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Optimal Finance Daily - Financial Independence and Money Advice
3511: The Three Most Common Ways To Achieve FIRE by Christina Browning of Our Rich Journey on Early Retirement Paths
00:11:01
Christina Browning breaks down three powerful paths to financial independence
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Person Selling Car
I sold my car in Carvana last night.
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Podcast Host
Well, that's cool.
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Person Selling Car
No, you don't understand. It went perfectly. Real offer down to the penny. They're picking it up tomorrow. Nothing went wrong.
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Podcast Host
So what's the problem?
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Person Selling Car
That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch.
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Podcast Host
Maybe there's no catch.
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Person Selling Car
That's exactly what a catch would want me to think.
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Podcast Host
Wow. You need to relax.
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Person Selling Car
I need to knock on wood. Do we have wood? Is this table wood?
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Podcast Host
I think it's laminate.
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Person Selling Car
Okay. Yeah, that's good. That's close enough.
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Podcast Host
Car selling without a catch Sell your car today on Carvana.
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Carvana Advertiser
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Podcast Host
This is Optimal Finance Daily. The three Most Common Ways to Achieve Fire By Christina Browning of rrichjourney.com in recent years, fire, or financial independence and early retirement, has taken off around the globe as more people realize that they have the power to invest in their own lives and achieve financial independence. There are plenty of routes one can take to achieve fire. Here are the three most common ways to do so, including the pros and cons of each strategy. It's important to understand how these methods work, how they don't work, and how you can apply them to your own situation. Investing in the Stock Market if you choose to open an investment portfolio to invest in the stock market, you can eventually generate enough income that it will pay for your expenses in retirement. But proper asset allocation is important as it allows your portfolio to continue growing even as you make withdrawals. The key is to live off the generated income without depleting your returns. The idea of living off stock investments seems foreign to a lot of people because they don't understand how you live off those investments on an annual basis. Living off of your investment portfolio is more than possible, but there are still pros and cons. Number one, it's easy and accessible to the majority of people. 2. Access to tax advantaged investment accounts that either reduce your taxable income or allow your money to grow tax free. And number three, it's passive. Investing in the stock market over the long term requires very little work and hassle. It's a great fit for hands off people who want to put their money somewhere and leave it to grow. 1. It can be risky. You can lose all of your money if you don't hedge against risk. Number two, you have to invest larger portions of your income to achieve fire, traditional retirement requires saving about 10 to 15% of your income, but early retirement via stock market investing requires much more. Number three, you have to invest for the long term. Without that long term horizon, you're unlikely to achieve fire due to stock market volatility. If you don't want to invest over the long term, that volatility may cause anxiety, leading you to sell early at a loss. And number four, investing for fire is slow and it could take a long time to build up steam. Some people will lose motivation before they see results. Investing in Real Estate if you have the ability, investing in real estate can be a very effective way to gain financial independence, perhaps leaving you with hundreds of thousands of dollars to put towards early retirement. But as with anything, there are upsides and downsides to this strategy. You can reach fire more quickly than you would through investing in the stock market. The returns are greater and you can begin living off of them earlier. Number two, by investing a relatively small amount of money, you can buy a relatively large asset, which you can then use to purchase other assets, that is More properties. Leverage through real estate investing is a major pro of this method. Number three, you have more control over your investments. If you want to increase the value of a property, you can add extensions and make repairs or even rent it out as an Airbnb. And number four, it's an effective hedge against inflation, which can have a huge effect on your financial independence journey. When you live off real estate, you're largely protected from the worst effects of inflation, since real estate is one of the first things to grow with inflation. One, it costs a lot to get started. You need cash for the down payment, repairs, furnishings, etc. Number two, compared to stock market investing, it requires far more physical and emotional labor. You can't just invest your money and sit back and wait for it to work its financial magic. Number three, you have far less diversification among your assets. For example, if you have three different properties and two tenants aren't paying rent, it will deal a devastating blow to your retirement savings. And number four, there are a lot of unique risks that deter people from investing in real estate. This can include being sued for a fall on the property, bad tenants, potential squatters, etc. If you don't do thorough research, unforeseen risks can derail your fire journey entirely. Starting a Business when most people talk about starting a business, they aren't talking about it as a mechanism for achieving fire, but it can be a vital way of achieving financial independence. The Key is starting a business that produces passive income, which can lead to true financial freedom. Things like creating apps, self publishing ebooks, building websites, affiliate marketing, etc. You create a product that will continuously sell so you reap the benefits without additional work on your part. Pros Number one, you're your own boss. You get to choose what you make and sell. Number two, your income potential is endless depending on what you create. For example, a successful app can literally make millions. Number three, depending on the type of business, you can be relatively, if not completely location dependent. Being able to move anywhere can help you drastically cut housing and even living expenses. And number four, more potential to pass on generational wealth. Your children can reap the benefits financially and also intellectually as you can show them how to manage a passive income business. Cons Number one, There's a fine line between passive and active income. You may start a business that you think is going to produce passive income, but you end up doing more work than you did before starting the business. Income can be inconsistent. Whether due to missteps or luck, your business may not generate enough wealth over time to maintain early retirement. A failed business can jeopardize all of your fire plans. It requires a lot of work upfront. In the beginning, you might have to spend 40 to 50 hours a week, which can take a mental and physical toll on you. You have to be 100% dedicated to making a passive income business work. So these are the three most common ways that people can achieve their dream of financial independence and early retirement. Of course, not all of these things will work for or appeal to you. This is especially true if you don't have the funds to invest in real estate or the ambition and ideas to start your own business. Of the three, investing in the stock market is the most accessible way to start your FIRE journey. Even if you start small investing what you can spare from your monthly paycheck, it will still act as passive income, growing your wealth in the background and eventually making an enormous difference to your progress. Whatever strategy you choose, make sure you have a specific plan for financial independence that works for your unique situation. Hopefully these strategies have given you inspiration for new ways to generate income and work towards your FIRE goals. You just listened to the post titled the Three Most Common Ways to Achieve Fire by Christina Browning of rrichjourney.com Dell
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Podcast Host
I thought this article was a great overview of the three main ways people reach financial independence, but I wanted to point out that what's described in today's article assumes that you won't retire from your career until you reach your FI number, otherwise known as having 25 times your yearly expenses. That is certainly the typical approach to fire, and that was my initial plan when I started. At 28 years old, I was projected to hit my FI number by 40 through passive investment in the stock market. But then I ended up retiring at 33 from my corporate career. So what gives? This is where Coastfi enters the chat. Coastfi is a milestone on the path to 25 times your annual expenses. This is where your portfolio has enough money to grow through the power of compound interest to what you need at a more traditional retirement age, even if you don't contribute one more dollar. I like to think of it as front loading your traditional retirement savings and you get to a point where you can just stop contributing and let compound interest do the rest of the work. What I found appealing about this approach is that I was able to downshift much earlier than waiting until 40 years old. And because my annual expenses are so low, I'm able to cover them on just four hours of work per week hosting this podcast for you. So I'm not living off of my portfolio, but I still consider myself retired because four hours per week isn't exactly gainfully employed. I feel like coastfi is almost a cheat code to living the FI lifestyle while not yet being fully financially independent, and that should do it for today. Thank you for being a subscriber or follower of the show and sharing it with others. It really goes a long way to keep this podcast going. Have a great rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.