1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

Ask the Readers: What Would You Do?

by

My last day of formal work is quickly approaching.

4/13/2017.

Hmmm, that’s pathetic. I can do better:

4/13/2017!

Meh. This is how I really feel:

 

I wasn’t excited when I told my bosses that I was leaving. It filled me with anxiety and dread because I have a great sense of loyalty to a job I’ve been at for almost 15 years. The people I work with are top notch and my bosses have been incredible to me. I was sad to tell them about my departure.

However, the fog is slowly lifting. I get a little bit more excited every day. I see blue sky ahead.

Before I babble on too long, let’s get to last week’s question where I asked you about your bucket list.

 

What’s On Your Bucketlist?

Reader SpacemanFry has an awesome goal. It’s amazing to think that people will walk on Mars, probably before 2040:

Travel in space and set foot on another planet. I really hope in my lifetime I will be able to go to Mars or at least Luna.

Mrs. BITA has a good one. I want to see E.T. too:

My biggest bucket list wish for society is that we make contact with extraterrestrial life before I die. I hate the fact that it seems that I am likely to miss that entire event.

I mentioned that one of my goals is to bike up to Allenspark. Reader Dave is going to one-up me by biking all the way up Trail Ridge Road:

I’d also like to bike up Trail Ridge Rd in RMNP

theFIREstarter has a pretty great list (I share #3 and #5 with him):

1. Visit South America (again, including the bits we missed last time)
2. Travel SE Asia properly (Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, etc…)
3. Road trip round Europe (in a camper van perhaps?)
4. Learn two languages properly
5. Learn to play the guitar… properly!
6. Start creating music on my Computer again
7. Learn to juggle (trying that this year although recent progress has stalled)
8. Be an awesome Dad to TFS Jr
9. Become world famous via my blog (just kidding, kind of)
10. FIRE ?

Jason shares my goal of writing a book:

I would have to say that it is to finish this book, which would be the 3rd and final book of a concept I have written about for over a decade.

Team CF wants a Lotus Exige. My CF, can I borrow your future car? Just kidding. Maybe…

Buy a Lotus Exige and to a few track days

Mr. WoW likes trains:

As far as bucket list, I really want to ride the transiberian railroad end to end.

What Would You Do?

Now that I’ll soon be done with formal work, I plan on getting started on my real work. These are projects I’ve been thinking about for a long time. They vary from physical activity (P90x) to books to moonshot projects (mountain cabin).

One of the first items on my list is travel. In May, we’re headed up to Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin for 2 weeks. At the end of July, we’re going to Maine, Vermont and New York City for 3 weeks. Regarding the latter, I’ve wanted to see the famous Wall Street Bull ever since I read the awesome story of how it came to be. I hope to get a good picture of it.

My 5 weeks of travel wouldn’t have been possible while still tied to formal work. I’m so thankful that I get to do this.

Enough about my plans. What about you?

  • If you have early retirement dreams, how will you spend your first day/week/month/year off?
  • If you’re already done with formal work, what did you do with your new free time?
  • What recommendations do you have for me?

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Comments

  1. That’s incredibly that you are three weeks away from retirement. I am pretty sure I’d walk in with the biggest smile on my face everyday 🙂 Congrats

    I’ve always dreamed of going to Australia and New Zealand in retirement. Mainly due to the flight being so long I really wanted to make sure that I could stay long enough to make it worth while 🙂
    Mustard Seed Money recently posted…My 2017 Goals: Recap #1My Profile

    • “That’s incredibly that you are three weeks away from retirement.”

      And it gets even better! I took this week off for spring break! Life is good.

  2. Wow… I am really happy and excited for you!!!!

    As for me, there has been a couple of things that I wanted to do.

    1. Learn to play the guitar
    2. Attain native level Japanese proficiency. I can speak and write conversational Japanese but still quite a long way away from native level proficiency.
    3. Doing a self-drive camper trip in New Zealand from North Island to South Island, hopefully I get to catch the Southern Lights when I am there.
    4. Most important one – spending more quality time with my kids. Now my toddler only gets a “tired mummy” when she ends work late (part of the corporate grind) and I wish that I will have time to be there for all her important milestones and when she needs me.

    • Wow, impressive(#2) and worthwhile (#4) goals. #3 sounds awesome. I didn’t know there were southern lights, so thanks for teaching me something!

  3. Congrats – that’s very awesome! Best of luck to you in all that lies ahead!

    My early retirement is not too far behind yours – I’ve set July 31st as my date. My work (where I’ve been for 20 years) is in the process of looking for my replacement currently. It’s starting to feel real (I’m sure you can relate!). I do have a couple of things on the side setup to help with the transition.

    We have trips set for Europe and Australia in the fall. Timing works well as our youngest kid will be headed off to college in August.

    Sounds like some fun trips you have planned – I’m here in Wisconsin, and May is a great time to visit! And I absolutely love the Maine/NH area. Enjoy!

    • Congratulations on 7/31! Maybe we should start the “6 Digit Club.” I’m 041317. You’re 07312017.

      Wisconsin is a wonderful state. I can’t hardly wait to visit my old stomping grounds of Madison again.

  4. How do you feel when you walkthrough the door each morning now? How have your coworkers responded? On our last day I expect I’ll buy a cheap travel trailer and start a six month tour around the country.

  5. Woohoooo! It all seems so incredibly real now. 🙂 Congrats on having a FIRE date just a few weeks away! Oh my god, if I could quit my job on 4/13 I would be the happiest freakin’ woman alive. It took a lotta work to get to this point, so congrats again!

    If I could retire within the next few weeks, I would honestly spend my first few days sleeping and doing nothing. That sounds depressing and sad, but it’s what I would do. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a few lazy days when you don’t need to work for the money. That would give me time to plan out passion projects and what I want to do. I don’t think it would work if I just jumped into working on new things right away.
    Mrs. Picky Pincher recently posted…What A Frugal Weekend!My Profile

  6. When we hit early retirement, the first thing I’d like to do is take a week vacation with my immediate family for beach time. Within the first year, I’d also like to vacation to Australia. That’s a place that is incredibly hard to go to while still working given the travel time and there being so much to see and do. Otherwise, I will try to ease into retirement without any major commitments on my time so I can soak it in.
    The Green Swan recently posted…Our Retirement LifestyleMy Profile

  7. As much as I’d like to say it would be comething fun and exciting the first week/month of early retirement, the reality is, I’d be adjusting to being the stay at home/default parent, getting into a schedule of grocery shopping, laundry, dogs, and getting the kids and everyone prepped for the upcoming school year. You know, really fun stuff, lol.
    It looks like I’ll probably pull the trigger in/after July probably 2019, so while we may do something fun to celebrate, most likely it will just be me trying to make that transition as smooth as possible.

    More and more it’s looking like I’ll be done full time way before Mrs. SSC. The first full summer we all have off though, I’m looking forward to an epic road trip similar to your 5 week trip. 🙂
    Mr. SSC recently posted…I Like Work, but I Love Life MoreMy Profile

  8. That’s awesome! Congrats! Must be awesome looking at the list of things you want to do and mentally prepping to dive in. Love the idea of having a mix of goals ranging from the everyday to those moonshot-type projects.

    I think at this point I would be looking forward to a month of laying around, reading, and just generally recharging from a life of work (although maybe that changes when you get closer to the date – I’d imagine the excitement could energize you).
    Matt @ Optimize Your Life recently posted…How You Do Anything is How You Do EverythingMy Profile

  9. Congratulations! So glad that day is finally arriving for you! If your trip takes​ you up I-35 in Iowa and you’d like to save a few bucks on free lunch/dinner and or possible place to stay, shoot me an email. We’re pretty busy in May, but if we in town, we’d be glad to host you!

  10. Well… I have been forced into retirement by being laid off. UGH. I am 64, so it isn’t really an ‘early’ retirement, and the money situation is fine (well, not what we had hoped, but really quite fine). But I don’t feel particularly good about it. I’m glad I have one side gig that doesn’t pay much but makes me feel somewhat productive. Still…I hope you keep blogging and let us know how your retirement is working out. Hopefully I’ll get inspired to be happy about my own retirement!

    • Ann-

      I’m sad for you. How long ago was it? Change is much better when it isn’t forced upon us.

      Try to find things every day to be happy about. I have to work on my own happiness every waking hour. It takes work, but I assure you, there is nothing less important to work on.

  11. This is a very, very timely post. My last day of work is 5/31!! I’ve got a list:

    – Buy a car (since my company car goes away)
    – Do all of the projects that have been lingering around the house
    – Get a blog fully up and running (already got the host and domain)
    – Ride my beloved “retirement bike” more
    – Wait by the computer to see if I pick up any consulting gigs through my networking
    – Go through our expenses to see what can be trimmed (cell phone bill, I’m looking at you!)
    – See what daytime improv classes I can take, now that I have time !

    Honestly, I’m a bit worried. Unlike many in the FI world, I don’t have a preexisting blog to feed, or a side hustle already under way. Taking a 6 week medical leave over the winter proved that I could live without the trappings of my current job…but I want something to do. Part of the journey… 🙂

    • Hi Tom!

      “Honestly, I’m a bit worried. Unlike many in the FI world, I don’t have a preexisting blog to feed, or a side hustle already under way.”

      I’m sure it will come to you. And the worst case scenario is just that you go back to work. I doubt it will come to that though.

  13. Funny, my last day of officially desk surfing is April 14th 2017. For six years we have been building an ecommerce business that led to a podcast. We have chosen an intentional life and that doesn’t include working for anyone but ourselves. Can’t wait to see what you do next. Best wishes for intentional happiness! Peace in your life.

    • “For six years we have been building an ecommerce business that led to a podcast. We have chosen an intentional life and that doesn’t include working for anyone but ourselves.”

      That is soo000 cool! I love that you’re transitioning from formal work to passion work.

      Thanks for the kind words!

  14. Time flies doesn’t it, just a few days to go. I was working until about 11:30 last night trying to get something done for today. Couldn’t help but day dream if I didn’t have to work.

    If I was retired, I probably would start that brewery. Fitness would definitely be a goal, It’s a life goal. I want to lose another 10 lbs before Summer. I would attempt to gain as much skill at carpentry as you have and work on my house a lot. I’m not fully sure what I would do, because my answer will change when I get there. If I’m single I probably won’t travel too much. If I’m not single I might travel a lot.

    I’m a tinkerer, I will probably tinker a lot.

  15. Honestly I think my first couple of weeks would just be to decompress and spend a lot of time outdoors running and playing beach volleyball. Probably catching up on those random projects I have a hard time doing with only 2 days off work. Sleep in more for sure! I’m so jealous your deadline is coming up!!!
    Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…Being Brutally Honest With YourselfMy Profile

  16. w00t! 4/13!!!!

    I’m in Minneapolis and there’s a great microbrew scene if you like that sort of thing (and I know you do).

    Also, I grew up in Michigan, where are you headed in the Great Lakes State? btw, my home town of Grand Rapids was voted best beer scene in 2017 by a USA Today reader poll. I see a theme here…

  17. congrats, buddy ! you have been an inspiration to me. i myself have no idea what i would do in the first days, and that´s what scares me the most when thinking about early retirement. i have already traveled quite a bit – europe, USA, canada, latin america… so i guess that´s the best bet for you. if your kids are not in school yet, rent an airbnb apartment somewhere in europe and explore the surroundings, live there for sometime, then repeat the process somewhere else. congrats again, you rock bro !!!

  18. When I retire I think I would need time to do absolutely nothing. I would probably take a couple weeks to sleep in, watch too much Netflix, and just relax. Once that time period is over I imagine I would find some volunteer work to do, blog more than I do now, get back in shape and cook delicious homemade meals from scratch every day. I can’t wait!

    Like a commenter mentioned above there are a lot of new breweries in MN. I suggest checking out Surly’s new brewery. I haven’t been there but I’ve heard it’s really nice! It has a restaurant as well. Also I’m not sure where you plan on crossing over into Wisconsin from MN but I suggest Duluth. It’s about a four hour drive from the Twin Cities, but it is incredibly beautiful up there and you can easily spend a day in Canal Park soaking up the sights.

  20. I became a stay-at-home dad/blogger. That took up all my time.
    My schedule is pretty mundane right now. It’s not exciting, but I enjoy my life much more than when I was working full time.
    We plan to take a year to travel around the world after Mrs. RB40 retires. We’ll road school our kid for a year. Sounds a bit daunting now that it’s getting closer.
    Enjoy your last few weeks of formal work!

  21. Congrats on the end-date Carl!

    When I finally left work, we planned a vacation to Hawaii and had a great time.

    After that, I focused on my personal projects, and taking care of the kids. It’s been a good time, but I recommend you keep yourself busy and get plenty of time outdoors. Oh, and stay positive!

    Really, early-retirement is pretty much a blast. I build all kinds of stuff, and spend my time where I want to…. instead of spending my time where my employer wants it.

    Your going to love it!
    Mr. Tako @ Mr. Tako Escapes recently posted…Essential Skills For Early Retirement: NappingMy Profile

  22. Oh man, April 13 is so close!!!

    If I did not have to worry about going to a job I would:
    1. make exercising a regular part of my daily routine-walks around town, hiking, playing Just Dance.
    2. I would focus a lot of time on making an urban homestead on our property.
    3. Cook. Spend a lot of time cooking and baking and making all the meals I want to but haven’t had time to properly spend on them.
    4. Travel. There are a ton of book festivals I want to go to but haven’t had a chance to yet. There’s so much of the US I haven’t seen yet, but I also would want to go overseas, too.
    5. Lastly, I would read. All the time. It kills me that I will never be able to read all the book I want to because new great books are constantly being published!

    • “There are a ton of book festivals I want to go to but haven’t had a chance to yet. There’s so much of the US I haven’t seen yet, but I also would want to go overseas, too.”

      This is a thought I have all the time too. You could probably spend a year just in Washington/Oregon/California and not be bored.

      “Lastly, I would read. All the time. It kills me that I will never be able to read all the book I want to because new great books are constantly being published!”

      Hell yes to this one! Lately, I’ve been adding 2-3 books a day to my book list.

  23. Congrats Man! I am so happy for you. I would be following your journey from here to see where you get to..

    I have not shared this before, but I considered myself “retired” in early 2009.. I loved the unscheduled time, and worked on a lot of my projects. I did some travelling, which was pretty awesome. But ultimately, I went to school to get advanced degrees and certifications, which opened a bunch of different opportunities from there, which I would not have had if I stayed “retired”. If I hadn’t followed those opportunities, I would have never met my soulmate.
    Dividend Growth Investor recently posted…John Bogle Likes DividendsMy Profile

    • Thanks so much DGI!

      “If I hadn’t followed those opportunities, I would have never met my soulmate.”

      I like to sit back and consider the serendipitous turns that our lives take. There have been a couple times where one decision took my life in a vastly different direction. I like to think it all turned out for the best because I’m in a good place now, but that is a silly assumption. Even more silly though is to look back and second guess anything because it does absolutely no good.

      • Ha, I keep pondering how my life would have changed if I had not become DGI at the beginning 10 years ago. The most interesting observation is that the experience from the past 10 years is not an indication of future results, as things are not set in stone 😉

        For example, over the past decade, a dividend portfolio has done pretty well (buying dividend aristocrats/achievers directly or if we use proxy ETF like DVY, VYM, SDY, VIG etc).

        However, I would have done better had I invested in tech stocks (like through QQQ, ONEQ or directly like you did)

        I would not have done as well if I had followed a more traditional approach that had a tilt to international stocks, emerging stocks, a bunch of bonds and a much lower amount of US stocks.

        Somehow, my pondering has managed to piss off a lot of index investors.

        And finally, if I had bought a home a decade ago, I would have likely lost a lot of money, as I moved around quite often.
        Dividend Growth Investor recently posted…John Bogle Likes DividendsMy Profile

        • “Somehow, my pondering has managed to piss off a lot of index investors.’

          I like this. If you’re not pissing some people off in life, you’re probably a soft pushover. What fun is that shit?

          I like the old quote: “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.”

  24. So close! I’m excited for you.

    I understand how you feel about work though. I’ve been at my company since 2003. I don’t have coworkers there, I have friends. Friends who don’t know what I’m plotting. I dread having to tell them because I imagine they might feel I’ve been deceitful with them. Ugh.

    I don’t yet know how I’m going to celebrate my first day retired. So many options, only 24 hours (assuming I straight up refuse to sleep at all). Luckily I’ll have a whole lifetime into which to fit everything that doesn’t fit into the first day, and I have 45 more months in which to design the perfect first day.
    Mrs. BITA recently posted…Are We There Yet? A FIRE CalendarMy Profile

    • “I don’t have coworkers there, I have friends.”

      Yep. I tried to keep my distance, but it’s not easy.

      “I have 45 more months in which to design the perfect first day.”

      Don’t wait to start pondering it. You may be surprised by how fast those days pass you by.

  25. Great question! My goal is to achieve FI right around the time my kids are finishing up middle school or just starting high school. My goal is leverage my FI status to only work during the school year (and then fully retire when both kids graduate). If I can accomplish this I’d love to spend our summers living in another country. Australia/New Zealand is first on the list.

    Also, not sure where in Minnesota you’ll be, but if you are in the Twin Cities, be sure to check out Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis and stop by Cossetta’s in downtown St. Paul for a slice of pizza.

  26. Wow, Mr. 1500. I am delighted for you. It must feel not like the culmination but a new beginning of a self-designed life. What a state of being! Being able to retire early and to stay retired to do the things you love is as close to Nirvana as Buddhists call it, while not wearing an ochre robe. Best wishes for onward and upward.
    Ten Factorial Rocks recently posted…Debt = DesperationMy Profile

  27. In a life goal /bucket list discussion last Thursday, I apparently want to travel a lot. 2 weeks of vacay isn’t cutting it, further reinforcing my bigger FI goal.
    Early FIRE would probably be stuff like…
    For example 1 yoga studio is in Bali the past 2 weeks, and another has a retreat in Peru in May. I’d like to see a lot of Castles in Europe, and Hobbiton in New Zealand. If I’m already that far, Australia too. I had a very short time in Vancouver at the end of the family Alaska cruise, and I’d like to explore that city, plus Toronto, Montreal etc. Sure some of those could be long weekend trips while I’m working.
    I also visited family this weekend, and then squished in 3 hours with friends, before heading home, but I got home at 10 45 pm. Oomph! How great would it be to spend a few days with each friend/couple. I could even cook them dinner the second night. Mosey my way around to friends and family and slow visit. Use their place as a base and go wander museums, parks, take local yoga classes while they’re at work. 🙂 I’d also have the time (if I wasn’t on my international adventures) to be able to celebrate my friends’ birthday with them, like on their birthday (or close). One of my best friend’s birthdays was Sat & because her family had plans, and my schedule, we couldn’t get together. Freedom would = I could also re-arrange my schedule, and we could still do something.
    The first day – mid day yoga & library trip. I know it would take me a while to ease into it being more than a random day off…
    I’m so excited for you & hooray bonus spring break week!

  28. Congrats Carl, only weeks away from that date. Amazing stuff! Any plans to head up north and visit some Canadian neighbors of yours? 😀

    I think the first week I’d take it easy and let it really soak in. Since I can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes, I’ll probably end up planning an extended travel trip. Maybe a tour in Asia somewhere? Or an all-Canadian trip going from west coast to east coast? I’d also spend more time on my photography hobby and go hiking and skiing.
    Tawcan recently posted…Recent buys – H.TO & CTC.AMy Profile

  29. Woohoo! Nothing more exciting than counting down the days 🙂

    I think you are on the right track with all the travel you have planned. That was how we filled my first few weeks off. Besides that I was caught up in a whirlwind of projects around the house. I just recently got caught up and finally have time for picking up my guitar and reading books.

    I wouldn’t worry too much about planning out your time, it will fill up fast enough on its own. Maybe we can grab a beer if you end up in New England 🙂

  30. Woo hoo to being done in 3 weeks. Are you going to totally quit for them or will you do some contract work every once in a while? In terms of what I would do. I think I would just take a week to do NOTHING. Let it sink in and then start the following week anew. But I have to admit when I was on sabbatical a couple of years ago I felt a bit isolated. I missed my colleagues and students. I need to do something and for me that has to involve people. That is probably why I would always do some kind of work, but it has to be seeing people in-person to some extent.

  32. In early retirement, I’d like to get some fancy woodworking tools like a planer and a router, and make a bunch of weird shit out of reclaimed lumber. I could see that sort of thing taking up the first year of early retirement.

    Congratulations on the light at the end of the tunnel! I’m four years behind you, buddy. Save me a beer.

    Speaking of which, we’ll actually be in town this year for Christmas if you want to finally get that beverage.

  33. I left the full time corporate world four years ago, but have since gone back part time. Right now I’m on a project that will be ending soon and I will take some time off. I haven’t decided exactly what I will do, but I may do some extended travel to Cuba, Belize, Arecibo or Galapagos.

    I would also like to combine some U.S. travel to help to promote ‘happiness’, through the non-profit organization for Gross National Happiness USA. I just had coffee today with one of the co-founders and here are two options I’m considering:
    – Join the “Happiness Walk” segment from LA to San Francisco http://gnhusa.org/happiness-walk/walk-route/
    – Walk a few weeks along the Appalachian Trail and try to interview people about ‘happiness’.

    I know you are working on happiness yourself, so you may want to check out the route, as it looks like the happiness walk is going through Denver at some point.
    Primal Prosperity recently posted…You lucky bastard – you’re alive!My Profile

  34. That is awesome, less than a month to go.

    Me – if i could retire today, i would go back to india and spend the year with my parents and most of my extended family. Do things that i used to take for granted before i came to the US – like celebrating birthday’s, anniversary’s etc.

  35. 1500 days –

    To be a young stay at home dad at some point (29 with no children at the moment) haha; but honestly –
    1.) Ensure my mom is happy, stress free for the remainder of her days
    2.) Travel Europe – Italy, Greece, Albania
    3.) Touch/help as many people become financially free as possible.

    Nuff said!!!

    -Lanny

  36. I’ve read your blog for a while. Funny thing is, before you hit your number, I was writing my blog having hit my number. Sadly, the best days are behind. The big reveal is – we just keep getting richer and more FI, except ‘more FI’ isn’t as exciting as reaching ‘FI’. In fact, in a way, it feels like hoarding. So all I can hope is that you get aggressive in your giving it all away, because that really makes for a full life.

  37. We’re already two months into the year, and I’m only just thinking about what I want 2017 to look like. In past years, I’d probably have already mapped out everything already with plans, ideas, and goals, but the truth is, I haven’t really been in a goal setting mood lately. I’ve been feeling much more comfortable going with the flow and seeing where life takes me instead of overthinking every little detail – at least for right now.

    That being said, I had a few things in mind that I wanted to make time for in my life this year. Three things, to be exact, that will bring me joy in 2017. I even thought to myself that having a list of five things might be more fun, but after racking my brain for ideas, I decided it was better to stick with what I knew I wanted to do rather than forcing other activities into my already busy life.

    1. Take more photos of the little things
    2. Explore new restaurants and coffee shops
    3. Make baking a weekly occurrence
    Lisa Schofield recently posted…Essential Camping Safety Hacks & OthersMy Profile

  38. Two and a half weeks left, it’s really coming soon now! Looking forward to the post of that day 🙂
    Thanks for the mention (too bad about my typo…..), would really love to do a track day in a Lotus one day. The Exige would be seriously cool. But I would also take a Lotus super 7 or Elise!
    It’s probably good to remember that driving a slow car fast is much more fun than driving a fast car slow 🙂

  39. OMG, just 2 more weeks! That’s awesome! Congratulations! (hmm maybe a few too many exclamation points there 🙂 — seriously I’m happy for you)

    When are you going to be in NYC area and how long? I’m nearby in NJ and perhaps I could buy you a couple beers if things line up 🙂

    My plan for after retirement would be to take 1-2 months to unwind and release the stress from working. This would involve, lots of activities that are very zen for me like exercising, taking the dog on long nature walks, reading profusely, cooking, sleeping whenever I felt like it (preferably in a hammock surrounded by sounds of nature), etc. After that I would tackle the long list of house projects I always want to do and never have time and also personal projects and tinkering. Also we’d travel more than we do now and slower. I would probably wait at least a year before giving any real thought to any non-hobby work (if I was so inclined).

    • I’d friggin’ love to meet up!!!* I’m in town 8/1-8/4. Since you’re making the trip, all beers are on me!

      Do let me know if you’ll be around.

      *I’m addicted to exclamation points.

  40. My early retirement is not too far behind yours – I’ve set July 31st as my date. My work (where I’ve been for 20 years) is in the process of looking for my replacement currently. It’s starting to feel real (I’m sure you can relate!). I do have a couple of things on the side setup to help with the transition.

    We have trips set for Europe and Australia in the fall. Timing works well as our youngest kid will be headed off to college in August.

  41. Congratulations! This internet stranger is truly happy for you 🙂 I have been reading your blog since you first started, cheering you on. You inspire me and I hope I will be in a similar situation in the next 5 years 🙂 Have an amazing trip!

  43. Hey? I can’t believe I missed it but congrats on being “officially” retired ( just in case the retirement police is watching, as we all know you will be doing something and it will make you money)

    Also that sounds like a fun trip. Is it a road trip? Where will you be headed in Michigan?