David Barber and Lindsey Harrison Barber are financially independent but have no plans to retire early. Lindsey Harrison Barber
Lindsey and David Barber save 75 to 80 percent of their income for retirement and their son’s future.
Even though they have enough to retire early, the millennial couple wants to continue working.
They said they worked too many long days to simply sell their companies and retire.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.
Lindsey Harrison Barber, 34, and her husband David Barber, 35, are financially independent. You have enough money to retire early. But none of them have any intention of slowing down.
Lindsey is the owner of a marketing agency and David is the owner of an insurance agency. Together they generate eight-figure sales. They set aside a six-figure sum each year for retirement and their son. They save about 75 to 80 percent of their income, according to financial documents obtained by Business Insider.
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No retirement, but lots of flexibility and freedom
Although they have the means to retire and travel, both say retirement would be at odds with everything they have worked toward for the past decade. “We’re very conscious of the flexibility that we have and so there’s really no reason for us to retire because we can enjoy the life that we created through the hard work that we did ten, 15 years ago invested, created,” said Lindsey.
They make time for a personal trainer, eat lunch together and spend time with their son between work hours. You’re not working toward a bigger house. Instead, they say they see little reason to rush into the next big thing if they’re happy with what they have.
“I almost feel like we live like we’re retired to a certain extent because we have the flexibility and the freedom, but at the end of the day we’re not; we’re still working,” Lindsey said.
Many Americans are working toward becoming financially independent. This is often defined as the point at which you have enough money to cover all living expenses without having to go back to work. Some are part of the FIRE movement — stands for “financial independence, retire early” or “financial independence, early retirement”. Others are refraining from early retirement, whether to continue building generational wealth or to move into a less stressful role that still gives them something to do.
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Growing agencies and wealth
David grew up lower middle class. His father was a manager at a retail store and his mother stayed home to care for the children. The family moved to North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky and Ohio because of his father’s work. His father eventually moved into the insurance industry and raised his children with the philosophy of thrift.
David says he has been working since he was 16, starting at a grocery store working 25 to 30 hours a week during high school. During his studies, he acquired his insurance driver’s license so that he could work part-time. He financed his studies with a small contribution from his parents and is debt-free.
Lindsey, who grew up middle class, said her mother, who worked for a nonprofit for drug addicts, was her role model for working hard and making a difference. Her father traveled a lot for work and eventually opened a lawn mowing business on the side.
During her studies she completed internships in marketing and PR agencies. Immediately after graduating, she got a job in communications. She used her contacts to open her own full-service marketing agency in 2014.
They used to work up to 90 hours a week
Lindsey said that even though she was making good money on the leadership team at her previous company, she wanted to take a big risk. She started with one client who paid her $1,400 per month and slowly grew her client base. Ultimately, she went from just social media marketing to a full-service agency within the first five months.
Lindsey said her goal was to achieve stability as quickly as possible so she could help her husband get started with his new insurance agency. Sometimes they stayed up until three in the morning to work. Since becoming financially independent, both have a better work-life balance.
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“I wanted him to be able to work without feeling like I was in the way, and vice versa,” she says. “We had a really good balance when we started our businesses, which now gives us the flexibility to spend more time with our son and not necessarily go out at eight in the morning and work 90 hours.”
Although he didn’t make much money in his first few years, he was able to grow his customer base through word of mouth and referrals. Today his agency employs eight people.
“There were a lot of 70, 80, 90 hour weeks in which we toiled because the agency was founded from scratch. “It was zero dollars when we started and we’ve built it to the size it is now in the 11 years since it opened,” says David.
Achieving financial independence
At the beginning of their journey to financial independence, Lindsey and David lived far below their means. They spent only what was necessary and invested in their businesses. Both knew that they wanted to have a solid nest egg by the time they turned 30 so that they could theoretically retire or take on less responsibility at work.
The couple bought a home in 2016 and recently bought an eight-bedroom beach house in North Carolina, which they operate as a short-term rental. David says they were lucky that they bought their homes at the right time, as both homes have almost doubled in value, although they attribute their luck in part to how quickly they decided to buy the home.
Despite the success of their businesses, both said their philosophy on saving hasn’t changed much. They said they don’t even think about retiring until their mid-40s, even if they are financially independent. Even then, they still want to work in consulting or financial advice.
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With coupons in the supermarket
Aside from their home and beachfront rental property, they have no other debt and have low mortgage rates on both. “Buying property has enabled us to be where we are now, but I think we were very strategic in the early years by keeping our heads down and being very conscious with the money says Lindsey.
Even though they are financially independent, the two still stick to some of their savings strategies, like using coupons to save on coffee and groceries. Lindsey says she still finds herself buying a $30 handbag when she doesn’t need it.
“We often see people on the internet showing off their stuff and talking about how much money they make and giving these arbitrary numbers and it makes us laugh because we could do that too, but we just don’t,” says Lindsey.
However, they still spend money on large purchases that have personal meaning to them, such as: B. an “astronomical sum” for the North Carolina State Final Four game. They try not to compromise on quality when purchasing food and invest in their long-term health.
“It’s just interesting how we go in somewhere and clip coupons, but when there’s something that could be a life experience, we don’t even think twice about it,” she said.
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