415: Finance Friday: How to Achieve Your “Dream Life” Decades Before Retirement

Retirement is always some far-off goal. When you’re older and much more wealthy, you can live the golden years of your life without a care in the world. The problem? None of us know how much time we have left, how healthy we’ll be as we age, and whether or not these years are the best we’ll ever get. So, why wait to retire in your sixties when it’s possible to retire in your twenties, thirties, forties, or fifties? If you had the choice to live your ideal life NOW, wouldn’t you choose to do so? On this Finance Friday episode, we talk to Sara, who had a recent wake-up call about waiting for retirement. While on a casual run, Sara suffered sudden cardiac arrest, prompting her to be put into a medically-induced coma. Without any signs of something like this happening, Sara started to ask whether or not she was living her life to the best of her ability and if waiting for retirement age was worth the risk. With six figures in student debt from her husband but solid salaries to support their low-cost-of-living lifestyle, Sara wants to know how she can transition to part-time work while still saving and investing for early retirement. Thanks to smart decisions Sara has made, she’s in a phenomenal position to take her foot off the gas, but how can she do so without sacrificing her future? In This Episode We Cover Student loans and whether to pay off debt or invest for early retirement Switching from full-time work to part-time hours while keeping benefits and saving your sanity Planning your “ideal life” and why waiting until traditional retirement age could be a big mistake Cash reserves and how much you should have when planning to leave a full-time salary Building your investment plan based on what you (and your partner) really want out of life And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Join BiggerPockets for FREE Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott's Instagram Grab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life” Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show Podcast Talent Search! Listen to The “On The Market” Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, BiggerPockets Money Moment Scott Trench’s Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Perfect, 1-Page Investment Plan How to Retire Early (From Someone Who Did at Age 27) Should You Pay Off Debt or Invest? Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-415 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email us: advertise@biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices