Does it take living an Extreme Frugal Life to Retire Early? I believe there is no one plan or way for everyone to retire early. There are many sites and early retirement based articles. People who detail how they were able to retire early. Or articles providing advice on ways to reach your early retirement goals.

An article I read recently on Yahoo Finance was about people who successfully retired in their 30s by practicing what many consider an extreme frugal lifestyle. Based on what was expressed by many of those who commented on the article, the subjects of the article have retired to a lifestyle that would not be enjoyable. I am paraphrasing as some comments were a bit more negative.

I am not sure why articles about anyone who details THEIR successful early retirement strategies brings out some haters in the commenting world but I think people should read about their methods and take from it what will work for them.

There was a point made in the article which I feel is totally valid about figuring out what really makes you happy and living that life. That life shouldn’t be defined by stuff. I am sure that the frugal lifestyle that they live doesn’t feel deprived or extremely frugal to them at all.

Certainly anyone trying to accomplish early retirement should figure out what their idea of a life will cost. If you are aggressively saving for retirement you are probably already living that life. Obviously living an Extreme Frugal Life to Retire Early isn’t for everyone.

The definition of extreme frugality is different for everyone too as we all have our own thresholds of what that is. However it is a fact that the smaller your lifestyle expense footprint is, the less it will take in savings/investment money to support an early retirement. Everything has tradeoffs. I can see how living an extreme frugal lifestyle would certainly kick-start your savings. Maybe one could live that lifestyle for a predetermined period of time to pay off debts that are in the way of early retirement. A strategy of depriving oneself temporarily for a short time until financial goals are met. That would certainly be a valid strategy.

Did I Live an Extreme Frugal Life to Retire Early?

So how does Leisure Freak Tommy live in early retirement? I haven’t always lived below my means. In the early years when starting out and having 3 children I didn’t make enough to support us fully once my wife stopped working outside the home. Even with my working a second part-time job. I had enough to pay the monthly bills but any living costs above that ended up on a credit card. There were no emergency funds or vacation accounts.

We did have to live a somewhat extreme frugal life to keep expenses as close to income as possible. You do learn to be more self-sufficient. Learning how to repair things yourself, restrict going out, shopping primarily during sales and using coupons. Even though something was used when we bought it, it was still new to us. Most of the people I knew lived the same way. As salaries increased and the kids became older we really didn’t increase our lifestyle as it was time to pay off all of those debts and start saving more. Eventually there was a little more give in our budget, debts were all paid off, and we ramped up saving.

Some might say that my current lifestyle budget is a frugal lifestyle. It doesn’t feel that way to me, it’s just my lifestyle. I still have extended basic cable and I did keep my hot rod truck and sports car in retirement. I find enjoyment in my automotive hobbies. It’s my trade-off and accounted for in my budget. No different and possibly far less expensive than being a golfer. I would like to make this point. Being frugal is the easiest way to early retirement as it frees up more money for saving and then of course takes less to fund your retirement.

What Needs to be Done Frugally to Retire Early:

• Determine what YOUR ideal retirement looks like and save, invest, and work just long enough to fund that life.
• Find that sweet spot where you are living responsibly, below your means, and live it before you retire.
• Try not to go into early retirement feeling like you are living a deprived life or one that doesn’t fit your vision of what your retired lifestyle should be.
• Research and see what others have done to successfully retire early and take the parts of their strategies that works for you.
• If your freedom is worth some extreme frugality then make that decision and go into it without feeling deprived.

So, is it worth it to you to live what others may consider an extreme frugal Life to Retire Early?