About Retire hacks
I am a sassy, thirty something immigrant that knows how to get shit done. Retire Hacks invites you to join me on my continued journey of attaining the American Dream. I really believe that FIRE is for everyone regardless of national origin, gender, race, religion or lived experience.
Whether you are an immigrant, the child of an immigrant, or are interested in the immigrant experience, welcome to this Journey on FIRE!
The goal of Retire Hacks is to inspire and support you along your journey to Financial Independence and or Retire Early. I will share stories, hacks, and strategies that work.
Journeys are way more fun with company! One of the unique things about this blog is that we will share the journey’s on FIRE of different people in different circumstances across the country. We all have things to learn and we all have things to teach.
My journey is rooted in faith – yes, you can be a smart ass and spiritual at the same time. My faith is what supports me along this journey and reminds me of the importance of joy and generosity. Love is the foundation of my life – personal and business. My desire for you on your journey is that, not only do you attain your FIRE goals, but that you do so with love and joy.
Everyday is Amazing!
At age 35, if it weren’t for hard work, persistence, investment and saving strategies, I wouldn’t be where I am today — living life on my own terms! I’m my own boss. I can focus on doing things that I’m passionate about and live life filled with joy, purpose and freedom!
Be Inspired!
SHIFT YOUR MINDSET
This is the main trick! You need to be open on the Retire Hacks or ideas and figure out how you can specifically apply them in your life. In a world of consumerism, you need to start buying just what you NEED. This is considered as having a “frugal mindset”. This is not easy for most people, but it’s fairly doable. It’s easier to save money on your expenses than trying to get another job or side hustle but if you can do both, your financial independence journey will happen in no time.
START TODAY
Once you got the right mindset, it’s time to put together an ACTION PLAN. Start today by learning the basics of frugality like simple life hacks where you could come up with little savings that add up. Everyone knows how to loose weight, exercise, eat healthy, good amount of sleep etc. The question is not how to do it but the “will and belief” to do it is normally the problem. You and I know what to do, but don’t do it. Knowing without action is simply dreaming. Just do it.
KNOW THE 50-30-20 RULE
This rule is popular among financial planners. Think of 3 big buckets where you will put your income: 50% on necessities, 30% on desires and 20% on savings. The main concept is knowing where to spend your earnings. This 50-30-20 Rule can be adjusted based on your preference. If you’re new with budgeting, this number proportion is a good beginning point. Don’t spend more than you make. It’s vital to get hold of your spending and work towards the opposite of the spectrum. You should work towards saving from 20- 90% of your income. The faster you get to saving and investing 90% of our income, the faster you get to financial freedom and retiring young.
INCREASE YOUR INCOME WITH SIDE HUSTLE
Increase your income, do side hustle! Obviously, you won’t have anything to save if your income is just enough to buy your essential needs. There are many ways to get extra income even if you’re already working full time. There’s quite a bit of side hustles out there and some don’t even require specialize talents or skills such as dog walking, caregiving, nannying, uber or lyft, house sitting etc. Click here for side hustle ideas.
START INVESTING
This is earning money with minimal involvement. When you have the right amount of savings, you can invest and have a passive income. Earning money while you’re asleep…. Sounds great, right?! Here, the money you’ll invest will do the work for you. You can start with mutual or index funds, stocks or options, real estate, small business etc. But which one?
For most FIRE pioneers, they choose index funds by Vanguard. Long horizons and low fees are two of an investor’s best friends. Sure, everyone wants to get rich quick, but the best route for most of us is to diversify our holdings, control costs and be patient – which is exactly why index funds are becoming more popular by the year. In 2007, legendary investor Warren Buffett made a $1 million bet against Protégé Partners that hedge funds wouldn’t outperform an S&P index fund, and he won.
RESIST FOMO(fear of missing out)
FOMO is a term used for herd mentality. This “fear of missing out” pertains to the pressure you feel that pushes you to acquire material things just because a certain group of people (oftentimes, your age group) is doing so – like buying a house, the latest gadget, a new car, etc. Don’t feel obligated to do what most people are doing. Instead, focus on the “math” and not on the emotional pull. You won’t die if you don’t own all the trendiest and nicest stuff such as newest i-phone, or newest car or newest restaurant or see a popular band in town.
KEEP A SIMPLE LIFE
Keep a simple life even if your income increases. The temptation is high when you and I get blinded when we get higher earnings — this leads us to automatically upgrading our lifestyle commonly known as lifestyle inflation. But when you’re focused on achieving your financial goals and you really want to retire young, an INCREASED INCOME should mean INCREASED SAVINGS, not expenses.
Our life is made up of our decisions and actions…
