Learflyer

Here is how my book would be constructed if I were to write one about financial independence.

CH 1. Live below your means without living like a hermit. I.E. pay cash for vacations.

CH 2. Stay married if you do get married. (Make sure your spouse contributes too by working)

CH 3. No kids. (Going to take crap for this but don't care)

CH 4. No car/boat/motorcycle payments. (See chapter 1.)

BackintheLPA

CH 1. Like the philosopy...better yet transact on credit cards to get rewards so your vacations are cheaper or free unless you can negoiate a cheaper cash price.

CH 2. well said...however having a working female spouse with kids in the picture comes with problems and opportunity cost.

CH 3. Yeahhh...I'm gonna have to disagree with ya there. We actually need intelligent and responsible people to have more kids otherwise we will continue our accelerated path towards idiocracy.

CH 4. Here, Here...no better words spoken. Delayed Gratification...what a novel concept.

orvil

I'm very close to financial independence. Most of my money is in tax deferred or tax qualified vehicles. Once I am old enough to withdraw without penalties, I'll have more than enough. I plan to work until 65 because of the high cost of medical coverage. However, I am going to be seriously part time (dropping trips like a big dog).

I did want to cover the four points above with a few observations.

1. Always live below your means. We saved early with the viewpoint that in light of airline history, there was a high probability of bankruptcy. Wow, was that right. Don't buy the Captain's house. Buy the F/O's house and stay there.

2. Stick with wife 1.0. Changing wives costs money.

3. Kids are an expense, a big expense. We decided to do without. We don't regret it. If you must, keep the child limit low. Two is good, one even better. If you just love kids, prepare to be poor from a monetary standpoint but hopefully rich from a spiritual standpoint.

4. If it flies, floats or fxxxx, it's cheaper to rent.

5. I'll add this one. Nobody loves your money as much as you do. Never invest in any business ventures with other pilots. Start with a good understanding of finances, financial markets and investing. There are many ways to invest. Find the one that works for you.

P.S. Helpful reading, an oldie but goodie, The Millionaire Next Door.

sourdough44

I don't think one should live all for the present, or the future. There are things you can do at 40 you may not want to do, or be able to, at 65-70. Then, a fair amount of people won't make it to 70. I realize the closer you get, the better your odds are.

Plenty of people don't plan or save enough for retirement, that's a given. On the other hand, extreme delayed gratification can have drawbacks too. I realize that would also be uncommon with most.

Just some ramblings as a few around here have left this world to early, one only 8 years old.

Flyinhigh

Finding the true balance of how much to spend and how much to save while working is one of the toughest things to do as you plan for your retirement. We always maxed out the 401(K) to reduce our taxes while working. Unfortunately we could not contribute to a Roth in our later years due to the income limits imposed on Roths. We did put away what we though was appropriate in after tax accounts and have watched them grow over the years.
As you get closer to retirement, try living on what you think you will have as retirement income. There is no one size fits all. Our expenses actually went up in retirement because we love to travel (even after 44 years in the aviation world).
The whole key to this is to LIVE. You can't spend all of your working years not living. If something were to happen to either one of you, the regrets for the things you didn't do would be tremendous.
And, most importantly, you better have a plan for retirement. With today's longer life spans, retirement should be treated like a 25 to 30 year carrier. You need something to fill your days that makes you happy.