6 Comments

  1. I thought that this was a great podcast and a topic that does not get discussed enough. I think that many of the points made in this episode as to why you should take a gap year or a year off from work are great, but I have a few more important things to consider.

    Physical Health. If you are more than a few years away from FI, how might your health change between now and then and will this affect your ability to take part in activities that you love to do? If you are an avid (fill in the blank) and you are 35 years old right now and plan to early retire at 45, will you still be able to do these activities in the same capacity?

    Kids. Having a large segment of time to spend with your kids when they are younger will be much different than if you early retire with them and they are teenagers.

    Test Drive early retirement. I know that you spoke a bit about this, but this still is huge. You might think that you will love early retirement, that your days without work will be full of bliss, but you won’t know this until you really try it. I am a teacher and took my first 6 month sabbatical a few years ago and while I truly loved it, it also helped me realize that striving for retiring before 50 wasn’t for me (I’m in my mid 40’s now). Instead I have moved down to half time work and I’m coasting to a retirement closer to 55 (with another few half year sabbaticals planned as well).

    Yes I am a public school teacher and enjoy the ability of an employer allowing me to take time off with my current position guaranteed upon return. My employer will also allow us to the option to withhold salary in order to save for the year off. Even with these perks it is amazing how few teachers take advantage of this.

  2. I tried to email mechanic@figarage.com but it bounced. I have beer for you guys from Terrace BC!

    My mother in law was staying with us for 3 weeks up until thanksgiving. We listened to one of your episodes while she was here. On returning to her home town, she shipped beer here for you!

    Let me know how to contact you and I’ll send you a pic of the selection of beers.

  3. Good points Dave. You’re totally right, we did neglect to mention the physical health angle. I’m sure there are many activities, and travel adventures that one should do while able. The kids angle is huge too, I’ve heard of quite a few people taking the time while the kids are younger, and then opting to return to work once they are teens. Good for you for taking the sabbaticals and designing a part time schedule. I think this just doesn’t fall into most peoples ‘norm’ these days. Society has become wired to be proud of working non-stop and leading overly busy and stressful lives. Like it’s some kind of badge of honor to always be going full speed. Thanks for listening and commenting, Cheers, MM

Leave a Reply