Meet the couple who retired in their 30s.

Meet the couple who retired in their 30s. Yes, you read that right. Two relatively ordinary people, with relatively ordinary jobs, who made a decision to save all their pennies to quit working – for ever – and travel the world.

Now, they have a baby along for the ride, but they’re still going.

It may sound like a glamorous fantasy that only a Kardashian could aspire to. But Jeremy Jacobson and Winnie Tseng retired at 38 and 34, and now they’re on Mamamia’s This Glorious Mess podcast talking about it. So, how on earth did they do it?

The not-so-glamorous reality is that they worked their behinds off for 10 years and saved 70 per cent of their combined yearly wage of around US$135,000 ($187,690).

That meant no trips to the movies, no eating out and scrimping like a Depression-era housewife. It was challenging admits Winnie, who is now a mum to 11-month-old Julian, but surprisingly do-able. “After a few years we realised early retirement was possible if we tried really, really extra hard to reach our target,” she says.

By 2012 they’d reached that target. A whopping $1 million purely in savings. What’s more, they made another $1 million buying US and international stocks investing in Vanguard index funds. They also cheerfully ditched the American/Australian/world dream of owning a house. They chose to rent and invest instead and say they’re proof the strategy works.

For the last four years Jeremy and Winnie have been on a permanent holiday, travelling the world – yes even with a newborn – visiting places such as Mexico, Central America, Malaysia and Thailand. They’re able to live off the dividends from investments – about $4000 a month.

The pair reckon most people can retire in their 30s as long as they’re on a reasonable combined wage and save around 50 per cent of it. But the key is to start early when you’re in your 20s, before kids and other expenses weigh you down and make sure you’re debt-free. “From the time you start you’ll be able to retire in about 15 years’ time if you invest as well,” says Jeremy. “However the majority of people who can save 50 per cent, won’t. They don’t want to wait for a car or more furniture.”

Check out some of their travels here…

Financial experts would probably agree that Winnie and Jeremy are no ordinary couple. “Not many people analyse their bank statements to see how their money is allocated and figure out how to save more,” says Victor Sun from Fox Symes and Associates, who provide budgeting and debt advice. “Not many have that amount of discipline.”

However Victor agrees any goal, however lofty, can be achieved through diligent budgeting. “Budgeting is critical if people want to go on trips, buy a house or retire early. However you have to be really disciplined. It’ll only work if you’re committed to it.”

Winnie and Jeremy’s remarkable story began back in 2002 when Jeremy was working for Microsoft in Seattle. The hardware engineer, who’d grown up in a financially struggling household, had laboured for six years, sometimes pulling 80-hour working weeks to doggedly pay off a $40,000 student loan and credit card debt whilst maintaining a mortgage. That year, with his debt finally paid off, he was able to take his first-ever holiday to the Philippines.

“By the time the vacation was over I was thinking how can I do this permanently for the rest of my life?” he says. “I wrote a business plan. I was super naïve, but knew I had to reduce costs and invest.”

The following year on a business trip to Beijing love blossomed when he met Winnie, an account manager at an electronics firm. Having grown up in dire poverty, and spending two years in an orphanage after her parents’ divorce, Winnie shared Jeremy’s early retirement dream and knew she had the frugal skills and willpower to achieve it.

Jeremy got a transfer to Winnie’s hometown of Taipei, Taiwan, where they began life on the cheap before relocating back to Seattle in 2007 living off a budget of around $2000 or less a month. By then Jeremy had sold his house (for a modest $100,000 profit), and the couple moved to a one-bedroom rented apartment for $225 a week.

“We didn’t want to run a car, so got an apartment near work, grocery stores and a farmer’s market,” explains Jeremy. “I rode a bike to work, we prepared simple meals at home and bought a lot of food from the market. We bought our furniture from craigslist second hand.” Instead of expensive nights out, they met friends in parks or went to fun “soup nights” where people would each bring a soup to sample in someone’s home.

So do the couple, who are next planning a Europe trip, still envisage a life of constant travel when they’re senior citizens? “Who knows, perhaps we will be partying even more!” laughs Winnie. Jeremy agrees and adds they don’t miss working at all. “We never get bored. But then again we’re not sitting on a sofa watching Netflix and getting pizza delivery. We’re living a rich rewarding life.”

You can listen to the whole episode of This Glorious Mess with the best bits of the show over the past year here:

Read more about Jeremy and Winnie’s travels and money saving tips on their blog.