9 Tips for early retirement

1. Insight in your earnings and expenses

You can only get a grip on your money if you know what is coming in and more importantly, knowing were you spend it on. There are countless options available to obtain this insight: from a simple Excel sheet to automated household books.

By gaining insight into your (necessary) expenses, you know what minimum earnings you will be needing in order to be able to live (comfortably) and therefore what income should come in now and should be available in savings.

2. Put only aside as soon as it comes in

By gaining more insight into your income and expenses, you enable yourself to plan ahead. This allows you to immediately set aside a part that you do not need as soon as money comes in. The result is that your wealth accumulation is no longer a coincidence at the end of the month, but always a conscious choice.

3. Put your money to work

There are various possibilities to put your money to work and thereby build up extra capital. Think of investing in stocks and investing in (start-up) businesses. Please note, always be well informed because you can also lose money with this!

An alternative option could be a deposit, in which you lock up your money for a longer period of time at a (generally) higher interest rate. It is also wise to check whether these types of financial products are covered, for example, by the European Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

4. Smaller house

Not the most popular tip, but one of the largest costs you run into every month; your house. A smaller house means keeping more of your income at the end of the month.

5. Cycling and walking instead of the car

For many of us, the second largest cost item where you can save a lot. An additional advantage of cycling and walking: healthy for yourself and the environment!

6. Minimalization

Less stuff means less maintenance costs. At the same time, it also results in a very tidy house!

7. Save on your fixed costs

An annual check upon your insurances, gas and electricity connections, telephone subscriptions, etc. can yield many benefits by switching to a cheaper alternative. Pay attention not only to the price, but also to the additional conditions.

8. Save on your groceries

Pay attention to offers, buy cheap labels more often instead of A brands and buy certain items (eg detergents) in bulk if they are very affordable.

9. Enjoy life

In addition to being aware of your income and expenses, you should of course also be able to enjoy life.
Life is too short to not buy the shoes!

And if you have a nice job, with nice colleagues, then working isn’t so bad. 😉