Millionaire Librarian

Personal finance is simple: it is income minus expenses, then investing the difference. You can either grow your income or minimize your expenses; honestly, it is best to do a little of both. The librarian profession isn’t the highest-paying career. We generally earn a similar amount to, or a little less than, teachers—despite requiring a master’s degree. However, I chose federal librarianship, a path that pays slightly more, and I opted to live in areas where my income was disproportionately high for the location. This was my primary secret to retiring early.

Federal incomes scale up or down slightly based on an area’s cost of living. In my opinion, the high end of that scale was not enough to afford certain locations. In Washington, D.C., I would perhaps make $10,000 more a year, but housing would be much more expensive and the commute much longer. However, if you pick the right “cheap” location, you can put considerable distance between your income and your expenses.

One of my first well-paying federal positions was as a library director in Korea. Though this position paid a little more than my previous one, the best benefit was free housing and utilities. In a little more than a year, I was able to save enough for a down payment on a house and still have a large amount of money left over.

The next area where I lived was near Montgomery, Alabama. I bought a great house for $120,000 and aggressively started paying it off. Though it would have been optimal to invest that money, paying off the house wasn’t a bad option. It was in Alabama that my investments really gained momentum.

Next, I worked and lived in Oklahoma, which did wonders for my finances. I was well past my first $100,000, and my investments were truly compounding. I bought a 1950s two-bedroom, one-bathroom house there for $60,000 that needed a little work. I bought this house knowing it would make a great rental one day, with its wood floors, brick exterior, and low-maintenance yard. This house eventually became a “workhorse” rental.

Almost immediately, I was able to max out my retirement accounts. On a 15-year mortgage, my payment was lower than $500 a month after insurance and taxes. The money I had made in previous years was compounding in the background. The plan was working, and the slower pace of the country meant it was sustainable and enjoyable. I was shoveling thousands of dollars into investments each month thanks to my cheap house and non-existent car loan. Small expenses matter, but big expenses—like housing and transportation—matter much more.

Federal positions are a great way to earn a good income in an affordable area. On the military base where I worked, there were plumbers, electricians, aircraft maintenance technicians, and hundreds of white-collar middle management positions, all earning good incomes. Many people inflated their lifestyles with big houses and luxury cars that ate up most of that income. However, the opportunity was there to live on much less than they earned and retire very early.