Today, I’m interviewing Tanja Hester, who has been retired now for just a couple months. Here’s the thing, though, she’s only 38 years old.

Tanja and her husband both worked as political consultants making six figures each. Both of them loved their work and found it fulfilling. However, after watching her father lose his mobility early in his life due to a degenerative neuromuscular disability, Tanja realized she could have the same fate.

So, she decided to spend her able bodied years hiking, traveling, and enjoying all the world had to offer — away from the office. After years of saving half their income, Tanja and her husband finally reached financial independence. At the end of 2017, they left their careers and are currently enjoying outdoor life where they live in Lake Tahoe.

Along the way, Tanja started a blog called Our Next Life to document her journey. It now gets over 150,000 page views every month and even earned her the 2017 Plutus Award, the top honor in the personal finance community, for one of the best blog.

We’ll talk about her journey, her blog, and how someone who is NOT naturally a saver or naturally frugal she says to retire before 38 and not have to work another day in your life. 

You can visit Tanja at ournextlife.com or follow along on Twitter @our_nextlife.