5 Boring Steps That Helped Me Retire at 35
The unsexy yet effective path to financial independence
The FIRE or Financial Independence Retire Early movement was always something that fascinated me. From everything I read, it was all about aggressive savings and frugal spending.
Then, there would be the math. Save up about 25–30 times your annual expenditure and you’d be alright.
The “what” seemed clear but the “how” was always vague.
Saving up enough money to pay for decades of your annual expenditure is easier said than done.
However, I knew one thing — the path to success if often the most obvious and boring one.
Yet, most people keep chasing the “sexy” overnight get-rich schemes that frankly do not exist.
Last November, when I quit my job and left my 12-year career in finance behind, I’d done exactly that.
I’d followed a very conventional and boring path but I’d achieved the results that most FIRE proponents would envy.
I’d retired at 35 with a financial cushion and strategy that would help not only me but also my family — my wife and our two young kids — live comfortably.