November 25, 2012. Our Correspondent

Not everyone wants to work till the age of 65 years. You can retire at either 40 or 50. Although retiring young may be difficult, it is not impossible. Here is help for you.

Determine what a young age is

Young may be 40 or 50. In determining this age, you will want to be reasonable. If you are already 27 with no net worth, it is going to be very difficult to retire at 30. So, the first step is setting the age you want to stop working.

Select your partner wisely

According to www.ehow.com, choose someone whose values match your own — not just where money is concerned, but more importantly, ethical and moral values. Get to know your soulmate for at least a year. Passion is important, but trust is more important. Make sure you are free to be yourself. If you hook up with an angry or overly critical partner, you will be subjected to hostility and may lose your sense of self-worth.

Find your purpose

If you are having trouble figuring out what you want to do with your life, look within. You were born with certain talents and natural abilities. You know which subjects you excel in and which ones you struggle with. Choose a career that enables you to maximise your gifts in a way that fulfills you or helps others. As you grow, your career may change along with your desires. But for now, gravitate towards a field that feels like home.

Begin retirement plan with your first job

If the company you work for offers a retirement plan, sign up at your first opportunity. If there is no such plan, setting up your own retirement plans at a young age will help you build wealth painlessly.

Learn to manage finances

Before you plan to retire young, you will want to know how to manage your money. No matter how much money you make, it is important to manage it well.

Reduce your expenses

Increasing your earning potential will not do much good if you increase how much you spend.  To put it simply: If you make N1m or more per year, but increase your cost of living by that same amount  per year, you haven’t travelled very far on your road to retiring. The sooner you realise that more expensive cars, vacations, clothes, and homes do not really make your life any better, the closer you will get to retiring young.

This goes with the previous step. If you spend less on your monthly expenses, you have more to put aside for retirement. Ask your employer about depositing part of your paycheck automatically into a savings account so that you never see it. Stash away bonuses, tax refunds and gifts of money.

Create an automatic income source

You should set yourself up to earn funds even while you are not working. You could start a blog with advertisements on or write articles for a revenue sharing site. Whatever you decide needs to generate income on its own; that way when you stop working you can still pay your bills.

Purchase appreciating assets

Everyone knows that when you buy a car it loses much of its value as soon as you drive it off. Assets like these are called depreciating assets. Make as few of these purchases as possible. Instead, buy things that increase in value over time. Think about stocks, bonds and other investment opportunities instead. You may want to enlist the help of a financial adviser to help you weed through the terminology and come up with a programme that is right for your situation.

 Plan finances according to time

Now that you know how much time you have until your youthful retirement age; plan what you need to do to get there. Do not be afraid if you need to make drastic adjustments. It will all be worth it.

Pay off the house

If you plan to stay in your home once you retire, consider sending in an extra payment or two a year. Doing so can shave years off your mortgage, and allow you to retire without having a monthly mortgage hanging over your head.

Use the credit card sparingly

Use credit responsibly. Remember that you will be relying on your future earnings to pay for today’s credit card purchases. And if you keep a running balance, you will also be paying interest, sometimes at usurious rates. Do not fall into this trap. Instead, save money to meet financial goals.