The last four years have felt long. Not bad—just long. This all started well before the blog. In the fall of 2014 I was tired, stressed, and stuck in a job I relied on for our income. I figured we’d distract ourselves and learn how to prepare for early retirement.
First-world problems, I know. But I found some great writers and blogs that opened my eyes. I’d already started a small rental business to help pay for nanny wages. Five houses and four years later, we have a solid base of cash-flowing properties.
Of course, stuff happens. We put a new roof on our own house this spring—$5,750. One rental needed a new furnace in the middle of a Minnesota February—about $3,000. Best-laid plans, right?
I originally made a four-to-five-year plan to leave the rat race. I set up spreadsheets and tightened our spending. We changed insurance plans, cut cable, switched cell phone plans, ditched the Keurig, and started biking to work a few days a week. Craigslist and minimalism became normal for us, helping us focus less on things and more on relationships and growth.
My five-year plan relied on guesses about raises, bonuses, and business growth—total thumb-in-the-air stuff. But overall, we’ve been on track since that fall of 2014. That was the fall I happily shoved Mr. Money Mustache down my wife’s throat—figuratively—and got hooked. If he’d been home when we visited Longmont, I might’ve given him a big, awkward hug.
I’ve had three bosses and worked on three campuses since this started. I’ve turned down promotions twice, and another one might come later this year. Saving more gave me the freedom to say no, and that made me more confident at work.
The kids are growing fast—another big reason to stay focused. Too often couples juggle careers and then blink and the kids are off to college (or still at home and not paying rent). Spending more time with our twins while they’re in grade school will help avoid a huge regret later.
Life is short, and you can learn a lot at any stage. Early retirement would give me time to figure out gardening (still a mystery, blame the short Minnesota season), pick up the guitar, revisit French, or even learn to write better.
My health matters to me and my family. I want to be the dad who can still chase a ball around the yard and survive a few snowy tackles. Exercise takes up part of my day, but this 40-something body is reminding me to do more. And stress? It sucks.
Relationships need work too. My wife, Mrs. Cubert, has been grinding since before the kids came along and her business has only grown. She’s amazing. But there are only so many hours in a day. With my full-time job, the rentals, and this blog, I can’t take on as much as I’d like to help her. Early-retired me can step in to cook, grocery shop, and drive the kids around.
She’s almost 10 years younger and could choose to retire in her mid-40s. For now she’s happy with a 30-hour-a-week role and part-time hours at the gym she loves. It’ll be easier when I can cover more of the household duties. Don’t think I’m not doing my part—I’ve got lawn care responsibilities. With one year left until our target, I feel ready in many ways.
I need to get serious. I can see how my day fills up with the things above, but I estimate I have about 20 hours a week that could be put to better use. One option is joining a local property management company. The realtor I use runs a big operation with partners doing flips, rentals, and sales. I might jump into that world—getting my hands dirty doesn’t bother me.
I won’t rehash everything I’ve said before. Bottom line: I’m committed to retiring early next year. If I somehow love my cubicle job so much that I want to stick around past next July, well, maybe I will—long enough to pay off the $60K in student loans we still owe. Even at 2% interest, debt is debt.
Here’s roughly how we plan to live in retirement until our other savings kick in at 59.5—about 13.5 years from now. (I may share our 2018 expenses in a follow-up.)
Yes, $63K a year in living expenses sounds high. Believe me, I hear you. Strip out the student loans and we’re at around $60K. We even budget a $100 weekly dining-out allowance—because we like local restaurants. The forecast is still broad with a year left, so I need to tighten those numbers.
Time has flown since I set this goal in that career funk in 2014. With a little over a year to go, preparation is key. I figure 12 months is the bare minimum runway to get ready. After 23 years in corporate life, I need this time to sort things out.
Big life changes require planning. You plan a wedding, you prepare for a baby. Retirement deserves the same attention. In the past, some people retired without a plan and ran into real trouble. I’m doing this without a coach—solo—and focusing on three main objectives:
Big, unexpected expenses are the ones that can really hurt. By “big” I mean over $2,000. Examples: a new roof, a furnace replacement, or a used car. Just this weekend I was reminded of that. A tenant texted that the heat was out and they were sitting in a 52-degree house on a -10°F day. I went over with space heaters and tools, tried to restart the furnace, and it wouldn’t run—just a hum. The inducer motor had failed.
I called my furnace guy and luckily he could get the part and come by noon. He’s honest—and he told me what I expected: “You should probably replace this thing.” But first we installed the new motor because you can’t replace a furnace on the spot. The part was $200 (no labor). Normally a part swap would’ve cost $550 with labor. Still, the replacement will be due soon, and I’m looking at about $3,200 coming out of the rental ledger to start 2018. Annoying, yes—but expected eventually.
Health insurance is another big homework item. I’m estimating $500 per month in premiums for a high-deductible plan and about $1,500 a year in out-of-pocket costs. We’re relatively healthy, and I want health to enable a good life—exercise, whole foods, less screen time, and more sleep. But we can’t ignore insurance.
We can lower premiums a few ways: keep working part-time early on to stay on employer coverage, use a spouse’s plan, or buy into the market if needed. I’m not overly worried, thanks to the options, but the cost of care—procedures, drugs, services—is the big unknown. We’ll see what happens politically and in the market.
Those three items are my top priorities, but others exist: watching our mortgage payoff project and pre-loading the kids’ 529 plans. The next 18 months will also include an Airbnb experiment that could change things. Life is full of unknowns. Despite being a planner, I have to be ready to accept, adapt, and adjust. Now is the time to prepare.
Who knows what the health insurance landscape will look like by 2019? Health insurance and out-of-pocket costs are the biggest unknowns in this whole plan.
If I buckle down, I might be able to turn this blog into a modest income stream. I just need to make sure it doesn’t become another anchor like a regular cubicle job.
If I’m writing about quitting my job at 46, I must be doing something right. Honestly, with lessons learned from my 20s and 30s, I could have been done by 30 if I’d been smarter.
Best-case scenario? The blog becomes a single, strong post a week and brings in a little side income I can donate to causes I care about. Not a bad retirement hobby. What do you think, Abandon-Nation?