What started you on the road to FI ?

[Leonidas]

We also noticed that our investment portfolio was growing as though we had the income of a third lieutenant in our house. It dawned on me that if this other lieutenant could keep it up, then my income could be deemed superfluous.

And here's a picture of that young lieutenant hard at work constructing a CD ladder.

I met him once, back in the day, at one of those liberty spot bars in Barrio Barretto outside 'Po City along National Highway (The Midnight Rambler Bar I think, or maybe the Wet Spot). No fancy calculators or computers for this fellow. Nope, he's old school navy - wooden ships and iron men. He does his financial work using them old navy tools; a slide rule, windlass, a number two pencil (sharpened by a saber) and lots of grog.

 

[chinaco]

An arbitrary statement in my 20s. I was in college (after my tour of duty in the service) and during a conversation about career opportunities, I stated that I would like to retire at 55. I don't remember why I even said it. My best guess (to try to remember) was when I was in the service, many of the career military guys often talked about early retirement. It must have had an impression on me.

It stuck with me, but just as an idea. It was not until I was in my early 30's that I started actually working toward that goal. But I laid the foundation for it by getting an education and skills in a marketable and high paying field.

While I will take my credit for bringing about some of it... part of it was been due to the preparation by the government and employers. SS/Medicare and employer retirement plans. Plus a little luck in spite of mistakes I made along the way.

While we have saved a lot of money just by LBYM and making the effort to do it. If those other plans (employer plans) were not laid out for us... I am not so sure I would have been able to FIRE.... maybe even retire at all. It was part of the compensation... but still, who can take credit for that? Not us... maybe our grandparents and parents generations.


We can all pat ourselves on the back all we want... but the fact is, that capability was only available to a very few number of people prior to some of the modern mechanisms being created and maintained. Those mechanisms have mainly been fostered by government and a very small number of leaders in our history... and against great opposition!

Don't forget to tip your hat to them!

 

[foxfirev5]

From a very early age I observed and learned to save and live below my means. Since all my peers were in the same boat we didn't know about the high life. I got my first job cleaning the school cafeteria during lunch. Another kid and I picked up the trash and straightened out chairs for a free lunch. Took some ribbing from the other kids for being the principals slave but it didn't bother me. My mom said that I showed initiative and I could keep the lunch money she gave me each day. I believe it was about $.35. Talk about a slow start!

 

[marylandcrab]

I've been on a roller coaster with our company. About 8 years ago we really hit hard times with it and it was a really scary time. Time felt like my enemy. We crawled our way out by paying down debt as quickly as possible and putting a savings plan into place. I was worried about not being able to pay the kids college or have a big enough savings account or enough being put away for retirement. Once we got those 4 things either paid off or going at a good clip I started contemplating what it would actually take to retire. We aren't there yet. We always thought we'd sell our company, but I never wanted to rely on that. We work our plan as if we won't be able to sell, but selling will allow us to retire immediately.

 

[racy]

Three key things, I think. First, I have to credit my parents who taught me the value of work. I grew up on a farm and had daily chores - feeding chickens, milking cows - those things have to be done daily (no sick days!). Second, in college I took a computer programming course & had to create a program (remember Basic?). I constructed one showing compound interest over time. Wow! I knew then I needed to start saving & investing immediately. Lastly, married a girl who shared my values and wanted to work; it's much easier to become FI with 2 incomes!

 

[pb4uski]

Dad. Dad came from a family that struggled (my grandfather declared bankruptcy more than once I have heard), got his education in the school of hard knocks, worked hard and smart and LBYM and provided an nice upper middle class life for his wife and children. For some wierd reason, I felt a need to do as good or better and not regress the family history.

When I first started out after college I remember struggling to pay bills and having to make choices as to who got paid that month and later got into a bit of credit card debt and those two experiences convinced me that I didn't want to live in either of those situations again (my school of hard knocks I suppose).

So the above, a frugal bride who grew up where money was tight and inspiration from Money magazine to routinely save, invest and LBYM.

 

[Dawg52]

My parents were always frugal and saved for retirement. So I had pretty good mentors. I didn't totally start out that way after I graduated from college as I bought a couple of toys, but it kicked in by my early 30's.

 

[donheff]

When I started job hunting after college I focused on the public sector partially because it offered the potential to retire with a pension at 55 which would free me up to do anything or nothing. That concept always appealed to me.

 

[Andre1969]

In a way, I think it was my Granddad who got me turned on to the idea. When I was younger, he told me that I should look into putting my money into something that was more profitable than just saving/checking accounts, CD's, etc. and that I should start looking into stocks.

Although oddly, he never did any investing himself. But, he had a gov't pension, retired at the age of 55, a paid-off house, and he and Grandmom still managed to save up a decent amount with just CD's and such.

Even though he only had a 6th grade education, he had a lot more real-world knowledge than many so-called college graduates. He was probably at that age, and had the security with retirement, good health insurance, etc, that he knew he was comfortable. But he realized that my generation probably wouldn't have it so easy.

Well, about a year and a half after he passed away, I finally made my first investment, into a mutual fund. My other Granddad had a money magazine that I was reading through, and it recommended 20th Century (now American Century) Ultra. It had posted something like a 20% return over the past 12 months. Being naive, I thought it would be able to do that consistently. Well, I goofed up when I placed the order (this was August 1991, in those dark, dim, pre-internet days) and bought Growth instead of Ultra. Still, it managed to do well, and as time went by, I bought some Ultra as well.

I also remember running a calculation. If I invested $1,000, and it returned 20% every year, in 39 years I'd have $1M! Now, realistically, I knew that would never happen, because that rate wouldn't sustain itself, plus there's taxes on capital gains and such. But, I figured that if I kept investing, it really wouldn't be that hard to become a millionaire at a relatively young age and be able to retire early.

So, if that unrealistic calculation actually worked out, I'd be a millionaire by the age of 60. I was 21 in 1991. Well, now it's roughly 20 years and 3 months since I made that first investment. And I'm around the $640K mark. So, barring catastrophes, hopefully I'll hit $1M ahead of schedule!

 

[Sarah in SC]

"Your Money or Your Life", which came out right around the same time as our daughter...

This was it for me, as well. We had dreams that needed time to accomplish, and to a lesser degree, money. I think I read the book about 12 years ago.

 

[Midpack]

Hard to say where it started, but pivotal factors (in order):

• Naturally LBYM,
• Reading Your Money or Your Life,
• Reading The Millionaire Next Door,
• Reading The Four Pillars of Investing,
• And I was fortunate during my career (though no pension or health care).

Probably the biggest factors.

 

[Moscyn]

As far as I am concerned, there's more to life than work and I don't want to be too old or too jaded by corporate life to enjoy the simple life that ER offers. I just know that I had to get the finances, satisfy some self-achievement in my career, work with DH on this and I did make good on my decision to ER when the time was ripe.

 

[American-Canadian]

Seeing an ad in a magazine many years ago featuring an old man wistfully looking at a cruise ship pulling away. The ad message was something about working your entire life and not saving a thing for your old age.

Reading Your Money or Your Life

Learning about how IRAs worked when I was in my 30s and making the decision to invest in Vanguard. It surprised me how many of my work colleagues did not know that a 401k is NOT the only way to save, that you can and should save in an IRA also.

Living hand-to-mouth when I was in my 20s.

 

[brett]

My parents.

Scottish Presbyterian work ethic that included never have consumer debt and always spend less than you earn.

 

[EllisWyatt]

Had always been frugal out of neccesity - paying for college an graduate school tuition, books and housing didn't leave much room to do anything besides LBYM, but the light-bulb really came on after I signed on with a Mega-corp. When I first arrived, the "old-timers" in their late 40's and early 50's had worked with the paradigm that "you put in your time, and you can retire with a nice pension" their entire carreers. I had already worked part-time for two small companies that went belly-up, so hadn't quite bought into that philosophy, although it was very comforting. Then the layoffs started. First to go were the early 50's guys who had almost, but not quite, become vested in the entire retirement package. Saw what happened when you depended on outside sources for your security, and had it reinforced that no one else had my best interests front and center. During the next 20 years and 18 rounds of layoffs (all 10% or higher), it was STRONGLY reinforced that I had better become FIRE ASAP, because next Monday could be my last.

 

[Retire2013]

I knew I wanted to be FI when I came to America as a refugee from Vietnam. I saw my parents in their 50s, penniless, and only one of them could speak English. The anxiety of having no money, no home, no job, no language skill, no social network --- there are many more "No's" to add to this list but you get the idea.

So I started to work very very hard, first on learning English, then obtaining a "practical" education (Accounting), and then getting along reasonably well in corporate America --- I am almost FI now. If something bad happens and I were to find myself without a job, I would still be financially OK. Home and car both fully paid off.

I am grateful for how life had turned out and am thanking Providence each night before I go to sleep. I live a relatively stress-free life now. I believe that for most of us, if we had found ourselves penniless at some point in our lives, we tend to come to appreciate the psychological comfort of being able to provide food, shelter, and healthcare for ourselves, no matter what happens. That is FI, isn't it?

 

[fritz]

Did a lot of the things mentioned here - cut grass for my bikes, and worked almost every night after school and every weekend in my junior/senior year for my "own" money. Trip to Vietnam paid for my college degree. Never fell into any money, and what I/we have, I/we earned/saved (wife worked 12 years and we raised two children). I always told myself I wanted to be debt free by 35 and retire at 45, but never had a real plan. Surprisingly, missed by a just a few years on the debt and 14 years on the retirement, but money was saved by around +/-50.

My daughter gave me a booklet she received at her first place of employment through HR - Retirement Made Easy - 1994 (still have it). Impact of re-discovering (compound) interest tables in the back of the booklet started my serious retirement investing in mutual funds. Book given to me by a business client "The Millionaire Next Door" was very helpful, and read numerous financial books self-educating myself in the world of investing. Long journey into the straight fact "no one knows". Did the LBYMs, even though I made a very good living. Allowed us to retire 59/57 (no pensions, annuities). It can be done by almost everyone, but a lot of people choose not to...

 

[Brett_Cameron]

An arbitrary statement in my 20s. I was in college (after my tour of duty in the service) and during a conversation about career opportunities, I stated that I would like to retire at 55. I don't remember why I even said it. My best guess (to try to remember) was when I was in the service, many of the career military guys often talked about early retirement. It must have had an impression on me.

It stuck with me, but just as an idea. It was not until I was in my early 30's that I started actually working toward that goal. But I laid the foundation for it by getting an education and skills in a marketable and high paying field.

While I will take my credit for bringing about some of it... part of it was been due to the preparation by the government and employers. SS/Medicare and employer retirement plans. Plus a little luck in spite of mistakes I made along the way.

While we have saved a lot of money just by LBYM and making the effort to do it. If those other plans (employer plans) were not laid out for us... I am not so sure I would have been able to FIRE.... maybe even retire at all. It was part of the compensation... but still, who can take credit for that? Not us... maybe our grandparents and parents generations.


We can all pat ourselves on the back all we want... but the fact is, that capability was only available to a very few number of people prior to some of the modern mechanisms being created and maintained. Those mechanisms have mainly been fostered by government and a very small number of leaders in our history... and against great opposition!

Don't forget to tip your hat to them!

It is eery how your situation is like mine. Your first two paragraphs are exact, word for word as my situation was.

 

[Bimmerbill]

My parents were always savers. So I naturally saved as well.
Plus, I am fortunate to work in IT which pays well and has decent job prospects/security.
I've never had money issues, and don't want them. I want the freedom of having enough $ to do what I want, within reason.

 

[SecondCor521]

The earliest and most inspirational things:

1. Being born an INTJ and never been able to find a career or job that I really enjoy.
2. Reading this book and being entranced by the ideas of getting straight A's, saving one's pennies and nickels, and sneaking around at night all sounded like a lot of fun.
3. Watching Trapper John MD where the character Gonzo lived in an RV in the hospital parking lot. That sounded pretty cool as well.

Books (YMOYL and the cheapskate book) and background/upbringing helped a lot, but the above were the motivating factors.

2Cor521

 

[Trawler]

At a very early age was taught to save part of my allowance from doing chores around the house. On my 15th birthday was given a business card to do odd jobs and no more allowence in fact had to pay to use the lawnmower when cutting other grass. Lived in a nice upper middle class neighborhood then got booted out of house at 17 because I was somewhat of a rebel and lived in poverty and that is when said I want to be FI and ER and So off to college I went. Then got a real Job. My grandfather then gave me a couple books that showed me the way to become FI. He also told be to never pay the bank always have the bank pay you.

 

[lowflyer]

Interesting topic.

1. My Dad always liked to save and taught me the same.
2. My Dad liked utility stocks and taught me the value of dividends.
3. I wanted to retire from the first day I went to work, so saved for it from the beginning.
4. Read the book “How to be Rich” by J. Paul Getty, when I was 16.
5. Opened my first IRA at age 17.

 

[Mulligan]

Being fortunate enough to have a generous pension, I never really saved like I should have over the years. Never really got in much debt, but the focus was career advancement to make higher pension, (not saving for retirement)for which I was fortunate to accomplish. Oddly enough, in retirement, is where Im becoming FI independent. Im saving more now than I ever did, and enjoy frugality. New cars, fancy clothes, etc. mean nothing to me now, so its easier to save.

 

[Lisa99]

The internet meltdown in 2000-2002 changed our lives.

Pre-internet meltdown: Dual high incomes, no kids, $16k in credit card debt, a mortgage, two car payments...but had a six month cushion of cash in the bank. DH used to give me grief for having so much in savings, but I had to have it to feel 'safe'. We had very little in investments because our 401k went down with the internet.

DH lost his job as a "management consultant" three times in two years. Thankfully my income was high enough that I could easily pay all of our bills.

After he finally got a job that didn't go away our approach to money and spending were forever changed. We sold our house, took part of the equity and paid off all of our bills. We then bought another house that again one of us could afford.

In 2004 we started living off of one income and putting the second income into the market. After a side trip with Ameriprise, we've again got our finances fully under our control and are in great shape to retire at 55 and 51 (in 4 1/2 years).

So it is possible to change your approach to money, but it took a prolonged period of stress for us to stop spending and start saving/investing.

 

[Gumby]

For me, it started in childhood, watching my parents struggle financially and seeing how a lack of money constricted their lives and limited their options. I decided that I would not be poor and beholden to anyone when I grew up.