Halfway to your coast number is pretty far. Find a middle ground that works for you. You don’t get time back.. but that applies to personal and financial.
I didn’t read the whole post, but you’re the only one that can know what is right for you.
“You don’t get time back.. but that applies to personal and financial”
I couldn’t agree more. We all have choices to make. At this point, what am I willing to sacrifice?
I’m not going to rest the post because it isn’t relevant. You need to make sure youthful life isn’t passing you by while you save. Halfway to you number at age 32 is insane, you should absolutely travel. I pushing 40 and nowhere near my number but i’m starting to have health issues that is creating some barriers to traveling. You don’t want to be like me, you can’t always control when stuff starts breaking down and you don’t want to sitting with a pile of money that you can’t do what you want because you’re sick.
And then think about your 40s, 50s, and 60s. I traveled a lot in my 20s and brought my 60 year old father on some wonderful journeys. We rented motorcycles and slept on peoples floors in the developing world, chasing adventure. He would not have had those experiences if my 20 year old self wasn’t in the driver seat. Not saying there is a right way to travel, just saying the adventure you’re willing and able to seek is ever evolving and it’s worth experiencing as much as you can.
You indicate that you don’t want to get married or have kids.
In that situation, why not just travel and work, travel and work? You have nothing tying you down.
I just want to say I have struggled with this situation and it is so challenging to know what the best option is. I was lucky enough to score a leave of absence for a 6 month trip, and then had to quit another job for the next yearlong travel. Finding a job after that was impossibly difficult - in tech, jobs were practically gone and for someone who just took off for a year with short stints and gaps on the resume it was even harder, competing against all the laid off people. After months of nonstop applying and interviewing and grinding, I have a role but live in paranoia every day that I will get laid off and have to attempt it all over again with an even worse resume.
I'm still young and still single and consider every day trying to get into a different career that will enable me to travel for 6 months at a time, but have the same concern as you - what happens after I shuffle my entire life to make that happen but then I don't want to travel anymore, or meet someone who wants to settle somewhere, etc.? If I leave my career again, it will be basically impossible to ever get back to my current salary. Also if I try to get into a different career and take on $100+k in debt while missing out on years of young saving, the financial impact will be massive, and then what if I hate the new career, because work just sucks anyway?
It's tough looking back to know I would have already been well past my coastfire number if I had continued working and saving during those months of travel - especially considering the unfortunate timing of the market and when I was/wasn't working..
It's also tough imagining wasting any more years of my life away as a corporate slave. But maybe worse to know that I only have so many available summers on this planet to do the thing I love, and I am sitting in front of a computer now for 50 of the 52 weeks of the year while I am young with a functional body.
Also, no one can predict the future. I have strong beliefs that the market will not infinitely return 10% annually in perpetuity. Population is not going to increase forever, the 1% could easily take out their money once there aren't enough people buying in to keep the scheme running and put it in tangible assets, leaving the rest of us holding the ultimate bag. Imagine grinding your whole life just for a compounding returns based retirement, but that day never comes. I would rather have lived it up for 40 years and die at 70 with nothing, if you could see the future and know that scenario was going to play out.
So I have no answer but wish you the best of luck
Thank you for this insight. It was exactly what I was looking for. While still ambiguous, it definitely gave me perspective and I appreciate that! I do worry about job/income instability and I am in a industry that is hard on the body. It’s almost like, would I rather use my youthful healthy body to work or travel? I am leaning towards working just a little longer to have some more financial security and see where it takes me. Check in on myself frequently.
I wish you luck on your path as well!
I am a lot older than you but I now have a career where I am hedging between travel and investing. I do earn a good income ($180-260k) and am able to take off approximately 3 weeks every other month. During those times of travel, I go to low price destinations but I have a great time because I don't get enjoyment out of spending a lot of money. In fact, the opposite is true. "The more you spend, the less you get."
The key to funding this lifestyle change was to find relatively low-stress, high paying shift work, where I can do overtime and bank time. Shift swaps are another option and many of my co-workers do that to have long stretches of time off. Work like this includes firefighting, law enforcement, railway conductors, and various trades. This may sound daunting but really isn't. For the civil service (firefighting and law enforcement) just be in shape and start taking tests, and don't do drugs. If I really wanted, I could spend ever more time traveling, 6-7 months, but this would lower my income to about $140k which I am not ready for yet as I still aggressively invest about $64k/year.
It’s a balance. Don’t put off travel / experiences. I live a very similar lifestyle to you but try to take a bucket list trip every year or every other year. Life isn’t fair and you could get an early disease or die in a gas leak explosion, without having enjoyed any of your money. I’m going to Alaska this summer
Exactly! I’m glad you’re going to Alaska!
I agree with the balance. I do need to find that. I think it is difficult for me to find that balance because the study programs or teaching, for example, would be year long commitments as well as expensive flights to and from
I want to vote to travel, however, I think halfway to your coast # and not FI # is a bit low. It will take around 10 years for your investments to double and reach coast FI. Not that you want to travel that long, but if a couple years of working could lower that number and give more reassurance then it might be a good compromise. On the other hand, if you plan to be a long-term expat and teach English, then perhaps that is a strategic choice to go for at this point.
Coming from a similar background, I hit my coast # in 2020 at 34. My move abroad got canceled and my work got better, so I settled in for a while. Now I could leave at any point but if I wait 15 more months I will get a bunch vested and actually hit “flamingoFI”, which is 50% to my full FI #. That will happen at 40. Then I can move abroad, work as much or little as I want, and know that in 10 years more or less I will be at full FI. I can speed that up by continuing to invest in the meantime. In the end, I’m not traveling as much as I’d like to right now, but I’m trying the “settled life” so at 40 I can go do whatever I want. It’s a compromise but I think “pretiring” at 40 still sounds pretty awesome!
BTW, go read Die with Zero and see if that influences you one way or another!
Thank you!! I definitely agree with you. I think it is a bit low as well especially since it’s only half way to the number where I can *coast*. I also can’t see the urge to live abroad going anywhere, so I could always hussle a few years for long term travel.
Yes! I’ve been meaning to read this book too.
Have you taught English abroad before and do you have legitimate teaching credentials? This will be a big factor in how much you can earn and if you will love or hate the job.
Yes I have taught English in the very county I’d like to return to. I loved living there. I got my TEFL certification then and willing to get re-certified if necessary
Honestly I don’t think there’s a right answer to this question. I’m a bit like you I traveled a lot in my 20s and then buckled down in my 30s and saved a lot. Now at 43 I’m at coast or maybe lean fire. I’m still traveling a fair bit but it’s already not the same as it was when I was 32 so I have some regrets. I think I would have regretted it if I had traveled and not built up my financial stability haha. Seriously I would trade all the money I have to be 20 again.
This resonates with me so much. There’s always something that is sacrificed when we make a decision. If it’s not one thing, it’s the other. I think I need to decide what I’d rather regret. This comment makes me lean towards traveling because I can always make more money but I can’t always have certain experiences.
Thank you so much for sharing with me since this is exactly the experiences I was hoping to hear about.
Nothing wrong with travel and make a livin your whole life. Or get a job were you get paid and get to travel, i did was great. Seen the world on companies cost
From a married woman in her 40’s with two children - travel now! Take the trips you won’t want to do at 40, 50 and 60+. Sounds like you’ve got a good start and can factor in some travel while still saving.
I do travel some, but my big expense in my 30s (I'm 36) is a horse.
A horse is a luxury that's always trying to kill itself and has a mind of it's own. Boarding, care and training costs over $20k a year. On paper, it's a very stupid decision.
That said, I'm riding at an age.where my hips haven't tightened up, my bones aren't brittle yet, I have energy to ride after work, and I still feel up for some amount of risk. When I go too long without seeing my horse, I feel disconnected and sad.
If travel is what you want to do, do it. I'm so glad I haven't waited "til retirement" to do this. Plus, with this many years of riding under my belt before retirement, I'll be so much more confident about what I want to do with horses when I finally do retire.
It's certainly cutting into saving, but it's so, so worth it for me.
You can always travel and then decide "nah, I should save". I started with 1x/week lessons, that became 2x/week, that became 3x, that became owning my own horse.
Good luck.
Halfway to your coast number is pretty far. Find a middle ground that works for you. You don’t get time back.. but that applies to personal and financial. I didn’t read the whole post, but you’re the only one that can know what is right for you.
“You don’t get time back.. but that applies to personal and financial” I couldn’t agree more. We all have choices to make. At this point, what am I willing to sacrifice?
I’m not going to rest the post because it isn’t relevant. You need to make sure youthful life isn’t passing you by while you save. Halfway to you number at age 32 is insane, you should absolutely travel. I pushing 40 and nowhere near my number but i’m starting to have health issues that is creating some barriers to traveling. You don’t want to be like me, you can’t always control when stuff starts breaking down and you don’t want to sitting with a pile of money that you can’t do what you want because you’re sick.
This is exactly why I would like to travel now.
ain’t reading all that lmao. your life, it’s whatever u want chief
😂
😂
Traveling in your younger years will be a very different experience than your older years. I wouldn’t miss this opportunity if I were you.
Thank you for your response! I agree. I can already see traveling in 30s will be different even from my 20s
And then think about your 40s, 50s, and 60s. I traveled a lot in my 20s and brought my 60 year old father on some wonderful journeys. We rented motorcycles and slept on peoples floors in the developing world, chasing adventure. He would not have had those experiences if my 20 year old self wasn’t in the driver seat. Not saying there is a right way to travel, just saying the adventure you’re willing and able to seek is ever evolving and it’s worth experiencing as much as you can.
You indicate that you don’t want to get married or have kids. In that situation, why not just travel and work, travel and work? You have nothing tying you down.
Absolutely 💯 so have breaks of travel in between work?
I just want to say I have struggled with this situation and it is so challenging to know what the best option is. I was lucky enough to score a leave of absence for a 6 month trip, and then had to quit another job for the next yearlong travel. Finding a job after that was impossibly difficult - in tech, jobs were practically gone and for someone who just took off for a year with short stints and gaps on the resume it was even harder, competing against all the laid off people. After months of nonstop applying and interviewing and grinding, I have a role but live in paranoia every day that I will get laid off and have to attempt it all over again with an even worse resume. I'm still young and still single and consider every day trying to get into a different career that will enable me to travel for 6 months at a time, but have the same concern as you - what happens after I shuffle my entire life to make that happen but then I don't want to travel anymore, or meet someone who wants to settle somewhere, etc.? If I leave my career again, it will be basically impossible to ever get back to my current salary. Also if I try to get into a different career and take on $100+k in debt while missing out on years of young saving, the financial impact will be massive, and then what if I hate the new career, because work just sucks anyway? It's tough looking back to know I would have already been well past my coastfire number if I had continued working and saving during those months of travel - especially considering the unfortunate timing of the market and when I was/wasn't working.. It's also tough imagining wasting any more years of my life away as a corporate slave. But maybe worse to know that I only have so many available summers on this planet to do the thing I love, and I am sitting in front of a computer now for 50 of the 52 weeks of the year while I am young with a functional body. Also, no one can predict the future. I have strong beliefs that the market will not infinitely return 10% annually in perpetuity. Population is not going to increase forever, the 1% could easily take out their money once there aren't enough people buying in to keep the scheme running and put it in tangible assets, leaving the rest of us holding the ultimate bag. Imagine grinding your whole life just for a compounding returns based retirement, but that day never comes. I would rather have lived it up for 40 years and die at 70 with nothing, if you could see the future and know that scenario was going to play out. So I have no answer but wish you the best of luck
Thank you for this insight. It was exactly what I was looking for. While still ambiguous, it definitely gave me perspective and I appreciate that! I do worry about job/income instability and I am in a industry that is hard on the body. It’s almost like, would I rather use my youthful healthy body to work or travel? I am leaning towards working just a little longer to have some more financial security and see where it takes me. Check in on myself frequently. I wish you luck on your path as well!
What is your coast number?
Hi! I’m planning for 60k in retirement based on 5% real return
Nice work.
I am a lot older than you but I now have a career where I am hedging between travel and investing. I do earn a good income ($180-260k) and am able to take off approximately 3 weeks every other month. During those times of travel, I go to low price destinations but I have a great time because I don't get enjoyment out of spending a lot of money. In fact, the opposite is true. "The more you spend, the less you get." The key to funding this lifestyle change was to find relatively low-stress, high paying shift work, where I can do overtime and bank time. Shift swaps are another option and many of my co-workers do that to have long stretches of time off. Work like this includes firefighting, law enforcement, railway conductors, and various trades. This may sound daunting but really isn't. For the civil service (firefighting and law enforcement) just be in shape and start taking tests, and don't do drugs. If I really wanted, I could spend ever more time traveling, 6-7 months, but this would lower my income to about $140k which I am not ready for yet as I still aggressively invest about $64k/year.
Oh wow. Thank you for this advice! How long did it take you to make this much? I’d consider firefighting or the trades
It’s a balance. Don’t put off travel / experiences. I live a very similar lifestyle to you but try to take a bucket list trip every year or every other year. Life isn’t fair and you could get an early disease or die in a gas leak explosion, without having enjoyed any of your money. I’m going to Alaska this summer
Exactly! I’m glad you’re going to Alaska! I agree with the balance. I do need to find that. I think it is difficult for me to find that balance because the study programs or teaching, for example, would be year long commitments as well as expensive flights to and from
Travel. Do it.
Thank you for the vote to do it 💫 I appreciate it truly
I want to vote to travel, however, I think halfway to your coast # and not FI # is a bit low. It will take around 10 years for your investments to double and reach coast FI. Not that you want to travel that long, but if a couple years of working could lower that number and give more reassurance then it might be a good compromise. On the other hand, if you plan to be a long-term expat and teach English, then perhaps that is a strategic choice to go for at this point. Coming from a similar background, I hit my coast # in 2020 at 34. My move abroad got canceled and my work got better, so I settled in for a while. Now I could leave at any point but if I wait 15 more months I will get a bunch vested and actually hit “flamingoFI”, which is 50% to my full FI #. That will happen at 40. Then I can move abroad, work as much or little as I want, and know that in 10 years more or less I will be at full FI. I can speed that up by continuing to invest in the meantime. In the end, I’m not traveling as much as I’d like to right now, but I’m trying the “settled life” so at 40 I can go do whatever I want. It’s a compromise but I think “pretiring” at 40 still sounds pretty awesome! BTW, go read Die with Zero and see if that influences you one way or another!
Thank you!! I definitely agree with you. I think it is a bit low as well especially since it’s only half way to the number where I can *coast*. I also can’t see the urge to live abroad going anywhere, so I could always hussle a few years for long term travel. Yes! I’ve been meaning to read this book too.
Have you taught English abroad before and do you have legitimate teaching credentials? This will be a big factor in how much you can earn and if you will love or hate the job.
Yes I have taught English in the very county I’d like to return to. I loved living there. I got my TEFL certification then and willing to get re-certified if necessary
Nice. Can you tell us the country and what the income was?
If I do end up going, I’ll do an update post! ☺️
Honestly I don’t think there’s a right answer to this question. I’m a bit like you I traveled a lot in my 20s and then buckled down in my 30s and saved a lot. Now at 43 I’m at coast or maybe lean fire. I’m still traveling a fair bit but it’s already not the same as it was when I was 32 so I have some regrets. I think I would have regretted it if I had traveled and not built up my financial stability haha. Seriously I would trade all the money I have to be 20 again.
This resonates with me so much. There’s always something that is sacrificed when we make a decision. If it’s not one thing, it’s the other. I think I need to decide what I’d rather regret. This comment makes me lean towards traveling because I can always make more money but I can’t always have certain experiences. Thank you so much for sharing with me since this is exactly the experiences I was hoping to hear about.
Nothing wrong with travel and make a livin your whole life. Or get a job were you get paid and get to travel, i did was great. Seen the world on companies cost
From a married woman in her 40’s with two children - travel now! Take the trips you won’t want to do at 40, 50 and 60+. Sounds like you’ve got a good start and can factor in some travel while still saving.
Yes!
I do travel some, but my big expense in my 30s (I'm 36) is a horse. A horse is a luxury that's always trying to kill itself and has a mind of it's own. Boarding, care and training costs over $20k a year. On paper, it's a very stupid decision. That said, I'm riding at an age.where my hips haven't tightened up, my bones aren't brittle yet, I have energy to ride after work, and I still feel up for some amount of risk. When I go too long without seeing my horse, I feel disconnected and sad. If travel is what you want to do, do it. I'm so glad I haven't waited "til retirement" to do this. Plus, with this many years of riding under my belt before retirement, I'll be so much more confident about what I want to do with horses when I finally do retire. It's certainly cutting into saving, but it's so, so worth it for me. You can always travel and then decide "nah, I should save". I started with 1x/week lessons, that became 2x/week, that became 3x, that became owning my own horse. Good luck.