Nov 11, 2026 · 33 min
A forklift driver turns saving into financial freedom
From forklift driving to financial freedom by 28
Dave Gow’s path shows how spending, savings rates and investment income can shape the amount needed to leave full-time work.
- 1A high savings rate and clear goals mattered more to Gow’s independence than choosing property over shares.
- 2Gow replaced a complex property strategy with two diversified ETFs designed to provide simpler, broader exposure.
- 3The portfolio needed for early retirement depends chiefly on annual spending, flexibility and the ability to withstand downturns.
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Gow explains how dividend projections showed that his portfolio could cover his spending, allowing him to leave work at 28.
The brief
Dave Gow grew up with little money, learned to save early, and used factory work, overtime and disciplined spending to create options his upbringing had not offered.
A lost factory job became an unexpected test of financial flexibility: savings funded three months of freedom and made the conventional work path harder to accept.
Gow first pursued property with his partner, then shifted toward dividend-paying shares after realizing that investment income could support their lifestyle more directly.
At 28, projected dividends covered his modest spending and he left full-time work; the initial freedom soon turned into writing, exercise, volunteering and other purposeful work.
His conclusion is less about property or extreme frugality than independent choices: define the life desired, save accordingly and keep the portfolio simple and diversified.
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