Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the owner and writer at Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance blog. Today she shares tips with us about how to retire early.
On her blog Michelle helps readers learn how to save money, make money, and reach their goals.
She also offers a fabulous course, that I’ve done and implemented to earn money from affiliate marketing. Find out how you can start earning Here.
What I love about Michelle’s blog is that I think it has some great advice for everyone, both young and old.
Since I know that many of you are hoping to retire from your jobs early, and some of you want to retire overseas or possibly protire (make money in retirement doing things you love) I asked Michelle for some of her top tips about how to retire early and how to make money once you’ve quit your job.
Michelle’s story is inspirational. Some years ago, through blogging, she managed to pay off a $40,000 loan debt after just 7 months, and she now works full-time as a personal finance expert on her blog.
Due to the success she’s had, Michelle and her husband sold their house to follow their dream to travel full-time in an RV. Having done that, they bought a yacht to live in and sail the seas, and are now preparing to cruise the world on SV Paradise.
I love Michelle’s entrepreneurship and gumption. I think she’ll definitely be retiring early. Anyway, here’s what Michelle has to say …
Table of Contents
How to Retire Early
Definitely save money in the lead up to retirement. There are so many different ways to save money.
Spend less
Find out what you can cut out of your life that you don’t need. You may want to cut out TV costs, memberships, going out to eat, and more.
Your life won’t be miserable, instead you just need to think about where you may be wasting money and if you could possibly cut it out of your spending, or, at least, lowering the amount that you spend in those areas.
Downsize your home
Downsize if it’ll save you money. The average person has a HUGE house and fills it with things that they don’t need.
By downsizing, you may have lower costs, lower maintenance, and less things needed to fill a big space.
Find a way to make extra money
Make more money. Many people have extra time in their life, so you may want to find ways to make money in that spare time so that you can reach retirement even sooner, or if you just want to have more money saved.
You could find a part-time job, start a business, ask for a raise or more hours at your day job, and so on.
Making money in retirement
Find ways to make passive income. Making passive income in retirement can allow you to feel more comfortable in retirement as you’ll continue to have money coming in.
Passive income could include dividend income, rental real estate, and more.
Michelle’s most successful way to make extra money
I would definitely say that creating my blog has been the most successful way for me to make extra money, plus it is now my full-time career and business.
In the summer of 2011, I started my blog with the aim of teaching people how to save money as well as journaling my personal finance journey after reading a magazine that featured a personal finance website in one of their articles.
I became extremely interested in that website and my interest in blogging just grew from there. This is interesting and hilarious because before that same summer, I had no idea about what blogs were, that they could even make money, or anything along those lines.
I did not create my blog with the intention of making money blogging. It was all just a hobby and an outlet I then realized how much I loved blogging and realized that it was for me, so now I am a full-time blogger! I went full-time in October of 2013 and I haven’t looked back once.
Blogging has completely changed my life for the better and it’s something that I recommend everyone try if they are interested.
Three ways you could make extra money in retirement
As a full-time traveler/RVer, we have seen many people who are retired and working part-time, in order to fill their time and earn a little extra cash.
One way is to work at the places that you travel to – these are called workampers. Workampers sometimes work at RV parks and campgrounds in the office, helping guests, and so on.
Another option would be to find a part-time job at a store you like. Maybe your favourite local grocery store, a craft store, and so on. A place where you can connect with people that you share a skill or hobby with.
A third option would be to start a business that you love 🙂
Footnote …
For Bloggers who want to earn from their blogs in retirement
Are you earning money from your blog?
Want to know how you can make some money via blogging for your retirement?
If you’re not earning money through affiliate marketing, then you are leaving money on the table.
Perhaps you’ve tried affiliate marketing in the past, but nothing seemed to work.
Now, you just feel like it’s not possible and that you’ll always be stuck.
Trust me, I know how you feel. When I started out blogging, I knew NOTHING about it.
After completing Michelle’s course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing it all became clear to me, and affiliate marketing is now one of my most important blogging income streams. Try it – click on the link above, and find out how you can start earning!
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Blogging Tips and Tricks : Meet Candi Randolph
Hello!
My husband is getting ready to retire early next year and I’m so nervous about it. Our girls are finally out of college so we won’t have that expense, but still, our income will be substantially lower. I blog for a hobby and not for income, but this is intriguing. Maybe I will look into blogging for more of an income-producing thing rather than a hobby.Thanks for sharing and I’m sharing on SM!
Thanks for sharing Theresa, and I’m glad you found this post helpful and motivating 🙂
I semi-retired at age 50, retired full-time at 60 (as a widow), and now at 72 I’m back to semi-retired (I write mystery novels). #MLSTL shared on SM
Love that you are writing mystery novels Donna 🙂 I’m reading of more and more people dip in and out of proactive retirement these days, protiring to do the things they enjoy more. Go you!
Hi Jo, lots of practical advice from Michelle. I agree that so many people have so much stuff, more than they could ever use. My husband and I downsized several times, and now I try very hard to keep my home and what I own simple, useful, and not spend money on things I really don’t need. #MLSTL
Hi Candi, Michelle is a mine of information isn’t she! I love her website and courses too. I agree we just have so much stuff these days – so much we don’t need. When we were younger we relied on cast-offs and hand-me-downs so much more and really valued our few possessions. These days it all seems to much cheaper and more throwaway. Like you we’ve downsized and we try to keep things as simple as we can.
Hi Jo. Have you done Michelle’s course on Affiliate blogging which you mention. I want to know what you thought of it and what difference it made financially to your own blog. Thanks. You can pm me if you prefer. Sharon lamb
Hi Sharon, yes I have done Michelle’s course, and it really helped me a lot. I’ll pm you.
Hi Jo – we’re good examples of being able to retire early because we lived within our means, saved where we could, paid off our mortgage early and now we can live on quite a small income. I think so many people spend more than they earn, live on credit, and give up hope of ever being able to retire – and that’s such a shame. I won’t be turning my blog into a business – but I’m always impressed by those who do (and I see you have Mediavine ads now – well done!)
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
Hi Leanne, thank you so much – it’s been a goal, and a journey to get accepted by Mediavine (and many do it quicker – but not me!) so we’ll see how it goes. I think we’ve been a lot like you, trying always to live within our means, not running up credit and spending money on the really important things to us, rather than just ‘wants’. I overheard someone I guess of around the age of 55 saying today that they ‘only’ had a mortgage of $2 million. I might have turned to stare.
Is that Michelle in the picture with the dogs? I’m envious she can retire so young!!!
As you know I’m contemplating the downsizing idea as my unemployment continues as it’d be nice not to see my dwindling savings go on my mortgage.
I must check out the affiliate marketing thing. I was a Booktopia Affiliate but it probably really only paid for my blog hosting – which was better than nothing!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Deb, yes it is! I know I constantly wonder how she did it so young. She was around 26 when her blogging business really took off. Yes, I agree, even with the low interest rate these days the idea of saving going on a mortgage is not easy to live with. Especially as we are now at last over the excesses of the 80s and living large. I hope you check out Michele’s affiliate marketing course – it was the only one that set me on the road to earning from affiliates.
Thanks for sharing this Jo. My husband and I have been discussing some things we could cut out, starting with our crazy Direct TV bill! #MLSTL
Hi Christie, thank you! Oh I know, it made me think too about some of the unnecessary expenses we have which really we don’t need as we near retirement.