Let’s sell all our worldly goods, house included, to fund the trip of a lifetime. Buy a Motorhome and travel the UK and Europe.
The ‘Dream’ above is still the general end goal but we are not sufficiently funded to just go do it without a care, however, we do see a very real opportunity to retire early if we leave the material world behind and try not to take our house into the afterlife.
- We are not ready yet
- We still have two grown children at home (and quite happy about that)
- We are locked into mortgage rate till end 2018
- Our ‘Cash’ worth today (age 50) would not see us to retirement (age 67)
- Compromises
- Downsize and be mortgage free (children keep a smaller roof over heads)
- Go seasonal at work (possible) to allow extended holiday trips (eg 6months)
- Forget motorhome dream (high initial outlay) and stay with caravans
There is much more to think about not mentioned here and the decision will not be rushed or reckless. We imagine that ultimately some form of bricks and mortar will remain, however small, as a place called home will provide some security in the event of bad fortune, disasters, ill health or death (what a pleasant blog).
We have normally been quite ‘risk averse’ but quitting the rat race is a worthwhile target and this will be happening in some form by the time or before we hit 55.
As a Doctor recently said to one of us, “If you quit your job will you die?”… “No” …”If you quit your job will you be living in the street” …”No” … “Then do what is right for you”
inpursuitofadream.com 
I took early retirement at 56, got rid of non essential spending and have not looked back! It’s surprising how much you can cut back when not having to work is the incentive.
Spent a lot of time touring the uk this year and planning to cover some of Europe next.
Loving life – go for it!
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Thanks for the comment Val. We gave up ‘pressure’ jobs 3 years ago and now on zero hour contracts on less than half the income. It has been a very liberating experience and makes you focus on what is really important.
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Like the sound of this dream (doubt my husband would though!). Would like to do something similar when we’ve retired and the kids have grown up (youngest is only 3 months though, so not for many years).
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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment Cat. Just enjoy your time with Bertha and your little ones.
Loved your blog by the way. Reminded us of when we got our first caravan
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We sold up lock stock and barrel 13 years ago and been in our van since and we work for the caravan club so we feel we get the best of both worlds as we are in our van for ten months then we put it in storage and go abroad for two months we use a parents address for mail etc and invested the house money for when we need to re enter the property world and we have no regrets at all
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That sounds like the best of both worlds.
CC is something we think of occasionally. Not sure until the time comes which path we’ll choose. One thing is for sure though – it’ll be a blast!
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Sounds like you are being very practical and working out what is best for your circumstances – everyone’s are different and life is full of compromises. Whereas I would happily just own a campervan and live on the road, my partner likes to have some bricks and mortar as security. Working towards a plan is great and you’re doing this at the right time. Enjoy the journey:)
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Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Whichever route we take when the time comes will be fun.
I’m a little bit like your partner, I too like the security of bricks and mortar, something to come back to.
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There’s loads of people who have done the same and it’s great that you’re considering a number of different options to achieve the dream – there’s always another way! We’ve been following the FIRE (Financial Independence to Retire Early) community for a while and are currently on track to retire early (in our early 50s) in March 2018. If you’ve not seen it before, this couple have documented their FIRE journey really well (and are currently on the road in their motorhome in Spain): http://ourtour.co.uk/home/
Good luck with the journey and I’d suggest get involved with some of the online communities of FIRE people – everyone likes to tell their own tale!
Paul
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Thank you for taking time to leave your comment.
We do follow ‘Our Tour’.
Most other people do seem to enter this on a stronger financial footing than us so it is going to take lots of research on our part. All adds to the fun though!
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I’m glad to read that you will still retain bricks and mortar in the UK. Whatever you do just make sure that you always have a base back here, whether it’s just a one bedroom property that you rent out, or invest the money. We worked and lived in Gibraltar for 4 years and in my job I would often liaise with SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Air Force Association) who had been called upon to help with cases of ex- service personnel who had settled with their wives / husbands on the Costa del Sol after selling up in the UK. In quite a few cases the widow / widower wanted to return back to the UK to be near their family but found that they had been priced out of the housing market. Go for it, dont leave it to late…..as once you have grandchildren you will find it very hard leaving them.
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Welcome words Carol, and the ‘good Angel’ on our shoulders is nodding in agreement. Our interests and passions have often gone in 5 year cycles so deep down ‘full-timing’ will probably not be the outcome. Looking in the crystal ball, we see a MEGA European Tour to everywhere (Motorhome), a MEGA British Tour (MH or Caravan) then split time in UK Property with long (eg 3 month) tours thrown in once or twice yearly – because you are right – arrival of Grandchildren will be a huge factor.
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When we returned to Northern Ireland from Spain to let my partner’s son finish his “A” level education, we noticed that many people had been trapped in negative equity after the financial collapse, so we decided to rent. House prices at home are only now returning to pre-2007 prices.
We purchased our motorhome for £6k. We have spent another couple of thousand renovating it and doing repairs and now we are on the road. We gave up our rented house, packed what we needed into the motorhome and stored a few cherished belongings with relatives. We have no fixed base at home and only a modest income which I can earn while on the road with a couple of hours work per week.
In the past I lived in a new 4 bedroom detached house with 2 new cars in the driveway (mine being a large Mercedes) but I can honestly say that I am happier now than I was then without all the financial pressures. To me the secret to independence is not to have sufficient investments, but to learn to live with less. You have already made the first major step in that journey by cutting back your jobs. For me it was the onset of depression which made me lose my income and possessions. Now I will gladly swap stuff for experiences any day of the week.
We do not in any way feel threatened having no fixed base. In fact I would feel it was a tie around my neck as we may never want to return to the UK to live there permanently. Who knows what is ahead or around the next corner?
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Very much appreciate this message as drawing experience from others is beneficial to us. I see some parallels in your story as I found the more I earned the more unhappy I got, even promotions and pay rises instantly had the negative physiological effect of wondering how I could keep it up till I was 65. I call it my “wobble” as I felt I just hated my job rather than being depressed, but that may be ‘denial’. So money makes me unhappy, but an envelope with 100k in it would be nice to buy a motorhome – LOL.
We will still plan carefully, luckily, our zero hour jobs may help, as we can increase touring periods and decrease work periods over next five years until we hit 55 and have a clearer picture.
Have a great New Year and thanks again for helpful comment.
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Yes, we are also budgeting the next two and a half years until we reach 55. We live at the minute on the equivalent of our projected OAP at 67 (about £15k p.a.) but at 55 we will have access to a couple of pension schemes that will give us the money to upgrade the motorhome and provide a similar income through the capital until age 67 – so if I continue to work my minimal hours from 55-60 from the road, this will give us a cushion. And to be honest, by the time I reach 67 (if I do) I may just be ready to lie down in a dark corner somewhere 😀
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