At ELFIN, we are fans of the FIRE (financially independent & retire early) movement. Did you know that ELFIN was first called “fire for women”? After all, we want to inspire you to become financially independent too! And inspiration also comes with role models, doesn’t it? Therefore, in this series, we interview women who are actively engaged in their FIRE journey. How are they addressing this? What does FIRE mean to them? What do they run into and what is their tip for you? This edition we ask Sharon how her journey is going.
Tell us a little about yourself!
I am Sharon 37 years old and born and living in the eastern part of the country. There I live with my partner and daughter of 6. At a young age, my mother and I were on welfare. So I know what it is like to have to turn every dime. That’s why I knew at a young age: I’m going to take care of myself and I’m going to make sure I realize sufficient income. More income than expenses became my hobbyhorse.
What does financially independent mean to you? Are you going for early retirement or are you more of the “regular sabbatical” variety?
For me, it means that I can choose to work and not that I have to work. I don’t have to deal with vacations with an employer so if I spontaneously decide to do something fun one day, I can. As a family, we love traveling immensely. We have already been on two world trips. The first time in 2014 with the 2 of us and in 2019 together with our daughter of then 4. On December 25, 2021, our third trip around the world with the three of us will start. For me, having the freedom to be able to do this is financial independence.
How and when did you come into contact with FIRE?
I came across some articles on Fire last November; I had not heard of this term before. Funny, because I had been unconsciously living according to the “rules” of fire for a long time. I have been a member of the ELFIN community since the beginning of this year. I personally find it very fun and inspiring to read how others approach their fire journey and what their goals are.
What were your first steps you took?
I have always saved from a young age. I always make sure more money comes in than goes out. This is a basic principle of fire and because of my experience in my youth I am very strict about it. Otherwise, I am not very materialistic and don’t buy a lot of stuff. Rather, I spend money on what really brings me joy: the trips we take with the family.
And we’re curious: how far along are you now? Are you almost FIRE yet?
In 2014, we went on our first trip around the world. I had burnout, got laid off and thought, I’m going on a trip. What’s still holding me back? During this journey, both I and my partner figured out that we wanted to build passive income, but how?
By now we had some money in reserve when a good friend of my partner approached us about buying a newly built apartment in a small village in Salland. As an investment. I had never heard of this village and, moreover, I had zero knowledge of real estate. Still, we decided to jump into the deep end.
We bought our first real estate property in 2015, and over the years we’ve been able to expand that to more. We slowly started expanding our investments and building our portfolio. We are now FIRE, however, we continue to become more sustainable and we are still learning every day also in terms of new possibilities.
We rented out the apartment for 2.5 years and then sold it. In 2016, we bought our2nd apartment. Meanwhile, we were able to get financing with our other apartment as collateral. That’s when the ball started rolling. After our second world trip in 2019, we bought several properties, the so-called leverage we applied. For us, it was initially an investment for our retirement but now we can also live on it.
Psst: would you also like to learn how to invest in real estate? For ELFIN members, Myrthe de Groot gives master classes on real estate investing. You can sign up here.
What do you mean by preserving?
I now look more at investments that also add value. By that I mean that in our real estate investments we look at how to make the homes as “good” as possible. Renew electrics, floor heating, insulation, new window frames and more. In this way, we create a nice sustainable home for the tenant and this is also good for ourselves because then you have less to look after a property. If we get it right now we won’t have any major maintenance in the coming years.
What do you dream of when you have achieved FIRE?
The dream was to go on a world trip, and our third world trip starts at the end of the year. I realize it’s really quite unique that we can just do this and make it happen. Working because you can and not because you have to. So I am living my dream!
Do you have an ultimate tip for other women for handling money in your journey to FIRE?
Make a clear plan or goal for yourself what you want to achieve. Also, make this goal quantitative and write it out. Then it’s in black and white and you know what you’re doing it for. The road to this is hard work and you will have to make concessions. When you are struggling, grab your goal again and try to imagine how it feels when you have accomplished it. If you want it, go for it! It’s worth it.
