Retire Early With Expert Tips
Last year, Farnoosh brought you the story of Darrow Kirkpatrick, a former software engineer living in Tennessee who retired 15 years ahead of most Americans at 50. Kirkpatrick says it wasn’t a huge salary that helped him meet that goal but smart planning and budgeting. Well, today Kirkpatrick- who runs a blog called “Can I Retire Yet” – has put his tips in an ebook, “Retiring Sooner,” available for free today on Amazon.com.
“‘Retiring Sooner’ took a lifetime of living and two years of writing to create,” Kirkpatrick writes on his blog. “It is my take on the process of becoming financially independent. The book covers what you must know to retire earlier. This includes your financial dashboard, desired retirement lifestyle, essential money tools, passive index investing, and the critical relation between savings rate and working years.The most extensive part of the book details more than a dozen ways to accelerate your financial freedom by spending less, and earning more.”
Kirkpatrick has put some of his best ideas from his blog, and personal retirement planning experience, into the book so perhaps you too can hang up your hat sooner than you think. Before getting your copy of the book, here’s a taste of his advice from the chapter “My Story.”
“I found that financial independence is made up of one part family support, one part career choices, one part money management, and one part personal habits and attitudes ” Kirkpatrick writes. “It’s not a quick or easy process, but there are things that you can work on and improve every day!”
His main advice is to not only live within your means but on less than you actually make. Track and be aware of your expenses, but identify a few places where it’s important to you to splurge. “Spend there, and cut back mercilessly everywhere else,” Kirkpatrick writes. “Avoid debt and pay off loans early whenever posible. Max out retirement contributions. Put raises and bonuses into investments, not a fancier lifestyle.” Ultimately, Kirkpatrick says retiring early will take patience even in the best circumstances, but like other parts of wealth building, taking it one day at a time pays off.
“Retiring Sooner” is full of other helpful retirement tips, great examples of budgets and tables to illustrate important savings plans. Find out more about Darrow Kirkpatrick’s story at his blog and be sure to get the book today.
Photo Courtesy, Darrow Kirkpatrick.
