The Millennial is Saving Money in Crazy Ways to Retire Early!

Early retirement is becoming a growing trend, particularly among millennials.

With the willingness to make a fortune quickly for tomorrow, millennials are adapting to some crazy techniques!

For novice readers, millennials are also known as Generation Y or Gen Y and follow the Gen X cohort.

They are people who are born between 1981-1996.

We believe with the great recession and other large collapses, our parents’ savings have started to disappear.

This has resulted in millennials, like you and me, thinking of early retirement as we believe we can put to use investment management and wealth management in our favour and can afford an early retirement.

In this day and age, life is getting dynamic, and for us, a 9-5 job is not the right solution.

FIRE depicts – Financial Independence and Retire Early.

This is increasingly becoming the trend/mantra for millennials, and to achieve this, millennials are inching towards investments and some crazy ways of saving!

If you are from a city like Mumbai, you would realize how costly real estate is getting.

Thus, sharing an apartment as long as you are a bachelor makes sense.

While we agree you would want to live life king-size, this is not always possible.

Especially when you have started working new, these are the ways of saving for a prosperous and early retirement.

9 Crazy Millennials Are Saving for Their Retirement

#1. Work for long hours; the office cafeteria could help!

Many workplaces provide complimentary breakfast and dinner for employees who come in early or stay late.

If not accessible, these meals are subsidized or accept meal coupons that bring in tax benefits.

Thus, try to plan your day accordingly. It helps you cut down your expenses but also helps reduce your utility bills such as electricity, Internet etc.

#2. Start saying “NO” more often

We believe it is not mandatory to be a part of all outings with your friends/colleagues.

By now, you must be thinking of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), but FOMO, we believe, is stupid. Really!

There are multiple ways of bonding over spending money on overpriced alcohol and loud places every weekend.

Think differently. Once in a while, it is fair, but not every single weekend. One can always chill at home if you have the right company!

#3. Know yourself better

Millennials in their mid-20s tend to shop a lot.

Impulsive shopping is not a good way if you plan to retire early. Remember, there are two things – basic necessity and luxury. Fulfil condition when young. Luxury can wait.

Remember, need-based buying is a practised learning – don’t just think; start now! 

#4. Turning off lights when not in use helps save energy and holds more!

You must be thinking, who does this to save money for early retirement?

But you will be surprised to know that people in the west are more disciplined regarding consumption expenditure.

So make it a habit to turn off lights when not in use.

This not only helps save energy but also helps save money. We believe utilities–electricity, gas, Internet, etc.–all add up fast to our monthly bills. So, such small steps of remaining more cautious help you lower your bills.

#5. A social gathering with free entry/food is not old-fashioned

In the western world, this is practised a lot.

There are plenty of things you can do for fun that don’t require an entry fee.

Depending on where you live, there could include street fests, music festivals, religious festivals etc.

We believe our economy has more of a show-off/traditional culture, but you need to decide on your requirement and comfort.

#6. Public transport is better than cab/private vehicle

We tend to use our truck for commutation because it is more convenient.

This is a costly affair because of two reasons.

One, it creates immense pollution and depletes fossil fuel rapidly; second, commutation cost is high compared to public vehicles.

If you’re keen on saving money as fast as possible, this is one of the ways people have been saving.

Again, compared to developed nations, people also cycle to work as it is cost-effective and healthy.

When it comes to transportation, millennials should grab a train pass, bus pass and the like instead of taking a cab or private car.

#7. Compare before you hit ‘buy.’

Online shopping has been increasing rapidly in India.

This makes us habitual in buying everything online, from fruits and vegetables to real estate.

We believe you should compare the price of the product you seek to buy across different platforms.

This shall help you get the product at the lowest price possible.

Now let’s move on to other ways of saving!

#8. Dedicate a fixed amount towards saving

It would be best if you made it a habit to set aside a fixed salary the day it is credited to your account. This needs to be divided into multiple things, such as

• Emergency Fund: These will be liquid funds primarily and will help you shield yourself from any emergency.
  
  
• Investments for the long term: This will be your primary source of capital generation. You should invest in equity funds, particularly funds that invest in small-cap stocks or international stocks. These funds have the capability of generating healthy returns over the long term.

• Investments for the short-term: These investments would help you book profit regularly and come with a moderate risk profile and tax benefits. This should include balanced funds or debt funds.

To conclude, we believe if you are a millennial and just starting your job, it will make sense for you to plan your expenses properly and also keep a check on small things.

This not only makes you disciplined but also aids in your goal of FIRE.

Happy Investing!