A woman has revealed how she retired at the age of just 35 - and with nearly ?1 million ( Rs 10 crore) in savings and investments.
Katie Donegan, a UK citizen, who is now 37, said that she has been?thrifty?with her money. Unlike other youngsters, she would even save up her pocket money rather than spend it.
But her saving journey took shape when she decided to drop out of University of Oxford at the age of 18 and took a trip to Costa Rica. On her trip abroad, Katie met her husband, Alan.
"At 18 I went to study maths at the University of Oxford, but I struggled and left the following year.?Back home, I temped doing office admin for a while, earning ?9 per hour, before going on a three-month volunteering project in January 2005 to Costa Rica, where I met Alan,?Katie told The Sun.
"After graduating in 2008, we moved in with Alan's mum in Hampshire so we could save for a house deposit, while I worked as an actuary earning ?28,500 a year.?Alan was self-employed on a variable income, teaching businesses how to do presentations," she added.?
Katie revealed that she used to eat 'packed lunches,?drove a second-hand Skoda and invited friends over instead of going for expensive nights out'.?
She further added that they had saved hard and in November 2010 they had enough to put down a ?42,000 deposit (Rs 42 lakh) on a ?167,650 (1.69 crore) two-bedroom flat in Basingstoke.
"We married in July 2013, keeping costs as low as possible by hiring the local community hall, emailing the invites, getting a friend to do the decorations and having a BYO bar," she said.?
Katie mentioned that they both intensely researched and studied the stock market to increase their chances of making money.
The couple was inspired by a movement called Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE), which suggests keeping your extra expenses low and try to save every penny.
Alan told The Sun?that he has been saving since 1996 and Katie began contributing after she graduated.
Speaking about her investments, Katie revealed that their investments now generate ?65,000 a year, which is Rs 65 lakh. They both now can afford to split their time between Basingstoke, England, and abroad.
Katie now runs a Rebel Finance school, which she says is 'a free 10-week online course to help people get control of their finances'.??