If you ask Francis the best way to retire early, his answer is simple: don't.
For years, the now 42-year-old went to great lengths to achieve FIRE, which stands for "financial independence, retire early." But in reality, a lifetime without work isn't actually what most people want, he says. It's a lesson he himself discovered after retiring at age 37 in 2017.
"I think pursuing FIRE is probably the wrong idea," Francis, who requested to have his last name withheld for privacy reasons, tells CNBC Make It. "I don't think most people want to retire early. I think what most people want is a sabbatical of sorts. They're disgruntled with their careers and they want to take a really, really long time off. Maybe a year or two."
That same disgruntlement led him to leave his job as an electrical engineer where he earned a $120,000 base salary plus $30,000 to $60,000 in equity and bonuses. But Francis describes life without a job as getting "really boring." In his case, he decided to lean into his YouTube hobby full time, and now earns money making videos for his 350,000 followers.
I don't think most people want to retire early. I think what most people want is … to take a really, really long time off.Francis, 42
Francis quit his job in 2017 with $1.2 million in savings and investments. He had first heard about FIRE in 2013 and decided to dedicate himself to achieving it. His strategy to getting to an early retirement came down to data-test=”Pullquote”>I never call a handyman because I am the handyman.Francis, 42
Francis is a also master of collecting credit card points. He employs a process known as churning, which involves cycling between different credit cards to maximize points, and has more than 20 active credit cards at any given time.
"In order to churn these credit cards, you need to have a really high credit score," he says, adding that his own score is 835. "A lot of people think it's a hassle, but for me personally, it's giving me a lot of value."
After two years of early retirement, during which he enjoyed his time off from work and made a point to travel, Francis came face-to-face with the boredom he warns most people will experience if they quit their jobs at a young age. His solution? Getting back to work.
In 2019, Francis began to double down on his YouTube channel and release videos regularly. He originally started the channel in 2013, posting videos ranging from how to make imitation shark fin soup to strategies for beating the popular game "2048."
After two years of retirement, Francis decided to spend more time with his YouTube channel.Tri Nguyen
He pivoted to financial topics, teaching viewers about credit scores and investing. As his views started climbing up, so too did his earnings. Though his workload fluctuates depending on his mood — some weeks he works almost full-time while others he does as little as eight hours — he has built up a following of more than 350,000 subscribers.
On his best months, he brings in close to $10,000 in YouTube revenue. He still keeps his same $15,000 annual budget and uses the income to pay his living expenses. The rest goes into his investment accounts.
It's a project that brings him more joy than his old 9-to-5, and one he plans to stick to for years to come.
"Now I no longer call myself 'retired' because I am putting in my full-time effort into YouTube," Francis says. "I'd like to put a lot more work into it and grow it … I think it's a work in progress."
