Since 2020 over 47 million individuals have quit their jobs. While some have gone to find new work, many more have chosen to retire. Over three million Americans decided to retire early due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Workers as young as their late twenties have decided to live frugally, save and invest their money for early retirement. Â Inspired by the 1992 book Your Money or Your Life, this new lifestyle has grown to be called the F.I.R.E. Movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early).
The FIRE concept is taking on renewed interest in the wake of the pandemic. But since the book’s release early retirement has become more costly. Prices have inflated over one hundred percent from 1992 to 2022 while experts expect years of lower investment returns. These new economic struggles require a restructured look at early retirement planning. Being financially independent in the post-pandemic landscape will need a smarter kind of investor who knows how share trading can ‘light their FIRE’ towards an early retirement lifestyle.
How To Retire on F.I.R.E.
While each person may save according to their needs, there are some basic goals that anyone wishing to achieve FIRE should set for themselves. Creating a detailed long-term plan is integral to knowing how much of your income you have to have. According to Your Money or Your Life, saving up to seventy percent of your income is recommended. Of course, some choose to save fifty, or even eighty percent. Determining how much to save is based on the lifestyle you would want post-retirement, and whether you choose to work after retiring.
Once you know how much you want to save, learning all the tips and tricks to get the best savings return is key. There are limitless options of assets that can be used to grow your retirement savings. One of the most popular is share trading.
Share trading is the buying and selling of stocks to make returns through daily price changes. With the growth of different online trading platforms, barriers to accessing shares and stocks have plummeted. After plummeting in the aftermath of the Great Recession, American stock ownership has jumped from a low of 52% in 2013 to 58% in 2022.
The rebound in stock ownership is correlated with the smartphone revolution. Applications like Quest Trade and Wealth Simple found willing buyers of stocks online through the broad distribution of smartphones. Making buying and selling shares a plausible way to build wealth for millions.
The Future is FIRE
According to a study by Northwestern Mutual among generations, Gen Z is the most confident they’ll be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes. Older generations are more pessimistic – more than half of Gen X say they won’t be ready, and nearly half of Millennials and Boomers+ (not yet retired) say the same. 2 in 5 of Gen Z also expect to live to 100. They also expect to need just $1.2 million to fund that 40-year retirement, the lowest nest egg estimate among the four adult generations in the survey.
Whenever you choose to retire it is important to have access to a fruitful and sustainable financial account. Many accounts take their share of your earnings, and that can eat away at your early retirement fund. Roth IRAs allow investors to build a source of tax-free income for their retirement that will not be taxed, even if they take it out early. This way, you are not penalized for taking out sums of money for early retirement.
For those thrifty enough to frugally budget, early retirement can be much easier. But it is possible for anyone. Even as prices of goods go up and returns hit a plateau, the tech-savvy investor can still reach FIRE through the right applications and investment decisions.
Much will depend on how retirees choose to live. Flexible working arrangements and minimalist consumer spending are all part of the new post-pandemic normal for many. With long-term planning and the right knowledge, resignations can lead to a new, easier lifestyle. Check back with us to be updated on how to spark the FIRE in you.