Some New Year’s resolutions are perennial, like getting in shape or improving your finances. While this may not be the year you run a 5K, it could be the year you make real progress toward a major money goal, like planning for an early retirement.
“Early retirement,” however, can feel too big — and too vague — to fit neatly into a single resolution. But when you break it down into smaller, more manageable goals, it becomes far more achievable.
If anyone understands how to do that, it’s Shang Saavedra, founder and CEO of Save My Cents, a nationally recognized personal finance expert who finished saving for retirement by age 31. Saavedra is also a published author and former Fortune 500 professional with nearly two decades of experience in personal finance and behavioral money coaching.
GOBankingRates spoke with Saavedra about the New Year’s money resolutions that can help put early retirement within reach — even if you feel behind.
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Saavedra points out that “early retirement” can feel like a catch-all phrase — it sounds great, but what does it really mean to you?
“I often ask people to think about what early retirement enables — moving to a less toxic career, enjoying more time with family, having more time to focus on personal health,” she said. “Having a clear vision helps you stay on goal more easily throughout the year.”
Rather than focusing solely on a specific retirement age or dollar amount, consider what you want your life to look like once work is optional. That might mean semi-retirement, flexible work or the freedom to change careers.
You might spend some time this new year sitting with friends, family, a financial advisor or even your journal to decide what early retirement means for your career, lifestyle, and physical, emotional and financial well-being.
Though much financial advice is tailored toward helping middle-class people, Saavedra invites you to reassess what it means to define yourself by a single social or economic class.
“Consider removing the classist narrative from your mind altogether,” she said. “Yes, you typically need to be wealthy to retire early, but if you continue seeing yourself as middle class, how is that going to help you move to more upper-class behaviors?”
Defining yourself by a single economic category can make it harder to imagine new possibilities. Instead of assuming early retirees were always wealthier or luckier, Saavedra encourages curiosity over comparison.