Living the Good Life on $24,000 a Year? Retire in Your 20’s or 30’s?

[origamishuttle]

It misses the point to assume that retirement means doing nothing (which is not necessarily boring) or being bored (which doesn't always come from doing nothing). Plenty of people are busier in their retirement than they were during their career. It all depends on what you choose to do. But the choice is yours. You're not tied to a job or a business, unless you want to be. If you get laid off - who cares? If management changes, and you just want to bail - no problem! If you want to pour all of your time into a new passion project, or work on that doctorate, or read every single book you've put off for "some day" - go for it!

[Tedium]

I would prefer to have a job that adds meaning to my life.  My job benefits my community and the larger world.  The plan, as it was outlined, seems to put you in a position where you're essentially doing nothing all day, every day.  It doesn't actually allow you to do anything you want, it simply removes employment from your life.  I actually like my job.  I like my co-workers and I believe in what we're doing.  I think I'll stay put.

What do you do?

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I always looked at retirement as the freedom to not have to spend your energy on things you might be forced to do in order to pay bills. Not necessarily doing nothing, but like a re-focusing of sorts.

[MNomadic]

This is a good blog I used to read a lot that focuses on a lot of the things you're talking about: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/blog/

[ss20ts]

Where I live those numbers aren't realistic at all. You'd straight up be living in poverty. No that would not interest me. $10K a year isn't much at all. House will need maintenance and repairs over time. Appliances alone are a few grand. A new roof here would be over $5K. How long do you think that car would last? You'd be lucky to get like 15 years out of it here before the rust kills it from the winter salt.

[bluebooger]

$20 per month for car insurance ?
where does this example person live that car insurance is so low

$30 Gasoline (Prius 50mpg, no work commute)
not with these current gas prices

$0 Health Care (Obamacare)
I'd be surprised if anyone who owns their own home, and has $24k in retirement income qualifies for Obamacare

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... The plan, as it was outlined, seems to put you in a position where you're essentially doing nothing all day, every day.  It doesn't actually allow you to do anything you want, it simply removes employment from your life. ...

volunteer at an after school program and tutor math (I did that for a year)           

hike the Continental Divide Trail (I would LOVE to do that if I didn't have to work)

volunteer at a hospital (I did that for about 6 months - escorted patients around the hospital, restocked the supply closet in the ER, defrosted the refrigerator in the staff break room, they even decided they were going to teach me to draw blood LOL)

volunteer at a summer camp (I quit my job once and spent the spring, summer and fall at a camp in upstate NY -- spent the spring hooking up the plumbing, painting the cabins, getting the pool ready -- spent the summer teaching fishing and frog catching to a bunch of 8 year old kids -most fun I have EVER had- and spent the fall closing the camp -disconnecting the plumbing, draining the pool, locking everything up -- did it all for the room and board -one of the best 7 months ever)

teach English as a Second Language -- I volunteered in China Town in NYC for one week teaching English to Asian immigrants
had to quit when it became obvious that 75% of them were single women who were looking to get married
it was just too weird

but there is PLENTY you could do if you looked around

[Kal Di]

It misses the point to assume that retirement means doing nothing (which is not necessarily boring) or being bored (which doesn't always come from doing nothing). Plenty of people are busier in their retirement than they were during their career. It all depends on what you choose to do. But the choice is yours. You're not tied to a job or a business, unless you want to be. If you get laid off - who cares? If management changes, and you just want to bail - no problem! If you want to pour all of your time into a new passion project, or work on that doctorate, or read every single book you've put off for "some day" - go for it!

... The plan, as it was outlined, seems to put you in a position where you're essentially doing nothing all day, every day.  It doesn't actually allow you to do anything you want, it simply removes employment from your life. ...

volunteer at an after school program and tutor math (I did that for a year)           

hike the Continental Divide Trail (I would LOVE to do that if I didn't have to work)

volunteer at a hospital (I did that for about 6 months - escorted patients around the hospital, restocked the supply closet in the ER, defrosted the refrigerator in the staff break room, they even decided they were going to teach me to draw blood LOL)

volunteer at a summer camp (I quit my job once and spent the spring, summer and fall at a camp in upstate NY -- spent the spring hooking up the plumbing, painting the cabins, getting the pool ready -- spent the summer teaching fishing and frog catching to a bunch of 8 year old kids -most fun I have EVER had- and spent the fall closing the camp -disconnecting the plumbing, draining the pool, locking everything up -- did it all for the room and board -one of the best 7 months ever)

teach English as a Second Language -- I volunteered in China Town in NYC for one week teaching English to Asian immigrants
had to quit when it became obvious that 75% of them were single women who were looking to get married
it was just too weird

but there is PLENTY you could do if you looked around

I agree many people assume retirement means doing nothing or being bored. Some people have personal pursuits like getting a doctorate degree, producing a film, or explore a new country for a year. A $24,000 annual salary is possible to live in some small cities or rural areas in the USA. However, it's easier to live a higher quality of life with that income in a Latin American, Eastern European, African, or Southeast Asian country.

[LevelUP]

The road to financial freedom consists of 3 things

1. Maximize your income:  Earn a college degree & improve your skills
2. Save your money: Live below your means
3. Invest your money: Once you hit the point where your passive income exceeds your expenses, you have financial freedom.

I personally don't like the idea of retiring and doing nothing. Everyone has their unique goals though.

One of the biggest expenses for most people is housing and some people do house hacking.
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ve-Markets

[dfrecore]

The numbers in the original scenario are completely unrealistic.
- $80/mo property taxes? On what planet?
- $20 car insurance? again, where is this possible?
- $30 gasoline a month? I guess you're not going more than 5 miles from home. Ever.
- $15 cell phone plan - I guess it's for a single person.
- $200 for food - I guess maybe for a single person who doesn't eat much or well. That's certainly not buying steak or chicken breasts or pork chops
- even "free" Obamacare plans make you pay for doctor's visits and whatnot. Prescriptions.
- $600/mo for vacations will not be much of a vacation. You'd have to save for MANY months in order to do a 3-day weekend to a nearby beach.
- and the "left over" money is honestly not giving you much buffer if something happens

Nowhere is there savings for car repairs or buying a used car when yours dies. Nowhere is there savings for home repairs.
Here's a list of things I personally have had happen, or have friends who have had happen in just a few years:
- I just bought filters for my home and it ran me $100. Those are supposed to be changed monthly.
- water heater goes out $1000
- leak in downstairs ceiling that turns out to be minor plumbing issue $500
- tree grew into the main line $25,000
- minor roof leak $600
- major roof leak $2500
- entirely new roof $12k
- A/C problem (3x in a single year) - $195 each time
- new A/C $9k
- appliance repair $300
- new/used appliance when something goes out $500-$3000
- raccoons getting into your crawlspace
- tree rats in your attic space
- major mouse infestation $300, need for continued servicing going forward $30/mo
- bees build a gigantic hive in your tree, $300
- bees build a hive in your walls, $1700
- your kid breaks a window playing baseball $600

None of these even take into account the cost of kids (I have a senior in high school, it's insanely expensive for all of his crap this year). Buying a crib or formula or clothing if you have a baby. Continued clothes for your growing children. I guess they won't be able to play a sport or do literally anything else, because all of that is expensive. 1 season of soccer is $150, plus the cost of cleats. Your gas bill will be going up for sure, driving to 2x weekly practices and Saturday games. Don't let them be really good at a sport, in which case your costs will go up by 3x-10x.

So, this scenario is fine I guess if you are single with no kids, don't like to do much, and nothing bad ever happens. And you can find this elusive place with $80 property taxes that will never go up, $20 car insurance that will never go up, HO insurance that never goes up, grocery costs never go up, and gas prices never go up. I mean, what can go wrong planning out a life like that??

[schlocker]

What amount is realistic?

[ss20ts]

What amount is realistic?

It will vary based on where you live, what you need to live on, what you want to do in life, etc. There's no set number for everyone.