Mini-Retirement at 36 Instead of Full Retirement at 38

As I have great reasons not to retire as soon as I reach financial independence at 38, I also love the idea of mini-retirement by Tim Ferriss. Although I don't foresee myself paring down to 4 hour work weeks and raking in $40,000/month like Tim does, I will definitely enjoy plenty of mini-retirements before I fully retire.

So, I started talking with Mini's dad about our first family mini-retirement.

We both believe that traveling around the world and learning from various cultures will enrich Mini's life beyond conventional schooling. Since Mini's started school 1 year younger and has always been the youngest in her class, we thought it would be nice to give her a one year vacation after high school graduation and college acceptance (in which case, she will defer for a year.) The year Mini finishes high school, I'd be 40, seems like a logical time for an extended family vacation.

The thought of a family sabbatical in year 2024 after Mini gets accepted to college seems incredible.

So I presented this high school graduation/college acceptance gift idea to Mini. She was thrilled, but quickly proposed an alternate plan.

Timothy Ferriss]? I want to do that... I want to have four breaks instead of 1 long one."

Pensively, Mini said, "I kinda want to spread that fun year out. Remember about the mini-retirements in that book you read me [4-Hour Work Week by

Lola has always been really tolerant when being used as a pillow.

Quite the outside-the-box thinker, Mini has always been. As her mom, I tried to practice good parenting and always give her two options. The thing is she always comes with a 3rd self-made option that I may be prepared for :)

However, this time her proposal actually does work better. Mini wants four 3-month-trips: one at elementary graduation (in two years), one at middle school graduation (in four years), one at high school graduation (in eight years), and one at college graduation (in 12 years), instead of the 1 year-long vacation when she's 17. This will be her first taste of mini-retirement, and likely firsts for her dad and me. Based on Mini's proposed plan, our first family mini-retirement would happen when I'm 36 instead of 40. I like rewarding ourselves a little sooner :)

However, our first mini-retirement in 2018 will be cut short because I'll still be in residency and simply can not take a 3 month vacation without impacting my training gravely.

So we plan to take a three-week family vacation instead and enjoy the balance of the three-month trip for after I reach FI in 2023.

Lola, our beloved dog (whom we rescued from the streets, not via a shelter, on the day of my 31st bday) will definitely come along for our family mini-retirement planed by Mini Wise Money.

Mini's first destination of choice is Hawaii.

Research she has done so far:

• Price of a used sailboat: 12k
• Distance between Tucson and Hawaii: 2,897 miles
• Max speed of sailboat: 30.8 miles/hr
• With the assistance of a calculator & assuming average 15.4 mi/hr: 16 days round trip Tucson to Hawaii
• She plans to stay on Hawaii island for 3 days to explore.
• Mini assigned 2lbs/meal for Dad, 1lb/meal for DWM/MWM/Lola each: 5 lbs of food per meal for the family
• Total # of lbs of food for 19 days trip to Hawaii: 285 lbs of food (including 57 lbs of dog food for Lola)
• Adults need 3L/day, Mini needs 1.5L/day, Lola needs 1L/day
• Water distiller costs: $700

Planning in Mini's own words:

"My Trip To The Hawaiian Islands"

The whole trip is 2,897 miles from Tucson,AZ to The Hawaiian Islands.

The boat can go from 15. 4 mph-30.08 mph.

To go there and come back it could take 8-16 days.

We will be exploring/camping for 16 days so the trip would be 24-32 days.

We will need 537 lbs. of food and 8 liters of water a day all together.

89.5 pounds of it will be Lola’s food (3 bags) and one liter of the 8 liters of water is hers."

Definitely much more research & planning is necessary for our family mini-retirement, we will keep you posted!

But it's a start! Mini's spending her first day of summer vacation 2016, dreaming and planning away, plugging numbers into her new best friend, the calculator...allowing me to blog :)

Ways to fund our first family Mini-retirement:

• Mini recently started a new business, in addition to her freelance artwork, and Walkie Dogie (pet care service). She loves tie-dye and will start accepting orders after she returns from Shanghai in late July. Here is some of her work.
• DWM will add to travel fund with summer camp (starting 2017) proceeds.
• We will be asking family who showers Mini with gifts to donate to her mini-retirement fund instead.
• We will run a couple fund raising events such as Tie-Dye apparel sales, Cook off by Wise Money Gourmet.
• DWM will donate 20% of DWM blog proceeds to this travel fund.
• Got ideas for us to make this dream come true? Share below!

Mini with best friend modeling their own artwork at local bowling alley.

If you like this article, you might enjoy other DWM articles on Personal Finance, Investing, Retirement, Practice Management, & Lifestyle.

All articles by DWM are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a professional accountant, financial adviser or lawyer, before making financial decisions.