Zero to 38: Retire by Age 38 in 10 Difficult Steps

Yes, I wrote the term “difficult” in the title. These steps are not necessarily tough, but they go against our programming. From a young age, they program us to work until age 70+, slowly grinding away towards minuscule retirement. 

To speed up our retirement, we must change our mindset COMPLETELY. We have to stop “working for money” and instead “work for assets.” It’s a tough transition, but if I can do it, you can.

I choose the age of 38 for a specific reason, as you will discover. Not to belabor the point, let’s look at an overview of the ten steps to retiring by age 38.

1. Read these ten books.
2. Join the military (or follow these options).
3. Start an emergency fund.
4. Start an index fund portfolio.
5. Start a dividend growth investing portfolio.
6. Start an income portfolio.
7. Buy a house and house hack.
8. Become a content creator/ start an online business.
9. Downsize your physical lifestyle.
10. Have grace for your early retirement.

I will quickly review each step because I have spent countless hours of my life writing articles on these topics (I included these articles). The best part is you can do most of them concurrently. You can dip your feet in each one while working towards your larger goals. Let’s get started.

How to Create Passive Income 101: For Beginners

1. Read these ten books. Never do anything without first reading a book. Reading is the number one way to become wealthy—besides taking action on what you read. I have read 103 books thus far in my journey to great effect. Here are the top 10 books I would recommend to those starting on the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) path.

1. Rich Dad Poor Dad– The best book on building the proper financial mindset to become rich.
2. Unfair Advantage– The advanced version of Rich Dad Poor Dad.
3. Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing– How to become an investor.
4. Before You Quit Your Job– Another Robert Kiyosaki classic.
5. Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant– Understand how to move from employee to investor.
6. The Millionaire Fastlane– What you need to speed up your retirement.
7. The 4-Hour Work Week– Learn how to automate your business
8. Content Inc– Understand why creating content is vital today.
9. The Practice– Becoming a creative person is deep; learn why.
10. How to Make a Living with Your Writing– Get in the mindset of creating multiple income streams.

This list is not all-inclusive—just what you should read over your first 1-2 months. Never stop reading. A couple of essential mindset books are “Mindset” and “Limitless.”

What Gets Rewarded Gets Repeated

2) Join the military. Yep, that is why I picked age 38. You can retire from the military at age 38 if you join at age 18. There is no retirement plan like the military. If you can join, go for it! 

Don’t worry; if you can’t join the military, I have a detailed plan on how to create a military-like pension with dividends. However, you will need to stay laser-focused throughout your civilian career.

3) Build an emergency fund. Your emergency fund is the key to becoming a great investor because it is your hedge against uncertainty. You always know that your emergency will be there for you in tough times. 

The best part is that today you can build an emergency fund that pays you an excellent yield. Using USDC stable coins as the majority of your fund will grant you a 9% yield on your savings—completely unheard of outside of the hyperinflation of the 1970s.

Dividends vs. Capital Gains 2

4) Start an index fund portfolio. Index funds are the best way to build generational wealth. You are betting on the entire stock market, not independent companies that can fail. Think of index funds as digital gold for today. 

As long as the stock market is around, index funds will grow your wealth. Here is my index fund strategy, plus a way to live on index fund dividends if you so choose. 

5) Start a dividend growth investing (DGI) portfolio. A DGI portfolio is close to index fund investing, except you choose blue-chip companies. Picking individual companies can be tricky; however, searching for solid dividend payers narrows your search.

Build Wealth Slowly

By investing in DGI stocks, you can build substantial gains in price and dividend growth. Plus, you have the chance of investing in a mega-company like Apple or Microsoft early in its lifespan. One right choice can fund your entire retirement plan. 

Here is an article on dividend growth investing, why DGI is for you, and how to pick your first five stocks. 

6) Start an income investing portfolio. My favorite dividend strategy is income investing. Here, we buy securities for revenue only. We want our stocks to pay us money so we can live. Essentially we are building a paycheck. 

Income investing takes the most knowledge of the three dividend strategies; however, it is the most rewarding. Plus, you can reinvest any dividends you don’t need for expenses, making your portfolio more lucrative every month. How exciting. 

From $28/mo in Passive Income to $700/mo in 2 years

Here is an article on income investing, why I choose income investing, and how the three dividend strategies stack against each other. 

7) Buy a house and house hack. Buying a home is difficult, especially nowadays. The only way to beat the investors in your neighborhood is to team up with others.

First, you need to save up for a down payment as fast as possible. Next, buy a home. Finally, use house hacking to set yourself free. 

Housing will be your number one expense in life. Therefore, if you can reduce your housing cost to zero, you’ll grow your wealth extremely fast. The book “The House Hacking Strategy” is a good read. 

8) Become a content creator/start an online business. There is almost no way to become wealthy without getting online. The best way to make money while you sleep is through online stores, e*commerce, and content creation. 

Sell Your Creativity for Passive Income

Laying the groundwork for an online business takes time (2-5 years). But, if you can stick with it, the growth is exponential. I wrote an article on online businesses and another for content creators. 

Moving into the online space will not be optional because the metaverse will bring all this to the forefront. 

9) Downsize your physical lifestyle. If you are not careful, lifestyle inflation will eat into any chance you have to retire early. You have to make a concerted effort to combat lifestyle inflation, materialism, and consumerism.

My Experience Running Facebook Ads

Some ways to prevent lifestyle inflation are building a homestead mentality, gardening, and tidying up your lifestyle by getting rid of some possessions. 

If you can master your ability to make a lot of money and not spend it, you’ll win sooner than later.

10) Have grace for your early retirement. Showing grace is the number one way to keep what you have. We can show grace by giving to others and helping them along their path.

Waking up each morning with a positive mindset is very graceful. We need not worry about the world’s stressors, for they will always be there. Let’s focus on our family and making the most of our time on this Earth. 

Read These 10 Books BEFORE Buying a House

Conclusion. If you can work towards these goals, you will retire in no time. There is no set amount of money you need to retire. Nor do I describe your vision for retirement.

Only you can set your retirement requirements. These requirements may be paying off a house, having a supplemental income, or reaching $1 million. Only you know what your rich life entails.

If some concepts are new, continue to read more. I have many free resources, and you can join Kindle Unlimited. Reading is key to this plan. Good Luck!

1. PDF of the Month: 505 Takeaways from 101 Books (pdf)
2. Free PDF Downloads: Download FREE PDF books here
3. Financial Mindset: Become CEO of Yourself 2 (Free 196-Page PDF)
4. Retirement Planning: Your Retirement Planning Guide 2 (Free 255-Page PDF)
5. Investing: How We Plan to Retire on Dividends 2 (165-Page Free PDF)
6. Cryptocurrencies: Counting on Crypto 2 (Free 159-Page PDF)
7. Real Estate: Financial Independence through Real Estate 2 (Free 123-Page PDF)
8. Business: Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business 2 (Free 185-Page PDF)
9. Latest DGWR: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 6 (Free 409-Page PDF)
10. Everything!: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever 2! (book)(Web Edition)(Art Edition)
11. I bought a Kindle Oasis: Check it out on Amazon
12. Read My Books for Free: Free Kindle Books Schedule
13. Crypto Exchange: My Favorite Crypto Exchange VOYAGER (Join Voyager)
14. Kindle Unlimited: Why I Finally Subscribed Kindle Unlimited (learn more)
15. Book Reviews: 505 Takeaways from 101 Books (pdf)
16. Writing: Can Grammarly Make You a Better Writer? 
17. My Favorite Chromebook: The Ultimate Chromebook (direct)
18. Follow us: On our Facebook Page and Join our Facebook Group
19. Monthly Dividend Tracker (XLSX): Check it out on Etsy
20. For more detailed analysis, join my Youtube: MFI YouTube Channel

Monthly Dividend Tracker Template: Buy on Etsy

Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it.  I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing