A young man who retired at 29 has 5 tips for those who want to do the same

Daniel George managed to gain financial independence on his own by the age of 29, so he was able to retire early. He has 5 useful tips for all those who want to follow his example. Obviously, it should meet some essential conditions.

He told Business Insider that in 2018, at the age of 24, after completing his PhD, he was working at Google X, coordinating artificial intelligence projects. In 2020, he left Google and started working at financial giant JP Morgan, where he stayed until 2023.

In 2017, he started investing heavily in stocks, at first $1,000 a month, then as he started to earn better, the amount increased, so that in a few years he had earned more than $1 million. In 2023, his annual expenses living in the US dropped to less than 2% of the investments he had, so he resigned.

Daniel says he doesn’t have to worry about not having a salary and now has enough time to work on his own, doing what he’s passionate about. Thus, at the moment he is working on the development of his startup.

Here are the 5 tips that Daniel offers to those who want to retire young:

1. Avoid student debt

“I grew up in Kerala, India, where my parents earned less than $20,000 a year. I could not have afforded a college education in the US or even gone to private colleges in India without going into debt. So I decided to study in a state college in India which is much cheaper.

I studied hard for a test that students in India take every year for college admission. I ranked first and ended up studying engineering and physics at the India Institute of Technology in Bombay, a top public university in India. It cost me about $1,200 a year, including room and board“, he said.

He then decided to apply directly to a PhD program at the University of Illinois, which admits students without master’s degrees.

“Doctoral students at US universities can often receive tuition and stipend waivers from day one, typically $2,000-$3,000 per month. You can get a master’s degree at no cost two years after starting your PhD, saving time and money”he also said.

He moved to Illinois in 2015. He earned his master’s degree in two years and his doctorate just one year later, when he was 24.

“My whole education cost nothing anymore. I only needed half of the scholarship I received to cover living costs”he also said.

2. Invest aggressively in stocks when you’re young

Daniel says that during his PhD he worked part-time at tech companies, and most of the money he earned initially stayed in a bank account, earning negligible interest. In the last year of his doctorate he started buying stocks.

“I learned more about investing. When I started working full time at Google X, I started investing all my savings. I spent less than 10% of my salary from Google X and invested every dollar primarily in tech stocks. I invested in nothing but stocks and kept no cash savings”he said.

3. Work in expensive cities to begin with, but don’t settle here for the long term

Having experience in the US, he says that in San Francisco, New York and Seattle, salaries can be very high, but this usually does not help to save, as the cost of living there is also high.

But early in their career, when a young person doesn’t have a lot of expenses, they can do that and take advantage of the high income to make more savings.

“When I started working at Google X in Mountain View, California, I made about $270,000 a year. I shared a nice apartment with some friends, ate most of my meals at the Google offices, and had no major expenses. Thus, that I spent less than 10% of the income.

But when you want to settle down, you can multiply the value of your savings by moving to places where the cost of living is significantly lower“, he says.

4. Learn to negotiate salary

The young man says that for his first job at Google X, which he got immediately after graduation, he was offered a salary that he immediately accepted.

“I had friends who came after me in a lower position but were paid three times as much because they negotiated by presenting counter-offers from other companies.

When JPMorgan approached me for a job a few years later, I made sure to get multiple offers from tech companies and hedge funds. I used other offers, I evaluated all aspects of the salary package… I negotiated my salary well and got almost double the original salary they offeredDaniel said.

5. Find a partner who has similar goals

Daniel says he met his wife at Google X, both having the same age and education. They also had similar incomes and both made roughly equal savings, which were then invested in separate stock accounts.

“We share the same thinking about spending and investing, and we share expenses equally. We both enjoy a minimalist digital nomad lifestyle, valuing travel and experiences over expensive material possessions“, he said.

“Finding the right partner is one of the most important factors in long-term happiness and financial success”Daniel concluded.

Publisher: DC

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