Retire Early Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

9 Early Retirement Stories That Will Motivate You

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I love a good early retirement or financial independence story! Everyone is so different, and it’s interesting to see how people have approached early retirement and financial independence.

Plus, everyone has a unique idea and vision of what early retirement or financial independence means to them.

If you are interested in learning about how to reach early retirement, the stories I’m going to share today will teach, motivate, and inspire you.

Early retirement may sound like a dream, but there are more and more people who are trying to retire early as part of the FIRE movement. If you haven’t heard of the concept before, FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early.

There are many different versions of FIRE, and it can mean being debt-free, retiring early, quitting your regular job to work a less stressful job, and so on.

There are many reasons why a person may want to reach early retirement or financial independence, such as:

Pursuing a passion without worrying about making an income
Having more time to travel
Having freedom
Spending more time with family and those that you love

Finding a good early retirement story may give you the boost of energy you need to keep working on your side hustles, find new ways to save, and put more money towards investments and retirement accounts.

You may also learn new tips and tricks for reaching early retirement that you would never think to try.

You may find one or two stories about reaching FIRE in this article that will really click with you – perhaps the person was in a similar situation, lives near you, has the same hobbies, or something else.

In today’s article, I am sharing 9 interviews and guest posts with people who have reached early retirement or financial independence. I ask each person to share their story, and you will learn things such as:

How much they saved for early retirement
How/if they still earn income after they quit their jobs
Their tips and tricks on how they saved money so quickly for retirement
How much they spend annually not that they’ve retired early

And more.

While some of their strategies may seem crazy or impossible to you, it shows different ways to approach financial independence. [Read more…]

13 Best Early Retirement Books – You NEED To Read These Books

Last Updated: March 5, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Do you want to learn how to retire early? Today, I’m sharing the best early retirement books to motivate you and help you start planning for your future.

Early retirement is very popular right now, and you may be wondering if it’s possible for you and how to make it happen.

If early retirement is something you’re dreaming about, then I highly recommend reading the books I’m sharing with you today.

Many of the best early retirement books focus on FIRE, which stands for financial independence, retire early. FIRE can mean many different things, but books about FIRE are some of my favorites to read because they are very informative and give me lots of motivation.

The books below can help you learn more about FIRE, as well as dive deeper into the many different ways to become financially independent and retire early.

Reading books about early retirement can be a great way to learn specific actions steps that you need to take to reach early retirement. [Read more…]

9 Tips For Financial Success And Freedom – Take Control Of Your Money

Last Updated: July 5, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Achieving financial success is something that many people want to reach.

It makes sense as money can greatly determine how a person lives their life.

Money can even be a factor in your happiness. I’m not saying that money equals happiness, but if you’re stressed about money, you may feel depressed, inadequate, or have other negative feelings.

I completely understand that there are some situations where things are outside of your control, leading to a lot of financial stress and awful feelings.

It can be incredibly difficult to overcome situations like that.

Still, I truly believe that there are things you can do to become more financially secure and reach financial freedom. Everyone’s path will be different, but I believe it’s possible.

So, what is financial freedom and financial success? And, how do you become financially successful?

Financial success means something different to everyone.

It could mean that you no longer have debt, that you no longer have stress from money, money no longer controls you, you have paid off your house, you’ve reached retirement, or something else. [Read more…]

What Is Financial Independence, Retire Early? Answers To FAQs About FIRE

Last Updated: August 9, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What is financial independence, retire early?

Have you heard of the FIRE movement and are wondering what it all means?

Early retirement has been extremely popular over the past few years, and I’m sure you’ve heard of it, especially if you follow many personal finance blogs.

I know there are a lot of people who are confused or even skeptical of what early retirement is and whether or not it is a real thing.

Before I started my personal finance blog, I had never really heard of the term financial independence or early retirement.

I assumed early retirement was only for the super rich.

Now, it’s really all I ever hear about. Because I travel full-time, I have met many, many people who have been able to reach financial independence and/or early retirement.

Plus, being a financial blogger means that I’ve, of course, heard and read about it many times.

It is an amazing thing to read about, and I always get excited when I read stories about the financial independence, retire early movement. It’s really inspiring and motivating to read about how people have taken control of their financial lives, are living outside of the norm, and more. [Read more…]