When Zara Lim first started investing, she was in her 20s and drew inspiration from her siblings who were in the property market.
The 30-year-old digital marketing lead now owns multiple properties, invests in shares and earns around $170,000 a year by freelancing on top of her full-time job.
Lim doesn’t see retirement as a chapter that will start when she’s 65. Instead, she sees it as an option that opens up when your wealth reaches a certain level.
This perspective is transforming financial future planning, with some people even working towards “micro-retirements”, little breaks they can take throughout their working lives instead of all in one go at the end.
“Retirement for me is really financial freedom,” says Lim.
“I don’t think it’s like an age anymore, it’s really a number.
“I don’t have that number yet. I’m still working that out and that’s probably like my goal for the next couple of years to figure that out.”
Lim says there is no one-size-fits-all number for everyone because what amounts to financial freedom will vary based on values, lifestyle preferences and needs.
“Definitely, everyone has different life circumstances and that number is very, very different person to person,” she says.
When planning for retirement – or that day you reach financial freedom – Lim says it’s important to be honest with yourself about the life you want to create.
“It’s really being truthful about your lifestyle and what you want in life,” she says.
“I think if you’re wanting a very, very cushy lifestyle with like luxury bags, then you’re just going to have to work more for it.
“But if there are some things that you can give up and you value freedom and time back, then you can potentially get there faster.
“So it’s really understanding what you value and then seeing where you’re happy to cut and seeing where you’re happy to work more, to get that.”
Rethinking your financial future
With the rising cost of living, women like Lim are actively looking at ways to boost wealth and secure their financial futures.
And for many, the traditional accumulation of retirement savings through super simply doesn’t cut it.
People want financial freedom sooner, they want flexibility and freedom.
Financial strategist and Your Future Strategy managing director Gareth Croy says the conversation around super must change.
“Superannuation is just a vehicle – it’s not the destination,” Croy says.
“It’s like asking whether you should take a train or a plane. What really matters is where you’re going, how fast you want to get there, and what you’re carrying along the way.
“Financial freedom isn’t about waiting until you’re 65 to start living your life.
“It’s about giving yourself options now. For many Australians who may have lost time in accumulating super, that starts with one thing: financial literacy.”
Knowledge pays off
Both Lim and Croy emphasise the importance of financial literacy.
“The biggest thing is really having financial knowledge,” says Lim.
“As basic as that sounds, but if you do not know your financial situation, how will you know when you’re gonna be able to retire and with how much?
“You have to actually sit down and look at a spreadsheet and plot this out and spend time on it.
“You need to be on top of it.
“I review my finances every month without fail to make sure I know where I am every month, essentially.”
Building your knowledge of different investment vehicles can help you make informed decisions about how to grow wealth.
Lim says she’s building her wealth in a very normal way: property and shares.
“I didn’t invest in shares for ages because I thought ‘wow, this is so risky, it’s just like gambling’,” she says.
“I didn’t know anything about it, so I just never did it.”
But once she started, Lim says it was “easy peasy” to set up with a relatively small amount of cash and she now regularly invests in ETFs.
“So I was kind of like kicking myself like I should have just bought one back then,” she says.
“My [strategy] works because of two main things: starting as early as possible and doing it consistently [so it’s about] entering the market or buying that share as soon as possible because like everyone says, it’s time in the market.”
Whatever choices you make in planning your financial future, it’s critical to find what works best for you and learn as much as possible to ensure you are empowered in the path you take.
“Personal finance is personal,” says Lim.
“Every person’s situation is very different and what works for one person may not work for another.”