Retire by 40 with a Million Dollars

This is not another “I’ve done it so you can too” post. I can’t guarantee I have the answer you’re looking for on how to achieve the FIRE lifestyle (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and I certainly can’t illustrate how we happily rode past market surges, allowing us to retire early. Instead, it’s our blueprint to reach the same goal most of us dream of day in and day out. Our blueprint that relies on historical trends and a future decade of hard work and penny-pinching.

So to be less vague on how exactly my wife and I are doing is this. We have set an aggressive yet achievable goal for ourselves. Currently aged 29 years we’re going to “Retire” by the time we’re 40 with at least $1 million saved. That’s excluding any home equity. Just cold hard cash (in investments and whatnot, you get the idea). Below I’ll elaborate on the numbers behind our plan and our current situation which makes this a possibility.

The thought of being able to strive for this goal was bonkers just one year ago when we were living mostly paycheck to paycheck. Due to several smart decisions and luck, we’ve made some big strides that have put it firmly in the realm of reality. Before I get everyone too hyped up with “you can do it too” let me clear up some caveats.

Caveat #1: Retire by 40 does not mean we will sit around doing nothing all day for the remainder of our lives. It is a “soft-retirement” where we plan to cover our day-to-day expenses by making money via hobbies, fun side gigs, or long-term volunteering that nets…