Radical retirement planning

As part of my research into lifestyle money management I am being challenged on my own preconceptions what is possible. I hope the articles I write challenge you.

Here is a simple formula to think about – radically change your lifestyle and save 50% (or more) of your current after tax income, invest it wisely and enjoy a more secure and free life in the future. If you had done this from the age of 20 you would probably be able to retire at 37.

Depending on your current income and asset base you could be just 10 to 15 years away from financial complete freedom. How does that sound?

As always, there are choices

• Work longer than you need to
• Make more money

As a business owner have the option of developing your business and making more money. But, you will need to make a lot more and save a lot more because:

• You tax rate will go up
• Your base expenditure will be 100% higher (or more)

The thing about focussing on saving is that you learn to live on much less. This means you need less capital to live on. If you focus on making more there is a good chance you will fall into the trap of spending more.

What’s interesting and potentially makes the saving focus a better option is that it is really about living a better quality life.

Here are some suggestions on how you can live on 50% less. I will explore each one in future articles.

• Get rid of emergency debt
• Live close to work
• Don’t borrow money for cars
• Ride a bike
• Cancel Sky and the TV licence
• Stop wasting money of groceries
• Only use basic mobile phones
• Use your body more