Sometimes you're better off focusing your energy on getting a promotion at your day job than starting a side hustle. Would you agree?

Tanja appears once again on the podcast! This time, with a new book! Tanja retired at the age of 38 and 2018 was her first year of retirement. She describes it as a year full of travel, family visiting and writing her book. She also describes her interesting after tax saving strategy that separates her pension money from her FI money.

You'll love her story.

We also chat about...

Tanja's first year of early retirement
Her after tax saving strategy
Where the bulk of her savings are
Her fitness side hustle and why dropping it was the best thing she did
Her new book Work Optional, Retire Early

Enjoy this chat with Tanja, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Tanja's blog: Our Next Life
Tanja's new book: Work Optional, Retire Early the Non Penny-Pinching Way
The Fairer Cents podcast
FIREDrill episode with Tanja: Making Huge Impacts in the FI Community
Book: How to Retire Early
Choose FI Episode 112: Naseema Financially Intentional | How I Paid off 1 Million in Debt
Camp FI
Ecuador Chautauqua

Key takeaways from our chat with Tanja
1 - Time goes by slowly when you're free
Tanja tells Gwen and J what an amazing year she's had as an early retiree. She finally feels free and able to do what she wants, even if she's on a stricter budget. She had a lot of stuff going on, and yet the year went by slowly and she enjoyed it much more than if she was buried in work. She was able to attend the events that she wanted, visited more family and was able to write her newly released book. So far, early retirement is going pretty well!
2 - You'll probably need way more money when you're older
Tanja has an interesting after tax savings strategy. She doesn't know what her life will look like in 30 years, so she has one fund (her pension fund) in her 401k which she isn't planning on taking out until she's 59 1/2 years old. She has another fund which she has calculated will last her until she reaches 59 1/2 saved in taxable accounts. She argues that she would rather have a big cushion when she's older, and her aim when saving up was 30 times annual expenses. She says you won't regret putting aside more for your older years.
3 - A side hustle isn't always a good idea
An interesting argument; sometimes you're better off focusing on your main job and increasing your chances of a promotion rather than building your own side hustle. Tanja's side hustle was teaching yoga and spinning, which she says is a great side hustle: it's pretty easy to get a certificate, you get to work out and build a community and you make a not too bad $20/hour wage. However, if you focus on your job and get a $10,000 promotion... sometimes that's more worth it. It really depends on what you're potentially trading for with a side hustle.
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