As of: February 23, 2024, 11:20 a.m
By: Michelle Brey
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Frugalists live frugally and invest their savings.
Your goal: early retirement.
But they are not met with approval everywhere.
Frankfurt – It sounds tempting and at the same time almost too good to be true: retire at the age of 40.
Frugalists pursue precisely this interest.
Discussions about the end of retirement at 63 or the statutory retirement age are irrelevant to them.
The countermovement to the conventional world of work is causing a controversial debate on social media.
What is meant by frugalism?
The term frugalism comes from the Latin word “frugalis”.
This means “economical”.
The same movement exists in the English-speaking world - just under a different name.
It’s called FIRE, which stands for “Financial Independence Retire Early.”
As
Volksbank
and
Sparkasse
inform, frugalism is about a modest lifestyle and efforts to save money.
Frugalists aim to retire before the statutory retirement age.
“I simply spend less money than I earn in my job and save the difference.”
Oliver Noelting on his website frugalisten.de
Humility as the key to financial independence at 40?
Frugalism goes beyond thrift.
In addition to saving, the focus is on investments.
ETFs are the preferred investment instrument.
In addition, a good instinct for calculation is probably required.
Frugalism also means that finances have to be planned.
Retiring at 40 – Who can live as a frugalist?
“As a concept of life, frugalism is not limited to certain income classes,” Noelting told
Wirtschaftswoche
.
He made it clear: Frugalism is equally suitable for low earners and high earners.
However, frugalist Florian Wagner added to the paper that for many people a profitable job is the basis.
Opinions on frugalism are divided – “You can dream about it”
Many people doubt the feasibility of the frugalist principle.
A controversial debate broke out under a Facebook posting by
Wirtschaftswoche
.
Many people express their skepticism there.
“Retiring at 40 is not very realistic for most people because the time to save is far too short,” said one user.
Another user has a similar point of view.
“Exactly, already retired at 40... what planet do these people actually live on?” is one indignant-sounding comment.
“Most people don’t even start working in this so-called scene before the age of 30.” Frugalists are the future recipients of citizens’ benefits, according to another user’s harsh verdict.
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If you want to retire at 40, you have to plan it well.
(Symbolic image) © Alena Kuznetsova/Imago
But there are also voices that defend the frugalist principle.
“This works,” claims one user.
Another commented less convinced: “Well, you can probably dream about that.” Wagner and Noelting don’t just dream, they live according to the frugalist principle.
They seem happy with their decision.
And think about how much pension is left over with a gross monthly salary of 3,500 euros.
Whether they can actually retire at the age of 40 remains an open question.
After all, both have not yet reached the age of 2024.
(mbr)
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion.
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