6 of the best pieces of advice for retiring early, from people who did it

Jason and Julie Buckley

Saving your money is key to retiring early, but it's not the only thing that will get you there.

In fact, for many people seeking financial independence — and those who have achieved it — it's often a mindset shift that does the trick.

Below, we highlight some of the best advice early retirees have shared with us, beyond the most fundamental tip, which is to save early and save often.

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Resist the herd mentality

Kristy Shen and her husband, Bryce, were able to bank $1 million by age 31 and quit their jobs as computer engineers in Canada to travel the world.

To achieve the milestone, the couple made a habit of tracking their money and resisting the herd mentality — otherwise known as FOMO, or fear of missing out — particularly when it came to buying a house, something many of their fellow 30-something friends felt seemingly obligated to do.

"People are just making decisions, not because it's a good investment, but because they're getting emotionally pulled into saying, 'Oh no! I'm going to miss out! What if other people are in the market and I'm not in the housing market?'" Shen told Farnoosh Torabi on an episode of her "So Money" podcast.

Shen said that working in engineering taught her to focus on math rather than emotion when it came to her money.

"It's separation from the FOMO, which is based on feelings rather than fact, and then stepping up and doing the math and realizing, 'Wait, I don't want to do what everyone else is doing. Maybe they're not right. Just because everyone is doing it, it doesn't mean it's correct.'"

Be content with less

Each in their early 30s, Joe and Ali Olsen quit their jobs as public school teachers with $1 million in the bank in August 2015, retiring after just eight years in the workforce to travel with their young daughter.

The couple said they did it by living frugally and investing in real estate, which they started around the time of the 2007 financial crisis when properties were being sold for cheap.

But even as their net worth rose, they didn't succumb to lifestyle inflation. The pair continued to save 75% of their income and resided in their 400-square-foot home, keeping their annual expenses to about $20,000. Their secret? Shift your mindset and learn to be happy with what you have, they told the Mad Fientist.

Joe shared a quote from philosopher John Stuart Mill that stated: "I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them."

"For me, financial independence was really easy to get because we were happy just living in our fairly small place, and eating at home, and just being efficient with how we spent money," Joe said. "And so our high savings rate was just because we enjoyed simplicity. And we didn't have to cut our budget. We didn't have to deprive ourselves."

Stay the course

Shepherded by meticulous spreadsheet estimates and years of tracking their pennies, Jason and Julie Buckley retired in 2015 at age 43.

The British couple retired with about £30,000 (~ $36,800) in cash savings and set a modest retirement budget of £15,000 (~ $18,400) a year, Jason told Business Insider.

Since retiring, they've been touring Europe and North Africa in their motor home, which enables them to visit expensive countries "for a fraction of the cost." Currently, the couple lives off of cash flow from investments — rental income, dividends, and interest — as well as advertising and book sales on their travel blog, which they spend just two hours a day maintaining.

If you're aiming to achieve early retirement yourself, Jason says, "You’re most likely going to be swimming against a very strong tide of opinion! If you're infected with an insatiable desire to do it, then be confident you can do it."

They suggest starting with educating yourself financially and putting your plan on paper, tracking spending and cutting all unnecessary costs, and investing.

"As your costs come down, and income from your investments gets re-invested in more investments, at some point you will experience the bewildering and joyful moment when your wealth starts to spiral upwards," Jason said. "At that point your freedom is all but inevitable."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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