For the United States, the past century is an incredible story of economic growth and prosperity. The Post WW2 era especially witnessed a tsunami of growth and expansion.
In recent times the media and political rhetoric seem less optimistic. Economic anxiety is highlighted as motivation for everything from voting patterns to the opioid epidemic. Sources of anxiety vary… globalization, income inequality, job insecurity, student loan burden, the gender pay gap, cost of child care, The 1%, and the robot revolution are all cited.
Some even go so far as to predict The End of the Middle Class. Is it really so dire?
Our story was recently shared with 8 million viewers on ABC World News Tonight. Awesome!
Hopefully exposure to a huge audience of normal people will inspire a few to think about retirement in a different light. If you haven’t seen the video yet, here is the youtube clip (less than 2 minutes.)
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Oops, I did it again.
For the 3rd year in a row we are headed to Europe and the United States for the summer.
For the 3rd year in a row, we will be circumnavigating the globe.
And for the 3rd year in a row, a substantial portion of our transportation costs will be zero.
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.