Extreme Early Retirement

If you haven't read about Billy and Akaisha Kaderli of retireearlylifestyle.com before, you probably should to understand what is possible with early retirement. While they are definitely on one side of the spectrum, but hearing their story will make you think a little differently about retirement.

They retired in their late 30's (they're now 54) on about $500,000, and did so by only spending about $24,000 per year. How the heck did they do that?? Here's how they did it:

Simplify. A complicated lifestyle costs more.

Look beyond the border. An attractive lifestyle can cost much less in many countries outside the U.S.

Track your spending. And figure out where to cut. This is your life now, not a vacation.

Pursue low-cost entertainment, such as hiking, bicycling and reading.

I like many of the ideas here, including living outside the US for periods of time and also pursuing low-cost entertainment. Personally, however, I don't think I could cut my expenses down to $24k per year. It's amazing that they are able to live on that, even with some of the low cost places they have been living.

My current spending plan for retirement calls for about $60k per year, including allowances for taxes and a small annual buffer. How much will you need to cover your annual expenses in retirement?