428: The Mad Fientist on Early Retirement in Your 40s and 4% Rule Updates

If you want to retire early, the Mad Fientist is your guide. For over a decade, Brandon, more commonly known as the “Mad Fientist,” has been running simulations, experiments, and exercises to discover which road to early retirement is the fastest. Now, in his forties, Brandon has time to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and his regrets on the sprint to early retirement and financial freedom. And he’s also got a new update that’ll make your early retirement journey smoother.After tinkering with the beloved and rarely challenged 4% rule, Brandon decided it was time to sit down and calculate how much you really need to retire early. For decades, financial freedom chasers have been breaking their backs, trying to have as much stashed away as possible to enjoy their well-earned time off from work. But, it turns out that this number might be overinflated, and you can retire with much less than you think. That means your early retirement timeline just got a LOT shorter.In this episode, Brandon will describe why the 4% rule may be a bit too rigid, how to ensure you’ll have enough during early retirement, what to do during a market crash or correction, and why spending thousands of dollars on a coffee machine isn’t such a bad idea. If you want to maximize enjoyment in early retirement, instead of building a big bank account you probably won’t use, stick around! In This Episode We CoverEarly retirement rules of thumb you MUST know when on the path to FIREThe 4% rule and why you DON’T need to follow it to a teeRetirement withdrawal rules and how much to spend during a crash/correctionThe skill of spending and what Brandon regrets most from pre-FIRE lifeTracking your expenses and why knowing your costs is CRUCIAL to early retirementAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowBiggerPockets Money Facebook GroupBiggerPockets ForumsFinance Review Guest OnboardingJoin BiggerPockets for FREEMindy on BiggerPocketsScott's InstagramGrab Scott’s Book, “Set for Life”Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One PlaceApply to Be a Guest on The Money ShowPodcast Talent Search!Money MomentCheck Out Mindy’s 2022 Live Spending Tracker and BudgetHear Our Past Interviews with The Mad Fientist:Accessing Retirement Funds Before Age 59½ with The Mad FientistBackdoor Roths, Mega Backdoor Roths, and Roth Conversion LaddersIs It Time to Give Up on Financial Independence?Hear Our Interview with "Just Keep Buying" Author, Nick Maggiulli:The Problem with the 4% Rule (and Why You Could Retire Even Sooner Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-428 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email us: moneymoment@biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.