I was playing with one of my money spreadsheets (similar to @shoegal's early retirement spreadsheet) trying to see how many years it would be before we could potentially retire. It'll be a while for us, especially since we're planning to have more kids sometime which will cut into our savings rate. Anyway, I was thinking - what would we do with our time if we could afford to retire (stop earning income) right now? Assume financial independence with income from investments, etc, similar to your current budget.
I would quit my job, and I think my husband would too. We don't hate our jobs, but would rather have more free time. I think I would exercise more, do more yard work (which I enjoy - we have a big property), and learn to cook properly. We would probably travel a bit more, but not drastically so - mostly to spend more time with friends and family. And of course we would spend more time with DD.
What would you do with your time if you could retire right now?
Things I would do: travel a LOT, hang out with friends who don't work, do all sorts of fun city things, get into a good barre class or personal training routine.
Things I would not do: work, in any form.
Note: in this scenario, money is no object. I plan to be a very high maintenance retired person, and won't retire until the finances will let me be high maintenance.
Post by imojoebunny on Jul 10, 2014 11:23:03 GMT -5
Pretty much what I am doing, but with my DH. I am traveling with the kids most of summer vacation. We are only at our regular house for about 18 days the whole summer. I am currently sitting on the porch of our cabin watching the river flow. I did some chores this morning, picking the kids up in a few minutes at the horse barn, where they have been riding all morning, pool bag packed to head to the pool this afternoon. DH comes up tomorrow, friends come up on Monday.
When school starts, I do a lot of volunteer work, everything from school lice check to building budget spreadsheets for a church I don't even go to. Once people know you'll get it done, they keep asking, and I manage our rental properties, which keeps me busy enough without dipping into my "ladies who lunch" time.
If DH and I win the lottery, we want to hire a teacher to travel around the world with us for a year or two.
Post by daisypaloma on Jul 10, 2014 11:25:50 GMT -5
Have brunch/lunch dates with friends and family. Travel within reason. Volunteer at the library or dog shelter. Visit OOT family often. Go out often with the dog. Clean house/do house chores religiously. Hang out in my front porch and read WSJ and Sunset Magazine all damn day like it's my job.
Travel, of course. I think you are legally obligated to answer that here LOL.
Hahaha, yeah, I expected to see a fair amount of that. It seems like a lot of people here have a thing for international travel. I'm more of a stick in the mud (hate long flights), but when my kid (and future kids) get older I plan on taking them to most of the National Parks in the US.
Here is some of my wishlist: - Volunteer more for my 3 favorite charities locally - Yoga! Maybe even teaching!! - More reading - Long camping and motorcycle trips (blue ridge, smoky mtns, etc.) - Traditional travel at a "slow" pace..i.e., live in Paris for a month. - Bicycle rides - Volunteering / tasting room work at my fave local winery - Get outside - kayak, rock climb, hike
I think for the first 6 months to a year I'd focus on my health. Work out, eat right etc. Then I'd consider opening a small business or maybe just be a volunteer in my neighborhood.
For some reason my first thought was, I can't really quit my job because of the benefits like health insurance. I guess if we can afford that, then we both quit and move to Hawaii.
Hahaha, yeah, I expected to see a fair amount of that. It seems like a lot of people here have a thing for international travel. I'm more of a stick in the mud (hate long flights), but when my kid (and future kids) get older I plan on taking them to most of the National Parks in the US.
But you can just do a series of short flights if you just keep going 'round the world
I guess maybe if I could afford to fly first class it wouldn't be so bad, so maybe in my hypothetical retirement I would travel more.
Here is some of my wishlist: - Volunteer more for my 3 favorite charities locally - Yoga! Maybe even teaching!! - More reading - Long camping and motorcycle trips (blue ridge, smoky mtns, etc.) - Traditional travel at a "slow" pace..i.e., live in Paris for a month. - Bicycle rides - Volunteering / tasting room work at my fave local winery - Get outside - kayak, rock climb, hike
All the things!!!
I love have you have a nice long list of everything you want to do. I think taking life more slowly would be great - like taking extended trips so you're not rushing to see or do everything.
Post by crashgizmo on Jul 10, 2014 11:59:55 GMT -5
We would probably do what our retirement plans are but earlier- move to Florida and buy new boat safe enough to travel down to the Bahamas and split our time. I would continue to consult to earn spending money and DH would go to culinary school.
Probably pretty much what I do now--keep doing contract work on a part-time basis because extra money is always nice (though I would only work like 10 hours a week instead of ~20) and play with my kids the rest of the time. We do lots of outings, day trips, and some travel now. If our income increased substantially, we would work less and travel more.
Sadly, things like lots of major international travel and substantial amounts of volunteer work are not particularly compatible with parenting three small kids. I don't think I could really enjoy a leisurely retirement until my children are much older.
Post by bostonmichelle on Jul 10, 2014 12:16:44 GMT -5
I'd travel a lot. Volunteer at local charities/animal shelter/foster puppies. Get another puppy. TTC. I'd probably still work as a real estate agent too or get a bunch of rental properties and be a rental property manager.
I just re-watched Captain America and the Avengers movies recently, so when I saw this I thought you meant somehow become Ironman and I was like "cool"! Then I realized it was you and that you're an endurance triathlete and you want to do an Ironman, which is also really cool. Because of the many hours of training involved, I'm probably waiting until all of my kids are out of the house before attempting an Ironman.
We'd both quit our jobs, pack a bag, and see just how long we can wander before we feel like we need to check in on the home front. I'm thinking minimum three months, ideally closer to six, and we'd make up the itinerary as we go.