Most early retirement advice is about spreadsheets and savings rates. This episode is about the part no one puts in a spreadsheet: what happens when the life you pictured at 22 doesn’t happen, and you build a different one.
On this episode of What I Expected, host Holly Bohn Pittman talks with a friend she calls World Traveler Friend. A former college athlete turned sales leader, she stepped away from her corporate career before 40 and now travels the world, living off dividend income from investments she built herself.
Questions we answer in this episode:
How did she save enough to retire before 40? She kept her lifestyle the same as her income grew. She put her commissions and bonuses straight into her investment account, and rarely checked the balance. “Part of my ability to not spend money was to hide my own money.”
Why pay off a house when the interest rate was only 3%? On paper, the money would have earned more in the market. But for her, paying down the house was the “dopamine hit” that replaced shopping, and that’s what kept her from spending it.
How did she know she had enough? She had a target number, and she still waited until she was 20% past it before she felt ready to step away.
How does living off dividends work? Dividend stocks are usually more mature companies that pay out income regularly, so she budgets around predictable income instead of selling off her investments.
What surprised her most about the first year? Switching from a saving mindset to a spending one, after 17 years of doing the opposite.
What does travel cost when things go wrong? When flights were grounded after a 12-day trek in Nepal, she spent $2,600 on a new flight out without knowing whether her original $3,000 ticket would be refunded. Her point: a financial cushion buys you safety and peace of mind.
What do people assume about her life? That a man paid for it, whether a father, an ex-husband, or a late husband. “Some man had to give me this money for my life. And it’s just simply not true.”
What would she tell a woman whose life isn’t going as planned? Give yourself permission to let go of other people’s expectations. And stop apologizing when your choices make other people uncomfortable.
When Holly asks her closing question, “Did your life turn out the way you expected?”, her answer is immediate: “Absolutely not.” And she’s proud of where she is.
Why a nickname? So many podcasts are on video now, and I think that keeps a lot of important stories from ever being told. Some of the women with the most useful experiences have no interest in having their face and name online. That shouldn’t mean we don’t get to learn from them. So when a guest would rather stay private, I give her a nickname. You get her honest story, and she keeps her privacy.
This episode reflects one person’s experience and is for general educational purposes only. It is not financial advice. Talk with a qualified financial professional about what makes sense for you.
