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

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Finance Review Guest Onboarding

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Mindy on BiggerPockets

Scott's Instagram

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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

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