How to Retire Early: Your Guide to Getting Rich Slowly and Retiring on Less

by Robert Charlton

If you've ever dreamed of retiring early to travel the world, not to mention sleeping in on the occasional Monday simply because you can, then this book is for you. We retired from full-time work at the age of 43 and have been living the good life ever since – and by good life we mean a life rich with travel and adventure rather than luxury and extravagance. In this book we share with you the roadmap we followed to get from full-time work to financial independence in less than 15 years. If we can do it, so can you!

What makes this book different from all the other books out there on early retirement? We think it's the amount of personal financial detail we provide. We don’t hold back! You can use this information as a kind of financial yardstick to measure what you can achieve in your own life. If we can empower you to stop dreaming and start planning, to stop wishing and start willing your early retirement into existence, we’ll have done what we set out to do in this book.

Genres: Finance, Personal Finance, Nonfiction, Money, Economics, Business

252 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2013

About the author

Robert is the author of the "Occupy Earth Trilogy" and "How to Retire Early" as well as several short stories. His crosswords have been published in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Boulder, Colorado and loves to hike and travel the world with his wife, as documented on www.wherewebe.com.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this book had existed and I'd have read it a couple decades ago. It's not that it has a lot of new information about saving or investing I hadn't already heard/read/learned about elsewhere. It's that it gives a person hope that early retirement is really possible and do-able, in that the authors share specifically how they did it--without super high paying jobs or an inheritance or lottery win, etc. Reading this made me feel better about my own possibilities, along the lines of "if they did it, so can I" (well, I can't exactly, what with being about a decade older than the authors when they retired, but I feel confident I won't have to work as long as my parents did). I would have liked to see more details about their spending in retirement.

[Sjors · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not quite relevant to my situation, I consider this to be a very good book that I will definitely recommend to several people. It is a down-to-earth, hype-free, commonsense description on how you can grow your wealth slowly but surely, with early retirement a distinct possibility - even on low initial earnings. A number of chapters on tax-free saving and investing are USA specific, but these do not significantly diminish the general applicability of the book. A refreshing book in a sea of get-rich-quick hype and nonsense.

[Ken Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I liked this book. It has several things going for it that many similar books lack. 1) Using actual financial numbers from the authors' lives was instructive, 2) re-training as a way to boost salary, 3) the authors were unafraid of discussing their financial mistakes, and 4) discussion of finances post-retirement was very useful.

I had a few minor disappointments. I disliked the fixation on traveling after retirement. I understand that the authors have a passion for traveling, but I didn't need a whole chapter of travel tips. Economical post-retirement traveling sounds like a great topic for a separate book.

My other complaint was with the lack of info on using modern technology to track finances/spending. The authors devote much effort discussing making a spreadsheet and updating it with new data once a year as a method for tracking their nest egg. This is a fine method for pre-2000, but given when this book was written, there should have been some serious discussion on using Mint or Personal Capital to get more frequent financial snapshots with much less effort. Full discolsure: the authors did mention Mint briefly in one place.

[McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book outlines many of the same principles as other guidelines to saving for early retirement, but with the added benefit of seeing the authors' actual numbers for salaries, investments, debts, and outcomes. I especially appreciated their description of saving in both tax-advantaged and taxed accounts, and the benefits and drawbacks of each. If you are wanting to learn more about investing and saving for retirement, this book is helpful!

[Kara Kissinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plan and advice for most wage slaves. It is possible to retire early. We committed to it 5 years ago and have 5 years to go


If everyone planned 10, 20 or 30 years out, how much more fulfilling would the 2nd half of their live be compared to the first? Early retirement offers options to the wage slave who doesn't hail from money or have an internet company worth billions. This method of living beneath your means and saving a large percentage of your income goes way back. By putting that savings to work earning you more money, you can eventually live off the interest and earnings. Good luck to all!

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the better FIRE books I've read. Filled with very practical advice written in a down-to-earth tone. The amount of personal financial detail that the authors shared allowed me to assess their advice through a compare & contrast perspective. I bookmarked several pages, and I could see going back to this book as a handy reference. The chapter on Health Care will be the one that will become out-of-date the fastest of course.

[Vindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read

I am in 30s and this book provided all the detailed information required for early retirement. It seemed like the ultimate guide for me. I have my own spreadsheets but the authors sheet divided into taxable/non-taxable version is great.
Also his portfolio advise for retirement at different ages is great.
I have a very clear idea on how to diversify my savings now.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good primer on early retirement. Still relevant even after the great recession. At times I felt like they were talking to a "beginner" audience, but at least it was confirmation that we are on the right track. It did help me flesh out a spreadsheet I had in my head regarding annual scenarios and projections. It also reminded me to look into ETFs (not for us).

[Lady Brainsample · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fine as an intro to FIRE but didn't really include really anything new if you've read other books or have done a moderate amount of internet research on the topic. It is nice that they include their actual numbers, but that information is less useful since they went through the process in the late nineties/early two thousands.

[Elena Marmolejo]

This book is filled with such good information on how to Retire early!! By giving detailed information and tricks on how to save your money this book is definitely a tool in the right direction to breaking the cycle of poverty.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer on retiring early written in layman's terms. Provides a comprehensive, high-level view of all the parts required to retire early, including the "how" from people who actually did it.

[Aaron Turing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't learn a lot from this but it's a good book.

[Romany · Rating 4 out of 5]

More relevant to US audiences.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good info on how to retire early.

I enjoyed reading their strategies for success and will definitely take some of their advice and apply it to my life.

[Anthony Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great practical guide on investing, budgeting, and retiring early

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't learn anything new but it's a great for anyone who's just heard of the FIRE movement.

[Martin D. McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Retirement

Very informative book on many subjects. I liked that it covered insurance options, medical options in other countries and traveling abroad.

[Bernabe Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read!

Easy read, author writes in plain and easy to understand English. Provides a blue print for the common and average person, not the rich or super earner.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource with the math and investment information to help you set up your finances for an early retirement. Not new information necessary, but well compiled and comprehensive. Highly recommend, even if you aren’t planning on retiring “early” since you can still benefit from the information.

[Tom Grooms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights and real examples of how to figure out when to retire and how to invest.

[Tim Elston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a practical guide for setting goals early in life and setting yourself up well for either an early or conventionally timed retirement. The authors, Robert and Robin, tell their own story of how they did it, using financial data they collected from early in their lives. What I loved was to see their actual data, so I could compare them with my own financial situation and have a good barometer of what is practical for me. I suspect a lot of people would find the same benefit.

If you are young, and even if you are starting later in life to think about your retirement finances, this book is worth the $6 price.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a nice job methodically addressing all the issues and approaches one needs to FIRE. I also appreciated how these folks did it on reasonable salaries (usually we get two folks with total incomes over $200K). While they did benefit greatly in the housing realm (they sold before the market crashed and owned during the run-up), their approaches are still good. Only thing they missed on tax-deferred savings were talking about 457 plans -- fabulous option if you work for places that have them (although, if you work for a private hospital, 457s are not an option you should explore).

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference book for people who are looking to retire early and especially those who want to do that in order to travel more. I've enjoyed reading their blog for awhile now, so was excited when I saw they had published a book. The information is written in a way that is very clear to understand and comes with a lot of spreadsheets and tips for tracking progress and setting goals. Our personal goals are very similar to this couples, so I particularly enjoyed it.

[Marc Axelrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific super informative book

I truly enjoyed the book because it gave detailed ideas about investing, saving, downsizing, health care tips and travel tips, all things to consider heading into and planning for an early retirement.

They stress the importance of a couple being equally on board as much as possible.

I also read the previous edition, and appreciated the updated information about health care in early retirement.

[Lau Tian Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good early retirement book

This is a wonderful book for those who wanted to retire early. Author provided steps by steps how to achieve the early retirement goal and shared with his personal experience how they achieved it!

[CT Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very good practical ideas.

[Tanel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good examples how to retire early.

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of detail and real world financials included.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, practical advice and highly motivational, since this couple had ordinary jobs. Shows how you can take charge of your financial situation.

[Lydell Polanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Insightful

Very insightful and gives a step by step plan on their experience to financial independence in his three authors were able to achieve that.