This 29 Year Old Plans To Retire At Age 35, And He Won't Need A Side Hustle

Tanner Firl hopes to retire at the age of 35 with $625,000 in savings by being as frugal as possible and investing as much as he can.

The 29-year-old is part of the FIRE movement (Financially Independent, Retire Early), and along with his wife, Isabel, the couple spends as little as possible, only purchasing necessities. This has allowed them to amass $380,000 for their retirement to date, according to CNBC Make It. 

“Most people have a problem not spending money. We have almost the opposite problem,” Firl told the outlet.

How Firl Plans To Retire Early: Firl is part of the “lean” FIRE movement, which means spending as little money as possible.

Firl, his wife and their son, Teddy, who was born in 2021, share a 675-square-foot house in Minneapolis that they purchased in 2018 for $185,000.

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Despite earning a salary of $135,000 annually as a software engineer, Firl maintains a frugal lifestyle instilled in him by his parents from a young age. While he could afford more luxuries, he acquires most of his needs online at no cost and keeps his monthly food expenses for his family and three cats to just $200.

To whittle the food budget down to $200 a month, Firl goes to a food waste non-profit, where he is able to get about half the food the family needs each month for just $25.

“For 25 bucks a bundle — a bundle is about half a carload — they just give you a ton of food, and then you drive off and you have probably half your groceries for the month, if not more, depending on how much you want,” Firl told CNBC.

Firl and his wife also don’t need to spend a lot of money on entertainment. Their hobbies include playing video games in the evenings and Firl enjoys running and listening to podcasts while Isabel runs a Twitch stream.

Firl has calculated that if they remain in their current house and have their mortgage paid off in the next six years, the family will be able to retire with $625,000 in savings, which will allow them to live off $25,000 a year by continuing to live their frugal lifestyle.

“Retiring … is not about sitting on your couch watching Netflix all day or going to the beach and getting a really nice suntan,” he told the publication. “It’s about getting to do whatever you want in life.”

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This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

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