There’s no one-size-fits-all to a life well lived.
Some choose to play hard while they’re young and buckle down when they’re older. Others choose to work hard early on, amass a size-able net worth, and take their foot off the gas. You’ve got to pick a path that feels right for you and understand that there are pros and cons to every approach.
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One approach I’ve been thinking a lot about is to work hard during your 20’s, with the goal of hitting $300k in investments by age 30.
It’s got a nice ring to it: $300k by 30—but what could it mean for you?
Let’s take a look.
If you had $300k at age 30, where would you be in your 60’s?
Using the rule of 72, you can figure out how long it will take for your investments to double.
Just take the interest rate you expect to earn, let’s assume 8% per year, and then divide 72 by your expected interest rate.
So, 72 divided by 8 = 9 years for your money to double.
That means if you’re able to save $300k by 30, then over the next 27 years, by age 57, your money would have doubled 3 times.
$300k —> $600k —> $1.2 million.
If you wait another 9 years (age 66), that $1.2 million turns to $2.4 million.
And that’s if you never saved another dime after age 30, coasting to financial independence—working enough to cover living expenses while your assets compound in the background.
Then, with $2.4 million at age 66, you could safely withdraw $96,000 per year from your investments (4% rule), without running out of money for a 30+ year retirement.
In other words, if you can save up $300k by age 30, you can feel very confident that you’ll have a secure “traditional” retirement by age 65 or 66, without having to save another dime.
Knowing that, you’re free to:
Continue saving to accelerate your path to financial independence, or
Take a lower paying but more satisfying job.
Work part-time or seasonally to cover your living expenses.
Travel part of the year.
Design a life you love.
So while $300k by 30 doesn’t give you immediate financial independence, it gives you ultimate flexibility for the next 3+ decades until traditional retirement age.
And for some, that may be better than reaching full financial independence. Because at the end of the day, most people don’t want to retire early never to work again, they just want freedom and flexibility in their work.
They still want to create, add value, and feel a sense of purpose at their job, they just don’t want it to be the main pillar of their life. And luckily, your job doesn’t have to be the main pillar when you know you’ve already secured your future retirement nest egg.
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