One of may life goals has been to retire early and live a comfortable life with little stress.
In Quebec, I was a victim of racial discrimination due to my Hispanic accent. I was never able to find a suitable job, so very early I was forced into entrepreneurship and soon after that I started dreaming of my early retirement.
I embraced the philosophy of FIRE, Financial Independence Retire Early, and 25 years after my arrival in Canada, I achieved. I live a modest life, but I have everything I need. The most important luxury is that I have no boss, and I have no stress at the job. I live with very little and most of my money comes directly from my investments.
Here is how I do it.
Lean FIRE
My net worth right now is about $500,000. Most of my money is invested in three index funds, one for Canada, one for the US, and one international.
If we use the 4% rule, I should be able to withdraw $20,000K/year ($1,667/month) in perpetuity.
How I live.
I live in one of the best neighborhoods in Montreal. It’s called “Le Plateau Mont Royal”. I have a beautiful park 10 minutes walking distance to the east, and another more beautiful park 10 minutes walking distance to the west, and I have the Old Port, 20 minutes walking distance to the south.
The street where I live is pedestrian only; it’s a cobblestone street. There is always some kind of animation or mystical creatures walking around.
Because I have been living in the same apartment for the past 12 years, my rent is low. $815/month.
One of my small pleasures is to go downstairs, to a little park on the corner and drink a beer with my neighbors. (beer from the convenience store $2)
My apartment is what’s called a 3 ½. One bedroom, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. I live on the second floor of a two floor building.
I do my groceries at a small family-owned supermarket where I have been shopping for 12 years and where I know the cashiers and the owners by first name basis. Because I follow a plant based diet, I eat 99% of the time fresh fruit and vegetables. My grocery bill hardly exceeds $10 per day ($300/month). I buy my fruits and vegetables daily.
My main transportation is walking, my red bicycle, public transportation, and about once a month I borrow a Communauto (car sharing service at $10/hour). My total transportation expenses is about $100.
I pay about $100 in electricity,
I share the internet with my neighbors and it comes out to $22/month,
My cell phone cost me about $35/month
I eat at a an assortment of neighborhood restaurants once a week for about $30 week (120/month)
I take one vacation to my home country (Colombia) every January for about $2,000 (170/month). I stay with my family so I don’t pay for a hotel, only airplane tickets, restaurants and alcohol.
So let’s do the accounting.
| Item | Cost |
| Rent | 813 |
| Food | 300 |
| Electricity | 100 |
| Cell phone | 35 |
| Internet | 22 |
| Eating out | 120 |
| Transportation | 100 |
| Vacation | 170 |
| Total | 1,660 |
Additional revenues
I do have a few side hustles. I work as an event photographer where I photograph weddings and live events. I earn about $500/month doing one event per weekend.
I am 50% owner of a dance school called Dance Conmigo where I earn about $500/month.
I have a professional wedding witness service that is unpredictable but I do get clients, and also, I do some personal finance consulting, which is also unpredictable.
In short, I live below my means and every month my net worth grows a little bit.
I don’t feel like I deprive myself of anything. I am happy living my Lean FIRE lifestyle.
