3 Things You Need to Retire Early

Retiring at age 55 years old has a different look and feel than retiring at 65 and that’s because it is different.

To pull off a successful early retirement, you need three things:

1. An Open Mind

Open your mind and you open your world.  The word retirement has many definitions.  There is the Webster’s dictionary definition, there is society’s definition and then there is yourdefinition.  Feel free to color outside of the lines and create your own way of defining what your retirement looks like to you.  Have an open mind.  You may need to be a little more frugal, but that does not mean you need to limit adventure. When I tell some people that I want a little off-grid cabin in the woods as a home base and then I want to roam around the country in a RV and spend extended periods of time in Mexico or Colombia, South America, they look at me like I’ve just lost my mind.  These are all ways to make my limited resources last, while not holding me back.  Live your definition of early retirement and not somebody else’s.  Open your mind and the possibilities of early retirement are endless.

2. Get a Plan (Actually, get two)

The first plan I would suggest is to figure out what type of lifestyle you plan on living in retirement?  Are you going to have a more mobile lifestyle? Move to a foreign country? Relocate in the United States? You’ll need to figure out what your lifestyle is going to be and how much will it cost you? 

The second plan is your financial plan. How much will you need in retirement? I can tell you the exact amount you’ll need if you tell me the day you’re going to die. Obviously, we don’t know specific details on what your health is going to look like in ten years or how long you will live so we must prepare as though you’re going to live to age 100. This is why I created DIAL system which looks at your Debt, Income, Assets and Lifestyle. When you get these four areas in order, you can retire at any age.  Getting your DIAL in order may take a few years or your DIAL might be in good shape today.  

Getting your plans in order shouldn’t happen two weeks prior to you retiring. If anything, it should be two years or longer to give yourself enough time to get your lifestyle and your financial plans in sync. 

3. Confidence 

Your mind is open, your financial and lifestyle plans are in order, now you just need the confidenceto get your early retirement started. Retiring early can bring about a lot of pressure. Pressure from society saying you should continue to work until you’re 65, if not beyond.  Often times there is pressure from family, friends and co-workers telling you “just keep working” and “play it safe”. To pull off a successful early retirement you must have the confidence to retire early, know you can pull it off and ignore the naysayers. Believe me, I see it and I’ve heard it. I get a lot of comments where I can tell the person has just settled into the idea that they have to work until they’re 65 and older. They don’t question it and just continue to fall in line like a good ol’ worker bee. These folks tend to not be able to think “outside of the box” and are just content on living their life just as society has it planned for them.  If that’s what you want, then there’s nothing wrong with that. Just don’t complain when you’re still working beyond age 65. (There are some very lucky folks that absolutely love their career and continue working because they want to not because they have to.)

Confidence should come from knowing you have a solid financial and lifestyle plan. However, if you don’t feel confident in your plan then you’ll need your financial advisor, CPA or someone like me, who specializes in getting people retired early, to review your plan and give you the confidence that you need to avoid too much worry.

Ok now that your mind is open, your plans are solid, and you have the confidence to move forward with your early retirement. What are you waiting for?

Live free my friends

Speaking of living free, I recently kicked off a limited time promotion to help folks get on that path. That promotion is going to END NEXT WEEKEND… so you only have a few days to grab these two tremendous offers.

First – I have reduced the price of my Retire Early Online Course from $347 to only $99.

Here’s the link www.RetireEarlyOnlineCourse.com

Here’s what the course offers:

• Get to know your own DIAL in a simple, step-by-step approach (Debt, Income Assets, Lifestyle)
• Over four hours of video content where I walk you through the process of knowing whether you can retire early now or if you still have some work to do (and what that work is).
• A copy of my “Retire Early What are you waiting for?” workbook that is in a fillable PDF format.
• A review of Health Insurance options with regards to retiring early.
• A review of Mobile, Expat and Simplified lifestyles discussion and much more.

At the end of the course, you’ll be much better informed on your overall financial picture. You’ll be much more prepared for the lifestyle you plan on living in retirement and know if and when you can retire.

As an added bonus, I’m throwing in a 45-minute consultation by phone or Zoom video chat. During the call, we’ll discuss what’s on your mind. It can be your DIAL and retirement plan, or you might have questions on your 401k, brokerage accounts or income planning. It’s your 45-minutes to ask away.

You get the online course and a 45-minute consultation all for just $99.

Take a moment to let that sink in. 24 years of experience, condensed into a step-by-step course, including a 45 minute consult – all for less than half the price of one single hour of my normal consult rate. Some folks are even mad at me for offering it this low, but I’m determined to help as many folks get traction NOW as I can, instead of folks staying stuck in that “fixing to get ready” mindset which says “I’ll get that squared away later.” Of course later always comes but we rarely follow through.

Second – My “Ask Eric” hourly consulting fee is down almost half price to $99 for a limited time.

Here’s the link www.AskEricGaddy.com

After this offer ends, the rate is going to a normal price of $199/hr. 

If you’ve ever paid a financial advisor by the hour, the rates tend to be between $200-$400 an hour.

You can buy an hour to discuss your retiring early plan or ask any financial related questions. You can buy four hours at this low rate, use an hour now and use the other hours later in the year. I do have one of my investment licenses active and can give you specific advice, however, I do not sell any financial products and this service is advice only. My only goal is to help you succeed.

This double-offer promotion is a limited time and it will not last long – it will be going away soon.