Early retirement (in your 50’s or earlier) and how you did it thread

[mactlman]

nitro7 lifelong resident of dayton ohio area. this was a boom town most of the 1900's. what company did your dad and buddy start?

[NitroZ7]

nitro7 lifelong resident of dayton ohio area. this was a boom town most of the 1900's. what company did your dad and buddy start?

I used to be called Rex Radio and Television back in the 60s and 70s. It is still called Rex but they now run ethanol plants. It was great living in Dayton during the 80s. We used to go to the Salem Mall which is now gone, ride our bikes to Mummas, go ice skating at the Dayton arena. I think all that is gone now.

[mactlman]

I used to be called Rex Radio and Television back in the 60s and 70s. It is still called Rex but they now run ethanol plants. It was great living in Dayton during the 80s. We used to go to the Salem Mall which is now gone, ride our bikes to Mummas, go ice skating at the Dayton arena. I think all that is gone now.

spent TONS on money at rex on stereo equipment and electronics!!! small world!!

[NitroZ7]

spent TONS on money at rex on stereo equipment and electronics!!! small world!!

Definitely a small world. I use to go to work with him on the weekends at the Needmore store when Atari first came out and me and my brother use to spend the day playing Asteroid. Dayton was a great place to grow up in the 80's. I really miss it at times.

[opus dog]

Several things two of which I learned from Buffet. He said that the first Million is the hardest to make. That is the truth, but once you cross that magical number your investments really start to gain steam. Second, is that he said at one point that if he was a young person starting out that he would focus on Index funds. That is where I started out and self educated myself. Got a compound interest app, paper, pencil, subscription to morningstar and started doing my research. As a side note, my grandfather was a mathematician at Michigan State University and wrote a textbook on Compound Interest that was part of my upbringing.

My motivation has been what I want my retirement to look like. By the way I will go at 55 a with several million. I believe that there is boat load of idiots in the financial industry that figured this out so why can't I educate myself and take my piece of the pie. I have a hard time with people who make bank and are to lazy to sit down and learn how to do this themselves. 40 - 80 hours of dabbling in the market and you have a clear picture on how it all works and where to start. I didn't hit home runs in the beginning but did ok. I started keeping monthly electronic spreadsheets and notes on what I was seeing.

[BoilermakerZ519]

I believe an important thing is to just start somewhere. A small start is better than not starting at all. And of course (due to compounding), the earlier in life the better.

I also believe that your ability to delay gratification is an important factor. This will allow you to do two things. Forego spending on frivolous items or expenses so it can be harnessed for future gains. Also, delayed gratification can help with patient investing...or at least the recognition of long term investment strategies vs. short term betting.

yes the advice to those younger in their career is build a base in low cost index funds. As this base grows, you will start paying attention to how the market works. If you have the interest, you can take this knowledge and start applying it to try your hand at picking a portfolio of stocks....although it’s not a necessary condition of early retirement or financial freedom. Saving and investing these savings sufficiently aggressively is however. It is fascinating to me that so many have the ability but so few do it.

@opus dog congrats on executing your plan to achieve financial freedom so early. Not only financial freedom, but to live at a level that will be extremely comfortable.

one last comment. I also believe if you do your homework and you are a disciplined investor, beating the indexes is not a difficult feat.