Is FIRE Possible with a Large Family?

How to Achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early with a Large Family

Most things written about financial independence and retiring early is from white males. In more recent years, other voices have come through, often still single or double incomes before kids, or with only one kid.

In my experience, it is much easier to achieve financial goals without children but as someone with 4 kids, that isn’t the journey I’m taking. We have 2 daughters from my first marriage, my partner’s daughter from his first marriage and a son together. Aged 13, 12, 7 and less than 6 months.

My partner comes from Vanuatu and in his culture, it is expected you support the parents in their later years. Vanuatu does not have an aged pension, welfare or many of the things we have here. Incomes are extremely low so even with some retirement savings, it is impossible to live off, let alone aim for a large retirement nest egg.

Also, it is not uncommon for the wealthier family members or those in a better location to support nieces and nephews through school. His parents supported numerous cousins of his and still do. Since his sister has two children, it is possible we will have not only our kids but hers at some point too.

Our situation and FIRE goals are different to most.

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What can you do to Achieve FIRE with a Large Family?

Knowing what you want, creating a plan of action and going for it are with commitment is how. You might not achieve it as fast as someone who doesn’t have kids or your expenses but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Please remember to live life still! Don’t scrimp and save on everything, sacrificing fun memories with your kids in an effort to retire early. I see too many families cutting off everything, not really living in an effort to retire a year earlier or 5 years earlier. Your kids will remember their childhoods. If you are off working 24/7 or constantly side hustling and cutting corners so they never get to do anything, they will remember it.

A strong relationship with your kids is more important than retiring a few years earlier. Always aim for a balance between reaching your goal of retiring at a certain point with having great times as a family.

What we do for Family Fun

Having time with your family and lots of fun doesn’t have to cost a fortune. A few key things we do are:

• Friday Family Fun Night: an activity as a family, usually on a Friday night. Every week, we do an activity together. It might be watching a movie on Netflix with treats, going for a hike, the beach until midnight, any activity we enjoy. The point is, our kids know that every week we have a few hours doing something as a family and they look forward to it all week.
• Dinner Together: every night we have dinner as a family. We often cook these meals together too.
• Grateful and Compliments: at dinner we all list 3 things we are grateful for plus a compliment for each other. With the compliments, it is about catching each other doing something good and recognising it rather than superficial compliments.
• Family Travel: we are a family that loves travel. So much so, that we have side hustles based on it. Family travel doesn’t need to be expensive, most of ours is free but our kids have the best memories. Check out free campsites for weekends away, stay with friends and family interstate, go on a random road trip.
• Private Conversations: at any time, our kids can ask either one of us for a private conversation and the whole family will respect that and give us space to talk.
• One On One Time: I try to take the kids out individually, even if just for a walk on the beach together. Having that one on one time with me makes a huge difference to the relationship.

All of these things add up and have ensured our children are emotionally stable, confident and happy to work towards our goals. They aren’t constantly asking for new things and we don’t feel the need to buy them things because they get our time.

Find a balance between work, side hustles, reaching FIRE and the time with your family.

Sort Out Your Budget

Go over all your expenses, your income and plans. Create a proper spending plan to tell your money where to go before it lands in your account. Be sure to include regular savings and investing as part of your budget. Treat them as a bill instead of an afterthought. They should be paid first and work with the rest of your income for everything else.

Look at ways to cut back and as you do, transfer those extra amounts to savings or investments. If you are hopeless with money, try using the envelope system to begin with so you use cash and physically see the money go.

What is the Envelope System?

Multiple envelopes for different expenses are used. Take out the cash amount you set aside in your budget for each area e.g. groceries, petrol, bills and once you have spent the cash, it’s gone. For every purchase, put the receipt into the envelope so you can properly track where and how you spend your money.

For many people, seeing how much cash they spend and how much they waste is confronting. This alone is enough to make them change their spending habits.

Other people prefer to use separate accounts online and transfer the money between them. Try each method and do what works for you.

How we do Our Budget

Every Sunday we have an Abundance Meeting. We sit down together, go over all our income, investments and expenses to ensure we are on track. Our investments are set up to be automatic, as are most of our bills.

Each week we get our own ‘play’ money which is a specific amount we can do whatever we want with. The minimum aim is at least 10% to investments and 10% to savings. Right now, we are saving $30,000 fast to pay cash for Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s career progression. It will see a huge leap in income from his previous career stage.

Once we have paid for that and cleared our remaining consumer debt, all excess is going to investing. Right now, our current investments are 3 properties owned outright in Vanuatu, one business there, a business in Australia plus shares and crypto.

We use Kiva for donations and send money back to family in the islands. Plus, we like to support some charities in Vanuatu aimed at gender equality and helping women. Read how to know which not for profits to support to know more about what we do.

Maximise Your Money

Set your money up right and you can make or save thousands. Look at all the ways you can maximise your money. Some examples are below.

Free Interest and Bonuses

If you’re good with your money, credit cards can be used to acquire points to save money on travel and in other areas of your life. Many businesses have sign up bonuses, banks have account opening bonuses and other incentives. Look for the right products for your needs then get them set up. We have over $500 worth listed here.

Salary Sacrificing/Tax Benefits

Check to see if your employer or government offers bonuses or salary sacrificing to make your money go further. Different occupations and companies offer different salary sacrificing, retirement and bonus options.

Cash Back and Rebates

Look for rebates and cashback when you go shopping. Do what you can to ensure you are making the most of the money you have.

When it comes to cashback programs, I use Cash Rewards, Honey, ShopBack and Swagbucks. Each one has different offers so by being signed up to all of them I can see each offer and choose the best one.

Check and Combine Retirement Accounts

Regularly check your retirement fund or funds to ensure your employer is paying into it. Next, check the fees and charges plus benefits of all of them to see which one is best then combine them. Often, as we change jobs, new accounts are set up. Paying fees for each is a waste of money.

Increase Your Income

Do what you can to increase your income and put all the extra into investments to enable you to reach financial independence and retire early. Get a promotion, increase your income, start a business or look at side hustles to make more money.

Some of the ways we make money include websites, freelance writing, crypto, shares, odd jobs and consulting.

Get a Promotion/Increase Your Wage

If you are working, one of the easiest ways to make more money can often come from your job. Look at promotions or ask for a raise if possible. Overtime is another option but it takes more time whereas a raise or promotion often means you make more money in the same amount of time.

Depending on your career, if a raise or promotion isn’t possible, it might be worth looking at other options, retraining or seeing what is necessary to get the wage you want.

As an example, Mr Aspiring Millionaire changed careers a couple of years before we met. However, in the islands, the wages are extremely low ($5,000AUD a year is not uncommon). And there is a limit on what he can do in that career or how far he could go.

Moving to Australia and doing a specific course means he has the potential to earn his old annual wage in a day. It takes training and dedication and is a risky job. When he first switched, even though it wasn’t an option in the islands to go all the way in this career, it was his dream. Now we are in a position to make it happen. Doing this accelerates our FIRE number massively.

Side Gigs

Find ways to make money on the side. For over a decade I have been making money from home, both with a business which I will discuss more and with side gigs. Below are a few of my favourites and some of the most profitable. 99 Side Hustles for Aussies has 99 great ideas anyone can do, most are fine even if you aren’t Aussie.

Freelance Writing $150+ per article

This would absolutely be one of my favourites and most profitable. Writing is a passion of mine and has been since I was a child. Freelance writing has enabled us to travel, make money from anywhere and meet fun people.

To get started with freelance writing, create a few articles and get active. Meaning, you can set up your own blog or start writing on Medium or similar so you have examples of your work. Pitch yourself in Facebook groups, on work marketplaces or directly to businesses.

To be more professional, it helps if you have a website. Siteground is my preferred website host. You can get low monthly hosting, buy your domain name and set up WordPress or other platforms through them to set up your website. They walk you through it all making it easy.

Online Surveys $5,000 per year

No one makes big money with online surveys but an extra $5,000 a year to invest makes a difference. Especially when that $5,000 can be made while you’re waiting to pick up the kids from school, watching TV or similar.

My favourites have been Octopus Group (highest paying for Australians), Swagbucks, PrizeRebel, MarketAgent and Rewardia.

Flipping Items over $10,000 a month

When I did this actively in Melbourne, I made over $10,000 a month while doing other projects too. My aim is to get back to that which is why I started this site. Flipping items can be one of the easiest ways to make money. Check out this guide on how to make over $10,000 a month buying things to resell.

To track my progress, what I am flipping, where and for how much, click here. I have outlined it all and update it as I go along. My eldest daughter has started doing this too and is learning what sells well, what to look for etc. She has bought and sold a dress, some Lego and is starting to do books too.

Start a Business

I’ve had a few businesses over the years: hairdressing and beauty, a marketing company, blogging, consulting and now a tourism business in Vanuatu. Some businesses can be started for under $100. It depends what you are doing and how big your start up costs are. If you don’t need stock on hand, you can easily get started for next to nothing.

Some businesses you can start for next to nothing include drop shipping, blogging, services such as virtual assistant, cleaning, babysitting etc.

Blogging as a Business

My favourite business has been a blog I bought in 2014. Within a week, I had made back the purchase price. In a few months, it was making a full time income. Now, it does most of it passively and I have been able to work on other projects while that runs itself.

Check out this full guide on how to set up a blog and make money blogging for more on this.

Reduce Your Expenses

There are only so many ways you can cut back which is why I focused on making money first. Spending less than you earn is the only way you will be able to save and invest anything to be able to retire though so it is crucial.

Housing

Most experts say to keep the cost of housing below 30% of your income. Given the rising costs of housing this can be difficult. If you have a mortgage, look at refinancing to see if it will save you money. Consider getting in a boarder if you have the room or renting out your garage if you don’t use it.

For renters, share housing is becoming more common since there are not many cheap rent options available.

When it comes to buying a home, truly think about what you need and want in a home. A room for each child plus a study might be a want but is it affordable? Be realistic with your home and reduce your housing costs to ease financial stress.

Food

Meal planning, shopping with a list, buying items on sale or in bulk to save money all help. They might seem basic but it is the basics that can make the biggest difference if you get them right. Find ways to use up leftovers, eat what you have, eat in season and take advantage of special offers.

For example, get a FREE HelloFresh box here. $100 off Marley Spoon, split across your first 4 boxes, $60 off Dinnerly which is split across your first 3 boxes and up to $75 off your first box with EveryPlate. Use a different one each week or month to get the specials and save on groceries.

Transport

Combine errands, walk or ride your bike instead of driving and see if you have free public transport options in your area. Cars themselves are expensive from purchase price through to maintenance and daily running with the cost of petrol.

Look at ways to reduce the cost through using a fuel app to lock in or look for the cheapest fuel. Service your car regularly to prevent major issues and fix things as needed. Rotate your tyres, get a wheel alignment, keep it clean and keep a logbook.

Start saving to replace your car as well to prevent paying interest on a loan when the time comes to upgrade. Or look at your options such as salary sacrificing if that works out financially better.

Review All Your Expenses

The above are 3 of the biggest expenses for most households. Check all your expenses and look for ways to reduce them. Compare insurance providers, electricity, internet, phone, all of them. Be sure to never renew your insurance and instead, get a fresh quote each time.

Doing this has saved thousands. Now, I set aside time each year to go over all our expenses in an annual financial review. I look to see what deals there are and how we can change our habits to save more.

Reaching FIRE as a Large Family

It is doable but requires more work than a single person who can live for free in many ways and save a significant portion of their income. Having kids means you have more expenses but it doesn’t mean your goal is impossible. You just need to work around it a little more.

What tips do you have for a large family wanting to achieve financial independence and retire early?