How I Cut Costs Without Sacrificing My Lifestyle (F.I.R.E)

Perhaps the easiest and most guaranteed way to achieve financial independence and early retirement is by lowering your living expense down to a relatively small amount. Contrary to popular belief, you can live an amazing life without having to spend very much at all. The secret is to find a lifestyle that you can enjoy while spending less, and I have a few strategies for this. I manage to spend about half of what the average American household spends, and yet I live an extremely fulfilling life. I will teach you how I manage to cut my spending while maintaining a great lifestyle in early retirement.

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All Of My Favorite Financial Resources:

How I Track My Personal Finances:

Investment Platform That I Use:

My Favorite Calculator For Financial Independence:

Software I Use To File My Taxes:

Products I Buy To Save Money:

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#frugal
#liveonless
#earlyretirement

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This content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Before making financial and legal decisions, consult financial and legal professionals licensed in your jurisdiction. Some links provided may be part of an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means of compensation for referring traffic and business to other companies.

[OnCashFlow]

Ready to take action? Watch my complete guide to using credit cards for free travel!

[zachflynn]

Yes, definitely possible. We live on around 21k/ year for our non-travel expenses for our household of 3. We employ all of the tactics that you mention here. Finding joy and contentment in simple things and other people, rather than buying items or paying for expensive experiences, helps the most.

[nikiclaypool]

I consider myself to be a household of 5 now that my highschool sons GF is over everyday and I feed her... our average expenses are 3451. I consider myself to be a bad*** of budgeting and finance but spend $ on things I value. I am a valuist. I get my hair done, wear high quality shoes and eat really well.

[FrugalTeacherFI]

We are a household of two on a teaching salary. We rent which is $12, 000 a year (thankfully from family) for a small house, shop at ALDI, drive two paid in cash 2012 cars (mine is a hybrid that gets 55-60mpg). We do go on 2 vacations a year usually which is where I will spend extra for an air bnb, etc. but our total household take home pay is about 60k including side hustles and stipends at school for club/sports and we save 30k. So we live in HCOL New England on 30k. Definitely doable. You can afford anything, just not everything. I started relatively late to retirement, but just following these behaviors, my networth has tripled since March 2020. I expect us to be NW millionaires in the next 5-6 years.

[JosephDickson]

Are you still contributing to tax advantaged retirement accounts for later in life?

[pyotr]

This isn't realistic for me. I have a very expensive hobby that I love and I can't see myself quitting. I just looked at my statements and I spent 28k last year on the hobby alone. The way I see it, or should I say the way I justify spending GOBS of money (lol), is I'm young right now and I want to take advantage of the time I have. Right now I can enjoy my body while it's still able to do things that when I'm old I won't be able to do. 🕺💪

[nikiclaypool]

Travel hacking is too legit to quit and helps me too!!

[CalmerThanYouAre]

I’d say your #1 reason for being able to live on such a low budget is… not having any kids! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦