Don’t Gamble with Retirement 10

A lot has changed since I started blogging about personal finance in July 2020. At the time, retirement planning was something you could do on the side.

Why spend all of your time planning for something 30 to 40 years away, right? Wrong! After a crazy turn of events, the only way to retire is to be hardcore.

Retirement for the win. My wife and I will retire this year. She will stop working in May 2023, and I’ll be right behind her in September 2023.

I am 42, and she is 30. How did we get here? We created “super-extreme-deluxe” retirement plans and executed them through the pain.

I spent 24 years in the military; however, we became serious about retiring in the last four years. We achieved more towards escaping the rat race in the previous four years than the other 20 combined.

The number one rule is to retire early. You must live on 50% of your income and achieve a 50% savings rate—this is non-negotiable.

I love math because it never lies. Let’s say you live a good life in San Diego, California. You earn $160,000 per year and live on $120,000. You save $40,000 per year.

To maintain your $120,000 lifestyle in retirement, you will need $3 million in the bank. Using simple math (not compounding), you’ll need 75 years to retire.

But what about the power of compounding? Yes, compounding will work its magic and grow your $3 million much quicker. However, even if you save this money in 30 years, inflation will make your cash disappear.

The math simply doesn’t produce the intended results. Planning to retire on a 401K or pension is over. Your money is in the stock market even if you have a 401K. Someone can change interest rates and wipe out years of savings at any given moment.

The only way to retire is to be extreme. If you earn $160,000 in San Diego, you must live on $50,000. Can’t afford to keep your family with you? They will need to live with their parents for 3-5 years.

Yes, this is hardcore! Trying to work your way to retirement will never work today. Inflation, housing prices, investors, gas, politicians, etc., all stand in your way.

1. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 1, Kindle Unlimited, February 13, 2021.
2. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 2, Kindle Unlimited, April 20, 2021.
3. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 3, Free PDF, June 18, 2021.
4. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 4, Free PDF, August 30, 2021.
5. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 5, Free PDF, December 3, 2021.
6. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 6, Free PDF, March 5, 2022.
7. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 7, Free PDF, May 31, 2022.
8. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 8, Free PDF, September 10, 2022.
9. Don’t Gamble with Retirement 9, Free PDF, December 14, 2022.

Don’t Gamble with Retirement. The Don’t Gamble with Retirement Series is everything I have written over the last three to four months.

Since I write every day, it is roughly 100 articles—covering financial mindset, retirement planning, investing, real estate, royalties, and business.

My wife and I used a combination of renting rooms, rental properties, a military pension, dividends, automated business, and royalties to buy our freedom early.

Since 2019, we have paid off $80,000 in debt and amassed $300,000 in a dividend portfolio (cash value before the crash).

More importantly, we collect passive income (actual passive income) from a pension, roommates, dividends, rental homes, websites, and books. 

Conclusion. We pieced together enough passive income to free ourselves from the rat race. Now we can focus on becoming rich while doing things we love. 

The main takeaway is to forget about working until you retire. Retire from work and build the life of your dreams. Hint: you can’t fulfill your dreams while you work. Good Luck!

1. PDF of the Month: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 9 (Free 394-Page PDF)
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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 4 (Free 139-Page PDF)
6. Cryptocurrencies: Counting on Crypto 2 (Free 159-Page PDF)
7. Real Estate: Financial Independence through Real Estate 4 (Free 112-Page PDF)
8. Business: Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business 4 (Free 149-Page PDF)
9. Latest DGWR: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 9 (Free 394-Page PDF)
10. Everything!: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever 3! (book)(Web Edition)(Art Edition)
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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