But Simran’s version of FIRE looks a lot different. She’s got a designer handbag (second hand). She wears nice clothes (often rented). She often posts pictures from the front of the plane.
She shares all of it with more than 1 million people who follow her online. But – refreshingly – rather than using her reach to influence people to spend more, she aims to “de-influence” them. She was offered a free designer wedding dress but declined, opting to give one away, instead.
I first met her a few years ago when she spoke at an event I was MCing – I liked her instantly and joined her throngs of followers.
Her content has made me wonder what on earth I achieved in my 20s. Very occasionally the use of “besties” and “girlies” rankled. But mostly I’ve been in awe – watching her educate the masses by using the nitty gritty of her FIRE journey.
“I’ve always shared how much they’ve [her side hustles] made, my net worth updates, what I invest in, even the P&L of how my podcast makes money”.
Simran Kaur, founder of Girls that Invest and a follower of the concept of Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE). Photo / Supplied
And yet, she still considered keeping this milestone to herself.
“It’s not exactly the most relatable experience now, is it? I was worried. However, when we look at other people in the FIRE community, a large portion of them are men and even less of them are an ethnic minority. I wanted young women to see more representation that women are good with money, they are good investors and that ‘girl math’ is just a myth that continues to put women down.”
She’s right that the speed of her wealth creation is not that relatable, or at least easily replicable. But she’s also upfront that she hasn’t achieved it by solely scrimping, saving and investing – she has dramatically increased her earning power. “I don’t want to set anyone up with false expectations”.
It has come from myriad income sources – speaking engagements, ‘Friends that Invest’ book royalties, ‘Friends that Invest’ podcast sponsorship, an online Investing Masterclass. The website says more than 10,000 people have taken the course, so, do the maths – if all of them paid full price, that’s at least $6.75m revenue.
Speaking of maths – it’s tricky to model a retirement of potentially 60 years or more! While Simran didn’t confirm the exact number she has invested, my rough guess is around $4.5m – but I’m making a ton of assumptions there (investment mix, drawdown percentage, returns, whether she’s indexing for inflation, etc).
The cashflow of her business obviously makes her different from many FIRE followers, but plenty of people make a lot of money only to spend it all just as quickly – just not Simran.
“I would have family friends ask me, ‘So, when are you going to move into a nicer house’ and I would say ‘I’m happy in this modest home, I’m focusing on putting all my money into investments’.” she told me.
The spender in me wanted to know – isn’t she tempted to just, y’know, buy all the nice things?!
Yes, “but I’ve found a way to ‘scratch the itch’ without letting lifestyle creep get to me – I once borrowed a cute Porsche [my dream car] for a few months to drive around and then dropped it back and bought a reliable secondhand Tesla. Current Sim is thanking past Sim for the savings on fuel prices right now!” she says.
Simran Kaur’s investing course has enrolled more than 10,000 people worldwide. Photo / Supplied
She didn’t even splurge when she hit her FIRE goal, “Retiring early is a celebration enough.”
The outcome she has achieved sounds glamorous – retiring at 29 – but the method she’s used to get there is more prosaic, and applicable to any financial goal. Spend less than you earn, invest the difference, boost your earning power and don’t let “lifestyle creep” be your undoing.
Her particular brand of magic perhaps lies not only in making investing simple, but in making the basics exciting – even when the sacrifices involved might not be.
For someone who never has to work another day in her life, Simran seems very busy.
“I started the process of not working … but eventually realised I was bored out of my mind. Now I’ve realised retiring early just means having the freedom to do what I want and say what I want, on my own terms. I can pick up projects that interest me, invest in startups that spark my interest and give back my time”.
She’s just signed up to train guide dogs for the Blind Foundation, she is on the Auckland Hospital Foundation board, she’s doing some study – and the next intake of her investment course is currently open.
So, retiring early doesn’t really mean stopping; it means being able to choose what’s worth doing, and by that measure, Simran may just be getting started.
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