About the Author
Anita Dhake is the author of the Power of Thrift blog where she journals her attempts at crossing off life bucket list items. She slayed item #7, “retire early” at the age of 33 and was subsequently featured in Forbes, Crain’s Chicago Business, and the ABA Journal. She was also interviewed on Michaela Pereira’s show on the HLN Network and WGN Morning News, allowing her to cross off life bucket list item #16, “be on TV once” twice.
Dhake graduated from the University of Chicago law school in 2009 and quit lawyering in 2015. She now travels and attacks other bucket list items, spreading the word on how awesome life can be. Her first book, Operation Enough! A Guide for Early Retirement was released in September 2017.
She can be reached through email (thepowerofthrift@gmail.com) and all the social medias that she’s aware of. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest.
Product Information
Title: Operation Enough! How to Retire Remarkably Early
Author: Anita Dhake
Publication date: September 2017
Publisher: The Power of Publishing LLC
Available through: Amazon, Nook, itunes, Kobo, Ingram Spark
ISBN: e-book: 978-0-9992336-1-0
paperback: 978-0-9992336-0-3
Retail price e-book: $3.99
Retail price paperback: $12.99
Page count: 244 pages
Genre/subgenre: Personal Finance, Early Retirement, Humor, Memoir
Promotional Information
Pictures of the author in various resolutions. More pictures are available on the author’s instagram page.
Interview Resources
Why did you write a book?
People seem kind of interested in how I retired at 33. It’s more attainable than most people realize and I wanted to explain in a long-winded manner that only a book allows.
And, more importantly, it’s an item on my life bucket list.
What inspired you to go for early retirement?
I interviewed with big law firms in law school and I remember learning about the salary and asking a friend “if I make four times what the average person makes, can’t I retire four times earlier?” He assured me it didn’t work that way, but I wasn’t convinced.
I remembered a book I read in high school — Your Money or Your Life — and reread that. It gave me the idea of tracking my expenses and projected passive income. So I did it. I read a bunch of other books on personal finance and investment and plotted my financial life.
What about the traveling the world plan?
I’ve always loved to travel. Before law school, I spent some time as an international flight attendant for a charter airline. After law school, I had a deferral year where I traveled the world as well. It’s fun watching the map of the world color up. And, of course, “see the world” is a life bucket list item.
What’s your motto?
I’m glad you asked! The most valuable thing money can buy is freedom from worrying about money.
When I had a lot of student loan debt, I constantly thought about money. I was always worried about getting laid off. I was terrified and anxious and life kind of sucked. With each paycheck, I had a choice: I could either buy something that could perk me up temporarily or I could kill some of the anxiety by paying down my debt. It was never even a choice to me – it was just obvious. Why would I buy a new iphone when I could buy my sanity? Why would I buy a new dress when I could buy my freedom?
Money can’t buy you happiness, but the lack of money can certainly cause unhappiness. Money to me now is a non-factor. I buy whatever I want and don’t think about it. As soon as you have enough money, you stop worrying. I can’t tell you how much happier and calmer I am these days.
What is your most important piece of advice for retiring early?
Your attitude matters more than anything. I’m sure people will say, “Oh, well she was a rich lawyer, so that made it easy.” Negative ninnies.
It might take you longer than I did if you make less, but it’s definitely doable. If you embrace the thrifty lifestyle, you’ll find that you really don’t need that much. I like to expand my worldview and realize that $30k is a FORTUNE to a significant amount of the world. We take so much for granted. Get off the hedonistic treadmill.
Choose the bigger life. Chase the bigger dream.
Did people think you were crazy when you told them you were going to retire in your 30s to travel?
Yes! That was a major reason I started my blog. I grew tired of explaining my numbers and my charts to people in real life. So, when people questioned my life path, I’d just point them to my website for the details. If they cared enough, the information is out there.
Now I can point them to my book, which is more cohesive with less babbling.
Media Reactions
“I’m sure it will be great.”
-Mira Dhake
To request a copy of the book for a review, email
thepowerofpublishing@gmail.com