George Soros, March 2013 – (photo courtesy of GeorgeSoros.com)
About 6 years ago we started traveling the world nearly full time.
“How can you afford this?” they asked. “Where does the money come from?”
It was so easy to say we “retired early” and that we were “financially independent.” It seemed so credible, and it was safer and easier than admitting the truth… even my own wife believed it.
But it has been a heavy burden to carry. Recent calls for more transparency in the Financially Independent / Retire Early community, my own conscious, and perhaps the future of our country require that I come clean.
GCC: This past summer we met Mr & Mrs Crazy Kicks at the GCC Meetup in New York City’s Central Park. They introduced themselves by offering a handful of fresh picked cherry tomatoes and a fine summer ale, so of course we hit it off immediately :) Their approach to early retirement is a wonderful mix of amazing food and world travel, and I hope you enjoy learning about it as much as we did.
Early Retirement on an Urban Farm
When we got married, my wife and I made a hard plan to retire early. It was 2008, and we were both working at the same company where we’d met. It wasn’t so much the work itself as the high stress, man-child egos, and lack of vacation time that set us on a path to financial freedom. Our plan at the time was to reach financial independence then move to a homestead near a community college. My wife, who loves school, wanted to teach and we both wanted to get away from all the traffic and crowds – to slow down and grow our own food.
(This post is the 1st in a series. Subsequent posts forthcoming… soon.)
The stock market has had a pretty good run over the last 10 years or so.
If you’ve been following financial best practices by contributing to Traditional 401ks and IRAs, the odds are good that those retirement accounts are reaching lofty heights.
Is it possible that those accounts have grown too large? Is your 401k TOO BIG?
Don’t Kiss Me Mom, people are watching! (Santorini, Greece)
2017 was our 5th full year of this thing we are doing. You know, life.
We completed another full circumnavigation of the globe, spending 4 months in Europe, a month in the US, 6 weeks in Japan, and the remainder in Taiwan. Along the way Jr collected his 28th passport stamp. This is the first year we intentionally remained outside the US 330+ days (cuz taxes.)
At year end, upon arrival in Taiwan we signed an 18-month lease, making it our official recharge center. Jr has started part time pre-school, and we are doing our best to be completely normal in every way that doesn’t involve going to work.
