- Sarah Lesselbaum joined the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement in 2018.
- Last year, she made over $70,000 by working part-time and owning a business.
- She said saving and investing gave her peace of mind to spend on the things and people she loves.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sarah Lesselbaum, a 44-year-old in Delray Beach, Florida. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her financial and career history.
I first heard about FIRE — the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement — when I went down a Reddit thread rabbit hole in 2018.
I’ve always been a saver, and I had an emergency fund, but discovering FIRE helped me identify my next financial goals. Most importantly, I hated my job and how few days I had to myself. I wanted to quit as quickly as possible. I never thought it was possible before this and was convinced I would have to work into my sixties.
I began tracking my net worth and spending. I also started investing more seriously. I had gotten poor investment advice from my bosses at work — I was invested in a lot of different things and the expense was high. One of my first steps was putting my savings into broad index funds.
I started my own business
My parents were not the most financially responsible people. My father worked in real estate and his income was sporadic — he never saved during the great months to handle things during slower times.
I never considered freelancing or starting my own business because of the anxiety of not having a guaranteed paycheck every two weeks.
But meeting people who had retired early and understanding the calculations behind early retirement gave me the confidence to start my own business as a mobile notary in Florida. When I told my workplace about wanting to quit in 2022, they asked me to stay on part time.
Understanding the math helped me realize that retiring early is not just for people making six figures. I make five figures working both jobs — I made $36,600 last year from my notary business and $37,000 in my part–time job.
I work my part time job two days a week, or about 16 hours, and spend three to four hours a week on my business.
Last year was the first time I came close to earning as much as I did when I worked full time. Having half my income come from my own business gives me the freedom to take more days off and travel for longer.
My retirement saving plan
Since exploring FIRE in 2018, I have accelerated my savings and investments.
As a small-business owner, my income is sporadic, but I have put between 20% to 40% of my annual income into my retirement account. I only had $33,300 in my retirement account in 2018. Since 2020, I have put a total of $145,000 toward my retirement.
I hit $300,000 in investments this year, and I celebrate each milestone in small ways. I have a paper tree I get to color in every time I get $10,000, and I text my friends when I get to color in the next section.
In my bathroom, I have a piece of paper taped up that says I will retire with at least $1 million in savings by my 55th birthday. I still want to retire by 50, which I will hit in the next six years. Tracking my spending has shown me I have been spending a bit more in the last two years and may have to delay retiring, which I am OK with.
I’ll be able to live on somewhere between $40,000 and $60,000 a year, which I extended from a strict $40,000 because I want to be more flexible.
Any changes to the Affordable Care Act would also set my FIRE goals back, and I would have to return to a full time job. My medications cost $12,000, and I can’t afford them without insurance.
FIRE changed my mindset on spending
I’m always worried about not having enough money. I lost my job in 2013. After that, I became obsessed with saving.
But having a savings and investment strategy helped me open up my purse strings for things I love. In November, I flew to Bali, Indonesia, for a five-day FIRE retreat and followed that with an expensive trip to London to watch one of my favorite actors perform live in a play.
It also changed my mindset toward prioritizing comfort over frugality. I recently remodeled my whole kitchen and bought four new tires for my car on a whim instead of temporary fixes because of an upcoming road trip. I unexpectedly spent $1,200 on my car in the last few days without freaking out or crying. Having separate accounts, like one for emergency expenses, gave me a piece of mind I did not have before I got on the FIRE path.
It’s given me the ability to care for the people I love. I’ve been able to help my father plan his finances and have started investing for my special needs niece so she has a lump sum to get her started in the event that her single dad dies. Having savings means I’m able to take her kid brother to Disney World and other parks each year, an experience he would not get otherwise.
I’m still frugal and make sacrifices to keep my savings rate high, like spending 45 minutes on Amazon comparing prices and skipping frequent pub visits with my friends. Instead, I have shifted to spending on what I really value.
