63: She Did It! Real Retirement Stories with Jackie Koski

Jackie Cummings Koski has overcome poverty, divorce, and the struggles of single motherhood. Yet, she was able to retire from her corporate job of 20 years in 2019 at the early age of 49! That whole time, she's made less than six figures.   Jackie sits down with Stephanie and Kevin to discuss how she overcame those adversities and the wake-up call that totally changed her view of her finances.   Four years later, after leaving corporate America, 53-year-old Jackie is following her big dream of creating a financially-literate society!   Listen in as she shares an inspiring journey that began in rural South Carolina, where she lived below the poverty line in a single-parent household alongside her six siblings. Committed to "not grow up poor," Jackie decided to study all she can about investing and the stock market and joined the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) community later on.   Years after beginning to implement what she's learned, Jackie was able to put together a powerful cash flow strategy for retirement despite never earning beyond six figures in her sales career.   Coupling her realization that "you don't have to be wealthy to teach about money" with her dream to make a real impact on the world, Jackie has dedicated her post-retirement life to educating others on financial literacy. That began with her daughter, to whom Jackie dedicated her 2014 book Money Letters 2 My Daughter.   Key Topics: Jackie's long journey to successfully retiring from her corporate job at 49 (2:25) Getting over the fear of investing following her divorce (7:12) Creating a plan to have enough saved for retirement (13:15) Writing the book Money Letters 2 My Daughter (14:49) Jackie's thoughts on the financial planning industry (19:16) How Jackie's definition of retirement changed over time (24:46) What drew Jackie to the FIRE community (28:20) Creating an "anti-budget" (33:29) The importance of doing a net worth statement (37:27) Advice to those looking to build up their retirement account in today's economy (41:42) Stephanie and Kevin's closing thoughts (47:01)   Follow Jackie Koski on Instagram at www.instagram.com/finomenal_woman.     If you like what you've been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]   You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.   Follow Stephanie on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.  Follow Kevin on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.