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!
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!