How this woman became a millionaire and retired at 28

Fed up of your 9 to 5 job? Want to become wealthy and retire early? There is one solution to the problem - save and invest aggressively. Well, at least if we believe this 28 year old lady who accumulated $2.25 million fund and retired at just 28.

Now, you might be thinking that she must have been already rich to invest that kind of money so early in her life. Nope, she wasn't! Her pen name is J.P. Livingston and she runs a blog The Money Habit.

How it happened?

She was inspired by the personal finance classic book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad" at an early age of 12. The book sparked her inclination towards saving and investing for the future.

After graduating early from college; i.e. she managed to graduate a year early from the college that helped her save tuition fees and earn a year's worth of income. This simple proactive thinking helped her manage $150,000 net worth swing.

After her graduation, she took a job at an investment firm that paid her $60,000 per annum plus a year-end bonus that helped her make around $1,00,000 a year.

Now, here is the catch. With a steady income in hand, the majority of young professionals go after their dreams and aspirations. Splurging of money happens on expensive gadgets, international trips, wining and dining in fancy restaurants, shopping expensive clothes, and more.

Instead of spending her hard-earned money on things that you don't actually need, she started investing around 70% of her income. And after 7 years of disciplined investing, she managed to accumulate around $2.25 million. 60% of her accumulated fund was the investment money and the other 40% came as a return on investment.

Her mantra

Many of us would argue that she had a well-paying job and also got regular increments. But even then, how many us are so disciplined about investing from such an early age?

As per Livingston, she used multiple tricks to ensure she is not defaulting on her investments. She automated most of her investments and kept a close on her expenses. Her most efficient trick is to think about any purchase in cost per hour.

For instance, if you want to buy an iPhone XR worth around Rs 70,000 then calculate the amount of time you will have to work to earn that kind of money. For many us, it is more than a month's worth salary. That means if you work daily for 8 hours, then it is 240 hours a month.

Now think again, is it worth splurging that amount of money on a phone? When you start comparing your purchases in terms of work hours, it will make your question your shopping habits.

It will also help you in making the right decision before a big purchase. For example, if you are just living with your partner then instead of living in a 2 BHK apartment, you can comfortably live in a 1 BHK house and save up to 40% on rent.

It is a money-saving concept that she learned and follows from Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez’s “Your Money or Your Life”.

You can also identify your biggest expenses and cut down on them. Like instead of owning two cars in a small family, it makes sense to do away with an older car and save on its maintenance. Before buying a big apartment, think practically if you really need such a big space to splurge on.

After reading her story, we think saving more and investing smart is one of the biggest mantras of getting rich.