Amy Minkley saved 90 per cent of her teacher salary, in order to retire early. Photo / Supplied
Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how a teacher changed her finances to prioritise travel and spend time with family. Hosted by Frances Cook.
There are many different strategies to reach financial independence, some more extreme than others.
If you have the freedom to travel, it can also mean the opportunity to take your financial strategies to the next level.
That’s what today’s guest did.
She combined seeking out the highest paid jobs in her field from around the world, with a very low cost of living, in order to hit a 90 per cent savings rate.
You read that right – she saved and invested 90 per cent of the money she earned.
That doesn’t mean it was all plain sailing though, because she had some money behaviours that nearly held her back from her dream early retirement.
For the latest podcast I talked to Amy Minkley.
For the interview, listen to the podcast here.
• If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you’d like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I’m on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.
• Listen to the full interview on the Cooking the Books podcast. You can subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Frances Cook has a master’s degree in media studies from Victoria University of Wellington and a level 5 certificate in financial services specialising in investments. She has worked as a journalist for 12 years, first specialising in crime, before moving into politics, and finally business and finance. She is the author of two books on personal finance and is best known for the personal finance podcast, ‘Cooking the Books’.
'Debt becomes more like a rent payment that people get so used to paying.'