Who doesn’t dream of landing a windfall, and retiring with enough wealth to pursue all of one’s genuine interests? While that may be a reality for a few select individuals, there’s a movement afoot to opt for a frugal approach to saving and living that enables early retirement:
Carl Jensen experienced what he calls “the awakening” sometime around 2012.
He was a software engineer in a suburb of Denver, writing code for a medical device. The job was high-pressure: He had to document every step for the Food and Drug Administration, and a coding error could lead to harm or death for patients.
Mr. Jensen was making about $110,000 a year and had benefits, but the stress hardly seemed worth it… After one especially brutal workday, Mr. Jensen Googled “How do I retire early?” and his eyes were opened. He talked to his wife and came up with a plan: They saved a sizable portion of their income over the next five years and drastically reduced expenses, until their net worth was around $1.2 million.
On Tuesday, March 10, 2017, Mr. Jensen called his boss and gave notice after 15 years at the company. He wasn’t quitting, exactly. He had retired. He was 43.
Although Mr. Jensen’s story may seem exceptional, a more modest version of the stockbroker who makes a killing on Wall Street and sails off to the Caribbean, he is part of a growing movement of young professionals who are intently focused on quitting their jobs forever.
Millennials especially have embraced this so-called FIRE movement — the acronym stands for financial independence, retire early — seeing it as a way out of soul-sucking, time-stealing work and an economy fueled by consumerism. (Steven Kurutz, How to Retire in Your 30s With $1 Million in the Bank, September 1, 2018, NYTimes.com)
Separately, Rabbi Moshe Goldberg has published a guide for the Jewish professional on “How to Retire Young & Rich.” Click here for his free kuntres to learn how!
