Here's how a couple with two kids saved enough money to retire at age 40

Friday, November 1, 2019
Here's how a couple with two kids saved enough money to retire at age 40
Here's how a couple with two kids saved enough money to retire at age 40

One couple from San Francisco is proving that early retirement is indeed possible.

They're part of the group of people joining what's called the FIRE Movement.

Christina and Amon Browning have two kids -- Sunoa and Melea.

They're already retired at just 40 years old.

"I was making $98,000 a year and Christina was making about $70,000," Amon said.

Now they're living their retirement dream in Portugal.

So, how did they make it happen?

They're part of the FIRE Movement -- which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early.

It's all about maximizing savings and generating passive income so your money works for you instead of the other way around.

"There's more to life than just sitting in my cubicle," Amon said.

"When he told me that I was like, 'ok, I've never heard of this, this sounds so bizarre,' but it was like maybe we can do this," said Christina.

The Brownings were able to save more than $2 million in just 8 years by investing 70 percent of their income, flipping fixer uppers, trading in their expensive BMW for a used minivan and earning thousands more while driving for Uber and Lyft.

They've been sharing their journey along the way with over 100,000 followers on YouTube and Instagram.

"We just thought this would be a pretty fun project to do," said Christina. "Share our story, share our journey and reach people and tell them there's an alternative to working these long hours."

Now they spend their days eating breakfast as a family, walking their daughters to school, traveling and learning Portuguese.