BiggerPockets Money Podcast 377: Mr. Money Mustache on Life After FI: The Truth About Retiring Early in Your 30s
Early Retirement Origin
- Pete Adeney was a quirky engineer who didn't follow typical paths.
- He invested extra income and realized he could retire early to focus on family.
Skill of Spending
- View spending less as a skill to develop, not deprivation.
- This mindset shift makes efficient spending more empowering and enjoyable.
Trial Retirement
- Pete Adeney eased into retirement with a 20% pay cut for a four-day workweek.
- This trial run gave him a taste of increased leisure and confirmed his readiness.
Mr. Money Mustache is the internet’s poster child for early retirement. At age thirty, Pete Adeney was able to leave a lucrative job as a software engineer to focus on building a financially free life. He brought the FIRE movement to the mainstream by teaching others online how simple spending skills could allow them to quit their corporate jobs, keep more money while working less, and live a life centered around passion, not a paycheck. His popular blog has garnered millions of visits, as early versions of himself flock to the financially-freeing wisdom so rarely talked about in average American society.
Pete has been retired for nearly twenty years now, meaning he’s been FIRE more than double the amount of time he spent in the working world. So, how does he spend his days? What keeps him going? Does he still have enough money?And how can someone repeat his system? Scott and Mindy spend this episode asking the “life after FI” questions, so you can know exactly what you’re getting into when you retire early. Pete’s answers shed light on often untouched topics that most of the money community can’t answer.
We’ll go deep into planning for financial independence, developing “spending skills” that can bring early retirement decades sooner, and the right way to quit your job and wean off work. Pete also shows what the day in the life of an early retiree looks like and how today’s stock market crash has affected his portfolio. Want to retire early? Strap in—we’ve got the man who brought FI to the masses on today’s show!
In This Episode We Cover
Pete’s repeatable plan for FI and the simple steps that can lead to financial freedom
Quitting your 9-5 and why leaving work all at once could be a big mistake
Why most early retirees never touch their nest egg (and why you probably won't either)
Whether or not early retirement truly lives up to the hype
The 2022 stock market crash and how it’s affected Pete’s portfolio and investing mentality
Stocks vs. bonds and why someone who’s chasing early retirement should choose one over the other
And So Much More!
Links from the Show
Find an Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agent
BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group
Finance Review Guest Onboarding
Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place
Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show
Subscribe to The “On The Market” YouTube Channel
Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets
Check Out Mindy’s 2022 Live Spending Tracker and Budget
The Surprising (Scientific) Truth Behind What Makes You Successful
Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-377
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