Posts in category "early-retirement" - page 5


  • My Asset Allocation

    I have discussed the 70:30 asset allocation in my previous 2 posts. However, I did not really follow the rule, not because it did not work for me, but for the simple reason that I wanted to learn market cycles and take risk while doing my investments. I would not suggest anyone play with investments like I did (unless you know what your are doing) and risk losing money. Instead follow the boring simple rule of 70:30 and it works. This is more of a case study of my investing style.

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  • The 70:30 Asset Allocation

    In my previous post, I talked about about allocating 70% to equity and 30% to fixed income and just keep that ratio irrespective of which stage you are in your life. But does it really work? Lets work out some examples to see how it might work under various conditions.

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  • Should You Retire Early?

    Early retirement is not for every one, and it is not like everyone need to retire early. Don’t blindly follow the bandwagon and join the F.I.R.E (Financial Independence Retire Early) cult. You subconsciously know who you are, and whether early retirement makes sense for you. Here are some reasons why you may not want to retire early.

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  • How Long Will My Money Last?

    How long will your money last? The oft given cliched answer is -- it depends. It is true if you want someone to answer for you. But if you put some effort, you will be able to answer the question yourself. The only problem is that you should be able to make some good estimates of your expenses, inflation and investment return long into the future.

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  • How Much Do You Need To Retire?

    I have touched upon this point briefly in step 5 of How to Retire Early in 5 Steps, but I thought I should expand a bit on that. Most people suggest the 4% rule, which basically states that if your expenses can be met by withdrawing 4% of your corpus, then that should be the corpus size. For example, if you need Rs. 50,000 per month to meet all your expenses comfortably in your retirement, then your corpus needs to be Rs. 50,000 * 12 / 4% = Rs. 1.5 crores. But does it really work?

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  • How Soon Can You Retire?

    Like I mentioned in the previous post, there are really just two variables that you can control, which determine how soon you can retire. They are your expenses and savings. Remember step 4 of How to Retire Early in 5 Steps? Plan a Simple Retired Life. The lesser the expenses today, the less it will be in future after adjusting for inflation. If you like a rich lifestyle today, then as the years go by, not only will inflation cause the expenses to go up, but you will want higher and better lifestyle which adds up. Your savings will not be able to handle the burden of your expenses. The less your expenses, and more your savings, the earlier you can retire. But how soon? That is the question that I want to answer in this post.

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  • Would You Rather Have Freedom or Stuff?

    One of the most important trait that people who want to retire early need to practise is minimalism. If you keep buying more stuff, you will take longer to retire. I made this mistake early in my life, but I was not too late to correct course. Especially because some of the things come with a burden of lifetime maintenance; for example owning a car. The constant repairs, upkeep and insurance keep adding to your expenses. Not just vehicles but every single thing that you own, ends up owning you. So if you would rather have freedom, you have to give up stuff. This is in continuation of step 2 of How to Retire Early in 5 Steps — Rid Yourself of Debt and Save Aggressively.

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  • Borrow From Future or Gift Yourself in Future?

    Would you borrow a gift from the future or would you rather save up for a surprise gift in the future? That is how taking a loan vs saving works. If you take a loan, then you are borrowing money from your future. If you are saving, you will gift yourself a surprise in the future. Make your choice. In this post, I want to elaborate a bit more on step 2 of How to Retire Early in 5 Steps – Rid Yourself of Debt and Save Aggressively.

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  • How to Retire Early in 5 Steps

    Achieving early retirement is not really as difficult as most people think. But it certainly is not for everyone. Some may not like not being able to work and stay at home, some may not be ready for the simple retired life, some may feel anxious about finances (even if their corpus is as big as they wanted it to be). Going into early retirement requires the stomach to handle all those and much more. For most, it may be fulfilling to work and keep themselves busy that way. For the rest, these 5 steps will help you get started on your journey to early retirement.

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  • Be Strategic About When to Quit

    While I was able to reach my financial goal by end of 2017, I actually retired on Jun 29, 2018. The timing of my exit has nothing to do with my finances, it was just strategic. And I will tell you why it is important to time your exit properly.

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