Retire Early Financial Freedom In Your 30s, 40s or 50s

There’s more to life than soldiering on in the workforce – earning and spending – well into your 60s, according to a growing number of Australians who aim to retire much earlier. They want financial freedom and more happiness from following their passions and interests. They are leading a simple life and saving hard to reach their goals. Our seven case studies show how to achieve an early retirement.

- Susan Hely

FOR PAT SEYRAK, it isn’t that he doesn’t like his job. He does. But his job is all consuming and it doesn’t leave much time to enjoy life’s good experiences.

He wants to buy back his life. Instead of staying in his job as an engineer until he is in his mid-60s, he plans to retire early. Really early – at 35.

Pat and his partner, Steph, both millennials, want to take control of their lives now while their health is great, to get out and enjoy the world. They want a more balanced lifestyle with more time for family and friends.

They are followers of the popular personal finance FIRE movement – it stands for financial independence, retire early – who rigorously save $1 million or more, invest sensibly, retire in their prime and enjoy a modest, agreeable life.

It is the opposite of working flat-out throughout your life, piling on debt, living beyond your means and consuming voraciously.

And, no, they haven’t won the lottery or been handed an inheritance or sold their software business for a small fortune. In fact, their salaries are fairly average.

“Most of us in the FIRE community realise how precious each year in our lives really is,” says Mrs Money Flamingo, who is in her 30s and one of the many enlightening bloggers who write about their path to financial independence (FI). “We see this as a major motivation to pursue FI,” says the Sydney mother of two who has just reached her savings target. “FI allows us to buy back years we may otherwise have spent in a cubicle.”

While most Australians rely on drip-feeding their 9.5% compulsory superannuation – up to a maximum concessional contribution of $25,000 a year – into a retirement account, FIREs are aggressively saving much more outside super.