Retiring at 40, one peanut butter and jelly sandwich at a time

By Erika Angulo, TODAY

To most thirtysomethings, retirement is a distant dream. But Jason Fieber, 30,?of Sarasota, Florida, believes the dream of quitting work for good, traveling the world and playing golf is just 10 years away.

A car dealership service department clerk, Fieber, who lives in a city that's home to many retirees, told TODAY.com he'll be ready to join their ranks at age 40.

Fieber has been working towards retirement since he had "an epiphany" while balancing his checkbook online. After adding up his savings and subtracting his student loan debt, he was broke. "I was working and working and working and just digging myself a bigger hole," he said. "I felt like I was going nowhere."

He decided to start by paying fewer taxes. He found a job in Sarasota and moved from Michigan to state-tax-free Florida. The weather made waiting for public transportation bearable, so he sold his car and started taking the bus to work, saving on insurance and maintenance. That first year, Fieber halved his grocery bill, to $120 dollars a month, by replacing steak and potatoes with noodles and sandwiches.

"For dinner it was peanut butter and jelly a lot,? he said. ?Occasionally I would mix in some deli meat, when I felt like splurging," he said. He has since added rice and beans, and today spends between $200 and $250 monthly.?

"I try to save 60 to 70 percent of my net income every month," said Fieber, who earns about $50,000 a year. He spends $900 on rent, $200 on student loans, and $50 on transportation.?

Fieber shares learnings?on his blog, where his bio reads: "Trying to retire by 40 by investing in dividend growth stocks and living frugally, valuing time over money."

"Time is to me the most precious commodity we all have," he said. "We are given a very limited amount of it and people tend to trade it away so easily for stuff. And I value my time more than stuff, typically." ?

He has a girlfriend who shares his frugal sensibilities, and hopes his retirement will coincide with his parents', so they can take long trips together and play golf.?

Fieber plans to live off the dividends he expects his stocks will pay. "Money works 24/7," joked Fieber. "Money works weekends and one day will be working when I'm not working."

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a8e7e08/l/0Llifeinc0Btoday0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C10A0C17685840A0Eretiring0Eat0E40A0Eone0Epeanut0Ebutter0Eand0Ejelly0Esandwich0Eat0Ea0Etime0Dlite/story01.htm

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