could put the money into your savings account? Decreasing your housing costs by living in a modest property can be helpful in the long run.

Even though you know you can afford a bigger place, it pays to make the sacrifice now rather than regret it later. If you want to save more, renting is an option that you can choose as you gradually increase your fortune.

Setting Aside Raises

The additional income from a pay raise could be added to your retirement account

Others who hear about a pay raise would immediately have an imaginary list of things to buy on their minds. However, a smart money move would be to save the sum up that could greatly help in retiring early. Plus, if you hide the money from yourself, you basically can’t spend anything you can’t see.