Tech Expert Aims to Retire by 35 with $5 Million in Savings

Planning for retirement is advisable as soon as one begins a job, as it can ensure a more financially secure and worry-free future. Google engineer Ethan Nguonly shares this mindset, aiming to save and retire at the age of 35, which is typically when individuals begin contemplating their retirement plans.

Retired at 35

At just 22 years old, Nguonly is part of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement, an online movement that is particularly popular among millennials, according to a CNBC report. It encourages people to save their money early and invest generously, which can allow them to retire much earlier than traditional pension plans and with more savings.

Nguonly has a well-paid $194,000-a-year job at Google, which includes a $134,000 base salary, $30,000 in restricted stock units (RSUs), a 15 percent annual bonus and on-call pay. Nguonly has raised nearly $135,000 in investments. which include real estate. Despite the well-paying job, Nguonly says he doesn’t spend extravagantly, but tries to live “as frugally as possible without compromising on the quality of his life.”

Nguonly has a computer science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, which he earned during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the lockdowns affected his campus life, he completed his course in half the time in May 2021 by taking summer classes and cramming for classes. Amazingly, Nguonly completed his degree without taking out student loans.

Nguonly, who lives with her parents in Orange County, California, credits her saving and investing habits for making her realize their value in her early teens. “They said, ‘If you leave your money here (in a savings account), over time it’s going to be worthless,’ and they said you should really learn how to invest it somewhere,” Nguonly said.

Currently only 22 years old, Nguonly aims to retire at age 35, having amassed nearly $5 million in total savings by then.