ESI Money John retired in August 2016 at the age of 52.
- John, aka $4, was a business executive for 28 years before he retired at age 52 with a $3 million net worth.
- He writes about his journey to early retirement and everything that comes after it on the blog $4 - it stands for earn, save, invest.
- For Business Insider's "$4" series, John shares how he spent his money during a week in May.
- Want to share a week of your spending? Email your money@businessinsider.com.
I $4 at 52 in August 2016 after a 28-year career as a business executive.
My wife and I are what some would call "fat FIRE" - we live off the income our assets produce, not having to drawdown the assets themselves.
Our income-earning assets include $4 (14 units we bought after the housing crash in Michigan), websites (both ESIMoney.com and RockstarFinance.com, $4 this past December), dividends from our Vanguard index funds, and interest from cash.
My wife works - it started as a job for fun and they wanted to pay her for the 15 hours a week she puts in - and my daughter is in her last year of college, and we have a son at home who works full time.
We moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, three years ago and love it. I wish we had moved here 20 years ago. We have lived all over the country including Pittsburgh, Nashville, Grand Rapids, and Oklahoma City, all low cost-of-living cities.
Here's what a week of my spending looks like: