Six Tips for Early Retirement

With all the concerns about the economy and creating new jobs, is it crazy to be thinking about taking early retirement? Maybe not. Here are a few tips to consider should retiring early be a goal of yours.
	Start early. Establish your desire to retire early as soon as possible. Make sure both you and your spouse favor the same retirement date goal. With this stated goal, meeting savings targets and establishing spending priorities gets much easier.
	Know what you want to do. Often if you have a dream that can be fulfilled in retirement, it makes any hardships to get there more tolerable. Perhaps you've always wanted to visit the national parks while you're still mobile enough to enjoy them. Once you set this goal, creating a plan to get there will have more meaning.
	Pay yourself first. People who retire early have savings rates in excess of 10% of their income. This might mean holding off on a big vacation once in a while, but the long-term dividend is worth it. The larger your savings becomes, the more flexible you are in acquiring assets that generate more wealth for you.
	No debt and credit cards paid in full. It's hard to retire early if you are making large loan payments. Having a mindset to save money before you buy something versus taking out loans is the way to go for prospective early retirement. Why pay the credit card company interest when you could use that money for your non-working days?
	Financial independence mindset. Save enough to not have to worry about Social Security or other government programs to take care of you. Said another way, never over spend your own resources as you will need to depend on yourself and not others for your financial independence.
	Use common sense in investing. Many investment alternatives today no longer make financial sense when compared to the income potential of the underlying asset or property. For example, if you purchase rental property, make sure it cash flows at reasonable rent rates. If you use common sense, more of your investments may help generate income, even in retirement.

Even if you decide not to retire early, creating a plan as if you will retire early provides much added financial freedom should you have an unexpected job loss or other financial surprise. While this list is not meant to be all-inclusive, it should help start the conversation toward your early retirement dream.