Why is it that the younger we are, the more we're in a rush to get things done? We want to graduate faster, get a job faster, get rich faster and retire faster. Up until my early 30s, that was always my mindset.
And in 2012, I finally retired at 34. By the time I quit my job, I had amassed a net worth of about $3 million that generated roughly $80,000 in investment income per year.
So far, it's been an enjoyable experience. The freedom to wake up whenever I want and do whatever I want is priceless. I no longer have to deal with long commutes to work, 60-hour workweeks and office politics. I get to focus>1. Wait it out for a year or more
At 42, I now realize how absurdly young I was when I retired. Several people even commented>2. Have our son before we retired
My wife and I delayed our decision to become parents because we were so focused>3. Spend more time blogging
In 2006, I came up with the idea to start a personal finance website called Financial Samurai.
Unfortunately, it didn't happen right away; I was too busy trying to climb the corporate ladder for bigger titles and higher salaries. (How could I not? The correlation between effort and reward was so strong.)
But after the financial crisis in 2008, it became clear that no matter how well I performed, I'd no longer get paid or promoted at my previous pace. Instead, my career would remain stagnant for a while and I'd actually get paid less.
So in 2009, I finally launched Financial Samurai. At first, it was mostly a way for me to make sense of the financial chaos. But over time, writing about real estate, investing, career strategies, family finances and retirement became a hobby.
Since launching, millions of readers have visited the website to learn and share insights>4. Invest more aggressively in 2012
I was so fixated on planning my retirement in 2012 that the idea of leveraging up to buy more property and stocks never crossed my mind. (We even tried to sell our primary residence that year. Luckily, it didn't happen because the market was so soft).
If I worked a few extra years before retiring, I would have had the financial confidence to buy more real estate in 2012, right before prices began to take off. (A rental property in San Francisco that cost $900,000 in 2012 would be worth roughly $1.6 million today.)
Had I continued working through the bull market, I probably could have made more than $250,000 in returns, based on my investment cadence at the time.
Retiring early made me excessively risk-averse — and I paid the price.
