At what age do you plan to be financially free?

[Mindmaster]

41 now and are 2 years into a 10 year plan that will allow me to LOR at the age of 49.

After looking at other peoples responses I can see I'm a late bloomer. Bougth IP 1 8 years ago (lucky purchase) IP2 3 years ago (a mistake), IP3 late last year(a good move) and have just started the planning process for a 3 unit development. Fired up and ready to get the portfolio growing.

LOR though from purely residential maybe too ambitious and require a change of strategy such as a focus on small developments. Will reassess once current development is complete.

Great to see many people in their 20's and 30's with vision, ambition and dedication to their goals. Very motivating.

 

[HD_ACE]

I am 25. Have 3 ips. Looking to reno and develop two of them in 12-24 months.
My plan is to be able to live off rent by 40 so that i can concentrate on other things i enjoy. So if i dont feel like getting out of bed, theres no need to.

So 100k after tax per year in todays $$$ from rent. That gives me a 15 year timeframe to account for children, travel and lifes curve balls etc.
Im planning for property development to get me to where i want to be.

Thanks.

 

[mrmonopoly]

Businesses and wives, (or husbands), are supposed to make money for you, so these are actually assets, not liabilities.

I agree, my wife is absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me. But I also happily accept her wish to be a stay at home mum, which whilst saving money in childcare, is not something which makes us much money either. I appreciate this isn't the same for everyone.

I agree with a business making money, my point was more in reference to the diversion of capital from one investment vehicle to another, particularly in those initial years where it can impinge on serviceability, slowing the acquisition stage. In contrast though, once up and running it does accelerate the process so it can certainly be seen as one step back for two steps forward.

Ultimately, you have to ask yourself why you are investing in the first place?

I'm fairly vocal on this point, as on a daily basis I see people wishing their lives away through delayed gratification at all costs, avoiding partners, kids, travel etc Believing it is something they will just enjoy later.

I have also seen people build amazing portfolios and then get struck down in their relative prime (including a couple of past forumites), meaning they not only never got to enjoy the fruits of their labour, but also sacrificing the most important things life has to offer.

As with everything I feel it is about striking the right balance.

 

[Oscar]

I have a different mindset on being financially free. I figure I have been financially free all my life as I have never spent more than I earned. Do that consistently over decades and you get the picture.

I could stop working tomorrow, but I don't mind it, and the money's too good.

 

[Highlygeared]

The better way to ease out of working life (assuming you're PAYG) is not to go part-time...which basically equates to less pay and potentially the same amount of work, in 3 days say

No the way I'm going to do it is to start taking more leave, including unpaid leave..that way, I still earn a normal salary via perception and when I'm on leave, work can't touch me. Not quite the same if you're talking about the 2 days of the week you don't work.

 

[cimbom]

No the way I'm going to do it is to start taking more leave, including unpaid leave..that way, I still earn a normal salary via perception and when I'm on leave, work can't touch me. Not quite the same if you're talking about the 2 days of the week you don't work.

Very true

 

[mattnz]

The better way to ease out of working life (assuming you're PAYG) is not to go part-time...which basically equates to less pay and potentially the same amount of work, in 3 days say

No the way I'm going to do it is to start taking more leave, including unpaid leave..that way, I still earn a normal salary via perception and when I'm on leave, work can't touch me. Not quite the same if you're talking about the 2 days of the week you don't work.

That is the approach that I have taken. Gives me time to do what I need to do, while still having a fulltime role available. I have 4 months to get everything in place, then can evaluate if I have enough replacement income, to actually cut my hours down officially.

 

[zed_kid]

I’m 27 and have 2 IPs in my name, bought 1 in 2007 and 1 in 2011. At this pace I have no idea when I’ll be financially free. Hopefully 40? About a year ago I’ve changed my mentality from trying to be FF asap to trying to do something I actually enjoy. So I came to Dubai a year ago and have set up my own business here with a few partners, we have no clients at the moment so I’m still crunching numbers in my analyst job, but I feel like the wheels are in motion and being FF is not a priority at the moment

 

[murph14]

I'm 19 aiming to be financially free before 30. I suspect this may be achieved from my business ventures more than property. Very hard to plan for though. Flying blind starting a business for the first time is crazy!

 

[Deltaberry]

Not sure what we mean by financially free. But at 27 I probably am based on some of the standards suggested. That said, certain types are probably greedy. When you hit a goal you set a few years ago, you want more.

On earlier point about young people being lazy, yea they probably are. I do the bare minimum plus a bit more to get by at work. But the time gained I spend on other things. One of these is investing. But another equally important one is enjoying life.

 

[jonesy427]

40 i hope.
29 currently.
only investing for the last 3 years
4th property settles tomorrow.
no equity used to purchase any property yet.
so i have high hopes.

 

[Deuce]

Age: 26
FF@: 40

 

[The Fence]

Good to see so many young'ns setting themselves up and not sitting back complaining about how unaffordable property is.

Really makes you wonder what the whingers are doing....nah, forget about 'em.

Kudos to you all.

 

[Ideo]

Good to see so many young'ns setting themselves up and not sitting back complaining about how unaffordable property is.

Really makes you wonder what the whingers are doing....nah, forget about 'em.

Kudos to you all.

It's hard, but it's not impossible.

But, the big issue for many is saving the money to get a decent deposit for renting, particularly those in Sydney. Especially working long hours so not wanting to commute 1 hour each way to an affordable area.

Not making excuses, but lots of people in different situations.

 

[jonesy427]

earning over 100k in your job certainly helps.

 

[mattnz]

earning over 100k in your job certainly helps.

My observation has been that people who earn more, tend to spend more and simply end up with higher expectations of what they require to be financially free.

 

[china]

My observation has been that people who earn more, tend to spend more and simply end up with higher expectations of what they require to be financially free.

That is why it is important for people, as soon as they understand the concept of financial independence, measured in terms of passive income per year, should set a monetary figure to be achieved within a certain time frame, give or take five years. That way, a plan can be set in place to get there. This may well prevent extra expectations as time goes on and should prevent lifestyle inflation.

I think that this is far more reasonable a retirement plan / financial freedom plan than a biological age. If there is no defined end point or goal, it is much harder to achieve and you would tend to drift around.

Me, I have always thought that as a single person, I need a nest egg of 2 to 2.5mil on top of my PPOR within the next five years to be financially free. So until this happens, I continue to be quite frugal and have fairly low expectations, although I have noticed that the closer I get to my defined goal, the more I relax my frugality. A few months ago, I splashed out on a business class business trip from Sydney to Vegas - something I would never have considered even two years ago.

 

[devo76]

I struggle a bit with the idea of retirement. To be honest it depresses me. Almost like one step away from heavens waiting room. I'm mid 30,s and retirement is not on my radar. I would like to have the choice to do what I want by late 50s but I would much prefers to be in a job I love that I can continue to socialise through and feel connected to.
Thinking about kicking the feet up permanently . Nah not for me. I could only do that if my days were completely filled non stop otherwise it would feel like I'm treading water and I'd struggle to finance that even today while working.
I could see my late 60,s working in the same industry but take a few steps back. Drop the stress and enjoy the job with myself looking forward to a weekend full of fishing. Tinkering in the shed and a few beers with my mates.live now and live later. Sounds good to me.

 

[kathryn d]

I struggle a bit with the idea of retirement. To be honest it depresses me. Almost like one step away from heavens waiting room. I'm mid 30,s and retirement is not on my radar. I would like to have the choice to do what I want by late 50s but I would much prefers to be in a job I love that I can continue to socialise through and feel connected to.
Thinking about kicking the feet up permanently . Nah not for me. I could only do that if my days were completely filled non stop otherwise it would feel like I'm treading water and I'd struggle to finance that even today while working.
I could see my late 60,s working in the same industry but take a few steps back. Drop the stress and enjoy the job with myself looking forward to a weekend full of fishing. Tinkering in the shed and a few beers with my mates.live now and live later. Sounds good to me.

I think that is where a lot people muddle the definition of retirement.
For some, it is doing absolutley nothing.
For others, it could be starting up their own small business, and enjoying it.

For me, it is not working for anyone else.If Rob wants to stay at a Roadhouse, and they pay him, that is just a bonus.
He works and leaves whenever he wants, as he is there only at his own convenience.

 

[china]

I struggle a bit with the idea of retirement. To be honest it depresses me. Almost like one step away from heavens waiting room. I'm mid 30,s and retirement is not on my radar. I would like to have the choice to do what I want by late 50s but I would much prefers to be in a job I love that I can continue to socialise through and feel connected to.
Thinking about kicking the feet up permanently . Nah not for me. I could only do that if my days were completely filled non stop otherwise it would feel like I'm treading water and I'd struggle to finance that even today while working.
I could see my late 60,s working in the same industry but take a few steps back. Drop the stress and enjoy the job with myself looking forward to a weekend full of fishing. Tinkering in the shed and a few beers with my mates.live now and live later. Sounds good to me.

Retirement or financial freedom means that you can choose to do whatever you want to do with your time. If you wish to keep going in your job, you can but equally you can tell your boss, your colleagues to go and stuff it at any time.