Stop Working...Start Living: How I Retired at 36 (but never made more than $26,000 a year)

If financial freedom is your dream, then Dianne Nahirny should be your guide. By 36, with fewer advantages than most, Dianne achieved early retirement without compromising her middle-class lifestyle — and on an average yearly salary of under $20,000. How did she do it? Part I: The Plan. Dianne covers financial concepts through humourous anecdotes of her family’s influence on her money-handling skills. Stories about her jobs, her investments, homes, and extravagances demonstrate her finesse and her blunders. Each chapter concludes with a point form summary. Dianne reveals the way to achieve financial freedom in a proven “do as I do” and not a “do as I say” format. Her practical advice leaves room for you to indulge in luxuries as well.

Part II: The Process. Dianne tells the reader how to customize and achieve The Plan. She watches her expenses, sometimes spends lavishly, and owns her own home. Dianne is living her dream.

Whether you want to retire very early, early, or late, Stop Working … Start Living gives you the tools and the advice — from someone who has done it.

“…it isn't about a lifestyle based on deprivation or downsizing. If you are serious about a similar future, I recommend you read this book.”
— Dale Ennis, Canadian MoneySaver, December 2001

“Freedom 36 is not an impossible dream. If she can do it, anyone can.… It took courage for Nahirny to shine a spotlight on her unusual spending habits. More power to her.”
— Ellen Roseman, Toronto Star, January 2002

“Dianne Nahirny has found the simple secret to successful saving …”
— Mike Grenby, The Daily News, January 2002