{"id":299602,"date":"2025-07-28T22:33:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/299602\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T22:33:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:33:19","slug":"why-you-should-aim-to-retire-early-even-if-you-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/299602\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should aim to retire early, even if you fail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I set the goal to retire by the age of 40, my financial advisor laughed at me. I\u2019d read about the FIRE movement<\/a>, but I didn\u2019t know anyone in real life who\u2019d actually done it. I certainly didn\u2019t grow up with the blueprint.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m the eighth of my dad\u2019s nine kids. My dad didn\u2019t retire until his 70s, after dedicating decades of his life to long office hours. And my mom didn\u2019t make it to a traditional retirement \u2014 she was forced to stop working early due to medical challenges.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Growing up, money always felt like something to be anxious about, not something that could buy you freedom. But then I realized it didn\u2019t have to be that way.<\/p>\n

Building a new blueprint<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still, I decided to try something different, even though people called me selfish, snooty and overconfident as a young Filipino American woman.<\/p>\n

This year, I turned 40 and hit my goal of saving enough to retire. No trust fund, no silver spoon, and done despite carrying $300,000 of debt<\/a>, including student loans, mortgages and everyday bills.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the wild part: Even if I hadn\u2019t hit that goal, I would still be far better off than if I\u2019d never tried. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s commonly accepted that retirement happens at 65, after decades of persistence and hard work. But retirement isn\u2019t about reaching a certain age \u2014 it\u2019s about reaching a point where your time is yours. How do you get there?<\/p>\n

The 4% rule<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many retirement experts follow the 4 percent rule<\/a>, which recommends using 4 percent of your retirement savings in your first year of retirement, then adjusting that amount annually for inflation, to make your money last for about 30 years.<\/p>\n

Opponents of this rule claim that it\u2019s imperfect because it fails to account for rising life expectancies and assumes fixed spending and a particular allocation of investments.<\/p>\n

This rule changed my life. By having a dollar amount to target, I could start working toward my retirement goal, rather than feeling trapped by the amorphous goal of saving \u201cas much money as possible.\u201d More importantly, I began to look forward to a day when I could imagine going to work because I want to, not because I have to.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t fathom reaching \u201cretirement,\u201d replace the word with \u201cfreedom\u201d instead. Freedom could mean quitting a job you hate, switching to a slower-paced lifestyle, traveling more or even working part-time on projects that energize you. Retiring early doesn\u2019t mean you stop being productive and start spending your days at the bingo hall. It means you stop being trapped.<\/p>\n

The earlier you aim for that level of freedom, the more of your life you can enjoy on your terms.<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

When I first started aiming for early retirement<\/a>, I knew little about investing, real estate or building a business. Setting an ambitious retirement goal pushed me to learn, and that knowledge became even more valuable than money because I turned it into a long-term habit.<\/p>\n

Pursuing early retirement helps you build:<\/p>\n

You also gain confidence in your ability to maintain healthy boundaries, like saying \u201cno\u201d to toxic work environments and relationships. These skills will benefit you whether you retire early or not. You\u2019re not just building a retirement plan \u2014 you\u2019re building money habits to create a less complicated, more peaceful life.<\/p>\n

Read more: How to save for retirement<\/a><\/p>\n

Setting a lofty goal like early retirement forces you to act with urgency and intention. You make different choices.<\/p>\n

To accomplish the goal to which I felt so dedicated, I lived like a college student well into my 30s, pinching pennies and saving like a miser. I kept it up even after paying off $300,000 of debt.<\/p>\n

I saved more than 50 percent of my income. I built multiple income streams. I said no to lifestyle creep<\/a>, even when I could \u201cafford\u201d it. That urgency builds a muscle that many people never develop when they assume they\u2019ll just work forever.<\/p>\n

Did you know?<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than one in five Americans (22 percent) say that their top financial regret is not saving for retirement sooner, according to Bankrate\u2019s Financial Regrets Survey<\/a>. And over half (57 percent) of Americans feel behind on their retirement savings, according to Bankrate\u2019s 2024 Retirement Savings Survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aiming for early retirement influenced how I spend, save and invest now, not decades from now. The unintended consequence of working toward early retirement was that I developed the habit of prioritizing building and maintaining a strong savings account, regardless of whether I met the goal of retiring early.<\/p>\n

Just 46 percent of U.S. adults have enough money in an emergency savings account to cover three months of living costs, according to Bankrate\u2019s 2025 Emergency Savings Report<\/a>. I feel confident that the cushion I\u2019ve built could help me weather several bad years, not just weeks or months.<\/p>\n

And when emergencies arose, like my car breaking down or having to find a new apartment at the last minute, I didn\u2019t have to derail my investment goals. My savings habits afforded me a buffer.<\/p>\n

When I ask people what they want to do when they retire, I hear the same thing over and over: travel.<\/p>\n

But the reality is that traveling in your 40s or 50s is a vastly different experience than trying to do it in your 60s, 70s or 80s. I\u2019ve traveled extensively in the past three years, largely influenced by my parents\u2019 failing health \u2014 my father passed away from an unexpected brain aneurysm, and my mom is in chronic kidney failure. They never had the opportunity to travel like they wanted to, but they made sacrifices so that I could live a different life. I don\u2019t want to take that for granted.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I realized and constantly remind my clients:<\/p>\n