Man who ate only simple meals for 21 years saves $900,000 to retire early, but it doesn't go as planned

A Japanese man lived an extremely frugal life for decades to save money and retire early. The man had only rice and vegetables for his meals and gave up on comfortable accommodation and any form of luxury. His struggle paid off as after 21 years, he had saved up over 135 million yen (USD $900,000) enough for him to retire early, according to the South China Morning Post. 

The Man Who Will Definitely Resign

The man, who was inspired by the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement, had set a goal to save 100 million yen and retire early. He adopted the online alias, "The Man Who Will Definitely Resign" to motivate himself in his journey which began in the early 2000s, according to SCMP. 

He started saving right after securing a demanding job that required him to work extra hours and night shifts. With an income of about five million yen (~$34,939), he came up with a meticulous plan and after working for 20 years and 10 months, the man's efforts paid off.  He announced on the Chinese social media platform that he had accumulated 135 million yen (USD $900,000) which he considered enough to retire comfortably. 

The incredibly frugal plan

As per the report, the man lived in a company dormitory for 21 years to save up on rent. He paid a monthly rent of 30,000 yen ($212) and scavenged used appliances and furniture to minimize spending. He even kept his meals minimalistic and economical to save every penny he could.

He often ate a sour plum, salted vegetables, and a bowl of rice for dinner or ate cola and biscuits while watching television. He reportedly relied on energy drinks as well, which he bought through reward points at a convenience store. 

Luxuries didn't exist in his life and he even let go of air conditioning and heating by choosing to wear a wet t-shirt in summer and doing squats to warm up in the cold. When his second-hand microwave went bust, he cooked sweet potatoes on a colleague's car windshield leveraging the sun's heat in the summer. 

Achieved his life's mission, only to fail

After achieving his life's mission, the man's lifestyle had somewhat improved. He moved on from rice and vegetables and served himself four hard-boiled eggs for breakfast and warmed up his meals in his brand-new microwave oven. His story went viral across social media with people lauding his resilience. 

However, the extraordinary story couldn't get a perfect happy ending, all thanks to the declining economy. Japan's economy has been struggling as the yen has been on a dramatic decline for some time.

“If the yen keeps depreciating, I’ll never achieve financial freedom. What have I been working for these 21 years? It’s all meaningless, so tragic,” he said in the SCMP report. 

According to a Deloitte report, Japan's economy has been struggling since a rebound in early 2023. The country's GDP fell in the first half of 2024, primarily because of the reduced domestic consumer spending. However, the report mentioned that Japan's economy is at an inflection point and anticipated an upward trend, starting in the second half of the year.