At the start of this blog, it’s worth noting that we didn’t begin our FIRE journey from zero. Between the two of us, we’ve spent over 12 years working full-time to reach the position we’re in today — one that’s certainly ahead of where many our age might be. Now, at 33, we have a net worth of around $1.3 million NZD and no debt.
A question we often get is whether we received any financial help from family or windfalls like an inheritance or lotto win. The answer is no. Everything we’ve built has come from our corporate accounting careers. We both come from fairly working-class backgrounds — no wealthy families or early financial education — but we did understand the importance of spending less than we earned and saving the rest.
A huge turning point was our seven years living in London. That experience gave us incredible travel memories — and the ability to save aggressively as salaries were higher and the work opportunities we could get were far superior. During COVID, we were fortunate to keep our jobs, and with the UK in lockdown, there wasn’t much to spend on, which accelerated our savings even more.
In 2021 at the ages of 29, after watching New Zealand house prices climb year after year, we decided to buy a home for $750,000 — worried we might be priced out if we waited longer. We were able to put down a healthy deposit deposit of ~520k, and were fortunate to lock in a $230k fixed mortgage for 2 years at 2.49%. With our savings and earnings from the following year, we paid it off quickly. While that purchase temporarily drained our cash reserves, our New Zealand and UK and NZ pensions continued to grow rapidly in the background and we had a real sense of security having a home in New Zealand paid for and no debt. In the interim we rented the house out until we returned home.
Our careers in London were financially rewarding, but they also opened our eyes. We realised we didn’t want to spend decades in an office — navigating politics, working late nights, managing difficult people, and stressing over board presentations. We were fortunate to sit at the same table as executive leaders and multi-millionaires, yet it was clear that many of them weren’t happy. It didn’t take long for us to understand that we didn’t want to follow that same path. It took us a while to realise that letting money sit in the bank wasn’t enough, as inflation slowly ate away at it. Learning to invest was a game-changer. One major factor that set us apart was avoiding lifestyle creep; as our salaries increased, our spending didn’t rise at the same pace.
In the last year of our time in the UK, our monthly income/expenses looked like –
Income +£8,638 after tax – £3,145 Necessities – £1,000 pocket money (£500 each) – travel allowance £2,000 = £2,490 savings.
Somewhere along the way, we came across the concept of F.I.R.E — Financial Independence, Retire Early — and it instantly resonated with us. We’d been at our happiest during times when work stress wasn’t consuming our lives, and realising that others had achieved this kind of freedom made us believe we could too.
We returned to New Zealand in 2023, taking our first real step toward breaking free from the corporate grind. My fiancée started a one-woman business with the goal of creating more flexibility and independence. I’ve continued working in my corporate role, earning $135,000 — enough to cover our living expenses and still invest for the future.
Our next milestone is to grow the business to a point where it generates a similar income. Once we reach that stage, the plan is for me to step away from my job and either build something of my own or help expand the business together. It’s worth noting, to use ‘retire early’ doesn’t mean that we stop working altogether, it means having the ability to choose how our days will look like.