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.
I know this to be true, because it is only in the last year or two (now in my 40s) that I’ve finally (maybe?) come to peace with those implications myself.
About 16 years ago I started on a journey towards Financial Independence and Early Retirement. There weren’t a lot of resources available back then, so I pieced together a plan and strategy as best I could. In essence I applied my engineering degree to a personal finance and lifestyle problem. In some areas I did well, and others not so much, but overall it seems to have worked out.
Since you don’t know what you don’t know, I also sought out people who had been down this path; I was fortunate to be able to meet with Billy & Akaisha Kaderli in Thailand, who retired in their 30s in the early 80s. Winnie and I had our 2nd honeymoon in Hawaii and were able to have brunch with Doug Nordman (aka Nords!) who retired at age 41 after a career in the military. They were kind and generous with both their time and knowledge, but their greatest gift was simply instilling confidence in some young dreamers. Standing on the shoulders of giants, indeed.
When we ultimately opted out of the rat race ourselves, I told myself that I would always pay it forward. Over the past several years I’ve met with 100+ people for coffee, hosted multiple group meet ups, and did a Reddit AMA. Here are the mostly frequently asked questions.
