<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d1bbef8a17d6c12e12b07c2-1470/gettyimages-962565236.jpg" border="0" alt="how to retire early" data-mce-source="Kathrin Ziegler/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Kathrin Ziegler/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">The road to retiring early isn't easy.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-retire-early-2017-8">Retiring early</a> takes time and incredible discipline.</li><li>If you're planning to retire early, you should aim to have at least 25 to 30 times your estimated annual expenses saved or invested, though that number may be lower or higher depending on the lifestyle you envision.</li><li>To achieve your target number, live below your means, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/increase-income-or-cut-expenses-financial-planner-2019-3">increase your income</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/start-building-wealth-max-out-retirement-savings-2019-5">max out your retirement accounts</a>.&#xa0;</li><li>You should also aim to pay off all debt before retiring early, which may include your <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fixed-rate-mortgage-vs-adjustable-rate-mortgage">mortgage</a>. And don't forget to make a backup plan.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The road to retiring early isn't easy. It takes time and incredible discipline to earn, save, and invest as much as you possibly can.</p><p>That said, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement">early retirement</a> comes in various shapes and sizes and what it looks like to you will determine exactly what you need to do to get there. In general, here are the steps you can take:</p><h2>How to retire early</h2><h3>1. Define early retirement</h3><p>Retiring early doesn't have to mean never earning a paycheck again - unless you want it to. Many early retirees define it as not having to work to live - i.e. financial independence - but maybe you want to leave your corporate job for something more creative where you can make your own hours. Or perhaps you'd like to focus only on non-income producing hobbies, or work in spurts and travel in between.</p><p>The first step on the path to early retirement is figuring out exactly what that phrase means to you. Establishing your ideal day-to-day will make it easier to plan for - but just so you know, it will probably evolve over time.</p><h3>2. Establish your target number</h3><p>After outlining your version of early retirement, it's time to establish how much money you need to make it a reality.</p><p>Early retiree and self-made millionaire Grant Sabatier suggests having between 25 and 30 times your expected annual expenses saved or invested, plus a year's worth of expenses in cash. In his book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Freedom-Proven-Path-Money/dp/0525540881?tag=bisafetynet2-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-amzn-asin="0525540881">Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need</a>," Sabatier <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-book-millennial-money-early-retirement-formula-2019-2">shares the formula</a> he used to calculate his "target number," which he then broke down into monthly, weekly, and even daily savings goals.</p><p>This part may be difficult to calculate on your own, especially when there are multiple scenarios to consider, like how a possible <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-protect-money-from-a-recession">recession</a> would affect your investments. A good financial planner (<a href="https://smartasset.com/retirement/find-a-financial-planner?utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=bus__falc_bicontent&amp;utm_content=how_to_retire_early">SmartAsset's free tool can help find one</a>) can help you crunch the numbers and send you home with an actionable plan to achieve your goal - and even hold you accountable, if you want.</p><p><em><strong>&#xa0;</strong></em></p><h3>3. Live below your means</h3><p>It's very difficult to build substantial, long-term wealth if you spend more than you earn. When you're working toward early retirement, it's imperative to live below your means as it's the only way to save and invest aggressively.</p><p>Focusing on reducing your biggest expenses, which are probably housing, transportation, and food, can go a long way in the effort to increase your savings rate.</p><h3>4. Leverage your income</h3><p>It's crucial to keep your spending in check, but you can only cut costs to a certain degree, says certified financial planner Eric Roberge. You can make an even bigger difference by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/increase-income-or-cut-expenses-financial-planner-2019-3">increasing your income</a>, he and his wife Kali explained on an episode of their podcast "Beyond Finances." Cutting your expenses and daily spending takes continued effort - it's a short-term solution - whereas increasing your positive cash flow is a long-term solution, they said.</p><p>Sabatier encourages taking up a side hustle to diversify your income streams. The most <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millionaire-at-35-automatic-savings-side-hustle-strategy-2019-6">lucrative side hustles</a> are those that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-book-passive-income-outsourcing-build-wealth-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">generate passive income</a>, such as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-real-estate-make-money">real estate</a>, he wrote in his book. Building a passive income business that generates a minimum amount of money to cover your monthly expenses "gives you more flexibility and potentially the opportunity to reach financial independence very quickly," he wrote.</p><h3>5. Max out your retirement accounts</h3><p>There's at least <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/simple-strategy-for-early-retirement-save-invest-2019-5">one common strategy</a> present in nearly every story about financial independence and early retirement: early and frequent savings. Oftentimes the best way optimize your savings is through retirement accounts.</p><p>Employer-sponsored retirement plans and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-open-an-ira-for-retirement">IRAs</a> provide unparalleled tax advantages and investment growth. In 2019, you can contribute up to $19,000 pretax to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-a-401k-for-retirement">401(k)</a> and $6,000 to a traditional IRA for which you can get a tax deduction on your current year's tax return.</p><p>The only caveat to stuffing your retirement accounts to the brim when you're planning to retire early is the restrictions on withdrawals. You won't be able to take any money from your 401(k) without penalty until you've reached age 59 and a half. You can, however, dip into your Roth IRA, which is funded with after-tax money, and withdraw your contributions - not including any earnings - tax-free, at any time.</p><h3>6. Invest the money that's left over</h3><p>If you're maxing out your retirement accounts, move on to a brokerage account. This is money you can invest directly in the stock market and cash out when you need it.</p><p>Many <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millionaires-investment-strategy-low-cost-stock-index-funds-building-wealth-2018-12">early retirees and self-made millionaires</a> stick to billionaire Warren Buffett's favorite investment: low-cost <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-index-funds-explained">index funds</a>. Index funds are all-in-one investments that track a specific financial market and are designed to diversify your money and minimize risk.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://smartasset.com/retirement/find-a-financial-planner?utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=bus__falc_bicontent&amp;utm_content=how_to_retire_early">Need help crunching the numbers? SmartAsset's free tool can help find a licensed professional near you »</a></strong></em></p><h3><span style="color: #000000;">7. If you have a mortgage, consider paying it off</span></h3><p>In preparing for early retirement, eliminating consumer debt with high interest rates is a no-brainer, but paying off a mortgage with good terms isn't so cut-and-dry. For some, the peace of mind of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-i-paid-off-my-mortgage-early-2017-5">being liability-free is worth it</a>, while others may argue that the money saved in interest payments would pale in comparison to potential investment returns.</p><p>Tommy - who only goes by his first name online - retired nearly 10 years ago at age 51, after a more than three-decade career in telecom. He never earned a six-figure salary, but focused on saving consistently since his 20s and living frugally with his wife and three kids, <a href="https://www.leisurefreak.com/my-ordinary-early-retirement-story-nothing-extreme-to-see-here-folks/">he</a><a href="https://www.leisurefreak.com/my-ordinary-early-retirement-story-nothing-extreme-to-see-here-folks/"> wrote in a blog post</a>. One of his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/simple-strategy-for-early-retirement-save-invest-2019-5">biggest regrets</a>? Not paying off his mortgage before retiring.</p><p>"So much of our having a great retirement is mental. Being mortgage free certainly adds another level of mental freedom," he wrote.</p><h3>8. Research your options for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-health-insurance-cobra-medicaid-marketplace">health insurance</a></h3><p>Leaving a full-time employer also means bidding farewell to your employer's health insurance. If you're waiting for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/medicare">Medicare</a> to kick in at 65, usually the most cost-effective option for health insurance - if available to you - is joining a working spouse's employer-sponsored plan.</p><p>Otherwise, you may consider continuing coverage through a former employer under <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-retire-early-health-insurance-before-medicare-2019-6">COBRA</a>; browsing coverage options and potential subsidies through the Affordable Care Act marketplace; researching health-sharing plans; or getting a part-time job.</p><h3>9. Make a backup plan</h3><p>No matter how foolproof your plan may seem, consider what could go wrong. You may find you <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-advice-downsides-drawbacks-going-back-to-work-2019-3">hate the unstructured days of early retirement</a> - would you go back to work? Or the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retiree-stock-market-crash-loss-2018-11">economy could tank</a>, taking your net worth with it - would you have room to cut expenses? Running through potential worst-case scenarios is essential when your livelihood is on the line.&#xa0;</p><h3>10. Put Plan A into action - but enjoy the present, too</h3><p>Time and discipline are all you need to execute your plan from here on out. Keep saving and investing, but don't forget to live in the present while you can.</p><p>As early retiree Steve Adcock <a href="https://thinksaveretire.com/early-retirement-extreme/">wrote on his blog Think, Save, Retire</a>, "Sacrifice is necessary to retire early, but it's not <em>all</em> we do, either. It is important to treat and reward ourselves along the way by celebrating those smaller achievements."</p><h3>Related coverage from<span>&#xa0;</span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/personal-finance-how-to">How to Do Everything: Money</a>:</h3><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-can-i-retire">Here's exactly how to figure out when you can retire</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-real-estate-make-money">How to invest in real estate to make money and build wealth</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cobra-insurance-healthcare-early-retirement-job-loss">How to get COBRA health insurance if you lose your job or retire early</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-index-funds-explained">How to invest in index funds, explained</a></h3></li></ul><p class="tagline"></p><p style="font-size:14px;"><em>Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.<em></em></em></p><div><iframe src="https://smartasset.com/captivate/frame/na8gsflv" width="100%" height="650px" scrolling="auto" style="border: none;"></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/slack-messaging-app-productivity-changing-world-almost-didnt-exist-2015-6">The incredible story behind Slack, the app that's taken over offices everywhere</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/NohUnU7p-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

How to retire early so you can work, travel, and relax on your own schedule

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c7068fb26289853f41aab03-1763/tanja hester.jpg" border="0" alt="tanja hester" data-mce-source="Mark Bunge" /><p class="source"><span>Mark Bunge</span></p><p class="caption">You can save more and retire earlier by following four key steps, according to early retiree Tanja Hester.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>You can accelerate your way to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-strategy-millionaire-retire-early-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early retirement</a> by following four key steps, according to early retiree Tanja Hester.</li><li>The first two steps focus on cutting back the two biggest expenses that eat up your income: housing and transportation.</li><li>Then, focus on making more money and investing the extra earnings so they <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-save-early-and-enjoy-compound-interest-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compound</a>.</li></ul><p>Saving enough money to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retire early</a> doesn't always mean adhering to a restrictive <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-millennial-money-budgets-diets-dont-work-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a>.</p><p>Just ask Tanja Hester, <span>blogger at </span><a href="https://ournextlife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our Next Life</a><span> </span>who saved about 37 times her annual spending with her husband to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rent-or-buy-a-house-early-retiree-advice-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retire early at age 38</a> without pinching pennies. <span>In her book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Work-Optional-Retire-Early-Non-Penny-Pinching/dp/0316450898?tag=bisafetynet2-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way</a>," she said there are a number of ways to fast-track yourself to financial independence and create support structures to stay on that path.</span></p><p><span>There are four key steps in particular that create a formula for a fast savings progress, she said: </span><span>"The more you can maximize each one, the more you'll accelerate your pace."</span></p><p><span>Here's a closer look at each.</span></p><h2><span>1. Underspend on housing</span></h2><p><span>According to Hester, reducing your <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/your-money-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">housing expenses</a> can free up hundreds of dollars a month, which can be funneled into investments. "No amount of couponing or thrift store shipping will give you such a big savings boost all in one shot, so question your housing expenses before you nickel and dime the rest of your budget," she wrote.</span></p><p><span>She called underspending on housing her best money hack. </span></p><p><span>"We may have been spending obscene sums on dinners out and travel, but we did so while living in a dingy one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood that we rented for years, even though our earnings increased and we knew we could afford to move if we wanted to," she said.</span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rent-or-buy-a-house-early-retiree-advice-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deciding to buy a home instead of rent isn't always a question of simple math</a></em></span></p><p><span>She suggested a number of ways to reduce housing costs - downsizing, moving to a less expensive area, getting a roommate, or renting your home out on the weekends on Airbnb.</span></p><p><span>Consider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mini-retirement-budget-saving-tips-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyle Stimpson</a>, who socked away 30% to 40% of his post-tax income for three years for a mini-retirement. He and his girlfriend saved $1,000 to $2,000 a month by living in a small, non-renovated bedroom in a walk-up.</span></p><p><span>Hester said housing makes up half the bulk of where most people's income goes; reducing this can help you save significantly. The other half is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/transportation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transportation</a>.</span></p><h2><span>2. Underspend on transportation</span></h2><p><span>"After housing, transportation is the next biggest expense in most households," Hester wrote.</span></p><p><span>If you have a car, it's likely you have monthly car payments, and "even a paid-off car</span><span> comes with ownership costs of several thousand dollars a year from insurance, gas, maintenance, and parking," she said.</span></p><p><span>Living in a walkable city or in a place with good public transportation can save money on commuting, but that's not feasible for everyone. If you must have a car, Hester suggests keeping it for a long time instead of upgrading, buying instead of leasing, buying used, increasing your insurance deductible for a lower premium, or driving less to save gas.</span></p><p><span>"The conundrum for many people is that housing and transportation have an inverse relationship," she wrote. "You can live closer to the urban center and pay less for transportation but more for housing, or you can live in the suburbs where homes cost less but where you have to drive more."</span></p><p><span>She suggests taking a look at prices in your area to see if you can save enough in transportation costs to make it worth moving closer to the city center and paying more to live there, or vice versa.</span></p><p><span>Another early retiree, self-made millionaire Grant Sabatier, also recommended focusing on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-millennial-money-budgets-diets-dont-work-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controlling the biggest expenses of housing and transportation</a> - a better strategy than budgeting that can help double your savings rate, he said.</span></p><h2><span>3. Focus on increasing your earnings</span></h2><p><span>"There are two sides to the saving equation that affect how quickly you can save: how much you earn and how much you spend," Hester wrote. Reducing what you spend is finite, she said.</span></p><p><span>"There's a baseline amount that you require to live comfortable," she said. "You can't always cut more from your spending, but you can always earn more."</span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-millionaires-get-rich-three-step-strategy-2018-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An early retiree who interviewed 100 millionaires discovered nearly all of them got rich using the same 3-step strategy</a></em></span></p><p><span>Hester suggests increasing your income by starting a side hustle, retraining for a higher-paying career, increasing your focus in your current career, negotiating for more money, or by going to work for yourself.</span></p><p><span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-book-millennial-money-build-wealth-quickly-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sabatier is of a similar mindset</a> - increasing your income is more powerful than cutting back your expenses, he said, because you can only cut back so much. "This gives you the opportunity to invest more money more often, accelerating the rate of compounding and the growth of your money," he wrote in his book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Freedom-Proven-Path-Money/dp/0525540881" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need</a>."</span></p><h2><span>4. Bank your raises, increasing your savings rate to match your increased earnings</span></h2><p><span>"Earning more and banking the increased earnings in investments is the absolute best way to increase how much you can invest year over year," Hester wrote. </span></p><p><span>One of the best ways to do this, she said, is to "hide the money from yourself," also knowing a "paying yourself first." It's a classic strategy in which you save and invest your money before paying other expenses and splurging on wants.</span></p><p><span>You can do this by setting up your payroll to divert part of your paycheck to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-savings-account-earn-more-money-2018-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high-interest savings account</a>, setting up recurring debt payments, setting up automatic monthly investments to a taxable brokerage account, and setting up 401(k) contributions through your work plan.</span></p><p><span>"When you create an automated system like this to save, the growth will feel like magic," Hester wrote. "You set up the system and then your only real job is to let time and compounding do their thing."</span></p><p><span>Getting in the habit of banking every windfall, like a bonus, and constraining your spending at a constant level despite earning more, "Your goal money will balloon and your savings rate will increase exponentially over time without it feeling like you're doing any additional work or sacrificing things you enjoy," Hester wrote.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-x-perfect-safety-crash-test-rating-2019-2">Why Tesla's Model X was the first SUV to receive a perfect crash-test rating</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/QnahnSyb-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A woman who retired early at 38 says 4 strategies can help anyone save big without pinching pennies

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b99709080eb35a92d8b57a6-1577/work-office-stress-unhappy.jpg" border="0" alt="work office stress unhappy" data-mce-source="Altitude Visual/Shutterstock.com" /><p class="source"><span>Altitude Visual/Shutterstock.com</span></p><p class="caption">Early retirement can give you new perspective on your desk days. Jason Long is not pictured.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The New York Times recently profiled several people who managed to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/style/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html">retire comfortably in their 30s</a>.</li><li>One of the people interviewed by The Times, 38-year old former pharmacist Jason Long, retired last year after earning a salary around $150,000 and saving up a $1 million nest egg.</li><li>Long did not enjoy his work as a pharmacist, and <a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/2018/08/five-month-update.html">wrote in his blog</a> that he has<span> nightmares about being  "back at work arguing with morons."</span> </li></ul><p>Many people dream of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement">early retirement</a>, and a big part of the allure can be escaping a job you hate.</p><p>Steven Kurutz at The New York Times recently profiled several people who managed to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/style/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html">retire comfortably in their 30s</a>. One of the early retirees Kurutz interviewed was Jason Long, a former pharmacist who retired last year at the age of 38.</p><p><span>Long has no regrets about leaving the world of retail pharmacy. <a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/2018/08/five-month-update.html">In his blog</a>, he wrote that he's "still having nightmares about once per month that [he's] back at work arguing with morons."</span></p><p>After nearly 12 years of working as a pharmacist, he wrote on <a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/">his blog</a>, he had a final salary of $150,000 at the time of his retirement, with an investment portfolio worth a little over $1 million.</p><p><a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/p/spending-model.html">Long's portfolio</a> is split between 60% US stocks, 20% international stocks, and 20% municipal bonds. His spending plan targets withdrawing 3% of the annual starting balance each year, as long as the overall portfolio value remains above $1 million.</p><p><span>He has no plans to return to the working world, as long as his investment and spending plans continue to work out.</span></p><p>Since his retirement last year, Long has <a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/2018/08/four-month-update.html">explored several hobbies and interests</a>, including reading, marathon training, catching up on video games and movies, and volunteering at a local natural history museum.</p><p><a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/p/how-and-why-i-retired-at-38-without.html">In his blog</a>, Long gave a simple rationale for retiring early. "<span>It has been said that retirement is merely a decision to stop trading time for money. Since I no longer need more of the latter to sustain my standard of living, and since I do not enjoy and never have enjoyed the primary method at my disposal to acquire the latter, I have decided that the former is of more value to me going forward in life."</span></p><p><span>That's a common sentiment among early retirees. Grant Sabatier, who retired at the age of 30 and runs the blog Millennial Money, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/time-money-retire-early-financial-independence-2017-10">wrote about his inspiration for retiring early</a>, "</span>My goal was to make work optional as quickly as possible, so I could have more options with my time. If you view money as the goal, then you miss the point. Money is infinite, but time is not."</p><p><strong>Check out the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/style/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html">full New York Times article here</a>, and <a href="http://afterthefinishline.blogspot.com/">Long's blog about post-early-retirement life here</a>.</strong></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-retire-early-invest-money-2017-10">How much money you need to save to retire by age 40</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/UCRI6jhv-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A pharmacist who retired early at 38 after earning $150,000 a year had nightmares of being 'back at work arguing with morons'

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c87c3e326289852aa680958-1500/tanja%20hester.jpg" border="0" alt="tanja hester" data-mce-source="Mark Bunge"><p class="source"><span>Mark Bunge</span></p><p class="caption">Tanja Hester retired from full-time work at 38.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>It's more difficult to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/retire-early">retire early</a> when you're starting from zero savings or have debt.</li><li>That wasn't the case for Tanja Hester, who retired at 38; she had a head start with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/retirement">retirement</a> savings and home equity, she <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/early-retirement-38-tanja-hester-fire-blogger.html">told The Cut</a>.</li><li>But it still took Hester six years to save enough to retire, which she did in part by moving to a city with a lower cost of living.</li></ul><p>Tanja Hester began planning her <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement">early retirement</a> at 32, she recently <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/early-retirement-38-tanja-hester-fire-blogger.html">told The Cut</a>.</p><p>She was driven to retire early by a demanding work life that put stress on both her physical health and her marriage, she said.</p><p><span>"Isn't the idea that you're supposed to achieve more to get a better lifestyle, not a worse one? It was like my work advancement came at the expense of the rest of my life," Hester, a blogger at&#xa0;<a href="https://ournextlife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our Next Life</a>, told The Cut.</span></p><p>Before they officially left their jobs, Hester and her husband had put away <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retire-early-financial-independence-save-more-money-2019-2">about 37 times their annual spending</a>, but they weren't starting from scratch.</p><p><span>"It took us about six years to save up for our retirement, and we were not starting from zero. I want to be very clear about that," she told The Cut. "We had retirement savings and home equity before we began the process. I don't think most people can retire at 38 like I did."</span></p><p>Looking back, Hester said, she worked hard on her own as the child of a single dad on disability to eventually be able to retire early, but she was helped by at least some "luck and privilege," like graduating college with very little debt. <span>Still, Hester and her husband have "always been big savers," she said.</span></p><p><em><strong>How close are you to being able to retire? Find out with this calculator from our partners:</strong></em></p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><span>Hester writes in her book, "</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Work-Optional-Retire-Early-Non-Penny-Pinching/dp/0316450898?tag=bisafetynet2-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way</a><span>," that there are a number of ways to fast-track yourself to financial independence and create support structures to stay on that path, Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retire-early-financial-independence-save-more-money-2019-2">reported</a>.</span></p><p><span>"There are two sides to the saving equation that affect how quickly you can save: how much you earn and how much you spend," Hester writes. She </span><span>outlines four steps to quick savings progress: Underspend on housing, underspend on transportation, increase your earnings, and use your raises to increase your savings.</span></p><p><span>"What really helped us do it was that we moved from LA to Tahoe, which has a much lower cost of living," Hester told the Cut. "We bought a home here in 2011, when the housing market was in our favor, and telecommuted for years."&#xa0;</span></p><p>Ultimately, deciding <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-you-need-to-retire-early-2018-7">how much money you need to retire early</a> really depends on two factors: Your cost of living and how much you expect to earn through investments or passive income during retirement. Once you've calculated that amount, which Grant Sabatier, a self-made millionaire who retired at 30, calls your "target number," you can <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-book-millennial-money-early-retirement-formula-2019-2">figure out how much you need to save</a> monthly, weekly, or even daily to get there.&#xa0;</p><p class="tagline">Personal Finance Insider offers tools and calculators to help you make smart decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to buy or sell stocks or other financial products. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of the recommendations listed in the calculator, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners.</p><div><iframe src="https://smartasset.com/captivate/frame/na8gsflv" width="100%" height="650px" scrolling="auto" style="border: none;"></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-season-8-trailer-jon-snow-night-king-winterfell-battle-teaser-2019-3">All the details you missed in the 'Game Of Thrones' season 8 trailer</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/LO2mGrSz-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A woman who retired at 38 says most people probably can't do it

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bb7bbee765453636d554cb4-2400/shakespeare travis.jpg" border="0" alt="shakespeare travis.JPG" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Travis Shakespeare" /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Travis Shakespeare</span></p><p class="caption">Travis Shakespeare produced the documentary Playing with FIRE, about the financial independence and early retirement.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Early retirement</a> is picking up steam because younger people are panicking about the future, according to a Hollywood producer who recently directed a documentary on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-inside-joke-reddit-2018-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early retirement</a>.</li><li>Emmy-nominee Travis Shakespeare said the "social safety nets" of social security and healthcare are evolving and, possibly, "in jeopardy," encouraging more young people to take control of their lives by retiring early.</li><li>This aligns with the various reasons <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-advice-when-to-quit-work-retire-early-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early retirees</a> have told Business Insider they <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-isnt-about-being-rich-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retired early</a>, none of which have to do with money.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-passive-income-early-retirement-advice-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Retiring early</a> may evoke dreams of whiling away the days on the beach, but that's not the biggest reason it has become so appealing.</p><p>Instead, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-you-need-to-retire-early-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early retirement</a> is picking up steam because younger people are experiencing a general panic about the future - at least, according to Emmy-nominated Hollywood producer Travis Shakespeare, who recently directed the documentary <a href="https://www.playingwithfire.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Playing with FIRE</a>.</p><p>The film follows a 30-something couple navigating the financial independence and early retirement (FIRE) community, and explores the trend through conversations with more than a dozen early retirees.</p><p>"Because of the Internet, and we're constantly bombarded with all these information all day every day, there's a sense of insecurity about the future - I think greater than we probably have ever had as a society," Shakespeare said in a <a href="https://www.madfientist.com/travis-shakespeare-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent podcast</a> with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/mad-fientist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brandon of The Mad Fientist</a>, who retired early at age 34.</p><p>He added that the "social safety nets" of social security and healthcare are evolving and, possibly, "in jeopardy."</p><p>He continued: "Also, the financial services community - I was about to get conspiratorial - they have forced the individual into a position of responsibility with their own financial future. And we are woefully unprepared to face that because we don't teach financial literacy to anybody."</p><p>Instead, he said, American culture has taught society to be consumers under the belief that you make money in order to spend it. "And that's a lie," Shakespeare said.</p><p>"So, there's a sense that all of these is just crumbling I think," he said. "And so the idea of being able to have some control and some knowledge and some agency over one's own life I think is very attractive."</p><p>This notion isn't far from the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-isnt-about-being-rich-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">various reasons</a> that early retirees have previously listed to Business Insider about why they retired early - none of which have anything to do with money. </p><p>"<span>Money has been the primary motivator for my entire adult life, but now that I have enough, I've had to find new sources of motivation," Brandon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-advice-what-to-know-before-retiring-early-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously told Business Insider</a>.</span></p><p><span>Grant Sabatier, who retired at age 30 with $1.25 million and is featured in Shakespeare's documentary, has said financial independence has always been about time, not money. In a post <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/time-money-retire-early-financial-independence-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published on Business Insider</a>, he explained that time becomes more valuable as we age because we have less of it left. </span></p><p><span>"If you view money as the goal, then you miss the point," he wrote. "Money is infinite, but time is not."</span></p><p><span>He added: "To me, early retirement simply meant having enough money so that I didn't have to worry about money and could finally follow my passions and find new passions."</span></p><p><span>This exemplifies the desire for control over one's life that Shakespeare spoke of. But will this desire be enough to inspire people to push back against the standard narrative and jump into early retirement?</span></p><p><span>As Shakespeare puts it, "I think that would be radical if we could get 10% of the broad population on board with what we're up to here."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-have-not-found-aliens-aestivation-hypothesis-gaian-bottleneck-2018-8">3 compelling reasons why we haven't found aliens yet</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/lzJPcFTC-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A Hollywood producer spent over a year figuring out why millennials all want to retire early, and the reason should worry the rest of us

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c76ea302628981dc5796f96-1468/gettyimages-962626792.jpg" border="0" alt="friends traveling" data-mce-source="Westend61/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Westend61/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">If you don't know how to save money, start with identifying your goals.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>We're all told to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/your-money-saving">save money</a>, but we're not always taught how to save money - or better yet, how much money to save to accomplish our personal goals.&#xa0;</li><li>Most financial experts recommend saving 20% to 30% of your income, if you can afford it.</li><li>But that may not be the amount you need to meet your own financial goals, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-a-house-by-35-monthly-savings-math-2018-10">buying a house</a> in your dream neighborhood or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement">retiring early</a>.</li><li>Financial planner Eric Roberge says tailoring your savings rate depends on three things: How much your goals cost, how much your ideal lifestyle costs, and when you need the money.&#xa0;</li></ul><p>At one time or another, we're all told to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/your-money-saving">save money</a>, but we're not always taught <em>how </em>to save money - or better yet, <em>how much</em> to save to accomplish our personal goals.&#xa0;</p><p>There's a rule of thumb most financial experts recommend: If you can afford it, earmark 20% to 30% of your income for savings and paying off debt. But that won't apply to everyone.&#xa0;</p><p>In a recent <a href="https://twitter.com/beyondfinances/status/1100397642683691009">tweet</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/eric-roberge">Eric Roberge</a>, a certified financial planner and the founder of <a href="https://beyondyourhammock.com/">Beyond Your Hammock</a>, <span>said three things can help <a href="https://beyondyourhammock.com/1/">determine the level of savings</a> that's right for you:</span></p><ul><li><span>How much your goals cost</span></li><li><span>How much it takes to fund your ideal lifestyle</span></li><li><span>The timeline between now and when you need the money<br /></span></li></ul><h2>How much your goals cost</h2><p>The first step is identifying your goals. They can include paying off debt, creating an emergency fund, buying a house, having kids, establishing a college or private school fund for your kids, taking time off work to travel, retiring early, or any other life milestone that will cost money to achieve.&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><br>"<span>This might be self-explanatory, but the more your goals cost, the more you need to save for them," Roberge told Business Insider. "What's less obvious is the flipside: If your goals are less expensive, you don't necessarily need to save huge amounts of money."</span></br></p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/double-savings-easy-automatic-ally-bank-2019-1">I doubled my savings in 2018 and it took only 5 minutes of effort</a></em></p><p>Once you have a list of those goals, you can work backwards to figure out how much they'll cost. For instance, buying a house around $400,000 with 10% down - higher than the typical first-time buyer's down payment, but <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/20-percent-mortgage-down-payment-dead/">lower than the standard 20%</a> - will require $40,000 up front.</p><p><span>But, Roberge warns, "We want to be careful not to </span><em>over</em><span>fund goals and end up with money that doesn't have a purpose; instead of over-saving, you may be able to enjoy that money a little bit more today."</span></p><h2>How much your ideal lifestyle costs</h2><p>Now it's time to figure out how much money you need to support<em>&#xa0;</em>your everyday expenses, both necessary and discretionary, Roberge said. If you enjoy eating dinner out most nights or love to get your hands on the latest Apple products, it's important to factor that in.&#xa0;</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-save-more-money-pack-lunch-work-2018-12">I saved over $1,500 this year brown-bagging my lunch, but the benefits go beyond money</a></em></p><p>Ultimately, you're painting a picture of your ideal lifestyle. What does that look like to you, and most importantly, how much money will you need to maintain it?&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><span>"If you live very modestly and are genuinely happy with that and plan to continue to live that way throughout your life, you may be OK saving 10% to 20% of your income," Roberge said. "If, however, you need $100,000-plus per year to fund your lifestyle, you better be saving serious amounts of money so you can sustain that into the future, and into a time where you may not earn a paycheck to cover those expenses."</span></p><h2><span>When you need the money</span></h2><p><span>The final step is prioritizing your goals and creating a timeline. Figure out when you'd ideally like to accomplish them - your age can be used as a simple guidepost - and break down the cost of getting there into smaller chunks.</span></p><p><span>Here's an example, using a <a href="https://financialfreedombook.com/tools/">formula</a> created by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-freedom-book-millennial-money-early-retirement-formula-2019-2">early retiree and self-made millionaire Grant Sabatier</a>, as explained in his book "Financial Freedom": A </span><span>30-year-old who wants to retire at 55 with $1.25 million in the bank will need to save about $1,647 a month. That assumes the money saved is invested and earns a conservative 7% annual rate of return.</span><span></span></p><p><span>"The element of time comes into play big-time with investing, because the longer your time horizon the less you have to save on a monthly basis," Roberge said. For shorter-term goals, he said, "</span><span>you may need to save more aggressively because you can't rely on that money to make money."</span></p><p class="tagline">Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. If you have questions or feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at yourmoney@businessinsider.com.</p><div><iframe src="https://products.gobankingrates.com/r/06687523db009e2fd8f3a6dfd826e82e" style="max-width:595px;" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="526px" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><iframe src="https://products.gobankingrates.com/r/b0586663402dd4fdbc5ef1aa2b0f1595" style="max-width:595px;" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="416px" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><iframe src="https://products.gobankingrates.com/r/06687523db009e2fd8f3a6dfd826e82e" style="max-width:595px;" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="526px" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-el-chapo-joaquin-guzman-really-like-cartel-wives-2017-10">What El Chapo is really like, according to the wife of one his closest henchman</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/m2kCLxNU-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

How much money you should save depends on 3 things

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e21cdcc62fa813a9219ac57-1466/travel retirement.jpg" alt="travel retirement" /><p class="source"><span>JohnnyGreig/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Younger generations are redefining retirement.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>People are said to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retire-millionaire-build-wealth-financial-strategies-20s-30s-40s-50s-2019-1">retiring</a> later in life, but also earlier in life - so which is true?</li><li>With shifting perspectives on age and changes in the workplace, people are extending their careers because they want to keep working, wrote John D. Stoll for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-end-of-retirement-11578632400">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</li><li>Others are opting for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-habits-2019-12">early retirement</a> in pursuit of a life that comes with financial freedom.</li><li>Both groups are changing the concept of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-i-afford-retirement-in-florida-budget-breakdown-2018-7">retirement</a> by defining it on their own terms. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>When it comes to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/retirement">retirement</a>, there seems to be no middle ground.</p><p>Younger generations, studies have shown, are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-less-wealth-net-worth-compared-to-boomers-2019-12">behind in wealth accumulation compared to previous generations</a> and have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-x-money-stresses-retirement-savings-2019-10">paltry retirement savings</a>. It's made some realize they may never be able to afford to retire, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-generation-gap-great-recession-financial-crisis-money-habits-2019-3">experts say</a>. On the other hand, others have saved enough to embark on an early <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-improve-money-habits-advice-2019-8#jeremy-jacobson-and-winnie-tseng-dont-think-about-money-anymore-2">retirement in their 20s, 30s, and 40s</a>.</p><p>But the trend seems to be distinctly moving away from the notion of retiring at age 65, the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/background.html">standard retirement age</a> when Social Security goes into effect. So are people retiring later in life or earlier in life?</p><p>Turns out, both are true, but we shouldn't be looking at money as the only factor fueling that decision. Instead, we should also be examining what younger generations look for in the workforce and how they ultimately want to live their lives.</p><h2>People are retiring later because they <em>want</em> to</h2><p>Generations entering the workforce today might be facing 50-year careers versus 25- to 30-year careers, economist Olivia Mitchell, professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, told John D. Stoll for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-end-of-retirement-11578632400">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p>More than 3,000 workers polled in a 2018 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey don't expect to retire by 65, reported Stoll. And 9% of millennials in an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-baby-boomers-financial-behavior-money-habits-2019-4#but-more-millennials-than-boomers-expect-to-never-retire-at-all-around-9-compared-to">Insider and Morning Consult survey</a> said they expect to never retire at all. That's 5 percentage points more than boomer respondents.</p><p>At the surface, a quick look at finances explains a lot: Half of Gen X doesn't have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-a-401k-for-retirement">a 401(k)</a> or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-savings-accounts-traditional-roth-ira-401k-comparison">retirement account</a> and neither do 54% of millennials, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-x-money-stresses-retirement-savings-2019-10">according to a second Insider and Morning Consult survey</a>. The majority of each generation said it was because they didn't have enough money to save.</p><p>Social Security deficiencies and increased health-care costs aren't helping, Stoll wrote, but it's not primarily about the money. People are <em>choosing</em> to work longer for several reasons, he said: Work involves less physical labor than it used to and more rewards; it fills the loss of community created by declining birth rates and religious participation rates; and it's easier to establish one's own terms thanks to the rise of the gig economy.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/596919e0a47cb51d008b47b2-832/shutterstock566988592.jpg" alt="older worker office desk working accountant" /><p class="source"><span>Jozef_Culak/Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">People are retiring later because they want to keep working.</p><p>We're also looking at age differently thanks to increased life expectancy, he said. More baby boomers today are working than ever before, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-boomers-working-past-retirement-age-healthier-2019-4">reported Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback</a>, citing an analysis of US Census data by financial-planning firm <a href="https://unitedincome.com/documents/papers/United_Income_Older_Americans_in_the_Workforce.pdf">United Income</a>. It's largely because retirement-age Americans are healthier than they've ever been - and it's shaping the perspectives of younger generations.</p><p>People Stoll spoke with said they envision working part-time or returning to school later on, and one millennial said he plans to work in 20-year segments of different interests and take a sabbatical. It helps explain the popularity of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mini-retirement-advice-savings-tips-to-stay-on-track-2019-8">mini-retirements</a>, a series of meaningful respites away from the job.</p><p>"It has never made sense to me to work your whole life and save all of the fun and enjoyment for the end, when you might not have the health or energy to do the things you want," Kyle Stimpson, who took a six-month mini-retirement to travel in Asia and Europe, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-vs-mini-retirement-advice-how-to-save-2018-6">previously told Business Insider</a>.</p><h2>People are retiring early for financial freedom</h2><p>On the flip side of people preparing for a long life of work that extends well past the typical retirement age is the FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement. It was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/purpose-of-early-retirement-giving-back-altruistic-behavior-2018-11">first popularized</a> 20 years ago by the best-selling book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766?tag=bisafetynet2-20">Your Money or Your Life.</a>"</p><p>Since then, more people have set out to join the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement">growing community of people pursuing early retirement</a>. Consider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-passive-income-early-retirement-advice-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.P. Livingston</a>, who built a nest egg of more than $2 million before retiring at 28; <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/day-in-life-of-early-retiree-self-made-millionaire-millennial-2019-9">Grant Sabatier</a>, who retired at age 30 with $1.25 million; or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-weekly-spending-budget-2018-7">John, a former business executive</a>, who retired at 52 with $3 million. </p><p>A slew of early retirement blogs and books by early retirees have popped up in the past decade detailing just <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-habits-2019-12">how to achieve early retirement</a> - and younger generations are biting. Nearly 5% of millennials expect to retire by age 45 and 6% expect to retire by age 55, according to the original <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-baby-boomers-financial-behavior-money-habits-2019-4#but-more-millennials-than-boomers-expect-to-never-retire-at-all-around-9-compared-to-4-of-boomers-and-18-of-millennials-dont-know-when-theyll-retire-compared-to-13-of-boomers-9">Insider and Morning Consult survey</a>. And a 2019 <a href="https://www.troweprice.com/personal-investing/planning-and-research/t-rowe-price-insights/retirement-and-planning/personal-finance/how-do-you-compare-.html">T.Rowe Price survey</a> found that 43% of millennials expect to retire before the age of 65.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bec97c566be505bd304a94a-1695/gcc family photo girona spain.jpg" alt="jeremy go curry cracker" /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Jeremy/GoCurryCracker</span></p><p class="caption">Jeremy and his partner Winnie retired in their 30s.</p><p>With the aforementioned lack of retirement savings among Gen X and millennials, early retirement can seem an impossible feat. Again, though, retirement choices don't all boil down to money. The early retirement community is still a niche one, but its growth indicates that people are willing to make financial sacrifices in some areas if it means achieving financial independence earlier on in life.</p><p>One 36-year-old New York lawyer earning $270,000 <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/10/08/inside-the-strange-secretive-lives-of-rich-millennial-cheapskates/">told the New York Post</a> he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-live-frugal-to-build-wealth-2019-10">lives off rice and beans</a> so he can save 70% of his salary. Joe and Ali Olson, retired 30-something schoolteachers, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-habits-2019-12#3-theyre-frugal-3">told Business Insider</a> they made strategically frugal choices, like driving the same cars for years and rarely eating out, to live on just $20,000 a year.</p><p>"Even without the 'retire early' life, being financially independent provides a tremendous amount of inner peace," Jeremy Jacobson, who retired in his 30s a self-made millionaire, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-improve-money-habits-advice-2019-8#jeremy-jacobson-and-winnie-tseng-dont-think-about-money-anymore-2">previously told Business Insider</a>.</p><h2>Younger generations are defining retirement on their own terms</h2><p>Whether people prefer to retire early or retire later, both choices are eradicating the concept of retirement being universally tied to one specific age. Younger generations are largely coming to define and modernize retirement on their own terms, rather than government logistics. </p><p>For some, that might mean extending a fulfilling a career, perhaps turning it into part-time work or scattering it with periods to recharge. For others, that might be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/day-in-the-life-self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-2018-7">ending a career early so they can enjoy traveling</a>, spending time with their family, or working on projects they didn't previously have time for.</p><p>Some may argue that the passive income yielded by some of these projects, such as blogs and books, makes the latter cohort not early retirees but self-employed individuals. Perhaps this means these early retirees are actually part of the group who never plans to retire at all. </p><p>Regardless, the point is this: The decision to retire early or late enables people to live their days as they please. And the benefits are plenty on both ends. Those who want to keep working make it easier to remain "sharp and productive," a workforce expert told Stoll. Many early retirees, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-advice-what-to-know-before-retiring-early-2018-6">have told Business Insider</a> early retirement helped them cultivate and discover new passions.</p><p>It's not surprising, considering that millennials are already kicking to the curb other parts of a timeline imposed by society, like the typical age of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-millennials-changed-the-world-in-the-2010s-2019-12">marriage and homeownership</a>. These decisions may be rooted in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/money-problems-millennials-facing-student-loan-debt-homeownership-2019-5">financial struggles</a>, but it remains that younger generations are creating lives based on their own personal goals and purposes, not on the expectations laid out for them.</p><p class="tagline">This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stop-using-champagne-flutes-this-is-the-best-way-to-drink-champagne-2017-12">Stop using champagne flutes - this is the best way to drink champagne</a></h3>                    <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/JCKIRytm-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>            

You Searched For "grant sabatier" and got 7 results

How to retire early so you can work, travel, and relax on your own schedule

Tanza Loudenback

A woman who retired early at 38 says 4 strategies can help anyone save big without pinching pennies

Hillary Hoffower

A pharmacist who retired early at 38 after earning $150,000 a year had nightmares of being 'back at work arguing with morons'

Andy Kiersz

A woman who retired at 38 says most people probably can't do it

Tanza Loudenback

A Hollywood producer spent over a year figuring out why millennials all want to retire early, and the reason should worry the rest of us

Hillary Hoffower

How much money you should save depends on 3 things

Tanza Loudenback

Are people retiring earlier or later? Both are true - and it says a lot about the youngest generations entering and defining the workforce

Hillary Hoffower