Finance exec can retire now but 'lucky to be working by choice'

She started trading while still at school, and learning about investing was an eye-opener

- Prisca Ang

Investing early and making certain choices like not having a car have allowed finance executive Maria Jelen to be able to retire now if she wishes to.

The 43-year-old initially planned to have sufficient funds to retire by the age of 40, but delayed her goal by a couple of years when her second child was born.

She says: "Last year, my husband and I hit our new target. Now, we have the privilege to be able to make an active choice to work as long as we find it enjoyable overall and we can make an impact. So we play it by ear." Ms Jelen is the Asia-Pacific regional head of direct sales, relationship management and sales trading at online trading and investment firm Saxo.

The Dane is married to a Swedish professional, also in his early 40s, in the technology and financial services industry. They have two children, in primary school and pre-school.

The road to building a nest egg was not smooth.

Growing up in Denmark without much money, Ms Jelen was eager to get her first job as soon as she turned 13, the minimum age for part-time employment in the country.

"At that time I had four bank accounts - one with every bank in the town I grew up in - to make the best of interest rates," says Ms Jelen, who is of North-east Asian descent.

"When I was young, I was pretty spoilt. My mum didn't work and gave me most of her time and showered me with gifts. My dad travelled a lot for work," she says.

But money became tight after her parents' divorce, when she was about seven years old.

"I started working to help with my family's expenses, and later to be able to move out when I turned 18 and to go to university," says Ms Jelen, who lived with her mother.

She took up various odd jobs in her time, spare delivering newspapers, newspapers, including which required her to wake up at 5am.