Before going on vacation, I wrote a piece about retiring at the age of 35. When I wrote this post (it was end of July), it was simply a crazy idea: I would sell everything, buy an RV and go with my family on a never-ending trip. This is definitely in the line of ERE (Early Retirement Extreme) and would require several sacrifices.
This post generated several comments and I thought I would continue my thinking out loud with you on this blog. After all, maybe I had this idea due to being over worked and after two weeks of vacation, I would change my mind and hop back into my comfy home and go to work with a smile. But this is exactly the problem; why do we have to wait for thee two darn weeks to recharge?
What’s the Point of Retiring at 35 and What it Means
I didn’t use a provoking title of retiring at 35 just to catch your attention. And I don’t intend on retiring as most people might imagine retirement. My goal is not to sit back on a rocking chair on the front porch at the age of 35. It is not also to chill out and stop working. I really want to retire from “The Matrix”. I don’t know if you recall this movie, but the story is about machines taking over the world and putting all human beings in a virtual world that looks like exactly like today. Humans are dormant and live their life without asking any question. I feel we pretty much all do the same; wake up in the morning, workout for the most courageous (I’m not always part of this group!), go to work, have supper, rinse & repeat until the weekend or go on vacation.
I’ve been against this lifestyle since the age of 28. This was the first year when I made a 6 figure income and realized that my life outside work was more important. I started to work 4 days a week (and still am) to benefit from more free time. At the moment, I’m not like many individuals who hate their job and want to quit to escape their reality. In fact, here’s a few tips:
#1 I like my job and I’m good at it
#2 I’m not under too much pressure and work about 35 hours/week
#3 I live a happy married life and my kids are super fine at school
So really, why do I want to quit all this? The short answer is: because it’s boring. I don’t feel that I’m alive right now. You can call this mid-life crisis (mind you, I’m only 33! Hahaha) but I think I’ve decided to swallow the blue pill and wake up out of the Matrix. I want to move around, create something, feel alive, do something different than everybody does because this is the way it goes.
The RV Plan Revisited
At first, the idea of selling everything to drop my lifestyle and live in an RV sounded very promising. After further thought and discussion with my wife, we decided to modify this plan a little bit.
It is obvious our kids will need stability at one point in time. We can’t really drive them across America without a solid home base. This is why we decided to make a few modifications to the original “retire by 35” plan.
We will sell everything and buy a RV. Renting my house seems complicated and wouldn’t allow me to buy an RV. The first goal around this plan is to be debt free and I can’t do it without selling my house. Plus, I have started to find my house a little too big for our needs (which we all create in our minds anyways, right?).
We will start with a one year trip. This is the big modification; we are thinking of doing all of Canada, the US West coast, then Mexico and finish up with 2-3 months in Costa Rica. Then, we expect to come back through the US East coast and finish with the Maritimes to come back to our place 12 months after we left.
This should give me enough time to build a real business with Dividend Stocks Rock. I launched my investing platform back in December 2013 and the potential is enormous. So far, I’ve seen very interesting growth and can definitely see DSR paying my bills if I work hard enough on it. Just do the math; it’s $14.95 per month, if you reach 1,000 member mark you make…. Right away over 100K per year. This is even more than what I’m making. I currently get about 20 to 30 new members per month while working on this site part time. I just imagine how many new members I can get if I work on it 30 hrs a week!
The thing is I can’t find out unless I sell everything. And if I sell everything, might as well use this “excuse” to have a new start, increasing the bond within my family and go learn about the “real world” instead of simply waking-up, going to work, heading back home and waiting for the weekend!
I Hope to Come Back 12 Months Later Still Financially Free
Once we arrive home, I am thinking of buying a smaller home, living on a smaller budget and living off my websites. No more 9 to 5, no more vacations as I will be able to take vacation when I want and for the length I want too! I can pack my things, hop in the RV and go across America whenever I feel like.
So… now, what do you think about my retirement plan? It does make more sense, doesn’t it?
