On another blog, the poster asked what his readers preferred for retirement: to work a standard career and then have full retirement, or to work more years than usual but at a rate of 30 hours a week, what’s called semi-retirement. Most responded that they’d rather work fewer hours each week in order to enjoy more free time now. One remarked that the next year of your life is your best bet for a happy, healthy existence, rather than some distant year you don’t even know you’ll have.
After taking a career break, I think I prefer a different kind of concept, the mini-retirement. My option would be to work then take a break, work then take a break, with no specified time for the work or break periods, but the periods would be finite.
To do this, I’m choosing to live a non-standard, bare-bones kind of existence. Most everything I own fits in the back of my Honda Element. I have no debt, no house. I’m not beholden to any financial institution for anything.
I admit, this option is not for the masses, but for me it’s the perfect, and much happier solution.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m doing the same in VA right now, believe it or not! Philip holds the house, so I am free to go anytime.
I was able to do achieve mini retirement by working at the phone co for 3 yars in order to get set up. i paid off all debts, started an IRA (a joke now) and saved enough money to be able to cut back to part time w/o out worry. Now it’s ‘No debt, no real job’. For the past 3 years, I’ve just done what ever makes me happy that brings in enough to pay my 1/2 of the bills. I’d take a full time job if I found one I loved. I worked doing renovations full time for about 6 months, but then the company went under. Now I’m figure modeling, and I also have 6 clients i garden and do yard work for, I also handle art now and then randomly.
When I become too old/unhealthy for this life style, just push me over a cliff.
Other things: I had a veggie garden this summer to practice the independance of growing my own food. We have 11 rain barrels (with fish to eat mosquitos)incase of droubt. We’re heating mostly with wood. Haven’t quite firgured out how to ditch the electric, we use it as little as we can.
I have dreamt about living some place where housing structures are unregulated so we could build one out of what ever we like, shaped how we choose, added onto when ever we like.
You sound great even though you might feel crazy at times (or others might think you are). You are in an envious, very unique position that is hard to grasp for most in the U.S.
I think we are the ones who really have it figured out. Happiness is the key.
Comment by shelia gray — November 24, 2008 @ 3:00 pm