Chris Morgan and I connected through Instagram back in 2018. I quickly learned that we both had a strong passion for travel and finance. Megan and I had recently spent a month in Thailand. Chris chose Thailand as his early retirement destination. Once he used the term “early retirement”, I was intrigued. All kinds of questions came to mind.
So if you’re like me, and you’re wondering is early retirement possible? Then you’re in the right place!
If you’ve previously researched retiring early, then you most likely have stumbled across Chris’s blog, retiredby35.com, where he shares tips on saving, budgeting, and investing!
In this interview, we dive deep into:
- What type of stocks Chris invests in
- How long it takes to save for retirement
- What percentage of your income you should invest
- Where in the world you should retire
and much more!
1. Chris, tell our readers a little about who you are, where you’re from, where you are in the world…
Well, as you know my name is Chris. I was born in Germany, where I graduated from university with a Masters Degree in Accounting. After working for three years in Frankfurt and London, I yearned to get out of the office. I packed my bags and traveled 3 years through Southeast Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and North Africa. I “retired” at 32, meaning my passive income at this time exceeded my expenses and I decided not to return to Europe. Now, I am currently living in Thailand.
2. At what age did you decide you wanted to retire early?
I’m not sure, but it was very early on. Mainly because I am admittedly not a good employee and didn’t like my line of work very much.
3. You retired at 32 years old, everyone’s question right now is HOW?! What percentage of your income did you invest each year?
I saved 50% of my regular monthly income and on top of that 100% of bonus payments, commissions and allowances the company paid for traveling. While I worked for a wedding company in Australia, I saved 90% of my income (this is not a typo) by essentially working 80-100 hours a week. When you put in this amount of hours, you don’t have time to spend money on anything. At this pace, savings ramp up quickly.
4. What career did you have before early retirement?
I worked in mergers and acquisitions and was basically writing financial reports and analyzing financial statements all day long . After I left that job, I worked for an events company, setting up weddings all over Perth Australia. This was the first job I ever had that I really loved, so it was super easy for me to put in up to 100 hours a week. I loved my job, my colleagues, my bosses, my clients and I was paid well.
5. How many years of saving/investing did it take you before being able to retire?
I essentially started to save money when I was still in high school. I have always consistently saved a high percentage of my income because I value independence.
6. What 3 tips do you have for someone who’s just starting out their investment journey?
a.) Don’t let people convince you to speculate and chase the next hot thing. Everybody can become a millionaire by investing slowly and steadily into index funds, even people with average salaries. Because everybody wants to be seen as cool and hip, people tend to spend money foolishly and most people don’t have any plan what to with money whatsoever. They just spend it.
b.) This is why it is important to have a budget in place to understand where your money is going. Also, the key to investment success is to invest for the long term. This cannot be overstated: Simply invest 10% of your income every month into an index fund. Increase your contributions if you can afford to. Let time do the rest.
c.) Stay away from consumer debt.
7. What #1 tip do you have for someone who wants to move abroad?
Just do it. When I left for Thailand, I just packed a bag with my clothes, took my laptop computer and off I went. If you think too much, you will paralyze yourself. If you are young, just do it. Chances are you will be alright.
8. Any countries that you recommend retiring too and why?
This depends on personal taste and many other personal factors, like where your family is and if you have financial dependents. I love Southeast Asia, the relaxed life style, the low living costs and year-round sunshine.
9. Is there anything you regret sacrificing for early retirement?
Absolutely nothing. Well, I take that back…The only regret I have is that I speculated with some of my money in the stock market early on, and lost money. If I simply invested that money into an index fund, I would have done even better.
10. Are you enjoying early retirement?
It is important to set goals. Even though I called myself “retired” when I wrote my book, I have started to loathe this term. I keep myself busy and I am surely not in a position to complain.
11. Paint us a picture of early retirement… Do you travel? Do you sit around all day and binge Netflix?
I still do plenty of things.
Currently, I am writing a new book, I want to start a YouTube channel because I feel too much information out there is seducing people to trade and speculate, and not strategically invest for the long term.
I used to go on trips abroad – Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam – but due to the pandemic cut back on it. I am planning a trip to Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya to push myself out of my comfort zone and taste the African experience.
12. Do you still work in retirement or earn an income?
I just started a new company that deals with content management and marketing, but I am outsourcing most of the work. It is important, however, to keep yourself busy. Nobody wants to sit every day at the beach and sip cocktails. If you believe I am wrong, I challenge you. People need goals and so do I.
The majority of my income still comes from my investment portfolio which produces steady dividend income.
13. Tell us about your book, Financial Independence. What inspired you to write it, and who is it for?
My book, Financial Independence, is for everyone who doesn’t know where to start when it comes to money and is looking for straightforward guidance. How much do you need to save, how to do you actually save money, how do you make a budget, what do you have to consider in your budget, how do you avoid toxic debt, how do you get out of debt and how do you need to invest to achieve F.I.R.E (Financial Independence, Retire Early)? I am answering these questions in my book and hope to give people a blueprint that allows them to make better financial decisions in their lives.
Interested in learning more about early retirement? Grab Chris’s book Financial Independence, here!
Have more questions for Chris? Leave them in the comments below!
Looking for additional ways to save money while traveling?
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