Comments on: Retirement at 40? It’s Possible

By: 401k_roth_ira

401k_roth_ira — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:43:18 +0000

This is cool! And so interested! Are u have more posts like this? Plese tell me, thanks

By: richby30

richby30 — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:58:15 +0000

Jeff @ Stretchy Dollar, I agree absolutely. If you really want to be wealthy you just have to be disciplined and do it!

My goal is to BE ABLE to retire by 40 if I don't like my job, which currently satisfies me.

This couple is doing great, and I love to hear these types of stories.

Rgds

RB

Rich By 30 Retire By 40 Blog

By: The David

The David — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:50:31 +0000

I'd like to add another question, even more important than the first two.

1) Where do you want to go? What do you want to accomplish?

If you asked most people (not just young people), they'd say "I want to be rich!". But they wouldn't define exactly what that means. They wouldn't be able to tell you how much money that means, or what they want to do with their freedom.

Even this couple that is saving so well said they want to be millionaires, but even having almost $3 million might not be enough.

I like your other questions though.

I have to admit, I'm not prepared to sacrifice as much as them, but I'm inspired by their story.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:45:40 +0000

Just goes to show you anything is possible . . .

The two questions you need to ask:
1) What are you prepared to do?
2) What are you willing to sacrifice?

By: The David

The David — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:33:41 +0000

I agree that their income is much higher than most people, but I still think there's some things we can learn from them.

$174 K is a lot, but it's not easy to save half of your salary, especially in an expensive area like San Francisco.

And even if most people aren't in a position to retire so early, you can just look at the way they set goals and work towards it.

And even if you don't think any of that stuff if valuable, you can look at the things they've done wrong and try to avoid it.

They've made (and continue to make) some pretty big money mistakes, which could easily undo all their frugality and hardwork.

By: The David

The David — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:31:26 +0000

Yeah I think it's a lot easier to connect and take stories in when they're about people you have a lot in common with. It's a lot more effective than just reading about what you should be doing.

I agree it's crazy to hold so much in any one company, especially when you work for them. You'd think that people would learn from the failure of giants like Enron, Bear Stearns, etc...

I think it's really risky to hold any significant amount of your company stock in general.

I'm not saving nearly as much as you, but I'm working on increasing it. I've been doing pretty good about keeping my spending and expenses level, so as my income goes up I'll put more and more of it towards retirement.

Glad you like the Strokes quote...it really sums up my attitude about money and time.

By: The David

The David — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:27:20 +0000

After I read their story, it made me feel pretty bad about where I'm at and what I'm doing. Rather than get down about it, I'll just use it as motivation to try harder.

I can't say that I'd be as extreme as them, but there's definitely a lot more I could be doing.

By: Jeff@StretchyDollar

Jeff@StretchyDollar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:40:16 +0000

I think stories like this prove the fact that most people who aren't wealthy don't really want to be. If you're willing to sacrifice, work hard, and improvise, you can make anything happen, even if it means becoming a millionaire. Kudos to this couple for their dedication, I hope it pays off for them.

By: Matt @ StupidCents

Matt @ StupidCents — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:32:37 +0000

I like these kinds of stories about couples looking to retire early, especially young couples around my age. I have a goal to retire early, but it wont' happen at 40. My wife and I don't make six figures, but that doesn't really matter because we've created our own lifestyle for what we make.

I personally think it's crazy to hold a single stock that is 37% of your portfolio, even if it is Microsoft. It's been trading pretty much sideways for the past 10 years, although it has had an OK yield.

My wife and I are contributing 30% of our salary towards retirement. It works for us now, but we don't have any kids and we don't own a home. That is bound to change at some point.

I love The Strokes quote!

Stupidly Yours,

Matt

By: Joe B

Joe B — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:15:56 +0000

What does frugal mean when you make $174k? Having expenses of $75k? That is still almost double what most Americans make. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against high wage earners. I just don't think there is any real guidance to be had from this couple. I read about them somewhere else and I recall that they have no children and two high income jobs. It's pretty easy to save money when you are in that situation.

Must be nice though. I would like to break the six figure barrier, but I still have a long way to go.