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Today on the podcast we are going deep on tactical financial independence and retirement perks. Even deeper than usual.
Our guest is Doug Nordman from The Military Guide, a former Navy nuclear submariner (um cool!) who has long since been “retired” and financially independent.
FIRE status = pro.
This episode is a bit longer than usual, but we go deep on some tactical FIRE concepts, ideas, and lessons, including:
- The very, very, very first step towards FI (it’s not saving)
- Some well-known and lesser-known benefits for a career in the military. 50% savings rate anyone?
- How travel is actually cheaper during retirement.
- FIRE can be a touchy subject at your day job.
- Great tips for REI (including common pitfalls for purchasing a property)
- How Gwen almost joined a sorority (lol)
That last one isn’t very tactical, but still.
Doug (Nord) is an amazing guy! Enjoy the episode, and drop us a comment with your thoughts! (or hollar at us in the Facebook group)
Show notes and links from today’s episode
- Doug’s blog – The Military Guide
- The Military’s Thrift Savings Plan – An incredible savings tool for those in the service!
- Results could differ based on college of course, but here’s some great info on ROTC scholarships.
- Join us on the FIRE Drill Facebook group? Great FI chats in here 🙂
Key takeaways from our chat with Doug from The Military Guide!
1 – You can reach FI in any career path.
Specifically, we wanted to dig into FI for military careers and veterans, but Doug was actually quick to point out that it truly doesn’t matter what industry you’re in.
Even on this podcast, we’ve had full-time bloggers, entrepreneurs, statisticians,
It’s true, not everyone can simply transition to a 40%-50% savings rate next week…but using your specific career as an excuse as to why you “can’t save enough!” or “ever reach FI!” is also absurd.
- School Teacher = Doable
- Lawyer = Doable
- McDonald’s cook = Doable in some way (maybe more patience)
Everything is possible, you just need to spend the time, research, energy necessary to figure out your OWN path to retiring early.
2 – Doug’s particular financial independence strategy? High savings rate and…..time.
One of the specific perks (though a bit unexpected) of being on a submarine for 3 months is…you don’t really spend a ton of money.
Doug and his family were quite fortunate to be attuned to saving when they first started their careers, reaching the 40%-50% mark fairly easily.
But, even after having kids, they remained close to the 40% savings rate mark. That takes continued dedication, frugality, and minimal lifestyle, etc…all the key ingredients of a “savings pie.”
(Sounds yummy to us).
There are loads of tools you can use to estimate your “time to FI” based on your income/savings, but Doug’s is a fairly inspirational story with a simple formula.
High savings rate + time = financial independence.
The math is pretty straight-forward, even if it requires sacrifice and patience. Hopefully that might encourage some of you to start TODAY, knowing it is possible given a bit of time 🙂
3 – The absolute FIRST step towards financial independence…
Track your spending.
Knowledge of where your money is actually going. It’s the first step in taking correct action, or really just any action.
If you were to switch up your monthly paycheck tomorrow, saving an additional 25% without knowing where your money is going…you are going to miss that 25% desperately.
You might end up spending the same on entertainments like bar tabs, ice cream, and Netflix….and then not have enough $$ to pay rent.
An extreme example maybe, but knowing exactly where your money is being spent is key to slashing expenses and saving more.
Start tracking yesterday.
4 – Travel is actually cheaper when you’re retired.
When you’re working, it’s a 2-week vacation. You may not have complete control over when you take it, where you go, where you can stay, you’ll eat out at restaurants the entire time, etc.
When you are more flexible (I.e. when you’re FI and can spend 2-3 months abroad), there are a few key factors that actually drive the cost of travel down:
For one, you can travel during less-popular seasons. Or heck, even traveling mid-week, as opposed to being limited to flying out on Fridays. Airfare is cheaper on weekdays (usually).
Also, you can live more like the locals when you stay longer. This include finding cheaper long-term lodging, as well as actually buying groceries and cooking.
All these can lead to cheaper travel. That’s a refreshing thought.
5 – Dividends don’t complain. Renters do.
We’ve spoken with several real estate investing enthusiasts on the podcast, but Gwen and Doug brought up an excellent reminder: renters might be the biggest downside to owning rental properties.
Not that all renters are terrible and difficult to deal with (but some sure are), but working with any renter is guaranteed to be work!
Dividends, on the other hand, don’t call you in the middle of the night. They don’t break things you own. They are 10x more passive than owning a rental property. Food for thought.
6 – Young person curious about the military? Join the ROTC and get your 1st year of college free 🙂
Doug dropped a nice little knowledge-bomb for those who have the slightest inkling to join the military at a young age.
Most (not all) universities offer some sort of ROTC scholarship, with zero obligation for one year.
You’d likely have to take a weekly ROTC class, but it could be an excellent, low-risk way for high school and college students to discover whether or not the military lifestyle is for them….while getting free college.
And who doesn’t like free college??
Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment!
We sincerely hope you enjoyed listening to Nord! He’s a true gentleman surfer.
Got any thoughts for us? Please leave a comment!
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