Is it possible to become a rentier in a few years?

When we start to take an interest in financial independence, we often imagine that we can find a magic method that will allow us to become an annuitant in a few years. In theory, it is possible, but in practice it is most of the time very different.

 The pattern is often the same. One evening we come home from work, exhausted, and we wonder how to escape the nagging ordeal of metro-work-sleep. We start tapping on the Internet and very quickly we come across more or less valid sites that talk about financial independence.

Some blogs retrace their author's quest to become a rentier. Forums share their members' opinions on how to save and invest their money. Finally, other sites entice you with enticing titles and slogans and offer you, often at low prices, services that are not always very relevant. Outside the Internet, there is also a large selection of books on the same subject.

Bien que les approches diffèrent sensiblement selon les auteurs, real estate, bourse, parkings, une large majorité part du principe qu'on peut devenir rentier en l'espace de quelques années seulement. Faut-il les croire ? La réponse n'est pas simple, tant la situation financière et la personnalité de chacun est différente.

It is normally easier for a high income to save significantly, to invest their savings and therefore to become a rentier fairly quickly. But most of the time the expenses are proportional to the salary. The more you earn, the more you have a lifestyle that goes with it, house, car, travel, and there is not necessarily more left over per month. Similarly, depending on your personality, we are more or less spendthrift, more or less inclined to invest our money in a relevant way and more or less able to remain faithful to our initial objectives.

Ce qui est certain, c'est que pour devenir financièrement indépendant il faut notamment construire un capital qui sera à même de générer suffisamment de revenus dans le futur pour couvrir toutes ses dépenses. Il faut donc commencer par réussir à mettre de côté chaque mois une certaine quantité d'argent, ce qui n'est déjà pas forcément évident. Cela signifie parfois commencer par rembourser certaines "mauvaises" dettes. Ça peut aussi vouloir dire renoncer à certaines habitudes. Certains  exercent parfois une petite ancillary activity. Si c'est peut être nécessaire sur une petite période, à long terme c'est cependant contre-productif. Rappelez-vous, on ne devient jamais riche en travaillant.

Ensuite, quand on arrive enfin à faire ses premières économies, il faut les investir. Là non plus, ce n'est pas évident. Si on ne devient jamais riche en travaillant, on ne le devient pas non plus en laissant ses économies sur un compte épargne. Donc, il faut s'instruire sur les différents actifs à disposition, l'immobilier, les actions, les investment fundsthe ETFs, les obligations, le Forex, les matières premières, etc. Il faut ensuite, et surtout, se déterminer sur sa propension au risque et choisir les placements qui vont avec. Enfin, et non des moindres, il faut encore comprendre comment fonctionnent les placements qu'on aura adoptés, et bien sûr commencer ses premiers essais. Ceci étant fait, si on s'est trompé, il faudra peut-être encore reprendre plusieurs fois le processus depuis le départ jusqu'à ce qu'on soit certain d'avoir trouvé chaussure à son pied.

So far, we have only laid the foundations, learned and had our first experiences. Unless we inherit or win the lottery, the capital invested is modest and is only just beginning to generate its first income, not always regularly. We are still very, very far from the idea we have of an annuitant. But we have nevertheless passed a decisive milestone, the one where we can almost put ourselves on autopilot, and therefore wait.

Little by little, capital grows, thanks to the savings and income it generates. As time goes by, wealth and distributions increase, exponentially. At first, it seems like nothing is happening, and at some point, you realize, almost with astonishment, that you have made a lot of progress.

Il arrive alors un instant critique où l'on peut commencer à envisager de vivre différemment. Cela peut vouloir dire lever le pied au travail, moins se prendre la tête, ou même à un certain stade carrément prendre sa "retirement".

In parallel with this purely financial progression, the habits of the future rentier must change. First when he has to save, then when he invests and finally when he gradually leaves the professional world. Training in financial "techniques" takes time, but changing one's habits takes even longer. Sometimes we never even manage to do it.

We realize that all this requires not only knowledge, but above all to go through many experiences, good or bad. We must see the quest for financial independence as a kind of initiation rite. A few years are not enough to "become a rentier", it is the project of a lifetime. The good news is that you can put yourself in (future) rentier mode and begin this beautiful journey from today.