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Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:49 am
by 2Birds1Stone
Today I downloaded Duolingo to begin learning spanish.

Many of the places I want to visit or live in are native spanish speaking countries.

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:34 am
by 2Birds1Stone
I've been reading Michael McClungs "Living Off Your Money: The Modern Mechanics of Investing During Retirement with Stocks and Bonds" and find it excellently written, covering topics that are often discussed here.

I highly recommend it, and the first3 chapters (100 pages) are available for free.

https://www.amazon.com/Living-Off-Your- ... 0997403411

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 10:32 am
by LiberateMind
Thanks for the recommendation. Where can one find the first 100 pages? Amazon is not showing.

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 11:41 am
by 2Birds1Stone
LiberateMind wrote:
Mon Nov 27, 2017 10:32 am
Thanks for the recommendation. Where can one find the first 100 pages? Amazon is not showing.
http://livingoffyourmoney.com/download/1160/

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 8:38 am
by 2Birds1Stone
Good month in terms of spending, ok month in terms of income and gains.

Things are moving in the right direction.

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 1:25 pm
by wolf
Hi 2Birds1Stone. That is great progress. Your Savings Rate is quite high!
Thank you for the recommendation for "Living off your money". I read it and find "Prime Harvesting" quite useful appliable. What are your thoughts about the book? Do you want to apply some principles from it, or do you even apply them today?

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:11 pm
by LiberateMind
2Birds1Stone wrote:
Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:34 am
Thanks.

Re: 2Birds1Stone's 29 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:29 pm
by 2Birds1Stone
MDFIRE2024 wrote:
Sat Dec 02, 2017 1:25 pm
I have not yet begun to implement much of it as it deals with spending down wealth, but it provides a lot of food for thought on how one would want to allocate investments during accumulation to support many of his ideas. Whether through asset allocation, fund placement, CD ladders etc.

I love learning about these topics, I feel like it helps me to grasp concepts and their implementation way before I will actually need to.

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 7:04 pm
by 2Birds1Stone
Recap

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:33 am
by classical_Liberal
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Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:14 am
by 2Birds1Stone
classical_Liberal wrote:
Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:33 am
A kick ass and take names year!
Ha, thanks C_L my motivation to retire is outweighing my motivation to work right now........we will see what 2018 brings.


I've spent the better part of the past two weeks doing a long thought experiment on what I would like my next chapter to look like.

Ideally I keep my current job till April 1 of 2020 and take a nice long 6-9 month sabbatical to travel with my fiance, followed by a return to work either full time, part time, or seasonally (depending heavily on market returns and portfolio when the time comes).

There are a few bucket list type adventures that we have the luxury of choosing from for that 2020 adventure.

1) Thru hike the Appalachian Trail. Flip Flop style, starting in Harpers Ferry WV in late April or early May, and hiking north with the spring summiting Mt. Katahdin in August, possibly taking a few weeks to spend time with family, and then returning to Harpers Ferry in September and following the fall foliage down to Springer Mountain Georgia. This would leave us around November, coming back home and living with family during the holidays while looking for work.

2) Splitting the time between a slow travel European adventure, starting in Southern spain or Portugal in April, working our way slowly to Poland by mid May, living in Poland and exploring with family till mid July. Followed by a trip my dad would really like to do.....6-8 weeks of motorcycling from NY up through Canada to Alaska, down the Pacific coast, and back to NY via NV/AZ/UT/CO/WY/MO/SD/PA/etc. We would likely finish early October and also spend time with family during the holidays while trying to re-enter the workforce.

3) Purchase either a mini van or small pickup + trailer and spend 6-9 months slow traveling the USA and Canada, hiking and mountain biking as we go along, visiting friends and family across the country and staying in each place from a few days to a few weeks.

In all scenarios we would ask employers for a sabbatical way in advance, or just quit and try our luck when we get back. We would also get rid of our current apartment, as we cannot justify paying $1100/month for 6-9 months while traveling.

Right now, option 2 sounds the most appealing, as it would allow the trip with pops, who isn't getting any younger. Already have the motorcycle, and an empty apartment in Southern Poland where 75% of my family lives. We would travel hack the cross continental flights so the cost of those would be negligible.

Option 1 would be the cheapest in my opinion, since a thru hike of the AT can be done for $10k total for two people, relatively comfortably.

Option 3 would likely cost the most, but would have the most freedom to come back home if the need arose (unlikely)

Regardless of which option we go with, I think it's going to be a bit hard to adjust back to being two full time career professionals, once that taste of freedom is had..........c'est la vie

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 5:32 pm
by 2Birds1Stone
January has been an interesting month for me.

I'm getting closer and closer to losing my job.

The markets have returned ludacris profits.

I am lacking motivation to be a productive worker as I inch closer to the goal posts.

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:40 am
by classical_Liberal
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Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 4:28 pm
by trailblazer
Seems like you’ve acccumulated enough for at least a trial run sometime soon! Although if job situation is in jeopardy could be worth holding out for any severance/unemployment.

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 5:14 pm
by 2Birds1Stone
Ding Dong

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:23 am
by wolf
That situation with your job sounds really challening and is totally uncontrollable for you, I guess. But you couldn't have prevented that, could you? Nobody knows when layoffs happen. I kind of admire you in the States because of your own mental flexibility and adaptability in your job market, meaning that you are able to adjust fast and spontaneous to new job circumstances, comparing to European's job culture. Well, I hope for you that you can stay at your job. Better having a job, than looking for some, I guess.
2Birds1Stone wrote:
Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:14 am
Ideally I keep my current job till April 1 of 2020 and take a nice long 6-9 month sabbatical to travel with my fiance, followed by a return to work either full time, part time, or seasonally (depending heavily on market returns and portfolio when the time comes).
Your plan about taking a sabbatical impresses me. That sounds cool. Will it be like a mini-retirement? I kind of like the idea behind it and I too maybe will do something like that. Before leaving the workforce (salaried) completely, I gotta do a try-run, like a mini-retirement. Do you have to quit in order to do that, or is it possible to have unpaid leave for such a period of time? Does your plans depend somehow on your financial progress till FI, or do you do it either way?

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:58 am
by classical_Liberal
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Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 12:24 pm
by 2Birds1Stone
wolf wrote:
Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:23 am
That situation with your job sounds really challening and is totally uncontrollable for you, I guess. But you couldn't have prevented that, could you? Nobody knows when layoffs happen. I kind of admire you in the States because of your own mental flexibility and adaptability in your job market, meaning that you are able to adjust fast and spontaneous to new job circumstances, comparing to European's job culture. Well, I hope for you that you can stay at your job. Better having a job, than looking for some, I guess.

Your plan about taking a sabbatical impresses me. That sounds cool. Will it be like a mini-retirement? I kind of like the idea behind it and I too maybe will do something like that. Before leaving the workforce (salaried) completely, I gotta do a try-run, like a mini-retirement. Do you have to quit in order to do that, or is it possible to have unpaid leave for such a period of time? Does your plans depend somehow on your financial progress till FI, or do you do it either way?

Hello wolf,

I think that my ability to take things in stride with work is a result of a fairly portable profession (sales), and the FU $ I have accumulated up to this point. I do understand that walking away from a job in European and Asian culture is more taboo.

It would be like a mini-retirement, but more so a long vacation while practicing low spending, alternate income source generation, and freedom to do things without having time constraints.

My understanding is that some companies will allow you to take an unpaid sabbatical, but there is no guarantee that your position will be held. I would likely quit if I am still employed, unless the first option works with my employer.

I will take at least 6 months regardless of where I am in terms to FI. At that point, I will be working full time for ~19 years and 10 of these in a Megacorp style career. It's time for a break.
classical_Liberal wrote:
Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:58 am
@2B1S
This job situation sounds like the proverbial "gift horse"...

You've been pretty browned-out for quite some time and craving the sabbatical. You'll never find a better time to take it, when your getting unemployment checks! No need to dip into the capital, take 6 mo's or a year (I'm sure you'd get enough between UE and dividends to last a year or two) and enjoy life. I bet the time away will provide you a new perspective going forward. I think we tend to get so caught up in fast accumulation, sometimes it's hard to see all the other viable paths. With the assets you have now and low spending, virtually any small income source will keep you afloat for the rest of your life. If priorities change in the future, you can change with them.
I think you hit the nail on the head, the timing would be off in terms of my plans, but it would be a good opportunity to downshift and take some time to myself. If I do get laid off/fired and UE is available, I will definitely take advantage as long as I can.

In regards to long term sustainability, it's hard to say. I've done the thought exercise and have some scenarios in my spreadsheet for these types of situational analysis.

My bare-bones spending would be ~$1300/month or $16,000/yr. I define this as my first FI #, $400k.

At that point, I would feel pretty comfortable walking away from a job, or taking periods of under/semi employment to explore other interests. I would not feel comfortable long term though, as we get older needs/wants change, and human capital diminishes.

My seconds FI "bend point" is the $600k or $2k/month mark. That is where my current spending is, and I feel like I could take longer periods of no employment, sprinkling in some work to let the portfolio grow.

My third FIRE bend point, were I feel that I could never work again and not have to worry about eating cat food in old age is $1M allowing $40k/yr in spending into perpetuity. I am in no rush to get to this number, if it takes decades of on and off work that would be ideal. I want to take advantage of lucrative and/or fun means of earning income, while also taking advantage of the ability to travel and pursue things for non financial reasons.


At bend point one, I would like to earn enough to live off + add to 401k/Roth IRA. Which means earning at least $50-60k/yr gross.

At bend point two, I would like to earn enough to cover between 50-100% of my expenses without having to add any additional funds to the stache.

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 12:38 pm
by wolf
2Birds1Stone wrote:
Mon Jan 29, 2018 12:24 pm
I will take at least 6 months regardless of where I am in terms to FI. At that point, I will be working full time for ~19 years and 10 of these in a Megacorp style career. It's time for a break.
That sounds great. I did a sabbatical for 7 months after working 11 years full-time. 5 out of that 7 months I travelled to "Down Under". It was a great time. If I talk with someone else about it, it feels good. You can have so many life experiences which are really worth it. Go for it!

Re: 2Birds1Stones' 28 month hustle to freedom!

Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2018 7:07 am
by classical_Liberal
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