130: Refusing to Retire at 65: How a Couple in their 40s Managed to Hit FI in 12 Years with Susan and Norm

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Investing, Education, Business

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2020

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Susan and Norm got married a little later in life. They started off basically flat, with debts equalling assets. Neither wanted to have the debt, and focused on paying it off and building an emergency fund. Then they discovered that they could retire early if they put their minds to it. So they jumped in with both feet, paid off the mortgage, bought an investment condo, paid it off, and aggressively saved to buy the second condo. From the time they met until the time they were ready to retire, starting with basically a $0 net worth, was 12 years. Starting at age 43. The one constant in their journey is their partnership, their commitment to each other and the end goal, and their desire to “be in this together.” Susan and Norm have a very clear respect and love for each other, never keeping score, never trying to hide a mistake from the other, always recognizing that they’re building their life together. When starting on the journey to Financial Independence, it can be difficult to say the course - especially when your journey starts later than most. Susan and Norm and an excellent example of what CAN happen when you make a goal and aggressively pursue success. This episode is for anyone who is struggling in their journey to FI, have hit a setback they feel is insurmountable, or anyone who is just getting started on their journey a little later in life. In This Episode We Cover: When did they start saving for retirement How they approach the conversation about money The decisions they make on housing, transportation, and food How they paid off their debt What their emergency fund looks like What their company do What they learned about the 401k benefits from a self-employment perspective Talking about their multiple income streams The book that made their mindset shift Peer-to-peer lending What they will do when they are fully retired And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Money Podcast 24 with Erin Lowry Cash Cow Couple Personal Capital Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Starting Late, But Retiring Early: A Case Study Mindy's email Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, Show Number 130, where we interview Susan and Norm, a couple who started in a new marriage,
0:08.0	basically from zero, at ages 43 and 47, and still managed to retire early in about 12 years.
0:14.0	If you're in a relationship and you're at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as finances,
0:20.0	somebody's a big spender and you know somebody else wants to save money you're
0:26.1	both never going to change to meet that other person's expectations so really
0:31.9	think before going much further because you either have it or you don't and people don't change you know
0:39.0	Hello Hello, hello. My name is Mindy Jensen and with me as always is my dynamite co-host Scott Trench.
0:44.4	Wow, that's an explosive introduction Mindy. We're getting better and better at these.
0:49.7	Scott and I are here to make financial independence less scary, less just for somebody else,
0:54.7	and show you that by following the proven path, you can put yourself on the road to early financial
0:59.2	freedom and get money out of the way so you can leave your best life.
1:03.0	That's right. Whether you want to retire early and travel the world, go on to make big-time
1:06.1	investments in assets like real estate, start your own business, or are just getting
1:09.6	started on the financial independence journey a little later in life will help you build a position capable
1:14.3	of launching yourself towards their dreams.
1:16.5	Scott, I am super pumped for today's show.
1:22.7	We get a lot of questions in our Facebook group
1:25.1	and email directly to us.
1:26.8	One of the recurring themes is,
1:28.2	can I still reach FI if I'm getting started late,
1:30.8	if I'm not in my 20s, if I'm in my 30s or 40s or 50s, is it a lost cause?
1:36.3	And of course the answer is no, but I haven't really had anybody to help illustrate this
	...

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