A Step-by-Step Guide to Retiring in 10 Years or Less With a Full-Time Job

Creating a business is not the only path to financial success.

Most people believe that creating a business is the only way to achieve financial success. However, this statement can be frustrating for many of us because not everybody can be an entrepreneur for multiple reasons:

• We don’t have the same abilities.
• Some people prefer to prioritize living a peaceful life over building a business.
• There will always be a risk that not everyone is willing to take.
• There is a “burnout crisis.”

Above all that, having a successful business is not easy. And we don’t have all the privilege to quit our jobs and start working on something from zero.

For that reason, in today’s article, I will explain how to create wealth while working on your 9 to 5 job. This is a 10-year plan that can lead to financial freedom (or at least be rich enough to do what you want) if you stick with it successfully.

Find a way to save $1000 per month in your first year.

“If humans can figure out how to build a rocket and put astronauts on the moon, you can figure out a way to make an extra $1,000 a month.”

— Andy

Save $1000 per month may sound impossible, especially considering that the minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour.

However, according to the May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wages Estimates by the BLS, the annual average salary in the U.S. is $56,310 ($20.17 per hour). This means that there is probably a job in your expertise area that could pay you more than what you are already earning now.

So you have two options here:

• Find a better job that lets you save the $1000 goal.
• Find something to do that leaves you enough profit to save that $1000 without compromising your current job.

Right now, there are many ways to earn money without leaving your current job that doesn’t compromise your whole time: Freelance work like being a virtual assistant or a one-time work (no more than 10 hours per week), a content creator on several pages like Medium, youtube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. (no more than 10 hours per week).

Each year, find a way to increase your current savings by 20%.

Once you can save $1000 per month, find a way to increase that monthly saving by 20% every year (that’s only 4% more of your current salary, assuming you are saving 20% of it).

According to an article by Forbes, changing jobs will generally get you a 10% to 20% increase in your salary. In comparison, employees who stick at the same company can usually expect a 3% annual raise.

But I’m not saying that you should change your job every year. I lasted five years in my last job, but I was able to get that 20% increase in my savings by doing two things:

• Changing positions / escalating. I started being a junior developer in the previous job I had. Still, I found a way to learn new skills and abilities that let me escalate my current status until I couldn’t climb more.
• I showed them an offer letter from another company. I told them that my interest was to continue in this company since I liked the values and the way of working, and they gave me a salary adjustment.

Also, you can get that 20% increase with a new investment opportunity, an increase in your freelance projects, or a new client.

If you could do that successfully every year, in the 10th year, you will be saving annually $61,917, which will be $311,504 just by saving:

Look for an investment that could give you at least a 10% annual return.

We already know that we could have $311,504 in 10 years just by saving. But we can also have more if we invest. The goal will be to look for an investment that could give you at least a 10% annual return:

• Index funds that track the S&P500 have returned around 11% each year over the last 96 years.
• Staking stable coins on cryptocurrency pages can give you a minimum of 13% return with insurance.
• A 10 stock popular portfolio could give you from 10% to 20% return.

Many other options could give you more than the 10%. The key is to learn and understand what will be the best for you and your security.

If you can achieve at least those 10% returns annually, your $311,504 could be a minimum of $474,935.20:

Every year, find one client willing to pay you at least one-month salary for what you already know.

We all have one area in which we are experts—whether it’s developing software, mowing lawns, teaching at a college, creating house plans, or cleaning up abandoned places.

If we find at least one client willing to pay us a month’s salary for doing a one-time job on something we know about, we can increase our savings to have $500,000 at the end of the 10 years.

For example, I work in a company that pays me a fixed monthly salary in the software area. However, I look for a client who needs a website for their business from time to time. My father was a retired electronic engineer, but he created a course on repairing televisions and air conditioners for technology students who wanted additional income sources every six months.

Final thoughts

Financial freedom is not only for business owners. We can also achieve wealth while working on our 9 to 5 employments. The key is to have our goals clear and work to achieve them.

I know it can be difficult for many people with financial responsibilities, especially starting. But the numbers have shown that it is not impossible for those who do not want to leave their 9 to 5 jobs and want to be millionaires one day.

A company is not always the answer. And some people could be earning more with a good employee if they know what they are doing. So don’t be afraid of “missing a big opportunity” or “financial freedom” because you can also accomplish big things in a full-time job.

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