How to Achieve Financial Security: Tips from a Retiree at 35

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How much money would you need to earn to feel financially secure?

CNBC’s International Financial Security Survey conducted by SurveyMonkey asked just how people around the world feel, and the answers revealed how people in different countries think about their finances.

Ask Steve Adcock the same thing and he might question the concept.

“Financial security is not income,” the 42-year-old told CNBC Make It. “For me, financial security is time.

Adcock said the moment he felt financially secure came in 2016, at the age of 35, when he retired from a corporate job with about $900,000. Profits in the financial market raised that number to more than $1 million.

Security, Adcock said, didn’t come from the money he saved, but from what it gave him: the freedom to live his life the way he wanted without relying on a monthly check. When his wife retired the following year, the couple spent three years traveling the country in a Gulfstream motor home.

“We certainly lived frugally. We spent a lot less than we do now,” said Adcock. “That was really the first time I felt financially secure, meaning we didn’t have to work for the rest of our lives. “

Building security through savings and investment

To be clear, a higher salary certainly helps when it comes to achieving financial security, but it’s not the be-all and end-all, Adcock said.

“You can make $200,000 a year, but if you spend $180,000 a year, you’re not financially secure,” he said.

In 2014, when Adcock and his wife earned a total annual income of $220,000, Adcock said they saved about 70% of everything they contributed and invested heavily in the holdings in retirement and bankruptcy accounts.

“I’d say our save rate was really good,” he said. “But I hated what I was doing. I wanted to get out as soon as possible.”

If you hope to finally feel financially secure, you don’t need to aim for such a high savings rate. Start, at the very least, by creating an emergency fund. A good portion of Americans (44%, according to Bankrate) say they could not cover a $1,000 emergency with their savings.

“That’s the opposite of being financially secure,” Adcock said.

Financial professionals generally recommend setting aside three to six months of living expenses for emergencies. Once you’ve built it up, see if you can increase the amount of time you can live off your savings.

“Once you get to the years where you can live one year, then five years, then 10 years, that’s where the magic happens,” Adcock said.

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But even for someone like Adcock, who still earns income from projects like his website, his newsletter, and his recent book, getting the grade maximum financial security often means flexibility to work when and how he wants, rather than not working at all.

“I would use the word retirement loosely at this point. I wouldn’t say we are traditionally retired, but we are completely financially independent. We are completely secure in terms of finance,” he said. “We don’t have to do any of those things. But it’s nice to be able to do things that look or feel interesting and see how they work.”

As part of its efforts for National Financial Literacy Month, CNBC will be featuring stories throughout the month dedicated to helping people manage, grow and protect their money so that they can live very ambitiously. Be sure to continue reading our full coverage at CNBC.com/Your-Money o CNBC.com/Espanol.

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