Welcome to the Late Starter to FI series!
I am a Late Starter – I did not discover FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) concept until I was 47. This was way later, I thought than others who seem to have it all together in their 20s and 30s.
Since I started to write about my own journey, I have discovered there are many more Late Starters like me, yay! It is such a relief knowing I am not alone.
I want to share our stories, our unique perspectives and show that it is absolutely not too late for us.
So in this series, I particularly highlight those of us who start our FI journeys in our 40s, 50s and 60s. And explore questions such as ‘where do we start’, ‘can we still retire early(ish)’, ‘what are the specific challenges for us late starters’. We look at our past, not to castigate ourselves but so that you can learn from us.
Please join in the conversation in the comments below. I encourage you to share your story if you fit the profile of a late starter. You absolutely don’t have to be a blogger or podcaster to share your story.
Please email me at info@latestarterfire.com or connect with me on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram.
And if you’ve missed any of the previous stories, you can catch up here – Late Starter to FI Series
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I’m excited that today’s Late Starter, Mrs ETT agreed to share her story. She’s a frequent commenter on this blog (thank you!) and used to blog at Enough Time To.
I didn’t realise that our stories had a lot of similarities, one of which was that we’d both paid off our homes when we found FIRE.
Mrs ETT no longer blogs at her site so please comment below as a way of connecting with her.
A little about me

Feeling Overwhelmed?
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Childhood memories of money
Lightbulb moment
Our financial situation then
First steps on the path to FI

How far along the path to FI are we now?
How did COVID affect our strategy?
Specific challenges or advantages of starting late
Time is the challenge. But as I said above, even when you think you don’t have enough time, you might be completely surprised at what you can achieve.
“Early” is relative. When we first started FIRE, our initial goal was to retire before pension age, at 67. Then it dropped to 60. Now our stretch goal is 55. If you’d told me that in 2016, I would have laughed and laughed.
Starting late means we have life skills, and a whole range of contacts. Hopefully we have more experience in research and the ability to take a balanced look at things.
Depending on our past, we might be earning more than we’ve ever done. And if nothing else, maybe we can look back at our pre-FIRE selves and enjoy the memories of what we did with the money back then 😀
What's next?
Figuring out whether we continue to push for the next five years, or whether we slow down and take a Flamingo FI approach. Or maybe some balance between the two. Continue to read and listen to others in the FIRE community, and to share the concept in person where there’s some interest. Maybe one day I’ll begin blogging again!
Back to Latestarterfire
Thank you, Mrs ETT for sharing your story!
It’s interesting to read about your childhood money memories and how that has shaped you as a saver. It reminds me that we can unwittingly pass on our money stories to the younger generation.
I totally agree with you that it’s “gob smacking how simply having a plan and implementing it can grow your money so significantly.” It’s hard to envision it when we first begin our FIRE journey. And that’s why it’s so important to just start anyway.
I think we are at the same stage of our FIRE journey. I know exactly what you mean by the long, boring middle 🙂 You can see that the end is in sight. But you’re not quite there yet.
I feel your questions keenly – “If we let go a bit, can we still reach FI at 55? Will our FIRE number increase if we start spending more?” because these are the same questions I ask myself.
It’s all a balancing act and I can’t wait to see what you decide in the end. Whatever you decide, you’ll have enough time to spend in nature and visit wineries 🙂
Mts ETT. I’ll save you some time.
Listen to Aussie Firebug’s interview with the “Die With Zero” guy and you’ll get the gist of the whole book. After I heard the interview, I then read the book.
I got all I needed to know about the concept from the pod.https://www.aussiefirebug.com/bill-perkins/
Oops. Typo.
It was a great episode 🙂
Thanks FDJ – will do!
We are in the boring middle part with a 5-6 year horizon and like Mrs. ETT said, it’s hard to stay focussed on the now rather than the future and really live for today. I’m thrilled we are on track for an early retirement but that 5 or so years is dragging.
How to enjoy everyday now is the big question.
But it’s a good question and a good ‘problem’ to have!
The years will fly by 🙂 And when you reach ‘the end’, it’ll be another beginning … and you’ll have a better idea of what you’re doing because you’ve had this time to discover what you enjoy & love doing.
“…you’ll have a better idea of what you’re doing because you’ve had this time to discover what you enjoy & love doing.” This is so true. We are building up our connections with groups now, and we both intend to still be doing those activities when we FIRE.
Exactly, Lisa. I didn’t feel like this until the last 12 months or so. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy my life now, I do! I enjoy parts of my job, and we have plenty going on socially and with activities & travel. But I can’t help but imagine when I have the time to do more of both.
Congratulations on making it this far, let’s hope we can both share good new stories in 2028!
I’m a late starter. 40 this year and female. Husband is 40 and I’m trying to get him to read a book on FIRE from Dave Gow. I’m probably 6 weeks in. We have been barefoot investors for ages. We have $25k in emergency money. We are excellent at budgeting. Including the emergency money, bill budget & savings there is $90k on the offset. But we never had a retirement plan. We still have a $500k mortgage. I think the plan will be to keep the mortgage ticking over and push the investing in shares side. I’ve been putting $500/ft into shares the last 2 months but definitely need my partner to come on board too. About to go on a holiday so will buy him Dave’s book to read ✌️
That is an excellent plan – to have your partner on board and reading Dave’s book is definitely a great start 🙂
Honestly, as you are already excellent savers and budgeters a la Barefoot – once you have a plan, you’ll be fine.
Also, don’t discount superannuation – you’re closer to the age when you can access it and the tax advantage is great.
Just bear in mind that many of the FIREes are young and see super as a bonus only.
But late starters like us, by the time we’ve accumulated our savings/investment and ready to retire, we’ll only have a decade or less before we can access super.
This is NOT financial advice – please do your research
Fantastic, Cara. It took me over 12 months to get Mr. ETT on board, and I’ll always be the driving force. It’s difficult at the beginning because you don’t see much progress and it’s still not a mainstream approach. But now he too can see how far we’ve come, it makes a big difference. Some of his mates have even come to him to talk about money and budgeting! You’ve got all the skills and tools to make this work for you.
Dave’s book Strong Money Australia is awesome, super simple and straightforward. Ive gifted dozens of copies to friends and family, hopefully they read them lol
Thanks for sharing your backstory, Mrs ETT, it was an enjoyable read. I reckon I’m CoastFI but that’s not what I’m going for – hopefully only a few years away from ‘normal’ FIRE although I won’t be mortgage-free by then but that’s ok, it’s part of my plan. With recent increases in the cost of living however, I’ve found that I’ve had to move my FIRE goalposts further away as I can’t put away as much as I would like. Still need to live for today while keeping an eye on the end goal.
BTW LSF – been having trouble finding your blog for some reason – I must have had a dodgy link but hi again 🙂