Why you don't need to save a million to retire early

A new way to "retire early." In this video, I debunk the myth that you need to save a million dollars to start living the life you want.

⬇ Free Guide to Get Clear

👨 Who am I?
I am Jereme - my wife and I paid off 50k in debt, quit our 9-5 jobs, sold most of our stuff, drove across country from Oregon to Michigan, and bought a small A-Frame Cabin in cash to live simply.

This decision gave us more control over our time to actually focus on the things that matter to us - serving Christ, each other, and our community better.

I created this channel to empower you to become more intentional with your time, talent, and money in order to live the life that you want to, not what society expects of you.

📩 Contact Me
See the "About" section on my youtube channel for my emails.
More on Instagram @gojereme

🎥 My crispy, minimalist camera set-up

[gojereme]

What do you think about this “new way” to retire early? Buy a home you can afford and then do what you want. Is this idea really that crazy?

[mylovelymiddle]

My husband and I leave in the South. We bought our home for $150, 000 (1600 sq.ft.). We have no other payment other than our mortgage and it’s only $600. The largest expense is our children’s daycare at $1200. But once they are out of daycare, we will be doing great!

[chrisolivo]

It boggles my mind when I see my friends buy McMansions. 30-40 years ago, families were bigger, yet we all grew up in smaller houses. Now most married couples have 2 kids and yet they live in a bigger house than they did as a kid? My house and truck are paid off but I live in NJ, so my property taxes are ridiculous. I’m actively planning to move in the next 5-7 years to a lower tax/lower cost of living state when I retire. Stay out of NJ, it is the highest taxed state in the country!

[vanessabogaert]

I’m saving a million because assisted living is horrendously expensive. Having a paid off home is great, but even with lots of equity, it won’t cover more than a few years of assisted living. It’s the unforeseen expenses when you can’t work you need to save for.

[ThuLe-ehxe]

You are better than other financial counselors because i can see the spiritual sides of you. While other counselors put stress on us about working harder, saving more, running with time, you teach us to know what our heart desires and be content, happy following our heart even if we have to live in tiny house, having only one car...
The point is to be grateful, content with what God gives to us and do what we love. When we have less stress and more love, things will fall in place. Besides. GOD will always be with us to bless us if we follow his will: to let our heart sing the song that He put in our heart.

[egyptkiss]

I am in awe at how I stumbled across this and now you’ve just became my favorite voice on this topic…. The wisdom and balance and calm you exude….. I’m about to share this with hubby and go watch ALL of your THANK YOU SO SO MUCH 😭😭😭

[multicollinearityfi]

Lowering living expenses can be doubly powerful: It leaves me more money to invest, and also helps me learn to need less to live happily.

This is one of the key points in Jim Collins's excellent book, The Simple Path to Wealth.

[MaryOlson]

Amazing video, A friend of mine referred me to a financial adviser sometime ago and we got talking about investment and money. I started investing with $120k and in the first 2 months, my portfolio was reading $274, 800. Crazy right!, I decided to reinvest my profit and gets more interesting. For over a year we have been working together making consistent profit just bought my second home 2 weeks ago and care for my family....

[vLife]

It's powerful.. We did it .. it snowballs quickly and then you leverage savings turning them into investments and it compounds. You have to make some sacrifices and not buy into all the marketing out there.. Other seemingly small choices and habits can snowball too.. like running used cars into the ground, shopping in bulk, cooking at home, exercising as a hobby/entertainment, relaxing closer to home like beach and park instead of fancy remote/resort vacations, not smoking, not drinking, day trading as a hobby/entertainment, zillow as a hobby/entertainment, DIY projects as a hobby/entertainment... If you can put your head down and distract yourself while saving and building skills & knowledge you will win BIG.

[timothykeith]

I'm planning to convert a couple rooms of my house to rent, which will pay property taxes and maintenance costs, which will get me a net zero cost of living in my home. I wish I had done this 20 years ago.

[qmakesithappen]

This is a dope perspective Jereme, and you're right nobody really talks about this. It makes perfect sense to me though. I think most still battle with keeping up with Jones's and or don't realize it's possible to live intentionally. I've been debt free for a year now and I saved/invested my first 50k. Currently working on new ways to cover my expenses with passive income.

[madameclark]

I never married and I only have one daughter. I have one brother. For me to move far away would be a lonely 😞 experience. I’m a grandmother now and spending time with grandchildren is precious.

[domm]

I agree with you man. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis and i'm about to pay off my duplex. I'm 30 yrs old. I have a similar mind set as you. I just want my time back and literally to do something larger than myself that I actually care about. Now that I have a paid off duplex I don't have to work at all, but I can now contribute to society in a meaningful way. Thanks for your video.

[RetirementTravelers]

We completely agree on getting out of debt. It is liberating. We worked in jobs we enjoyed until age 55, but now we have sufficient funds to travel the world the next 10 years. Just make sure you have enough saved so you can lead the life you want and truly be financially free. Overall great video and new sub. John and Bev

[mecheckraise]

At 57, I have a 3/2/3 paid house with under $200 a month taxes.
I also have 28 paid rental units making six figures.
We also have $960k in the stock market after making over 28% this year.
We also have $190k in wages working remotely.
I have bought several homes under $20k and several under $10k. I bought a triplex for $12k and 6-plex for $26k.
People can by cheap homes and rehab. I just takes some hustle. They are not that tough to find.

[roseemich]

Both my fiancé and I recently became debt free and we plan to retire early as well!

[yesreally]

This is really good, ty! 🙂 Your method (debt-free house strategy) is actually what my husband & I are centering in on, looking at downsizing / moving to less expensive land, possibly going off-grid for energy w solar. Housing definitely takes the biggest bite out of our income, and not being saddled w that opens up much liberty

[joe-vlnd]

I live in Colombia very well on a $1000 a month

[StyleSensePlus]

I needed to hear this this morning. Literally going to work just to pay for shelter, food, gas, insurance, and few niceties. When you knock out the cost for shelter. You’re truly free.

[abigailvences]

I don't know how I missed this video, but this is exactly what I am trying to do. From the beginning I said I want to pay my house cash, or have another income paying for it. I have not been crystal clear and keep letting life get in the way of my happiness. Thank you for sharing this message.