My FIRE cliffnotes

[97guns]

My basic road to Fire

1) work hard
2) save money
3) let your savings earn you money


What are your cliffnotes to retirement

 

[Meadbh]

(4) be nice to your parents. They might leave you something.

 

[marko]

1) Understand your spending
2) Understand your income streams (SWR, SS, Investments, Other Income)
3) Learn all you can about investing
4) Be flexible and realistic in your planning
5) Keep checking-in to this forum (seriously)

If you get #1 nailed down, everything else falls into place with simple math.

 

[travelover]

Spend less than you make and invest the rest.

 

[frank2009]

Save till it hurts.

 

[ERD50]

(4) be nice to your parents. They might leave you something.

"They might leave you something."? Don't count on it. Any number of things can happen, and it may have nothing to do with being nice to them or not (medical care, fraud, etc).

If it happens, it's icing on the cake (financially speaking of course).

And though it's not my case fortunately, there are a few people who had parents that really didn't deserve any 'nice' treatment. Sad but true, and they may wince at that as a general rule.

-ERD50

 

[Meadbh]

"They might leave you something."? Don't count on it. Any number of things can happen, and it may have nothing to do with being nice to them or not (medical care, fraud, etc).

If it happens, it's icing on the cake (financially speaking of course).

And though it's not my case fortunately, there are a few people who had parents that really didn't deserve any 'nice' treatment. Sad but true, and they may wince at that as a general rule.

-ERD50

I never said you could count on it. That’s why I said “might”.

 

[GSMAN]

1) Start saving early for retirement.
2) Make maxing out your savings a priority.
3) Live way below your means so you can save.
4) Spend time educating yourself on how to invest your money. Pretty critical in my opinion.

 

[mountainsoft]

"They might leave you something."? Don't count on it. Any number of things can happen, and it may have nothing to do with being nice to them or not

My dad died about 26 years ago. He battled cancer for many years, and was out of work a lot because of it. My inheritance after his belongings were sold and medical bills were paid was about $5K. It wasn't a huge sum of money, but combined with our own savings it allowed us to make a down payment on the property we now call home.

After her stroke, Mom is barely getting by on a pension. Any assets she has left (savings and her house) will quickly be spent on her assisted living and medicine costs. She will most likely die with no money.

In the end, I was never close to my parents and never expected to receive a dime from them.

 

[Danmar]

Get as much relevant education as possible, get a job you are good at in a high paying field, work hard, save a reasonable amount. Worked for me.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I wanted my parents to enjoy their $ and they did. I intend to do the same.

 

[RobbieB]

A job you like at microcorp is worth more than a job you hate at megacorp even though the pay is not nearly as good.

Use the Co 401K plans aggressively.

Always spend less than you make but blow some dough and have some fun.

 

[ikubak]

If you get married, marry a good person and stay married. Divorces are kryptonite to FIRE. Exercise, good nutrition, and plenty of sleep will make your life a lot more enjoyable.

 

[steveark]

Major in a highly paid STEM field.
Pick a job with limited competition.
Get promoted to corporate officer.
Rake in stock based compensation.
Live simply and frugally and save a lot.
Retire early to side gigs and volunteering.

worked for me!

 

[RenoJay]

1. Live below your means
2. Learn about investing
3. Master your emotions and avoid emotional decision-making
4. Learn to say “no” without needing approval from others

 

[rodi]

Start saving with your first job.

Don't spend those savings on temporary gratification.

Increase your savings percentage with every pay increase.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

1. Create a comprehensive Plan for FIRE
2. Make the Plan the third person in your marriage.

- BB

 

[calmloki]

Spend every cent that you can.
spend it on debts; in our case, property loans and rental improvements.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

1 - Save 30% or 40% of your income, and invest it in S&P index funds
2 - Join the Navy and have them send you to flight school (as well as pay for 2 master's degrees).
3 - Stick around for 20 years in the military (not always easy, but it beats working in an office for that long)
4 - Enjoy!

 

[Marita40]

Best advice I ever received:
1. Pay yourself first.

 

[Ready]

Don't worship material items. Don't compare what you have to your neighbors. Enjoy experiences, not things. Live a simple life.

 

[audreyh1]

Go work for a small high tech company right out of university. Be one of the earliest hires.

Buy some private stock when you can. Get awarded stock options. Hang on to them even after exercising.

Overall take advantage of the amazing luck that falls in your lap (like the company succeeding for one thing!).

Take big risks when young then invest the result wisely.

 

[Danmar]

Best advice I ever received:
1. Pay yourself first.

I hear this a lot. Not really clear what it means exactly. If it’s LBYM makes sense. Is it something else?

 

[Danmar]

Buy some private stock when you can. Get awarded stock options. Hang on to them even after exercising.

Overall take advantage of the amazing luck that falls in your lap (like the company succeeding for one thing!).

Take big risks when young then invest the result wisely.

This was basically my “ticket” as well. Loaded up on employee stock in a very successful company although it wasn’t tech or new. This stock has continued to outperform the market by a wide margin.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

I agree with Danmar...everyone has a different explanation of that old saying. I never liked it either.