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Friday 28 October 2011

Early Retirement Extreme : Jacob Lund Fisker

Jacob has put together an extremely well written blog detailing his path to achieving early retirement at an accelerated pace.  You should browse his writings here at Early Retirement Extreme -The choice nobody ever told you about.  Here is a short synopsis:  Jacob got his PhD in Theoretical Physics by the age of 25, and then worked for 5 years in the US.  During this time, he saved upwards of 75% of his income, and invested it wisely (though not necessarily with great success)  At the age of 30 he was done with the rat race, and by 33 he had completely retired.  Some of his suggestions (like eating frugally, basically eating only one type of canned food) are very extreme, but then that is the entire thesis of his blog.  He has several other suggestions on frugal living, some of which I agree with, and several that I do not.  Jacob also does not have any kids, so that makes his situation very different from mine.  I think planning to retire early, when one has kids to take care off and raise poses some unique challenges that he wouldn't be aware off.  Finally his current lifestyle seems to be a little on the "edge", with a high risk medical insurance strategy, and extreme frugal living

In any case, his determination is what makes his early retirement possible, and there is a lesson to be learned there.  On the other hand, I postulate that his extreme approach is not necessary in the India context.  Our environment in India allows for a moderate lifestyle without incurring significant expenses.  I will try to provide some insight into how we plan to achieve similar savings goals as Jacob, without necessarily living a life as frugal as he did/does.

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