At 32 years old, Naz Avo decided to leave work and live off what he saved and invested over more than a decade. The goal was simple: carve out time for yourself. According to the British portal Metro, the motivation came as a teenager, after watching a film that made him rethink the way he dealt with money and time.
The film in question inspired him to seek financial independence. The idea stuck in his head and ended up shaping the way he managed his adult life.
Born in Ukraine in the 1990s, Naz grew up in a family used to living with the bare essentials. This experience, according to the same source, made him particularly cautious about consumption. Even when he started working as a programmer for an American company, he maintained a simple lifestyle.
He chose to live in Asia, where the cost of living was substantially lower, which allowed him to save a large part of his salary. For years, he reserved between 60% and 70% of his income for investment, spending only what was necessary on basic expenses.
Simple investments, constant discipline
Over time, the programmer began to diversify financial applications. According to the same source, he bought properties in Ukraine and Poland, which currently generate income through short-term rentals. At the same time, it invested the remaining capital in index funds, stocks and bonds.
Naz says his method was to invest for the long term and resist the temptation to make constant changes. “It just works”, he revealed to the same publication. The strategy bore fruit and, at the age of 32, the balance reached the amount he considered sufficient to guarantee stability without needing to work.
New routine between coffee and the mountains
After taking leave from work, Naz traveled to Thailand and settled in Chiang Mai, a city known for its peaceful atmosphere and low cost of living. According to , the days start slowly, between coffee and reading, and are divided between sport, travel and writing.
Today, he dedicates himself to jiu-jitsu, running, yoga and sharing his experiences on his personal blog. From time to time, he accepts specific projects in the area of technology, but only out of curiosity or intellectual challenge.
“Time has become my true income”
After the change, Naz admitted that the adaptation process was not immediate. “We are creatures of habit,” he said, referring to the transition between the work routine and total freedom. It took a few months before he was able to completely disconnect from the professional rhythm.
Now, he says that the most important thing is being able to decide what to do with time. “I want to have control over my calendar”, he revealed to the same portal. For those who dream of following the same path, the advice is pragmatic: plan well, do the math and stay focused.
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