Hi I am financially independent in early 30s

[npcc]

Hi All,
I was always frugal and loved saving money. Was fortunate to start an online business early and through a combination of some hard work, luck and a few good real estate investments I'm now financially independant in my erly 30s.

I'm single (ish), with no kids and don't plan to have any, at least for now. Tried retirement, travelled around the world, pursued some hobbies, learned new skills, but in the end decided to continue running my business, as I mostly enjoy it and it's hard to replace that sense of accomplishment that comes from it. It's also more fun now, as being FI removes a lot of the stress from it. I say NO a lot more often to clients, pick the projects I want etc.


I mostly stay in SE Asia and other low cost countries, as I tend to enjoy them more than "1st world", so my expenses are pretty low and my investment portfolio is more than enough to cover them, I mostly have real estate and stocks.

Curious if anyone here is in a similar situation, as I get the impression most people here and on other ER communities have families, kids, jobs and retire in their 40s-60s.

[Onward]

Is this a commercial?

[exnavynuke]

Not me. I'm working towards FIRE and will be one of those doing it in their 40's at the current rate. Good on you getting there early though. Enjoy

[CoolChange]

Welcome npcc.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt: Not many are retired in 30's, much less early 30's. But, I have known met a few. They seem to be rare; but, I think this board has (had?) a couple of them. This seems like a reasonable place for OP to look for kindred spirits.

ER in 30's was my original goal; but, every time I reached a financial milestone, I decided OMY would make ER a little less reliant on part time gigs, more comfortable, safer, etc. Now, I'm almost 50, comfortably FI (for my lifestyle/situation) yet still not RE.

[justlikebike]

I have met several young people who have had the opportunity/luck to retire in their 30's. One of the common threads I have seen is similar to you where they have no idea what to do with themselves post w*rking life. Your opportunity is rare, yes, it does take most people 30+ years to save enough. So you have nobody to play with or share with, etc. I read an article recently stating it is normally in their mid-30s where people start hating their j*bs. I could relate. There is absolutely nothing wrong with building your business if you enjoy it. Life is for enjoying. If your business does that for you. Awesome. For the rest of us... Not so much.

[OUTLAW]

What do you do about Healthcare?

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by npcc Hi All, I'm single (ish),

i would like to know more about what is the daily life of a single(ish) person. I understand single, it is the ish that has me confused.

Ha

[MusicalFIRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OUTLAW What do you do about Healthcare?

NPCC, very curious to know your answer to this question. Good job by the way! I am in my early 30s shooting for FI in my early 40s, and healthcare is my biggest concern (not that it will be the same in 10 years!). However, I am thinking at some point self-employment is in the cards for me, which would bring that healthcare concern to the forefront. I look forward to your response to this.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by npcc I was always frugal and loved saving money. Was fortunate to start an online business early and through a combination of some hard work, luck and a few good real estate investments I'm now financially independant in my erly 30s.

It's funny to read someone in their early 30s start a sentence with "I was always..."

Quote:

I'm single (ish), with no kids and don't plan to have any, at least for now.

No idea what that means.

Quote:

Tried retirement, travelled around the world, pursued some hobbies, learned new skills, but in the end decided to continue running my business, as I mostly enjoy it and it's hard to replace that sense of accomplishment that comes from it. It's also more fun now, as being FI removes a lot of the stress from it. I say NO a lot more often to clients, pick the projects I want etc.

Many folks of all ages and financial situations gain a large measure of satisfaction and accomplishment from their jobs.

Quote:

Curious if anyone here is in a similar situation, as I get the impression most people here and on other ER communities have families, kids, jobs and retire in their 40s-60s.

Are you just looking for attaboys, or do you have specific questions?

[pj.mask]

I think most anyone can FIRE in SE Asia very early - my concern would be they are growing fast (so might costs) and if you ever want to really move back to the US your budget might be a tight squeeze. (Just look at all the Californians who move away and plan to move back)

Our expenses having a family more than doubled - luckily we had raises and dual incomes. If I was a single income household (common event if you marry a SE Asian (education doesn't transfer and jobs there don't pay much) - would keep up the business and keep working until I was prepared enough to comfortably fund any outcome I am concerned about. But for me, I tend to consider scenarios carefully - for the average person life is a continual surprise!

[npcc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justlikebike I have met several young people who have had the opportunity/luck to retire in their 30's. One of the common threads I have seen is similar to you where they have no idea what to do with themselves post w*rking life. Your opportunity is rare, yes, it does take most people 30+ years to save enough. So you have nobody to play with or share with, etc. I read an article recently stating it is normally in their mid-30s where people start hating their j*bs. I could relate. There is absolutely nothing wrong with building your business if you enjoy it. Life is for enjoying. If your business does that for you. Awesome. For the rest of us... Not so much.

that's true, I basically ended up continuing working on my business, but with some changes. Not worrying as much about money I can pick the projects and clients I want to work with.
Life of leasure and retirement is not very satisfying though when you're young and have no kids.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OUTLAW What do you do about Healthcare?

Healthcare costs are quite reasonable and insurance is inexpensive mostly everywhere in the world if you do not live in US.

[npcc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha i would like to know more about what is the daily life of a single(ish) person. I understand single, it is the ish that has me confused. Ha

As in I date, have relationships.. but haven't found the one yet, who I would want to marry, spend life with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea Are you just looking for attaboys, or do you have specific questions?

Looking to meet/interact with others in a similar situation.. it is an early retirement forum after all?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj.mask I think most anyone can FIRE in SE Asia very early - my concern would be they are growing fast (so might costs) and if you ever want to really move back to the US your budget might be a tight squeeze. (Just look at all the Californians who move away and plan to move back) Our expenses having a family more than doubled - luckily we had raises and dual incomes. If I was a single income household (common event if you marry a SE Asian (education doesn't transfer and jobs there don't pay much) - would keep up the business and keep working until I was prepared enough to comfortably fund any outcome I am concerned about. But for me, I tend to consider scenarios carefully - for the average person life is a continual surprise!

Not from US, but yes you can live very comfortably on just $1-2k per month in Thailand. I usually end up spending closer to $3K per month though since everything is cheap, so you end up doing a lot of different things, like going to various classes, eating out 3 times a day, getting a lot of massages, visiting all kinds of events, activites, sports etc. I've lived in different places though and do enjoy SE Asia more than staying in western/developed countries.

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Welcome to the ER forum! Good job on creating the assets and income to support you the rest of your life. Maybe that was the easy part? It sometimes is, when you start thinking about "now what shall I do?" (beyond sniping at newcomers on this forum) :-)

At your age I was still looking at 20 years-plus of w*rk and still found it satisfying, if highly stressful. I was in strive mode and my ambition was a key driver. But it took those 20 years of travel, reading, observing, absorbing, and learning (all in my limited spare time) to develop as a more rounded, thinking being whose interests outside of w*rk became irresistible. Also, I was married at 30 and spending time with my wife seemed to be an insurmountable challenge, due to my w*rk obligations. Eventually, I exchanged "strive" for "thrive" and adjusted my mindset accordingly.

So, perhaps you are at the beginning of this process of learning your new "j*b". Take your time and let it unfold for you. For example, I didn't know that I loved art and art history until after age 30 and began to go to museums, while travelling, and connecting my love of history with the history of art. Now I am mad about it and it occupies a lot of my time and energy.
I've even become a collector, with a small "c".

Most of us FIRE'd from salary slave j*bs and were, in some sense, pushed to it by dislike of megacorps, bad managers, deteriorating work conditions, getting up early, etc. We tend to think of ourselves as having made it over the wall. Fewer of us were entrepreneurs like you (at least it seems from my 13 years reading on this forum) and so the conditions are a bit different. If you like your work, continue doing it until you like others things much better. You will know when that moment arrives.

You did ask a question -- "Are there any others like me here?" Yes, on two levels: those who FIRE'd *very* early, and those who are trying to adapt to FIRE, regardless of age at onset. I'd suggest you spend some time searching the forum using keywords to find relevant threads about these two topics. Also, perhaps change the title of this thread to your question. Something like, "Anybody else retire in their 30s?" It might attract those individuals who did/are doing/want to do what you have done.

Best of luck, by the way.

-BB

[npcc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan Barnfellow Welcome to the ER forum! Good job on creating the assets and income to support you the rest of your life. Maybe that was the easy part? It sometimes is, when you start thinking about "now what shall I do?" (beyond sniping at newcomers on this forum) :-) At your age I was still looking at 20 years-plus of w*rk and still found it satisfying, if highly stressful. I was in strive mode and my ambition was a key driver. But it took those 20 years of travel, reading, observing, absorbing, and learning (all in my limited spare time) to develop as a more rounded, thinking being whose interests outside of w*rk became irresistible. Also, I was married at 30 and spending time with my wife seemed to be an insurmountable challenge, due to my w*rk obligations. Eventually, I exchanged "strive" for "thrive" and adjusted my mindset accordingly. So, perhaps you are at the beginning of this process of learning your new "j*b". Take your time and let it unfold for you. For example, I didn't know that I loved art and art history until after age 30 and began to go to museums, while travelling, and connecting my love of history with the history of art. Now I am mad about it and it occupies a lot of my time and energy. I've even become a collector, with a small "c". Most of us FIRE'd from salary slave j*bs and were, in some sense, pushed to it by dislike of megacorps, bad managers, deteriorating work conditions, getting up early, etc. We tend to think of ourselves as having made it over the wall. Fewer of us were entrepreneurs like you (at least it seems from my 13 years reading on this forum) and so the conditions are a bit different. If you like your work, continue doing it until you like others things much better. You will know when that moment arrives. You did ask a question -- "Are there any others like me here?" Yes, on two levels: those who FIRE'd *very* early, and those who are trying to adapt to FIRE, regardless of age at onset. I'd suggest you spend some time searching the forum using keywords to find relevant threads about these two topics. Also, perhaps change the title of this thread to your question. Something like, "Anybody else retire in their 30s?" It might attract those individuals who did/are doing/want to do what you have done. Best of luck, by the way. -BB

thanks. I never had a real job, I'd probably be pretty bad at it too, was mostly lucky to find a field that matched my skills and enter a rapidly growing market, as well as being too young and stubborn to give up after many initial failures.

My biggest challenge (which most people who haven't been in a similar situation wouldn't be able to understand or just just get mad at, consider bragging) is how to find some balance in life.
I'm curious concerning other people who FIRED, even if older, especially entrepreneurs, business owners - what replaces that feeling of accomplishment and flow for you that you used to get from work?

[walkinwood]

What country are you from (citizen of)?

You've got a good thing going. Why stop? I have met quite a few people in your situation and they have a wonderful life. They work on things that are meaningful to them and, while not everything is rosy, money is no longer an issue. Money after all is just one aspect, albeit an important one, of all the things that make up a good life.