Retirement is a buzz word that many individuals think about on a regular basis, whether it’s the thought of retirement as being stressful, too far away, something you must plan for, or a daunting task that seems to be slipping further and further into the future. It seems that Americans tend to have a negative connotation to the word, “retirement”.
I would like to flip the conversation on its head and talk about early retirement. I have always subscribed to the notion that you must take advice from those who have done the things that you want to do. It is crazy to me that most people go to individuals who are not yet “retired” for retirement planning. It seems somewhat backwards if you think about it. In my eyes, I want to be surrounding myself with people who have retired years before my current age. Retiring before retirement age, even within the next couple of years, is very possible. However, you must have the keys to enter the building.
Well Capital’s 3 Keys to Retiring Early
Keep More of What You Earn
Most individuals have the thought process of, “If I can just get a raise, make $50,000 more this year, or save 70% of my income, it will speed up my retirement. This could not be farther from the truth. The key is to keep more of what you make. Let me repeat that, the key is to keep most of what you earn. How do you accomplish this? Through lowering your tax burden. Unfortunately, most individuals know more about planning a wedding or a celebrity couple than they do about how to lower their own tax burden. Luckily, 50 pages of the tax code were written to tell us about the things we must pay taxes on, the other million or so pages were written to incentivize us by giving very favorable tax breaks.
Books I recommend reading to lower your taxable income:
The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor
Invest in Real Estate
This one may seem too easy, but to take advantage of most of the tax laws mentioned in the books above, you must be passively or actively participating in some form of real estate. To learn more about ways to invest in real estate, I recommend reading The Hands-Off Investor
Take Consistent Action
Knowledge without action is a recipe for stress and wasted potential. The more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, the more you will grow. Act and give us a call, we would love to learn more about your current situation and find ways to assist you in your journey to early retirement. You will get there sooner than you think if you combine education with action. I am so excited to help in accelerating your journey to financial freedom and early retirement. I look forward to hearing from you soon.