12 People Who Retired Young (and How They Did It)

© Jillian Johnsrud

Jillian Johnsrud

Being incredibly frugal helped Jillian Johnsrud retire at age 32 from a sales job and her husband, Adam, take an early medical retirement at 35 from the Army. “We never earned a lot of income, so we had to be really freaking scrappy and focused to get here,” said Johnsrun, who blogs about her financial freedom and frugal living at Montana Money Adventures.

She and her husband managed to save $100,000 by age 24 by stashing all of her earnings and living on just his $1,800 monthly paycheck from the Army. They continued to save, their investments grew thanks to compound interest, and they used some of that money to buy a rental property. Then with the income from that rental property, they bought another, Johnsrud said.

Monthly rental income of $1,250 and her husband’s monthly military retirement benefit of $1,450 is enough to support them in their early retirement — along with their five children — because they keep costs low. “We rarely buy stuff or feel a need to spend money to be happy,” she said.