No matter whether you are just graduating college, up to your knees in a lucrative career, or barely starting out; you have probably thought about when you’ll be able to retire once or twice in your life. In this episode of The His and Her Money Show, we introduce you to Elizabeth Thames.
She is one of the most frugal ladies you will ever meet. Elizabeth shares her story about how she and her husband managed to retire at 34 years old with two kids under five. It seems impossible, but she did it and she is here to teach us about achieving financial independence through simple living.
You may recognize Liz better by her alias, Mrs. Frugalwood, and now that she is working being totally sustainable with her family on a 66-acre homestead in the forests of upstate Vermont the name fits her perfectly. From their home in the idyllic wilderness, Liz and her husband have free reign to work or not as their heart’s desire.
Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwood met when they were eighteen years old, they went to the same super affordable four-year college and moved around a little before settling in Cambridge, MA. They bought a little house and settled in for the long haul, but without a solid plan for their financial future, their spending began to get away from them.
When Liz was a shiny new college graduate, she has spent a year living on a $10,000 a year income plus food stamps and she still managed to save up $2,000, so she was a super saver from way back, but the stability of a new home coupled with pressures from their friends to partake in a different kind of lifestyle caused the couple to spend their income freely.
When Liz was around 23, the reality of the situation began to hit home. Liz had a thought: “What if we only spent our income on things that actually mattered?” And that one thought was all it took to refocus the way the couple handled their money. Liz and her husband always looked at their money like teammates and when she decided it was time to get serious, her husband fell in line right alongside her.
They had a pervasive belief that their lives were meant to be unique and they would need money to do that. And what better way to get money than by keeping more of the money you already have coming in? The dynamic duo ended up saving an astonishing 70-80% of their income to help nudge their dreams along.
Liz and her husband managed an incredible monetary feat, but they had careful planning on their side. She admits that they were lucky to have started off without much debt at all. However, on her blog frugalwoods.com, she offers life-changing and practical financial tips for everyone, regardless of where they are on the road to financial freedom.
What You Will Learn
- You will learn practical tips for diversifying your investments
- Budgeting tips for saving over half of your disposable income
- How monetizing your passions can be the key to financial freedom
- The Two-Part Plan to financial success
Resources Mentioned
- Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living by Elizabeth Thames
- Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
- The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
- Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry
- Mad Fientist
- Mr. Money Mustache
Thanks For Listening!
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