Good Evening (or Good Morning depending on where you are in the world). I found this site about two weeks ago and have since discovered that there are lots of like-minded people out there in cyberspace. While my plans are not set in stone just yet, I could potentially retire full time next year.
I am 42 years old, single with no kids, no debt and am happiest when I am either traveling or planning my next trip. I spent 21 years in the Army and retired in 2012. Presently, I’m finishing a Master’s degree in Accounting and will have it all complete by May of next year.
For assets, I have a house in North Carolina that I’d like to sell next year after graduation and put the money to work more safely in a collection of bond mutual funds. While I make about $600/month from renting the house after expenses and management fees, I’d really rather get out of the absentee landlord business. My Roth is sitting at about $18,000 right now (I started late and gave myself a good swift kick in the butt for that). Additionally I’ve got various other investments in a target retirement fund and a REIT fund through Vanguard as well as individual stocks, all totaling about $59,000. My income consists of my Army retirement pension of $1,900/month and my rental income.
My quandary is that I’m not really sure what I want to do with my degree, but I know what I don’t want to do with it, and that is spend several soul-crushing years working 80+ hours per week doing audits for one of the big 4 Accounting firms. Ideally, I’d like to telework exclusively, but would consider working in state or local government or non-profit accounting for a few years.
What I’d really like to do (and this may sound nutty, but it appeals to me) is spend the rest of my days as a global nomad, spending 2-3 months somewhere and then moving on. I love traveling, and could see myself happily moving from the Philippines, to Malaysia, to Turkey, Ecuador, back to the states for the holidays with family and then start all over again. I’d be interested in conversing with anyone here who lives in a similar fashion. When I was stationed in Germany I lived outside base on the local economy, and adapted fairly well to the eccentricities of living in a different culture. I don’t really need ‘stuff’ outside of a nice laptop computer and some comfortable clothes, so living out of a suitcase isn’t that big a deal.
So, retirement is still kind of up in the air, as you can tell. My expenses are currently higher than I’d like, due to living in a high COL town, but they would drop substantially if I was no longer renting an apartment and sold my car. The job situation will play a big role in the final decision, as will the selling the house piece.
I am 42 years old, single with no kids, no debt and am happiest when I am either traveling or planning my next trip. I spent 21 years in the Army and retired in 2012. Presently, I’m finishing a Master’s degree in Accounting and will have it all complete by May of next year.
For assets, I have a house in North Carolina that I’d like to sell next year after graduation and put the money to work more safely in a collection of bond mutual funds. While I make about $600/month from renting the house after expenses and management fees, I’d really rather get out of the absentee landlord business. My Roth is sitting at about $18,000 right now (I started late and gave myself a good swift kick in the butt for that). Additionally I’ve got various other investments in a target retirement fund and a REIT fund through Vanguard as well as individual stocks, all totaling about $59,000. My income consists of my Army retirement pension of $1,900/month and my rental income.
My quandary is that I’m not really sure what I want to do with my degree, but I know what I don’t want to do with it, and that is spend several soul-crushing years working 80+ hours per week doing audits for one of the big 4 Accounting firms. Ideally, I’d like to telework exclusively, but would consider working in state or local government or non-profit accounting for a few years.
What I’d really like to do (and this may sound nutty, but it appeals to me) is spend the rest of my days as a global nomad, spending 2-3 months somewhere and then moving on. I love traveling, and could see myself happily moving from the Philippines, to Malaysia, to Turkey, Ecuador, back to the states for the holidays with family and then start all over again. I’d be interested in conversing with anyone here who lives in a similar fashion. When I was stationed in Germany I lived outside base on the local economy, and adapted fairly well to the eccentricities of living in a different culture. I don’t really need ‘stuff’ outside of a nice laptop computer and some comfortable clothes, so living out of a suitcase isn’t that big a deal.
So, retirement is still kind of up in the air, as you can tell. My expenses are currently higher than I’d like, due to living in a high COL town, but they would drop substantially if I was no longer renting an apartment and sold my car. The job situation will play a big role in the final decision, as will the selling the house piece.