It has been three years since I graduated from college, and it certainly has been interesting. I made quite a few friends, and also picked up a hodgepodge of technical skills . Oh yeah,. So now what? Well, my grand goal is to become financially independent in 7 years because by then I would have served corporate America for a total of 10 years, and I think that is enough. Is this doable? Well..

I know it’s doable because my parents earned enough to retire together in the past 10 years despite having more financial challenges than my husband and I. Ten years ago my parents were more than forty years old and their salaries were much lower than our current salaries even after adjusting for inflation. They had pretty much no savings because they just graduated from grad school and they spent what money they had on the relocation from Hawaii to the Bay Area and bought a car. They also put me through college and weathered the dot com bubble, but they managed to do quite well. If they wanted to retire now, they really could do it. My mom doesn’t think so, but actually the numbers are in their favor. So I really see their success as an inspiration and a mark of certainty that my husband and I can do the same.

My mom once said that I can’t use them as a benchmark because they are much older than us so we need a lot more money for retirement. She also said that I was a very cheap child to raise so maybe we won’t be so lucky with our future kid(s). Additionally, inflation is running wild now and the buying power of their money was greater than ours. Another thing is that their Social Security benefits will be much better than ours. I have considered all of those things and I still think it is possible for me to quit my job in seven years because we are currently of our income. Additionally, I will keep on writing so I will have some income and the hubby doesn’t necessarily have to quit his job. Though he did say that if we were financially secure and he did not need to work he would design and program games on his own rather than work for a company where he doesn’t have total control over the process of creating a game. He also loves kids so he said that if he has the opportunity to be home with our future offspring he would take it. So I take those comments as an indication that if we could both “retire”, he would join me.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate my job and I don’t hate working, but I hate the fact that society makes us believe we are supposed to stop working at age 65 or 67. At that age, you don’t have that many years left to enjoy life. I think ultimately retirement for me and my husband means that we can pursue our own passions rather than whoring our talents and adding to someone else’s bottom line.

Seven years is really a stretch goal for our financial independence because we would only be 32 by that time and we would have to support ourselves for many years. I calculated that we probably need at least a portfolio worth $1.4 to $1.5 million with the based on an assumption that we live on around 4% of the portfolio and our side income. Some people think I am a bit crazy, but I really believe that it is possible even with children. Anyway, we will see in seven years, and hopefully is still around then so all of you can see if this grand goal has been achieved.

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