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Save, Invest, & Plan: How to Retire Early

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Retirement is something that most of us look forward to after a lifetime of working. Whether it’s retiring abroad or moving somewhere with a warmer climate, we must save and plan in order to make our post-work dreams a reality.

Another goal that has grown in popularity, especially among younger generations, is retiring early. This is no easy task, and requires important sacrifices and careful, efficient planning.

Cutting Down on Spending

In order to enjoy financial independence in early retirement, you’ll need ample savings to live off of.

Controlling and most importantly, cutting down on how much you spend will help you save. Apart from the freed-up resources that can be directly used for saving purposes, reduced spending also has a psychological benefit. Financial experts believe that when you spend less, it actually changes how you allocate your budget. Cutting down on your spending ultimately reduces the amount of money that is required to live on and to meet daily life requirements. This then decreases a person’s total amount of money that needs to be saved for the future, as their way of living will eventually change as they age.

Investment Ideas

In order to retire early, one needs to have enough resources to ensure solid cash flow in their nest egg years. Continuous cash flow is vital and can be achieved through wise and proper investing.

Many financial experts believe that heavy investing should begin when one is in their 20s, as this will give you the benefit of compound interest, one of the best incentives for early retirement. The principal amount will have two or three decades to gain a good amount of compound interest income at the end of that time period.

Apart from this, you could also consider investing in assets that will provide continuous income generation. For example, buying a multi-family home instead of a one-family home will yield rent income, which will be earned every month.

Building an investment portfolio of stocks and ETFs would be also beneficial, in addition to investing in stocks that pay regular dividends are great, smart ways to generate income.

If someone is looking for a low cost investment, think about maintaining a savings account that could produce nominal interest earnings. Further, investing in mutual funds is also less risky and less costly; these funds offer tax benefits, which will help save you money.

Looking at healthcare costs, these particular expenses can be overwhelming during retirement. Some ways to avoid them include investing in Mediclaim and other health insurances like cash value life insurance, which accrue value from on investment portion in payments apart from offering death benefits to the insured’s beneficiaries.

Additionally, the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in the United States has made it easier to retire early.

Important Changes to Consider

For early retirement, proper planning is important.

One of the first things you’ll need to think about before retiring early is your house. Do you pay off your mortgage and retire with no mortgage debt? Or do you sell your home and use the proceeds to buy a smaller house? While this decision will no doubt be affected by the current housing market, what you decide can greatly impact your future plans.

An early retirement can also mean foregoing the rest of one’s life earnings, so a good amount of savings is required. An increase in your current savings rate can be boosted by salary increases. Also, if a job change is made, there’s a chance for better pay as well.

Finally, you’ll need to think about changing your overall mindset regarding your money. “Paying Yourself” should be your main goal. A good chunk of your paycheck should automatically be deposited into a savings account or tax-advantaged retirement accounts like 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, or traditional IRAs. This will easily increase your savings, and combined with less spending, early retirement should be on the horizon.

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