How I Retired Young and With Very Little Savings
There Is No Magic Financal Amount You Need To Retire - Retirement isn't a financial number, it's an attitude
MONEY HACKS
5/19/20234 min read
I was sharing a personal story with a friend of mine. When I finally realized what I was currently doing in life wasn't working out for me, especially if I wanted to retire in the next 12 years. I knew I had to make some drastic changes. My biggest concern was that I had just turned 50, and the only retirement income I was looking at getting was my monthly social security. Yes, I had some money set aside, but it was far from the amount the financial experts recommend you should have for retirement. In fact, at the time, my entire net worth was about 38% of that amount. So working for me just wasn't working out.
So I sat down and started watching YouTube for some ideas on how I could improve my situation. I must have watched at least 100 or more videos on how to make money online, and every video was just a load of B.S. In every single one of these videos, they told you, you can make up to $100,000 in a month, and that was the hook they used in their clickbait titles the words up to. I had had enough by the time I had finished watching all these videos. It also felt like I had earned a YouTube University degree in how to waste people's time.
Then I decided to change my strategy with my search terms and search for more specific topics. My biggest thing was I wanted to build multiple streams of passive income that I could build up over time. The reason why I wanted to go this route. I didn't want to rely on just one source of income for those just-in-case situations in life. I wanted a backup in case one stream of income dried up. I also didn't want to work every day for the rest of my life either. I wanted this to be low risk as well, as this would be my retirement strategy, and now at the age of 51, time was running out, or I would be working for the rest of my life.
What I decided would be the best fit for me would be a passive income stream through investing and another source of passive income through a business concept where I could work at it whenever I wanted. I also liked the option of being able to take my business with me no matter where I decided to move to. I wanted to build a passive income stream through the laptop.
When it came to the investment side of things, many options could pay me a dividend. I looked at everything from loading up on the S&P 500, blue chip stocks, mutual funds, and Crypto. None of these appealed to me. I ended up going with an investment strategy with real estate known as a real estate investment trust, also known as a REIT. A REIT is where you purchase shares in a real estate portfolio. This is not an article promoting this type of product, and I encourage everybody to do their research and due diligence as what might be a good fit for me might not be a good fit for you.
Myself. I preferred the concept of the REIT due to my past experiences being a landlord of 7 units. When I was a landlord, I learned it is not a form of passive income very quickly. It also comes with risk and is a lot of work due to tenant issues. When it came down to it, Being a landlord was not for me. Long story short. I was happy to get out of the landlord business when I did. But I also liked the idea of a physical entity attached to the investment as collateral. The Reit I chose had a portfolio of holding private mortgages in addition to residential and commercial properties consisting of single and multiple units, and some hotels and several vacation resorts. This was ideal for what I wanted and for my situation. I also decided to diversify on the REIT and went with two different companies. I wasn't looking for huge returns. My strategy was to generate a steady income with something I was comfortable with in my plan for the REITs. I deposited a lump sum into the REITS and reinvested the dividends until needed.
For my laptop business strategy, I started publishing various types of books on Amazon KDP. In time, I discovered several other publishing platforms that I joined. I intended to create 1 product and have it available on multiple platforms. Going this route also provided me with additional sources of income generated from one product.
To go along with this. I also went with a massive lifestyle change. I went to smaller living and, in addition, also leading a simpler lifestyle while at the same time paying cash for everything and not carrying any debt in any manner. I implemented this lifestyle change when I was 52.
Now the question is. How did all this work out for me? To answer this question, It comes down to what I view as a success, others will see as a failure. What I view as a failure, others will see it as a success. The problem here is people will judge and critique, which they have the right to do. What is good for me, others might not approve of. I was able to leave the rat race behind before I turned 53. I now only work when I want to. This strategy also enabled me to live the life and lifestyle I wanted. I might not have everything I want in life, but then again, very few people are able to achieve this, but I do have everything in life that I need and then some.
In making changes in your life, age should not be a factor. I could have just said there wasn't any hope of improving my life and situation, but I chose not to. My lifelong attitude has always been I will turn a certain age no matter what. I can remain in the position I am currently in and do nothing to change it, or I can take the first steps to change my future today and start on that path to a better life. Even a billionaire started with nothing in life.
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Shane Lifeman