No one likes to think that one day they will be old, but everyone daydreams about retirement. And because people are living longer, the nightmare is that we will outlive our retirement income.
This life expectancy calculation has me expiring at 93. I’m not complaining. It just means if I were to retire at 65, I’ll need to have 28 years of income to support my old bones. Current wisdom says we should only withdraw between 3-4% of our nest egg after we retire to make the money last. That means for every $1 million saved, we should only withdraw $30k-$40k a year. In 25 years, that money is worth half. Freaked out yet? I am.
But then I remember my grandmother. When it comes to saving, she is my role model. She is a child of World War II. Growing up in Bangkok, Thailand while the city was being bombed to bits cut short her schooling. As a result her formal education ended at 2nd grade.
She married the love of her life whom she divorced, which was very unusual in the culture at the time. After, she raised three children on her own without accepting any money from her ex-husband. Eventually she migrated to the U.S. Here, she made minimum wage as a waitress for most of her life.
Fast forward to her retirement: she now lives a cushy life off her savings, retirement income, and rental income. She travels, she donates, she reinvests.
How?
She embodies the idea of living on just enough. My grandmother saved everything she did not spend. And she did not spend a lot. She drove a small economy car to a job that was 10 minutes away. She cooked most every meal (even though she was not a great cook). She shopped at discount grocery stores. And I don’t ever remember her splurging on anything for herself aside from an occasional box of Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars.
Over the years, she used her savings to invest in a piece of land and a few condos in Thailand for cheap. Once she retired, she moved back to Thailand to cut down on the cost of living. She now lives on the land that’s fully paid for and off the rental income she made from those properties, in addition to the small monthly social security checks she gets.
If my grandmother can do it, so can I. So, can anyone.
The idea is quite simple. I took her ideology and applied it to the model I learned in a college nutrition class on weight control.
If money in = money out → 0
If money in > money out → positive
If money in < money out → negative
To my grandmother, it did not matter that she made minimum wage. If she could save some money and invest it for her retirement, then she would be in the positive. And she was right.
She’s proof you don’t have to make a six-figure income to end up with a good retirement portfolio. You just have to live on just enough, aka live minimally. Like having a perfect six-pack, it is an aspiration, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. Here are a few ideas on how to train yourself:
1. Save automatically
In this day and age, we can make saving even easier than before. A couple of clicks on a few buttons, and it’s automated. With the magic of compound interest, the longer we invest, the more it grows.
Compare the two charts below from this compound interest calculator to see how adding $500 a month to $10k over 20 years with 8% annual yield can lead to a $300k difference.
Ways to save:
- Invest in your 401k
- I’m sure this is not the first time you heard this advice. You know why people kept saying this? Because it’s one of the best advice ever! 401k allows you to save a portion of your income, tax-free, so you can grow the money over the years. You only have to pay tax on it once you withdraw as retirement income. Several companies even offer a match up to a certain percentage. It’s free money – a gift from your company – just waiting to be collected.
- How much to contribute? I’d say max it if you can ($18k in 2017). If you can’t, then start at 6% of your income. Increase it by 1-2% every month to test your threshold. Stop when it hurts. Then get used to living off that net income even after you get a raise.
- Invest in Roth IRA
- With Roth, you pay the tax up front, and withdraw it tax-free later on. If you are a cautious investor, an easy choice is an Index fund. You get smaller fee, a fund that spreads across a variety of stocks, and a steady growth that withstands some market lows. It’s not sexy and it’s long term, but it’s a solid choice. If you feel more adventurous, invest in companies that you believe in. It’s more of a gamble but the potential pay-off is higher.
- Online savings account
- Often, online saving account offers a higher interest rate. Plus, it’s harder to get to your money than from a brick-and-mortar bank, so it’s less tempting to tap into it.
- Certificate of Deposit
- Open an online CD account that’s connected to your online savings account to make managing it easier. Once you have 3-6 months of living cost in your savings account, start transferring the excess to your CD account.
- Start a separate fund for each goal
- Living minimally does not mean living without what’s truly important to you. If your heart desires a yearly vacation, save for it outside of your retirement fund. A $3,000 vacation means you will need to save $58 more each week in one year. Doable, right?
2. Cut down on expenses
- Don’t buy a new car unless you can get 0% APR financing
- A new car is the worst thing you can do to grow your money. As soon as you drive it off the lot, it devalues. Instead look for a used car that’s no more than 15% of your net income. And if you follow the rule on saving above, you would already have cash saved up for that.
- Limit eating out at restaurants
- Eating out can cost you so much money. Instead, buy fresh ingredients at the market and cook. Not a good cook? Look for prepared meals at the grocery store or ingredients that are great eaten raw like romaine lettuce, green beans, heirloom tomatoes, and mushrooms. Add some Costco chicken and you have yourself a healthy plate of salad for just a few bucks. My grandmother is great at making salads.
- Make coffee at home
- I don’t buy myself a cup of coffee unless I’m travelling. That’s $5 a cup you save a day. If you buy coffee every day, that’s $1,825 a year.
- Cut down on housing cost
- This is tough if you live in an expensive city like I do. If you’re renting, consider getting a roommate, live in a smaller place, or even move to a cheaper area. If you’re buying, consider buying only a home you can pay off in 15 years. It may mean getting a smaller house, but the interest you save overtime will be tremendous. Plus, you can have a paid-off house before you retire.
- Pay off your credit card balance each month or don’t use it
- Depending on your credit card, the interest rate can be double digits. If the rate is 20%, it will cost you $20 more for each $100 you spent.
- Buy less things
- Living minimally is a habit you build, like an exercise regimen that you perfect over time. It’s talking yourself out of needing to buy something even when the sales tag is screaming at you, “Buy me! If you buy me, you’ll save money!” No, buying something is not saving money, it’s spending it. Overtime you’ll realize you don’t really need all that stuff after all.
3. Make more money
- Contract out your skills
- Are you good at fixing things around the house? Walking dogs? Teaching an art class? Building websites? Look for opportunities to use your skills to make money on your free time.
- Sell things you don’t need
- Yard sale, Flee Market, Craigslist, eBay, etc. One person’s useless thing is another’s treasure.
- Negotiate for a higher salary
- First you must know your worth. Do research on the fair value of your job in your area. Try Glassdoor.
- Negotiate your salary every time you get a new job. If the company insists on paying you too little, here’s a great video on how to negotiate like a pro.
- Negotiate the salary of your current job. Every time your company reorganizes or consolidates and you end up with bigger responsibilities, after proving yourself a superstar, insist that your boss do a salary review. All you need to do is respectfully and nicely request a fair wage for the new role that you are in. People, bosses included, like to think of themselves as fair and just. And if they value you, you will get what you ask. Remember you’re simply asking for what is fair.
4. Think big picture and be flexible
- Plan your life in blocks of 10 years.
- This doesn’t mean you have to know every single detail, and it doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible. It’s thinking of your saving plan in different stages of life. In your 20’s you’re saving plan may be to pay off your college debt and save for a down payment. In your 30’s it may be to build up your retirement portfolio (which ideally you should have started in your 20’s) and save for your children’s college fund. In your 40’s it may be to save for passive income like rental properties. In your 50’s you may want to change your career or be an entrepreneur.
- As long as you have your eyes on your big goals, it’s okay to give yourself a little break here and there. We are not robots. But it is important to always try our best.
- Know that life is full of surprises and you must shift your saving plan as you grow and change. After all, money is just a tool to get what you need when you need it.
On that note, I wish you all happy saving. Remember living on just enough is a habit and a lifestyle that you embrace. Start with a first step. If you have a hard time with your first step, it may be too big. So take a smaller step. No matter how small a step, just start. Your older self will thank you.