My early retirement arrived as a bit of a surprise, not something I’d planned years in advance. The economy was in a slump, behaviour in my industry was worsening, and parts of my role were heading in the wrong direction.
These things triggered my lightbulb moment, that day when I kicked my office door shut and asked, "do I really needed to put up with this $#!%?" It was a shock to find the answer was no. I had options. Someone else could deal with the 💩!
That’s when I started to think seriously about early retirement. Looking back, it seems a bit strange that I didn’t really consider other options. There might have been some brief thoughts about getting a different but similar job, but not enough to have me pouring over job adverts or contacting recruiters. Jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire wasn’t grabbing me.
But from frying pan to FIRE wasn’t the only option, it’s just that I didn’t think of the alternatives at the time. Now I realise there were other routes that I didn't considered - I wonder whether they would have been good alternatives for me?
Mini retirement
It could be a one off, or a number of mini retirements throughout a career. I don’t know that there’s a rule of how long a mini retirement can be, maybe a year, but I don’t see why it can't be longer or shorter.
Pros of a mini retirement
Avoids waiting twenty, thirty or forty years until retirement to do the things you want
Having time out to reset and recharge can be good
Can be timed to suit life events such as travel or to fit around family plans and commitments
Time away from a hectic work life may provide the mind space to consider other paths and options
Cons of a mini retirement
By definition, the “mini” part means it's temporary - going back to work might not seem so attractive once you’ve tasted a different type of life
Possibly could hinder career opportunities or progression
Part time work
I had enough money to retire early, so I would be able to maintain my lifestyle on the reduced salary of a part time role. But even if that wasn’t the case, part time work could still have been an option. It might mean having to cut some costs or work some additional years, but the upsides could be worth it.
Pros of part time working
Improved work life balance – more time for family/personal life on a continuous basis
Maintains career/continuous employment on CV/resumé
Cons of part time working
Some employers might expect full time output from part time hours (particularly if the role was formerly full time)
Could hinder career opportunities or progression with some employers
Part time hours = part time pay
Career change
A different career might avoid the things that I’d grown to dislike about my existing industry/role.
Pros of a career change
If there is a specific dislike in the current career, a change may resolve this
A chance to do something that you enjoy more
A change can be as good as a rest
Cons of a career change
A lack of experience may mean starting at the bottom, having to prove yourself again and getting paid less while doing so
The reality of the new career may not be what you hope
Working differently - online working / digital nomad
A once niche subject that has suddenly become mainstream with Covid-19.
Pros of online working/digital nomad
Often location independent – I could see myself working from a coffee shop in Chiang Mai, Medellin, Prague, Cochin, Melbourne…
Hours taken for commute are eliminated
Being a digital nomad sounds cool😉
Cons of online working/digital nomad
Some people prefer the discipline and community of a more formal workplace
Not all jobs can be done remotely
Traditional FIRE (financial independence, retire early) says to save and invest now because of the promise of early retirement in the future. That's different from mini retirements, part time working and maybe the working from home/digital nomad options which transfer some of the future promise to the present day. Not having to wait sounds tempting, particularly given our current Coronavirus experience shows just how uncertain the future can be. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
There will be other alternatives and other pros and cons as well – let me know in the comments, it would be great to hear of the options that I’m still not thinking about, or if you've tried any of them out.
Do I wish I'd done things differently?
I'd find it hard to trade the freedom I now have, and the work stress that I now don’t have. With a mini retirement, there'd always be a nagging in the back of my mind reminding me that it's going to end. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t have enjoyed one or more of the other options, but I enjoy sleeping soundly knowing that workplace stresses and strains will never have to be faced again.
But what if I didn’t have enough money for full time early retirement. What would I choose? I'd be tempted by a mix of part time working and online/digital nomad. Maybe that would require a career shift, perhaps an adjustment rather than a complete change, and I’m sure it wouldn’t pay as well. But for the extra free time and freedom, achievable sooner, I'd think seriously about making that trade. And like I said, being a digital nomad really does sound kind of cool!😎
Thanks Tom, I appreciate the feedback.
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Many of your points sound familiar to me. For example: I'm sure that my wife is another who would not be keen on the idea of being a digital nomad; on the odd occasion that I thought of a different career, the salary drop would quickly put me off; and, I'm pretty sure we've also over-saved for the amount we actually require for early retirement.
The last two points are quite interesting. Doesn't the fact that we've over-saved for early retirement suggest that we could have made a career change and taken a drop in salary? I guess we didn't know that at the time but it may be that we'd then have come out with just the right early…
My husband would NOT have been on board with the digital nomad thing. At all. My industry made it difficult to change companies, and changing industries would have meant a pay cut of more than 50%. It seemed like I'd achieve early retirement faster if I just stayed put. That's what I kept telling myself even though I desperately wanted a change the last 10 years or so of my job.
And it turns out that we way over saved for retirement. But we're in a pretty good position now. I guess all's well that ends well, but I enjoyed your post thinking about what you might have done differently. If I had to do it again I might h…
Hey Joe
I'm with you when you say if it doesn't work, then going back to work can be done.
But still I think many people don't take the leap because of the fear that it might not work - for most of my life that would have included me more often than not.
I found that turning the question around like you suggested can help, i.e. if I try it and it doesn't work out, what's the worse that can happen? In the case of early retirement, is the possibility (probably low) that we may one day need to go back to work a worse position to be in than continuing in a job you're not happy with?