Listen, not everyone has a job they love. And that’s totally OK — there’s more to life than your job, and not everyone has plans to ascend the corporate ladder until they’re 70.
Sometimes, you just want to make enough to retire early and never have to work again. That kind of money has a name. To put it politely: “Forget You!” Money.
It’s the amount of money you need in the bank to be able to say, “Forget you!” to your boss and retire comfortably — and it’s not nearly as far away as you think it is.
Here’s how to calculate your “Forget You!” Money number: Take your yearly expenses and multiply them by 25. That’s how much money you’ll need to have in your savings to be able to retire and withdraw 4% each year to live on.
For example, if $100,000 would cover all of your expenses for a year, you’ll need $2.5 million. Only need $50,000 to cover your bills and adventures each year? Plan on saving $1.25M.
If you don’t have seven figures in your accounts just yet, don’t panic. Everyone has to start somewhere! Here’s how to kickstart your “Forget You!” Money fund.
1. Fund Your Retirement with Amazon, Google and Netflix
Saving for retirement is smart. Having your company contribute to your 401(k) is helpful. But having an ownership interest in a Fortune 500 company that you don’t even work for help get you to your retirement goal? That’s awesome.
And it’s surprisingly easy to make happen, with an app called Stash.1 It lets you own pieces of well-known companies, like Amazon, Apple, Google and more for $5 or less.
Seriously — with only a few dollars, you can invest in thousands of stocks and ETFs, which can help you grow your investing portfolio and reach your retirement goals. The best part? Some companies may even send you a check every quarter for your share of profits, called dividends. If these companies profit, so can you.
It takes two minutes to sign up, and your investments are protected. With Stash, investments are held by their custodian, Apex Clearing Corporation, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) — that’s industry talk for, “Your money comes with protection.”2
Plus, when you use the link above, Stash will give you a $5 bonus once you deposit $5 into your account.3
2. Let This Finance App Surprise You with up to $1,250
If you’re like a lot of us, you just never get around to saving money. Hey, we know what that’s like. After all, roughly 45%1 of Americans haven’t really gotten around to saving any money. It’s just a fact of life.
The online finance app Chime offers automatic savings features that help you tuck away money without even thinking about it. We interviewed Samuel Demeny, who regularly uses his Chime Savings account. According to him, in just nine months, he saved up $1,250 — without even thinking about it.
Chime has two automated savings options: One feature rounds up your purchases and saves the change every time you spend, and the other lets you save a percentage of your check2 every time you get paid. (Both features require you to sign up for a Chime Spending Account first, but it’s quick and easy to do.*)
The money adds up quickly, and it’s completely automatic.
It takes just five minutes to open an account and see how much you could save.
3. Let This App Pay You up to $83 When You Win Solitaire Games
Lots of us already play Solitaire on our phones for fun or just to pass the time. Want to see if you can win money at it?
There’s a free iPhone app called Solitaire Cash that lets you play for real money. You could get paid up to $83 per win.
You might be thinking: There’s got to be a catch. This is definitely one of those spammy apps, right?
Wrong. There really isn’t a catch. Sure, you can pay to play in some higher-stakes tournaments, but there’s no pressure. And, in fact, there aren’t even any annoying ads.
With each game, you’ll battle it out against at least five other players. Everyone gets the same deck, so winning is totally a matter of skill. The top three players who solve the deck fastest can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.
Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and more than 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
4. Cancel Your Debt
If you’re drowning in debt, you’re probably feeling trapped. Helpless. Like the more payments you make, the further you get from paying it all off and finally retiring.
Here’s the thing: Your lenders are ripping you off with insane interest rates. What if you could just… cancel some of your debt?
A company called Accredited Debt Relief can help you do just that. They’ll talk to your lenders directly to convince them to cancel your debt — by as much as half.
It’s free to talk with their experts and come up with the best strategy for you. Then, they’ll get to work to see just how much of your debt they can cancel — 140,000 people are already doing this.
If you owe more than $15,000, Accredited Debt Relief can help you get out of debt much faster. Get started here to see how much of your debt you can cancel.
5. Cancel Your Car Insurance
Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
