Teacher Retires Early at 45 Thanks to Strategic Living (FIRE in Paradise!)

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Investing, Education, Business

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Teachers aren’t known for their high salaries, so how did this one reach early retirement and FIRE at just 45 years old? Through “aggressive” saving and smart cost-of-living choices, Amy Minkley was able to quit her demanding international teaching job only three years after finding out about the FIRE movement. Now, she spends her days living in paradise and hosting “FI Freedom Retreats” once or twice a year for like-minded FIRE-chasers. To reach FIRE in your 40s, you must make some strategic moves like Amy. Thankfully, you don’t need to make six figures to retire early in 2025. Throughout Amy’s career, she never entered the “high income” threshold but could still save aggressively, thanks to the perks of teaching at international schools. We’re talking free rent, subsidized travel, and plenty of paid vacation. But it wasn’t always the dream life that it sounds like. Amy had constant stress and was routinely feeling burned out, forcing her to take multiple sabbaticals, change where she lived, and deal with some of the money trauma that had plagued her past. Now, she’s FIRE, thriving, and living entirely on her terms. You can (and should) do it, too! In This Episode We Cover How to reach FIRE in your 40s even if you feel like it’s too “late” for you Why teachers should look into teaching abroad to save a significant portion of their income Investing from abroad and what to do when you have little-to-no social security contributions How much cash you should keep on hand when you’re ready to retire early Living off the three percent rule (instead of the traditional four percent rule) by moving to low-cost-of-living areas Why you must take a sabbatical at least once in your working career And So Much More! Links from the Show Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott on BiggerPockets Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Join BiggerPockets for FREE Email Mindy: [email protected] Email Scott: [email protected] BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group Follow BiggerPockets Money on Instagram “Like” BiggerPockets Money on Facebook BiggerPockets Money YouTube Channel Save $100 on Real Estate’s Biggest Event of the Year, BPCon2025 Reach FIRE Faster with "Set for Life" Sign Up for the BiggerPockets Money Newsletter Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area From Making $40K/Year as a Teacher to Reaching FI in 4 Years by Doing THIS Connect with Amy Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-610 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What if your biggest money fears became your greatest strength?
0:05.0	After watching her family's financial security disappear overnight, today's guest spent decades building a six-figure nest egg as a teacher living abroad.
0:15.0	Yet the money fears from her childhood remained until the fire movement came in and showed her a new path. Then she adjusted
0:23.3	her portfolio and followed the simple steps to reach financial independence. Her journey
0:28.0	proves that financial independence isn't just about building wealth. It's about breaking free from
0:33.1	the money fears that hold us back.
0:42.9	Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast.
0:48.1	My name is Mindy Jensen, and with me as always is my never been to Bali co-host, Scott Trench.
0:52.3	Oh, that sure wasn't nice. Mindy, to a way it redirect to me.
0:54.7	Bigger Pockets has a goal of creating one million millionaires.
0:57.9	You're in the right place if you want to get your financial house in order because we truly believe financial freedom is attainable for everyone, no matter when or where you're starting.
1:02.3	Amy Meekly is a dear friend of mine.
1:04.0	In fact, we just got off a cruise boat three days ago.
1:07.5	And I am so excited to have her on the show today to tell her journey of turning her
1:14.0	teacher's salary into financial independence through geographic arbitrage. Amy, welcome to the show.
1:19.8	I'm so excited to talk to you today. Thank you, Scott and Mindy. I'm so pleased to be here and really
1:24.7	honored to be on your podcast. I've been following you for years and appreciate all that you're doing to advance financial literacy in the world.
1:30.5	Well, Amy, we could not do it without people like you who are willing to share their stories.
1:35.8	Let's talk about your beginning, your financial beginnings. I know you grew up with some
1:41.0	financial insecurity. What did that look like growing up? Sure. You know,
1:45.7	when I was a kid, my dad was an attorney and I had three older sisters who were much older than me.
1:50.7	I was the surprise child later in my parents' life. And so I did have financial security
	...

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