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What if you could retire at 30? Read on...

Early retirement does not need to be the stuff of daydreams. Hear it from those who've sworn to never return to the corporate rat race again - and those who will never need to work another day in their lives

Graduate, get a job, slave away till you can finally retire at 65 - as you can see, the game plan for the layman hasn't changed all that much in the last decade. For most of us - who weren't born into a trust fund, don't have superrich, super-benevolent elderly papas and mamas or who don't think we'll be winning the lottery anytime soon - the corporate life is something to 'just get through' till the kids are grown and the loans repaid.
But what if you could retire from the rigour of the nine-to-five at 30? Call it quits quarter-way through your 'work life'? WKND spoke to a few nonconformists - and all their insights pointed to one key thing: if you want to hang up your boots early, you need a plan.
"We tend to look at what our parents have done and follow the same path," says Justin McCurry, a North Carolina-based former civil engineer who retired four years ago at the age of 33. "It's a cultural expectation from both parents and peers - but they're all mostly focused on the 'now', instead of on building wealth for the future." And that's where the penny drops.
At least that's where it did for Justin, who discovered the possibility of early retirement while scouring the Web at the age of 24. "I'd always had the idea of retiring a little early, maybe once I hit 55," he says. "But when I came across people doing it in their 40s, I began researching and putting a plan in place." That plan involved saving a large percentage of their "pretty average" incomes - his wife worked as a financial analyst for an investment bank - maintaining a low cost of living, and investing wisely. And it paid off. Today, the 37-year-old's daily schedule is wonderfully laidback, revolving around Netflix, hiking at the local park, reading books, volunteering at the school his three kids attend, and long vacations with the family.
Travel blogger Jeremy Jacobson has a similar story to tell. From the day the 42-year-old committed to his early retirement plan to his final day of work was "exactly 10 years and one day". His wife, Winnie Tseng, 37, quit work about three years earlier when their investments started paying the bills. They "ruthlessly slashed" their spending: while their peers were buying houses, they lived in a student apartment; while others bought cars, they rode bicycles around town. The minimalistic lifestyle allowed them to regularly save about 70 per cent of their income, which they then invested primarily in index funds. Today, four years since they left the corporate world for good, all they do is travel the world with their two-year-old in tow (they don't have a home base) and blog about it on GoCurryCracker.com. As the wanderlust-bitten duo put it: instead of two weeks of vacation a year, they now have 52.
And the gains have been tremendous. "We've both been there for our child's first breath, first step, and first words," says Jeremy. "We seldom experience traffic on the roads or at the grocery checkout. And our choices are about what will bring the greatest sense of fulfilment or value to the world rather than what will pay the bills." Both used to work for tech companies but there's nothing they miss about the daily grind. "We liked our jobs, but they were just too time-consuming to pursue our other interests. Why is it that once you're an adult, you no longer get long holidays?" jokes the American globetrotter.
It's a lifestyle any fresh graduate can aspire to - only, how many youngsters do you know who plan for retirement in their 20s? Ironically, Jeremy says, retirement is a lot cheaper when you plan decades in advance. "So, in reality, your 20s and 30s are the ideal time to actively save for retirement."


LIVING THE LIFE: (left to right) Jeremy and Winnie of GoCurryCracker.com with their son, Julian; Justin McCurry of RootofGood.com

The big how-to
First, save. No doubt this is the most obvious part of the plan. However, it is also easily the most disregarded - if a survey conducted last year by finance comparison site compareit4me is any indicator of the lamentable saving culture in the UAE. The study revealed that 53 per cent of respondents didn't think they earned enough to save, with only less than half of those surveyed regularly setting aside funds for retirement. What's more, over 30 per cent admitted to not saving a single dirham - while over 13 per cent believed life was "too short to save".
Says Jeremy, "The more money you spend and the earlier you spend it, the harder it is to build wealth. Of course, this becomes impossible if you are in debt or save nothing at all." In Jeremy and Winnie's case, the couple committed to saving 70 per cent of their salaries. "Thinking unconventionally can really boost savings. My main transportation for several years was a used bicycle I bought for $50. I eventually sold it for $60. A profit of $10 was a lot better than the $50k I would have spent on car payments, insurance, maintenance, and gasoline. It was also a good health booster."
While biking to work may not translate all that practically in the UAE, the basic principle holds. "Delaying gratification, even by a modest amount, can mean 'having it all' later - although people often discover that all the stuff they didn't spend money on years ago wasn't that important to begin with."
For Justin and his family of five, living frugally was a necessary means to an end. Theirs is an interesting case in point, considering the expense of raising children usually usurps early retirement plans. Yet, Justin - whose kids, aged five, 10 and 12, are still in school - says they're not as costly an affair as people make them out to be. The family is settled in Raleigh, where the cost of living is relatively lower compared to other parts of the US. "If you're able to live someplace that costs you less, but where you can still make a good income, that's one way to save more of your salary," he notes. Alternatively, you could consider living a couple of hours away and commute to the city for work - or save big while working in the city and then pick a place with a much lower cost of living for your retirement.
The other side of the coin involves investing wisely. The financial independence that follows will either ensure you never have to work another day of your life or, as in the case of former UAE resident SM, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, allows you to pursue your passion. At 35, the father-of-two, who recently moved back to India after 10 years at an MNC in Dubai, has sworn to never return to the corporate life - and it's all part of his original plan. "The only reason I joined the corporate world was to make some money by 35 and get out."
SM's passion lies in agriculture and organic farming, which is what he's now returned to pursue in Bangalore. "If you plan ahead and make wise investments, anyone can aspire to achieving financial independence early too. Most people live for today. They've lived for decades in Dubai, and spent everything they earned. If you like that lifestyle, that's fine - but you can't retire early." Make multiple income sources that can support you, he advises. "The majority should be risk-free investment. And, to be honest, I've been around the world, but you can't do the kind of saving you can in the Middle East anywhere else in the world."
Despite their current financial comfort, he admits the family wasn't crazy about his decision to leave the security of a steady income stream - especially since he was doing well for himself, having attained an Assistant VP role at 29. But SM hated it. "It's called a 9-to-5, but is it really that? Sometimes, it's more like 8am to 11pm; you're on call on weekends and replying to emails at all hours of the day. I was making money, but two more years of that lifestyle and I'm sure I'd have come back in a coffin. Then, who would all that money have been for?"
Now, although he hasn't retired from the working life entirely, life has become very peaceful and relaxed. "I go to a farm here, spend a lot of time with family, and still have time to do anything else I want." Does he think passion is overrated? "I think fear is overrated," he ripostes. "People have talent and passion, but not the guts to follow their dreams."
If you're thinking all this sounds fine and dandy, but you don't have the first clue about index funds and stock market news tends to go right over your head, Justin - who offers investment management advice on RootofGood.com - suggests learning what you can. "Find a good resource to help you figure out how to invest in a safe, low-cost vehicle that will give you good long-term returns. Educate yourself."
One thing everyone we spoke to was unanimous about was: though they cut back on expenses, they never scrimped to the point of being miserly (the McCurrys, for instance, are currently in the middle of a nine-week trip through Europe). The Go Curry Cracker trio, of course, still have the freedom of their nomadic life for now. As for putting down roots and getting a home once their son gets older, Jeremy says they're keeping their options open. "Just like studying early retirees can help plan your own retirement, we can learn from all the families who home-school and 'world school'. Why learn about volcanoes by building one out of papier-mâché when you can climb a real one?  If we were to set up a home base someday though, we have a shortlist of places we love in Mexico, Italy, Spain, and France. Or maybe we'll set up a base in all of them." Just because they can.

How to retire early, at a glance
1. Focus on growing your career. Higher education, professional development, taking on more responsibility at work. Take these steps to help you gradually earn a good income.
2. Focus on expenses. Your transportation, housing and food budget are the three biggest areas of spending, so make sure those are under control. If you want to retire early, you'll need to focus on keeping those lower.
3. Focus on the long-term goal. It takes persistence - year after year of saving and investing for your future - to retire early. Having a short-term mentality of impatience when you don't see investments going up immediately in value will not get you there. The process takes years, so be patient.
- Justin McCurry, Root of Good
karen@khaleejtimes.com