Building sufficient financial resources to retire early may sound like a dream, but making that dream come true is not as hard as it may sound. The main thing is simply to save more money each month. No big deal, right? Well
Usually, advisors advise 15% to 20% of total income saved every month as an objective - yet in the event that you want to retire earlier, you likely need to tighten that number up to 40% or half of your pay. Not a discipline easily practiced when you review or consider that a substantial segment of your paycheck goes to basic, non- negotiable lifestyle needs. But if you are willing to make some serious lifestyle adjustments and trade-offs, it's achievable.
This concept of intensive saving for an early retirement has spawned a movement called FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). Followers of FIRE strive to save up to three-quarters of their income, and make other adjustments too: live in small homes, walk to work each day, practice strict diet plans, and more. Even if this lifestyle may sound a bit unreasonable, the ideas behind it are worth considering.
First, stick with the fundamentals of long-term growth investing: Choose a diversified portfolio of stocks with exposure to different styles, sizes, sectors, and regions.
To accelerate the retirement investment cycle, you can construct a portfolio designed with more risk - and the potential for higher returns - but it should still be appropriately diversified to protect against larger than average market drawdowns that can be difficult to recover from and ruin any chance to accomplish your early retirement goal. There are numerous ways to diversify a portfolio, and how you do so should depend on your age, your risk tolerance, your growth and income needs, and your long-term goals.
Once you have accelerated your savings and put an ongoing plan in place, invest your savings into your portfolio as soon as possible. Don't try to time the market. Leave your portfolio alone, and let the compounding nature of the markets do its magic to help grow your retirement nest egg exponentially over time.
Astute investors pick retirement growth stocks with low beta, strong earnings estimates, positive sales growth, and expected future growth.
The Zacks Rank routinely recognizes lower risk growth retirement portfolio picks, and here are a few that may be worth considering: Equinor (EQNR), Arbor Realty Trust (ABR) and Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI). These growth stocks have strong Zacks Ranks and a beta of 1 or lower, with earnings and sales growth of at least 5% over the past 5 years.
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Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Statoil ASA (OL:EQNR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Zacks Investment Research