A couple of weeks ago we looked at an article from MarketWatch about a couple, now 39, who “retired” when they were 30. They live frugally, one way or another accumulated a pretty decent nest egg in their 20’s and took the time to become financially literate.
Comments on the original article and then on our post amounted to a debate about whether these people were industrious or lazy.
MarketWatch then found another couple, Billy and Akaisha Kaderli, now 61 who “retired” when they were 38. There are some similarities in the two stories; both couples live frugally and both couples figured out early on what they wanted their lives to be and had the discipline to make it happen.
Interestingly, both couples live on a similar dollar amount; “less than $30,000.” Also interesting is that both couples started out with about the same $600,000 nest egg (insert “nest and egg” joke from the 1985 movie Lost In America here) albeit 14 years apart.
The Kaderlis took a different path by selling everything to live out of their suitcases on a global scale meaning they live in places for short periods of time, on the cheap, and then move onto experience a new place. Some of this also involves house sitting which presumably means free rent at least some of the time. Currently they live in Guatemala.
Their route to financial literacy was different because Billy worked as a “broker” before they retired. MarketWatch reports that the Kaderlis use index funds and adhere to the 4% rule (a strategy where by a 4% withdrawal rate is believed to be the optimal withdrawal rate from a portfolio).