This couple retired in their 30s in 1991 and have no regrets: 'It just keeps getting better'
In 1989, Billy and Akaisha Kaderli decided they wanted to ? and could afford to ? retire early.
"We were both working our asses off," Billy tells CNBC Make It, and they realized they didn't want to keep going that way until they reached a "normal" retirement age or couldn't physically work anymore.
Billy was a trained French chef and the couple owned a restaurant in Santa Cruz, California. Around 1985, Billy had burnt out on cooking commercially and was recruited to work in investment banking ? "one of the easiest jobs I ever did," he says.
After making some decent money and investing on their own, the couple took a look at their finances and estimated how much they would need to fully retire.
"We were heavily investing as much as we could, tracking our spending to find out what we were spending on ourselves ? and we realized we had enough at that time," Billy says.
They took two more years to plan before actually retiring in 1991, when they were both 38, and had $500,000 invested. Adjusted for inflation, that principal would be worth nearly $1.2 million today.
This was before the FIRE movement ? which is short for financial independence, retire early ? hit the mainstream. Today, there are numerous online blogs, resources and communities dedicated to FIRE. But in 1991, the internet itself was still in its early stages.
"We had so much going on with obligations ? work, bills and competition in California in terms of homes and cars and vacations and stuff. We wanted to do something different," Akaisha says. "We were very freedom-oriented people."
For over three decades now, the Kaderlis have been enjoying their retirement, traveling around the world and documenting their experiences on their blog.
They've weathered major market shake-ups like the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic without ever regretting their decision to stop working. Here's how they know early retirement was the best path for their lives.
