What will you be doing at age 40? Will you be stuck in an office building hunched over a computer 👨💻👩💻? Or will you be laying on a floatie in your infinity pool 🍹?
If you want to retire early, becoming better at personal finance and money management is key. The sooner you get started with this list, the more realistic it may be 👇
1. Become a minimalist 🤑
Minimalism is all about buying with more purpose. For instance, a minimalist might purchasing fewer, higher quality items that are used more often. It doesn't mean Walmart or Costco has to sponsor 100% of your wardrobe, but instead being intentional about your decisions as a consumer. Minimalist's report appreciating their belongings more than the average consumer, all the while saving more money (financial literacy 2.0 if you will). Imagine if you could get your money back for all the useless things you've bought!
Pro-tip: every time you are about to purchase something online, save the link in a "Future Purchases" folder. If you return to the link 2 more times, then buy it.
2. Start earning 'mailbox money' 📬
Do you have a rich friend whose parents always seem to be around the house? It's probably because they earn lots of passive income (also called "mailbox money"). In fact, passive income is the #1 income stream of people who earn $1,000,000 or more per year. Some common forms of passive income are investments (stocks, bonds & crypto), real estate, royalties and side businesses. There's only one problem... to earn mailbox money, you have to have money to begin with. But don't worry, the dawn of FinTech has made investing for beginners easy!
Pro-tip: earning passive income is like working out. It's better to get in the habit of doing it every day even if its at a tiny amount (like seriously $1) than thinking you will get involved when you have more money.
3. Add a side hustle 💪
Let's be honest, full-time jobs are a drag. To get a well-paying corporate job, you will have to attend years of school. You may also be forced to take out student loans that often take 10-30 years to pay back (!!!!) After all of that, you'll be sitting in an office building at 10PM on a weeknight getting something done for you boss. Sound horrible?
Apps like Side Hustle eliminate the friction in creating new ways to make money. Tha app generates ideas for you based on your skills and interests. You can also learn about your friends side hustles, and turn those new income streams into mailbox money.
Pro-tip: Get the side hustle app!
4. Find a mentor that's 10 years ahead of you 👥
One of the biggest shortcuts to becoming successful early in life, is following a trailblazer. But some mentors are so far ahead they seem like your parents and can't give relevant advice. Finding someone who isn't too far from where you are now, but that you would like to be when you are their age is the sweet spot. But how do you ask them to mentor you?
Ask if they would be willing to do a recurring meeting with you (for instance once every other month)
Come to each meeting with a question or two you have prepared
When you aren't meeting with them, shoot them an email or text with some of your life developments
Remember that good mentor-mentee relationships are really just friendships
Share your gratitude for them - they get to feel warm and fuzzy inside for being helpful to you
Pro-tip: A really successful mentor might feel like a stretch now, but they might not even read your message in 5-10 years. Don't wait to ask!
5. Write down your goals ✔️
A recent study showed that people who write down their goals have a 1.4x higher likelihood of achieving them. Think about that: writing down a goal takes one minute and can increase your likelihood of success by 40%! Why is this so effective? And why is it relevant to retiring early?
It's because knowing (and quantifying) what you want to achieve allows your brain to unlock ways to achieve that goal much more efficiently and effectively.
Pro-tip: we already wrote your first goal for you... "retire by [insert age]"
6. Curiosity is better than envy 🙂
When one of your friends does something successful, a common instinct is to be jealous or envious of their success. This is human nature. Every moment that you spend being jealous, is a missed opportunity to learn a new cheat code for success. You should be asking them what steps they took to achieve their success. Not only will your curiosity benefit you, but your interest in your friend might make them bring you in on their next venture.
Pro-tip: the next time your brain tells you to feel jealous take a few seconds to recognize that its normal. Then tell it to think of a good question. The results might shock you!
7. Be different 🔮
Did you know that you can fit the entire population of billionaires in the world into a high school gymnasium? There are as many billionaires as there are ring-tailed lemurs (one of the most endangered species on planet earth). Why is this relevant? Because to become uncommonly successful, you have to be uncommon. If someone thinks you're weird for spending a Sunday afternoon on your side hustle, or for monetizing your own content on a social platform, or creating your own business... it's probably a good sign you are on the path to success.
Pro-tip: read an autobiography about a billionaire and underline every time they mention doing something people around them weren't thinking about or doing. You will probably run out of ink.
Don't miss out, download the Jetson app today!