Here's How To Retire With $2 Million At Age 28

How would you like to make enough money to leave the rat race for good? Can you imagine a life void of alarm clocks, morning commutes, unfulfilling work, evening commutes, and the dread of having to wake up the next day to do it all again? Well according to JP Livingston, if you follow some very simple tips, you can become a millionaire and retire at age 28 just like she did. And even if you are a bit older, she can still help you get on the road to financial freedom.

In an interview with Forbes, JP explained how a lucrative job, aggressive saving thanks to a frugal lifestyle, and some early investing helped her get to where she is today--at home or wherever she wants to be.

JP started out by paying her dues in the classroom. Her academic achievements landed her at Harvard where she earned a degree in finance in three years by 2009. On her blog, The Money Habit, JP talks about how she was reared by parents who grew up poor and knew how to stretch a dollar. This lifestyle was reinforced by her experience at a Buddhist monastery in Taiwan and her first job after graduation as a horse-trekking assistant to nomads in Mongolia. She recalled how different her time there was from her time at Harvard:

"I remember one night we were visiting a temple in the mountains. I was laying on a very thin bamboo mat on a hard wooden plank at probably 4 a.m., staring up at the ceiling. All we had was basic food, a uniform, and peace and quiet, and I was happy, happier than I was at school many days surrounded by a smorgasbord of opportunities and privilege and leadership and all that. It reminded me that we don't need much to live a happy life,” she said.

She went on to get a job in New York City as a banker, but lived a very simple life surviving on $24,000 per year. Her rent was only $1,100 and she spent just $900 a month on food, clothing, and other basic essentials. She invested the rest just as she had since she was 19 years old. Her efforts have paid off in spades.

"My total net worth is $2.25 million. I'd say that about 60% of it was saving and 40% of it was investing," JP said. "Today I live with my husband and dog. Instead of $24,000 per person, I'm living off $32,500 per person ($65,000 total). So our savings rate remained very high while I was working. My husband still works even though our nest egg covers all our expenses."

Her hubby has embraced the simple life even though he continues to work. She says that they shop at Trader Joe's and buy things like furniture off Craigslist. Making their lives about the freedom to do what they want as opposed to acquiring material things have given them more choices and access to experiences they otherwise wouldn't have.

"I don't think I'd go back to a conventional 9-to-5 job voluntarily, at least not with pay in mind," says JP. "I could see myself working again for someone else if it were work that aligned with what I wanted to contribute to the world."

Now isn't that what life is really all about?