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The net worth of a millennial couple grew from $150,000 in 2018 to $700,000.
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Living abroad and spending only one portion of their income, $50,000, gave them more financial leeway.
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Brian Davis shared why his goal isn’t to retire early, but to pursue his dream job.
About twenty years ago, before he ever heard of the FIRE movement, Brian Davis decided to become financially independent and retire early.
He started investing his savings in rental properties, thinking that if he owned enough of them, he could eventually live off the rental income alone, the 43-year-old told Business Insider via email.
But things didn’t go according to plan. He hated being a landlord, and some of his investments turned out to be less profitable than he had expected. The idea of retiring early seemed out of reach, so he decided to explore other options. Today, he runs a digital real estate investment platform.
In the years since, though, a lot has changed for Davis — both from a financial and philosophical perspective. For one, his net worth has grown to more than $700,000 as of May, from about $150,000 in 2018, according to documents seen by BI.
Davis and his wife aim to live entirely on his wife’s school counselor salary of about $50,000 a year, while saving and investing all of his income, which comes primarily from a real estate company he co-founded in 2016. He said their annual household income is about $150,000. This savings strategy has been key to improving their finances.
Davis’ financial goals have also evolved. After learning more about the FIRE movement — a financial lifestyle that focuses on saving enough to become financially independent and retire before the traditional retirement age — Davis said he found that most people who managed to retire early eventually got bored of “drinking margaritas on the beach” and went back to work somehow. Instead of retiring early, Davis said his current goal is to live his ideal life, and he thinks continuing to work can help him achieve that.
“I have no plans to retire, but I do hope to become financially independent within the next five years,” he said. “The less you worry about money, the more your work becomes fun, creative, and without limitations on opportunities.”
While many Americans struggle to save for retirement, some are putting themselves in a position to retire early through various savings and investment strategies. However, not all of these people are aiming for early retirement. Some, like Davis, want to continue working while seeking financial security. But not just any job: They want to spend their time doing work they enjoy or find fulfilling.
Davis shared how he grew his wealth and why he thinks finding the job of your dreams can help you live the life you want.
Lower living costs can make it easier to save
Davis and his family, including his wife Katie and their daughter, have a major financial advantage: they don’t pay for housing.
That’s one of the perks of Katie’s job: She works as a school counselor at international schools around the world. Davis said they first moved abroad in 2015, spending four years in Abu Dhabi and four years in Brazil before moving to Lima, Peru, about a year ago. Davis said it’s not uncommon for international schools to offer free housing to faculty and staff.
In addition to saving on housing, they were able to take advantage of the “lower cost of living abroad,” including cheaper food and healthcare costs. Davis said this was one of the main reasons they decided to move abroad.
“In South America you can buy beef and pork for a quarter of the price in the US,” he said.
Davis said he also saved a lot of money by not buying a car, as he hadn’t owned one in five years.
“People don’t realize how much more cars cost than just the monthly payment,” he said. “Without a car, we don’t have to pay for car insurance, repairs and maintenance, gas, parking.”
The family’s lower cost of living has made it possible for them to live entirely on Katie’s salary. However, Davis said they don’t expect to have these financial benefits forever, so they’re trying to take advantage of them now.
“At some point we know we’re going to have to move back to the U.S. for family reasons,” Davis said. “So we’re trying to build our wealth and passive income streams as quickly as possible before we do that.”
How Pursuing Dream Work Can Help Someone Live Their Ideal Life
When Davis learned that many people who retire early go back to work in some way, he said the revelation was disappointing in a way.
But he has since changed his tune. For example, if someone were to retire at 60 — rather than 50 — it would be much easier to reach their retirement savings goal.
“It means you don’t need nearly as much money as you thought you did,” Davis said. “If you keep doing a certain type of work on your own terms, you’re going to keep earning an active income.”
But that extra decade of work might not be satisfying for everyone, which is why Davis thinks the key is finding your dream job.
Davis said that if someone is doing work that they enjoy, they probably won’t be so desperate to quit and retire. And even if that means switching to a job that pays less than your old one, Davis said that’s where the savings strategies that are well-discussed in the FIRE community can come in handy: They can help bridge the gap between your desired and actual income.
“You only need enough money to cover the gap between what you want to spend and what your dream job pays,” he said. “In other words, you can start living your ideal life now, or very soon, without being financially independent.”
It’s certainly true that finding a job — forget your dream job — is easier said than done in today’s economy. Many Americans are having a harder time finding work as companies cut back on hiring.
For Davis, his business is part of his dream job. He said he gets all the benefits of real estate investing without the headaches of being a landlord.
“I don’t consider myself financially independent, but I live the same life I would if I were,” he said. “I get to do work I love, on my own schedule, from anywhere in the world.”
His main advice to people is to visualize their ideal lifestyle and determine what kind of work and income they need to achieve this.
“When you look at FIRE in those terms, it becomes both easier and more fulfilling, rather than just dreaming about sitting on the beach as a bum for the rest of your life,” he said.
Have your savings and assets grown significantly over the past few years? Are you willing to share your best financial strategies? Contact this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.
Read the original article on Business Insider
