Frugal Living Learn How We Retired at 55!

Learn how we were able to retire at 55. Learn how we prepared for it and how we are managing. Early retirement for us requires a frugal lifestyle and some serious cutting back. We have traded material items for experiences. Frugal early retirement is what we choose and this video explains how and why. Living on less is our journey and we want to share it with you!

[fireflyfarmletontheeno]

I think most people keep themselves "house poor". Upgrading houses, mortgage payments so high they can't afford to save, etc. Your advice is spot on! Keep doing what you're doing!

[rosagoglia]

Hello there, , Emmi, glad to see your broadcasts as they are pleasant, encouraging with good information. It doesn’t hurt that I’m from Queens and about the same age! Blessings to you, too🌸 But I wound up in temporary trouble and moved to a cheaper state almost a decade ago. And your advice is nice:)Hoping to visit NY again asap and a few other states.. grazie!

[BrandeArno]

We lived under our means for over 30 years. Home is paid for, no car loans because he saves for cars, taxes, appliances, roof, and any other repair or replace for our home. We have 3 small senior dogs that need medication. He saved for that. He has a vacation account ready for us to go to Yellowstone again. We don't smoke or drink. We don't go to the movies, or casinos. We do attend church and are blessed by the service. Hubby worked 47 years with same company and retired at 67. We are secure now because of all the years of living frugal then.

[chrisolivo]

I’m 48 years old and my goal is to retire at 55 too. I’m watching the video and you guys are describing everything I’ve done in the past 20-25 years. I’ve lived in the same house since 2001 and payed it off. I have no car payments and I don’t go on vacations every year like my friends. My only vice is golf and I’m including that in my budget when I retire. My portfolio is 60% stocks, 30% saving account and 10% HSA. My HSA will contribute to my healthcare costs when I retire until I can apply for Medicare. It’s nice to hear stories like this as I would never call you frugal, I’d call you smart!

[gurrrrlish]

great advice . money in the bank brings peace of mind - options - personal power.

[nancyyoung]

Thanks for tips on saving money with groceries. I am on disability and I get the lowest amount to live on. I have food stamps.They don’t go that far with prices of food. I am trying my hardest to make ends meet. I left an abusive relationship and I didn’t take much with me. I did have $ saved to move .it went fast. I have minimal stuff in kitchen. I just bought a box grater to save $ by grating my own cheese as per what u said about additives in it. I cook for just me & sometimes my neighbor.We swap food back and forth too.My neighbor cooks dinner for me sometimes too.great way to save money.Also I save bacon grease to cook with. It’s especially good cooking Brussels sprouts in.fat flavors it great.My parents grew up during the depression and I have learned many things from them on being frugal like using bacon grease to cook.They saved & reused or repurposed stuff like u do. I am new subscriber to channel. I have been watching as many videos of urs I can.U & ur husband & Dixie seem very nice and the kind of people you would want to get to know if we were neighbors. I would love more warm weather dishes if u can.The heat has got me doing very little. I am from just outside Philly in suburbs Bucks and Montgomery county. I have no car & no debt. I don’t use credit cards either. I have not used in like 15 years. I have started another emergency fund.Seems as soon as I save $ an emergency comes up.😅😮I have a cat too so I need emergency funds for vet for her.Fortunately she is only 3+ years old so still young for problems.Also do u have any ideas on living in small place for storage and organizing food pantries. I live in studio apartment on 8 th floor which they call penthouse jokingly of course. I live in low income housing. I’m fortunate that rent is cheap. I would be out on street elsewise. I live 150% below the poverty line so I am told. I’m grateful for what I have. I have all I need.Yes it’s hard sometimes. I don’t have to live with someone threatening me all the time or giving me black eyes or broken bones. I have PTSD from my Ex. I’m slowly getting a better normal life. I left 3yrs ago. I’m happy and grateful for what I have.Prices are sky high but I’m a survivor so I will figure it out.Thanks again for recipes. I made pasta salad similar to yours and it was delicious. I am going to make ur spinach pasta bake with ricotta and cream

[kittyglanz]

Ed had an extremely stressful job, we retired him at 58. Had to take his pension in order to get his health care, pre existing issues made it impossible to afford anything else, even if they would cover him!
But he is now 72, I am 74. The secret is living well, but below your means, having an emergency acct, and enjoy life.
People need to be taught how to economize, how to be content with what they have. You have a good channel. We live in AZ, 93 today, we are grateful for the nice day!

[vesnanunez]

I just absolutely love you. You seem like the sweetest kind hearted person!! We need people like you in this world. 💕

[ambrok]

Life changed when my husband became disabled. We no longer could wait til retirement to enjoy more of life. We took a loan to buy a used camper van. It has replaced our 2nd vehicle, can use it for camping & traveling. During road trips, if/when my husbands has a bad days...we can just park & he has the bed/bath, as needed.

[simplynatural]

You are very wise woman thank you for all tips

[matzmaw]

Excellent vdo! We always lived below our means. For the first 5 yrs of our marriage, we both worked, but lived on 1 income, and paid cash for our small home we bought in 1986. I was an RN, and he sold insurance. He recently passed away after 39 yrs of marriage. Still live in the same house, which I love to this day. The key to financial freedom is to live below your means, and stay out of debt. Save all you can. Old age comes up very quickly! Hugs from Texas!

[NuffinEdited]

Brown & Root laid my hubby off and it was on a Thursday. I went online checked out SS and saw he would only lose a few dollars a month if he retired at 62 instead of 65. So I retired him out online, never looked back. Oh and with the small raises they give here and there he's bringing in more now than if he had waited to 70 to retire. Good advice hope the viewers listen.

[meljordan]

Love this video. We dream of my husband retiring at 59. He is currently 44 and there isn't much left of him he's worked so hard as a logger/truck driver. He's worked way too many hours! I would rather have him home with me than more money! It's encouraging to know you two have retired early!

[busybecky]

Congratulations! My husband and I are working on this very hard! We're 20 years away (we're in our 30's), but we save over 30% of our income towards retirement. We both have state pensions through our full time jobs, as well as his military and have multiple other retirement accounts. Living debt free is so important! When you're not paying debt payments every month, you can pay yourself. We live within our means and dont keep up with the Joneses. Only debt we have is the mortgage and we are working on paying it off within 9 years. Loved this video! 💕👍🏼

[FrugalQueeninFrance]

We knew that we couldn’t work forever so started living way below our means in our 40s. We downsized to a small house and then over paid our mortgage year after year, we then sold up and downsized again and got rid our mortgage entirely and put money away for retirement. We’re 55 and 54 and I took my vocational pension early, it’s smaller but that’s ok, Mike gets his vocational pension this year too. We work part time to earn enough to keep our French visas and pay into the healthcare system. Fortunately healthcare only costs us 80€ for the two of us a month. We lived in the UK before and the equity from our home helped. People are often suspicious of early retirees but it’s possible if, like us, you’re happy to live a simple life.

[FrenchTwist]

Working in the medical field, I do not have anything other than social security. However, raised by a frugal grandmother, I learned what is really important. When I retired 4 years ago my mortgage was paid, car is paid as well. As a volunteer at an area food surplus program, I am able to get produce and sometimes meat as it is available.

A very part time job is gone for now due to covid 19 causing schools here to be closed through the fall semester. It was a perfect job and only a 1/2 mile commute. Before retiring my commute for 15 years was 38 miles each day!

Finding your channel is so uplifting and encouraging. Thanks for your info and enthusiasm.

[mdoe]

Just found your channel!


The house issue is huge. Everybody talks about that "starter" home...most of which are already twice the home I live in. I purchased my home in 1984, a smallish house built in 1936 in a small town. Is it perfect, no. I would love to have an upstairs laundry and possible a second very basic bathroom. You see, I've lived my entire life in houses with only one bathroom. It is, what it is. Warm, dry and paid for. I'll take those three things over amenities any day. I really would like a space for my sewing and knitting stuff, I'm considering buying a less than $1000 camper and parking it in the she shed with no taxes.

My house currently would sell for $150k-ish. Last spring, we purchased a house that will serve as a cabin....its actually a bit bigger than my house...in an area with very low taxes. People have remarked that "it must be nice to be able to afford a CABIN." I've lived in a modest home for over 30 years and worked around things that were not Pinterest Perfect. The cabin I purchased cost around $40K and will need about $10K in repairs over a period of time. So if you do the math, my two houses don't cost the price of a starter home today. I have an affordable regular house and now a paid for get-away place that now costs $25 a month in electric and $500 a year in taxes.

As an aside, a co-worker just heard I had purchased a cabin and, well, she has been wanting a cabin for sooo long. But she was bit deflated when she heard cabin was not located on a prime lake somewhere, but in the woods ..10 miles from Lake Superior. But I have a cabin and she never will.

[bnbtemple]

Still binging since discovering your channel yesterday. What a wise and sharing couple. Thanks to you and Paul!

[MadisonBriggsArtchick]

So glad I found this earlier video of yours. I am happy to learn your background and I really enjoy your videos! You are a breath of fresh air on You Tube 🌞

[suzyq]

I am so thrilled to find this channel! My husband and I are retiring in a few months. This is so encouraging! He will be 65 and I will be 62. We have stayed debt free and our house is paid for but it’s still going to be a stretch. Your common sense suggestions are not only practical but fun!