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topicnews · October 18, 2024

I’m a frugalist – thanks to these tips I achieved financial freedom

I’m a frugalist – thanks to these tips I achieved financial freedom

Amberly Grant traveled around Scotland camping to save on accommodation costs.
Courtesy of Amberly Grant

Amberly Grant achieved financial freedom by saving 75 percent of her income and investing in index funds.

For years she lived on $1,300 a month by saving on housing and transportation costs.

She used her savings to fully utilize her retirement savings.

This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.

For years, Amberly Grant didn’t make enough money to save for her future. At 19, she left the small Canadian town where she grew up during the war. She spent years traveling and taking odd jobs.

“I cleaned houses, walked dogs, worked in bars and restaurants.” “I taught English in Thailand and helped a friend at a nutrition and Pilates studio in Sydney,” Grant told Business Insider. “Basically, I traveled around the world doing odd jobs, and the sum of all that money averaged about $15,000 a year.”

Not with that too

I make a living from writing about finances: I have these two ETFs in my portfolio

In her mid-twenties, she enrolled in community college. After two years, she moved to the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder.

That’s when they came across the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement through Mr. Money Mustache, a thought leader in the field, and his blog. She delved into his posts about buying freedom.

“The problem was that at that point — I was a freshman at community college — I wasn’t making any money,” Grant said. “I had the tools but no resources. Reading his blog was great, but I didn’t know how I could ever retire early based on what I had.”

Your income increases and remains at just under 1,100 euros per month

During business school, Grant said she worked in “professional jobs” and doubled her annual income from $15,000. She graduated at age 29 and got a full-time job as a project coordinator. The job came with a salary of $52,000 (around 47,500 euros).

I have always been very frugal and spent my money on things that were important to me.

That’s when early retirement became realistic for the first time. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I can do this,’” Grant said. “Finally getting enough money to put something aside was very motivating for me, so I saved as much as I could.” Grant became a frugalist.




FAQ: Frugalism

What is a Frugalist?
Frugalists are people who want to achieve a high savings rate by living frugally in order to become financially independent at an early age. They are financially independent if they can live solely on their assets and are no longer dependent on work.

How much money do you need for this?
This depends on your own lifestyle and the associated expenses. Frugalism calculators can help you plan your savings rate and withdrawal rate, taking into account the assets you have already built up and your annual return.

How much do frugalists save?
According to “statista”, the savings rate of private households in Germany was around ten percent on average before the pandemic. Frugalists want to save significantly more: Some frugalists describe themselves as saving 30 percent or more, others save 80 percent and more.

How is frugalism possible when inflation is high?
High inflation makes frugalism difficult. Because inflation rates are average, prices rise more in some areas than others, including electricity, gas, gasoline and heating oil. Saving money here is more worthwhile. There are many ideas – an electric blanket, for example, provides just as much heat, but is much more economical than heating the entire apartment.

She was already used to living on $15,000 a year – or about $1,300 a month – and didn’t change her habits.

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