I came late in the game when it came to learning about financial independence. Like many people, it was ingrained in my mind that I had to work until I was 65+. Well, as of last year, I learned about the FIRE movement, and I have been trying to get my finances in order. But I'm feeling so discouraged that I won't be able to achieve FIRE for many, many years :/
One of the things I love to do is write books. It's my main side hustle. I see so many of my peers quitting their jobs and writing for a living, pretty much living financially free doing what they love. I want to do that, too. But a lot of them have spouses/partners who work, so technically, they have some cushion of extra income coming in on those lean months where the writing business my not pay off.
I've listened to a lot of podcasts and read blogs about people who achieved FIRE, but pretty much all of the success stories involved a married couple, so at least one person was working while the other one was doing a side hustle to reach FIRE faster.
I would like to hear more success stories from single people who are in their mid/late 30s who achieved FIRE by themselves, all alone. Is it possible? I mean, seriously. I want to know how many years I'm looking at to be able to retire early. I'm sure people will think single people have it easy, because it's just me I have to worry about, so it's less expensive, but really, it's not. I have bills, a mortgage, and expenses like gas, food, utilities, etc., too. And, no, I can't just live in my parents' basement, like one success story I read about.
I clip coupons, use rebate apps like ibotta, and utilize my credit cards wisely to take advantage of cash back options in order to get the lowest deal possible. I also take surveys and try to use every dollar I make toward saving. I also use apps like Acorns and SoFi to invest. I have 3 savings accounts, a Roth 401k, an HSA (I am investing with that, too). I'm divvying out my money in a bunch of different savings/investing places, and I don't see much movement. I feel like I'm going to be stuck on this hamster wheel of the 9-5 until I'm 65 and not be able to enjoy these years doing what I love to do without the stress.
I would love to achieve FIRE in 8 years, but I feel like even if I save 100% of my paycheck, that won't be possible (I can't anyway, as I need to use a good chunk of it for bills).
I happened upon this community because I literally Googled 'how to not be stressed on Sunday nights'. I'm really grateful that I found it, and I hope that I will be able to connect with other single, mid/late 30 year olds who are in this same situation, or are on their way to achieving FIRE in a short period of time.
Thank you so much!
Marie, It's doable for sure. Just depends on how hard you want to hustle and what sacrifices you want to make. You will be looked at funny by people, even your friends especially if you get extreme with it. People will try and put their limitations on you, just because they can't do it, they will huff and puff and tell you that you can't do it. You can.
I'm 37 years old, single no kids and will be FIRE'd or more like FISER'd (Financially Independent semi-early Retired) at 40 debt free. That will be 21 years in the military (enlisted, that's important to know) for me and I will have my house paid off by then. I started dipping my toes into the FIRE lifestyle in 2008 and then dove in headfirst in 2011 when I realized it was in fact possible. Been divorced twice along the way, many remote tours and deployments over the last 18 years have not been good for my relationships. But despite that, I kept pressing full steam ahead.
I started an online side business in 2011, that has done pretty well for me and allowed me to save almost all of my military paycheck for years putting it towards investing and now putting it all towards getting the house paid off.
I also buy and sell things on the side, vehicles, boats, garage sale items, what ever I can find. This wheeling and dealing is something I enjoy and not really work to me, plus it brings in extra money. The same goes with my online business, I have outsourced most the actual hands on, shipping/manufacturing etc. I just kinda drive the ship which I enjoy. I also try and save money wherever I can, Ibotta, Ebates, Credit card rewards, Ebay Bucks and on and on. I'm in Arkansas in a LCOL area and my house is a barndominium type that's not too elaborate but really nice. I also managed to pick up a rent house when I bought my house, kind of a 2 for 1 deal, so that is another source of cash flow. Try and get as many sources of income as you can. My goal is 10. I'm at 7 now. If you like to read and I'm assuming you do, I would recommend the 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, the book and the actions I took after reading it seriously changed by business and parts of my life for the better.
Over my past 18 years in service I can count on one hand how many people I have met in service that I could even have a conversation with about FIRE and side hustles. Most are just amazed that someone can actually have a full time job but also do something else on the side to make extra money. What a concept. As someone mentioned above, this forum is a great place to share your milestones and get different views on decisions you may or may not be thinking about making related to FIRE.
I said all that to say that you can do it. But it won't be easy, if it were easy everyone would be FIRE'd. As you have said already, the info to do it is out there. It's all over this forum, FB groups, etc. I think it was Derek Sivers that said, "if more information was the answer we would all be billionaires with 6 pack abs."
It takes getting up early, like 0400 early, staying up late, doing things you don't want to do, sacrificing a little now for alot later (delayed gratification) and taking the road less traveled. One thing I struggle with is slowing down and enjoying the journey to FIRE. I get so caught up in getting there sometimes that I, like you, feel my life is passing by too quickly. I still manage to have fun and buy the things that bring value to my life. Anyways, real talk from a real guy here, good and bad. Good luck on your journey.