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By 39, he had enough passive income toretire early.
Heres how he did it, and the tough lessonshe learned along the way.
The Wake-Up Call
I remember counting quarters for gas, Thompson remarked of his early days.
That hit me hard.
People laughed when I brown-bagged my lunch and rode the bus.
But after two years, I had $22,000 saved up.
That was my seed money.
Four years of no social life, he admitted.
But my starting salary in tech support was $45,000.
I kept living like I was making minimum wage though.
I lived in one unit, fixed up the other and rented it out.
My housing cost was basically zero after the rental income.
He repeated this pattern six times over the next eight years.
I put $2,000 a month into low-cost index funds, starting when I was 22.
By 39, just that account was worth over $900,000.
The market did most of the heavy lifting.
But the principles work in any market: Live below your means, invest consistently and createmultiple income streams.
I ate a lot of ramen to get here.
Life Now
At 39, Thompsons days are his own.
Im not sitting on a beach somewhere.
I still work on my properties and do some consulting.
The difference is, I do it because I want to, not because I have to.
His grandmothers advice still guides him.
She passed away last year, but she got to see me retire early.
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