Stories From

Bozeman & Beyond

Carl Jensen

how to retire in 1500 days

After a particularly challenging day of work as a programmer, Carl Jensen typed into Google “How do I retire early?” He then started a blog, 1500 days to Freedom, about his ensuing journey of downsizing, saving and investing. Six years later, at the age of 43, he found himself with the newfound freedom to retire and spend his time however he wished. In this episode, we learn how he made it happen, as well as Carl’s sleep tips and his recent investigations into what actually makes us happy.

Carl Jensen was an average family guy when he discovered the Financial Independence movement. After 30 minutes of skepticism (“What a scam! No one retires in their 30s!”), he realized that FIRE was the real deal and pursued it full-throttle. Six years later, Carl retired at the age of 43. His story has been featured in the NY Times, Good Morning America, and Yahoo!. Carl lives in Colorado and enjoys time with his family, typing words into the internet, and building semi-dangerous contraptions in his garage.

Resources:
1500 Days to Freedom – Think different and escape the rat race.– Carl’s blog
https://milehighfi.com/– Carl’s podcast
4% Rule
EconoMe conference (Nov 13-14, 2021 / Univ of Cincinnati)
MMM Co-working space (Longmont, CO)

Articles about Carl:
How to Retire in your 30s with $1M in the bank (NY Times)
This Couple Retired in their 40s using the FIRE method (Good Morning America)
How One Couple Saved $1M in 4 years to Retire by Age 43 (Yahoo!)

Carl’s book + article + blog recommendations:
Sonja Lyubomirsky Wiki
The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Sonja Lyubomirsky)
The Surprising Science of Happiness (Dan Gilbert)- TedTalk
The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas Stanley)
Poor Charlie’s Almanack (Peter D. Kaufman, Ed Wexler, et al)
Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger)
Taming the Mammoth:  Why you should stop caring about What Others Think (Wait But Why blog)

Recent Podcasts

EPISODE #100 - JOHN MCPHEE

on writing, teaching, exploring

John McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University. After seven years at Time magazine, he moved to The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. A Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was awarded in 1999 the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (Annals of the Former World).