A Crazy Retirement Plan?

A friend of mine has an ambitious retirement plan – for the past few years, he has been working two jobs week after week with barely a day off. He goes to one job, comes home and sleeps, then heads off to the second job. His goal is to sock enough money away so that he can retire early. I have to wonder - is he crazy?

An Amazing Saver
He’s always been an amazing saver and investor. While I was going to university in my early 20’s, he was working hard and putting as much money into his investments that he could. Granted, he wasn’t making a huge salary, but it didn’t matter because he was always so good with his money.

A Frugal Spender
As long as I’ve know him, he’s been very careful where he spends his money. For years, we’d all go out to dinner, and he would always eat at home first then meet us somewhere later. I remember back in our late teens, he bought a bunch of new clothing, and I swear, he didn’t buy anything for at least another five years… maybe even 10! I used to wonder what was wrong with this guy, but looking back, he was just exercising strong discipline.

A Smart Investor
I’d have to say my friend is extremely obsessive compulsive. He’ll get into something and take it to the next level. When it comes to stocks and investing, he’ll stay up all night and watch all the right investing programs, then he’ll get up early the next day, to check the markets. I swear, he’s been in and out of the market at all the right times – the tech run-up, tech crash … you name it, he was there!

So, what’s my point to all this? I guess if you know my friend like I do, his plan really isn’t so crazy after all. It fits his personality.

Is it Healthy?
I’m a little concerned about his health, though. When I see him, he looks tired and I have to wonder what kind of price he is paying to reach his goal? While I like his plan, and believe in certain aspects of it, it wouldn’t totally be for me.

Elements to a Retirement Plan
After thinking about my friend, I’ve come up with a list of things that I think are important for a successful retirement plan:

• Pick an age you want to retire and work backwards – if you want to retire early, you’ll need more money
• It should fit like a glove – everyone is different and your plan should match your personality, beliefs and values.
• Don’t sacrifice today – what’s the point of retiring if you’re too sick to enjoy it, or if you completely missed out on life?
• It’s now how much you earn, it’s what you do with your money – saving is about discipline and spending your money intelligently.
• Do your homework – don’t totally rely on someone else. Educate yourself so that you can at least be able to ask the right questions.

I’m not sure there is such a thing as a crazy retirement plan. As long as it fits you and you feel good about it, it doesn’t matter what other people think.

I have to admit, I want to retire early, too, and I’m willing to go to great lengths to do it. But, I still want to have a bit of fun along the way!

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