‘I quit my job and retired at 43 – this is how I did it’ | Personal Finance | Finance

A self-proclaimed millionaire quit her corporate job and “downsized her lifestyle” to retire at the age of 43.

Pav Lertjitbanjong, 43, was earning $300,000 a year (around £220,858) while working in marketing for a big US tech firm when her grandmother passed away in April. It was this that led Ms Lertjitbanjong to the realisation that she had been too busy “chasing success” to be there for her family. In May, Ms Lertjitbanjong took the leap and quit her job, sold her car, and put her $1million property on the market to downsize in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She said she now lives off between $30,000 and $40,000 a year in a rented two-bedroom apartment that costs her £500 a month.

Ms Lertjitbanjong said she has been able to fund her retirement using more than $1million in savings she stashed away while she was in her corporate job. Additionally, the sale of her $1million three-bedroom house in Morris County, New Jersey, gave her a “cushion” to be “financially free”.

Ms Lertjitbanjong said: “I would say that this process has been a few years in the making. I got divorced in March 2020, which made me realise I was my own back-up plan. Since then, I have been building up my own security.

“I have been through a few different life steps recently. I sold my home, car, and now I have quit my job. It was scary, but at the same time, it was really liberating – I feel free. Financial freedom for me is being able to spend time with the people that I love.”

She added: “It is not about buying everything I want, but spending my day how I want and spending time with whoever my heart desires.”

Ms Lertjitbanjong said she had missed seeing her grandmother for the last time due to being too busy working on a PowerPoint presentation.

She said: “That was my wake-up call. I spent 23 years chasing success. That moment when my grandma passed away made me realise that I had what people thought was success, but I didn’t have peace – I felt empty inside. Then it hit me that I had been watching the people I love grow old through FaceTime.”

When it came to deciding to retire, Ms Lertjitbanjong said she worked out the minimum amount of money she could live off, which was around $30,000 to $40,000 a year.

She also mapped out ways to earn an income quickly if needed, opting to go into freelance marketing for extra cash.

Ms Lertjitbanjong said she was living off $100,000 a year before her retirement. She said: “You have to know your freedom number – the minimum amount of money you are willing to live on. For me, my old life, my freedom number was like $100,000 plus a year. Now, since downsizing my life, I have been able to reduce my expenses to $30,000 to $40,000 a year.

“It is also good to work out how you can get money quickly if needed. For me, I would help my neighbours with dog walking, so I would get some emergency income. Typically, for people, it could be freelancing or doing review work online.”

She added: “I felt like I was waiting for permission from people to retire early. There are voices from the outside telling you it is not a good choice to make. You don’t need anyone’s permission, most people are not lazy who retired – they are exhausted.”