Vamos a Mexico!
It’s probably too late for YOU to join us, but we’re going to Mexico in late May!
I mentioned in a previous post that we have enacted plans to enable us to retire early, and by early I mean before we hit the official Social Security age limits. Early enough to actually be able to travel still. Being out of debt helps a lot. But still, our plans are very different and unique. Let me explain.
The first differentiation between us and the typical retirement plan is that we plan to retire early instead of waiting until the year our pensions and/or Social Security allow. The second way in which we differ is that most retirement goals involve the mythical state of ‘financially independent,’ as in independent of working forty hours a week. Normally this involves some mixture of frugality, investing from early on in your career, and a progressive career path. Frankly I’ve done none of the above. At least my wife managed to get into a job that pays well and has a good pension plan (matches 250%). That one item is the lynchpin of our plan, because we are going to stop working well before we can begin withdrawing from pension or Social Security. This requires that we have savings and investments sufficient to cover the gap between retirement and pension. No, not from the interest on the money, by spending the cash itself. This also has very little in the way of a safety net if some sort of catastrophy occurs.
The third unique aspect of our plan is that we intend to spend a lot of time overseas, or at least out of the United States. That decision mainly relates to cutting expenses. The Terhorsts and Kaderlis have been shining examples in this respect, indicating that they have maintained budgets over the last several years of $24,000, while living well.
So, weak spots? Yes, is one major flaw in our plan. This plan presumes that no emergencies will occur, at least not expensive ones. But what is the worst case scenario? We might have to move back to the states and get another job until our pensions kick in? Well, that would be just the same thing as doing nothing. We’re already on that path. So at worst we can say “Hey, at least we tried!” I have no problem with that.