Hello everyone! This is my first post and I thought who better to ask than the gang here.
I have a little bit of a dilemma. I’m 25 years old, went back to school after working for a little bit. I have a business diploma but am working on my accounting diploma and degree.
A little bit of background on why I am here is that the reason I want to retire early is that I don’t like being told what to do and when to do it. I want to have some freedom to come and go as I please and I really want to see more of this world. I’ve been working since I was 16 and the thought of working till I am 65 makes me nauseous.
I feel like I am at a unique point right now to take off on an extended vacation. I will have completed my diploma in April 2007, and can take either a semester or year off school before returning to finish my degree. I feel that once I start working a “real” job, it’s going to be hard to go away for 2 weeks to a month to go on vacation. If I take a break between jobs (if that happens) then it’s a matter of explaining why there is a gap etc. I’m also single so no one here except my family and friends that I would miss.
One part of me says to just get school done ASAP because I’m not getting any younger, and another part of me says that life should be enjoyed a little along the way.
As a Canadian citizen, we have a reciprocal agreement with Australia allowing us to apply for a working holiday visa. Basically the skinny on it is that I can live and work in Australia (not working longer than 6 months with one employer) for 1 year. The restriction is that you must be between 18 and 30 years of age, which is a non-issue as I’m 25. You can only get this visa once, you can get a second one but there are some other restrictions on it and I think you have to do some seasonal farm work to get it (not so appealing).
Currently I work four to five days a week and take about three to four classes a semester. I am slightly burnt out and will need to take a semester off soon as I have been going at this pace for 2 years now. I think I can sweet talk my boss into giving me a few months off but a year may or may not fly. I make pretty good money ($30K/yr) for a boring job, but they let me set my shifts and number of hours, once I find a “real” job I’d like to keep this job part time to get closer to being retired sooner.
Finance wise, I will have $30,000 in the bank (as a down payment/emergency cushion) which will not be touched while I am away. (I live with my parents and they like it, and it works for me as well.) I will continue to contribute to my retirement savings while I am away on holidays.
I think I can save $10,000 between January and September of 2008 to take with me, and I estimated that it will cost approximately $30,000 for that 1 year trip. I have no problem living someplace and working 3 days a week, traveling the other 4 or just enjoying the city I am in. I am not really much of a backpacker so I will probably rent a room or small suite or get a roommate and stay in one city for several months etc.
Basically my dilemma is that I’m a bit of a nerd and analyse things too much.
Here are some of my contingency plans:
a) Take the year off, use the $10,000 and work (to make up the difference) and live in Australia and hope I don’t have to touch the rest of my savings. Come home and start plugging away at saving up for next trip (which won’t be for a long, long time), and finishing school.
b) Go there for a few months (no more that 4 months as that would be more than one semester) and live and travel around in one area. Come home and work on school and build up savings etc.
c) Go someplace else for a month or so and not have to worry about working while there and enjoy it. Plan to go on vacation for two to three weeks per year and set aside that amount of money in the budget.
Sorry this is so long! I’ve been lurking a long time and hope to get some advice from everyone on here.
I have a little bit of a dilemma. I’m 25 years old, went back to school after working for a little bit. I have a business diploma but am working on my accounting diploma and degree.
A little bit of background on why I am here is that the reason I want to retire early is that I don’t like being told what to do and when to do it. I want to have some freedom to come and go as I please and I really want to see more of this world. I’ve been working since I was 16 and the thought of working till I am 65 makes me nauseous.
I feel like I am at a unique point right now to take off on an extended vacation. I will have completed my diploma in April 2007, and can take either a semester or year off school before returning to finish my degree. I feel that once I start working a “real” job, it’s going to be hard to go away for 2 weeks to a month to go on vacation. If I take a break between jobs (if that happens) then it’s a matter of explaining why there is a gap etc. I’m also single so no one here except my family and friends that I would miss.
One part of me says to just get school done ASAP because I’m not getting any younger, and another part of me says that life should be enjoyed a little along the way.
As a Canadian citizen, we have a reciprocal agreement with Australia allowing us to apply for a working holiday visa. Basically the skinny on it is that I can live and work in Australia (not working longer than 6 months with one employer) for 1 year. The restriction is that you must be between 18 and 30 years of age, which is a non-issue as I’m 25. You can only get this visa once, you can get a second one but there are some other restrictions on it and I think you have to do some seasonal farm work to get it (not so appealing).
Currently I work four to five days a week and take about three to four classes a semester. I am slightly burnt out and will need to take a semester off soon as I have been going at this pace for 2 years now. I think I can sweet talk my boss into giving me a few months off but a year may or may not fly. I make pretty good money ($30K/yr) for a boring job, but they let me set my shifts and number of hours, once I find a “real” job I’d like to keep this job part time to get closer to being retired sooner.
Finance wise, I will have $30,000 in the bank (as a down payment/emergency cushion) which will not be touched while I am away. (I live with my parents and they like it, and it works for me as well.) I will continue to contribute to my retirement savings while I am away on holidays.
I think I can save $10,000 between January and September of 2008 to take with me, and I estimated that it will cost approximately $30,000 for that 1 year trip. I have no problem living someplace and working 3 days a week, traveling the other 4 or just enjoying the city I am in. I am not really much of a backpacker so I will probably rent a room or small suite or get a roommate and stay in one city for several months etc.
Basically my dilemma is that I’m a bit of a nerd and analyse things too much.
Here are some of my contingency plans:
a) Take the year off, use the $10,000 and work (to make up the difference) and live in Australia and hope I don’t have to touch the rest of my savings. Come home and start plugging away at saving up for next trip (which won’t be for a long, long time), and finishing school.
b) Go there for a few months (no more that 4 months as that would be more than one semester) and live and travel around in one area. Come home and work on school and build up savings etc.
c) Go someplace else for a month or so and not have to worry about working while there and enjoy it. Plan to go on vacation for two to three weeks per year and set aside that amount of money in the budget.
Sorry this is so long! I’ve been lurking a long time and hope to get some advice from everyone on here.
