The Secret To An Early Retirement

Were you aware that the average age of retirement for men is 65, and for women is 62?

To put this into context, the average life expectancy for men is 73.4 years, while women have a higher life expectancy of 79.3 years. Based on the averages, this could mean you only get around 10 years of retirement! Now, consider when you start working – usually around 18 or 21 – that means you’re hard at work for over 40 years of your life. More time is spent working than it is relaxing and actually enjoying life. 

That’s a pretty bleak prospect, isn’t it? Okay, okay, it is based on averages – you could, and hopefully will, live long beyond the average life expectancy. Still, wouldn’t it be better if you could retire early and spend more of your life doing things you actually love? 

The reason the retirement age is so high is that most people don’t prepare for it properly. You never really get ahold of your retirement savings until you’ve been working for ten or twenty years. So, you have to work longer to ensure there’s enough money to see you through your retirement years. 

You can avoid this if you learn the secrets to early retirement. They aren’t complex – in fact, they’re extremely simple and you should start listening right away:

Get a job that pays well

Realistically, this is the ultimate secret to early retirement. If you have a job that pays well, it opens the door for more savings to be made. Therefore, you should be able to retire with money in the bank a lot sooner than expected. 

The hard part is finding a job like this. They don’t magically appear in front of you; you have to work for them. Some ideas include in-demand tech jobs like data scientists or data analysts. While they seem similar, there is a difference between a data scientist and data analyst, mainly that the former is better paid! Other job ideas include project managers or marketing executives. Basically, anything you need to be highly skilled to do. 

If you spend your younger years grinding hard and getting a good education, it’ll pay off when you can apply for better jobs that pay extremely well. 

Save from the moment you’re employed

As soon as you land your first job, make a commitment to saving for retirement. You should have a 401k from your employer – unless you’re self-employed. At the same time, make a concerted effort to save money for the future. Create a dedicated savings account or set up a private pension. 

The sooner you start saving, the more years you have to save money. Think about it, if you’re 40 and it takes 25 years to save what you need for retirement, you’ll retire at 65. If you started saving at 20, you may be able to retire before you’re even 50!

Never turn down retirement benefits

We mentioned 401ks above, and they are the most commonly known retirement benefit. Employers will offer retirement benefits to employees, but you can choose whether or not to accept them. Some people reject them as they want bigger paychecks each month (the money for your 401k is taken from your wages). 

Don’t do this! 

Never turn down retirement benefits. They will always be worth it in the future. 

Invest in things with long-term gains

Don’t get caught up in the world of flashy investments. Day trading looks fun, but it comes with huge risks. Instead, the key to saving for an early retirement lies in long-term investments.

Invest in things that will steadily grow over time. Try to buy a house as soon as you can. The earlier you’re on the property market, the better. You’ll waste less money on rent and can make a bigger profit when you sell your home and downsize to a retirement property. 

Other investment ideas include things like gold. Gold always steadily increases in value over time, so tying some funds up in this asset will serve you well. Of course, always seek investment advice from a professional before moving ahead with anything. 

Learn how to budget

Learning how to budget means you’re more responsible with your money. It restricts your spending and ensures you can keep saving consistently every month. This will make you more financially responsible, and it will lead you toward an early retirement. 

There you have it; the secrets to early retirement are revealed! These ideas won’t necessarily mean you’re retired by the time you hit 30. But, they can help you spend more time enjoying life, rather than working yourself to the bone.