Fire Drill

For top takeaways and show notes from today's chat, visit: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire015/

What if your job allowed you to go fully remote for a year? And what if you and your spouse sold everything you owned, bought a boat, and cruised around the Americas for 5 years while building an online business?

Literally the dream life for many FIRE-rs.

Today's guest is none other than Melody from Saving to Sail, who has done exactly that. She teaches boaters how to live their dreams and make money while sailing the word.

#digitalnomad #life.

Melody chats about:

How she got into boating, how she prepared, and what sailing life is really like.

The surprisingly *uncomplicated* saving method Melody used to create this lifestyle. (goooood motivation)

Her online business in freelance writing, web design, and teaching others how to blog.

Pirate names (see below)

This episode is fantastic for anyone considering replacing a full-time job lifestyle with online business and full-time travel. Enjoy!

AirBnB has reshaped the way our society thinks about travel and rental properties. But the lucrative process of side-hustling AirBnB has looong surpassed it's opportunity, right??

Nope.

Our guest today is Zeona McIntyre (https://www.zeonamcintyre.com), an AirBnB expert who has years of experience managing her own (and other peoples!) AirBnB properties...all for the purpose of working towards FI.

In fact, she makes well over six-figures and owns five properties across multiple states...just for AirBnB. I'd call that expert-level.

We chat...

How she got started in the first place, and why AirBnB?

How she grew (great entry-level tips for first-timers, and great REI tips in there as well)

Managing properties remotely

Why you might need to try out a relationship shaman :)

She was an absolute delight to speak with. Enjoy!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Zeona's blog: https://www.zeonamcintyre.com/

Suzi Orman - personal finance author (Zeona first got into personal finance watching Suzi Orman tapes with her mom!)

Mr. Money Mustache - yes, we mentioned MMM again :)

AirBnB

Headspace App - Fantastic meditation app

TaskRabbit - cool place to find people online to do....well, random tasks!

Key takeaways from our chat with Zeona McIntyre

1 - There is a still a LOT of potential for AirBnB, despite everyone knowing about it

AirBnB is mainstream now, but that doesn't mean opportunities are dwindling (see point 1.5 below).

One important note: An AirBnB rental is a different animal than long-term REI rentals.

One vital tip Zeona gave was this: make sure to look at the long-term math. If AirBnB fails 7 years from now (or your local government lays the crackdown on your property), you need to make sure alternative solutions are available (i.e. does long-term renting make sense for this property? Could you easily re-sell? etc).

Also, though more and more landlords are specifically including AirBnb limitations in their leases...the effects of subletting like this is becoming better and better understood.

You might honestly just talk to your landlords and make an exception. Most know what AirBnB is about these days.

1.5 - Abundance mindset vs. Scarcity mindset

Semi-related.

Don't fear competition.

Sure. AirBnB listings are increasing, it's true...but so are the people traveling.

In addition to AirBnB, the mindset switch to abundance-thinking can literally affect your entire life.

Start viewing potential competitors as teammates, and your jealousy and anxiety could very well plummet. There is plenty of life-pie for all of us at the table. :) :)

2 - 90% of the time, a house is not a good investment

This could very well turn into a 8,392 word count blog post...but we'll just serve to reinforce the point here.

Our culture largely thinks of a house (or property) as an asset, where is probably isn't for most people.

Yes, your mortgage payments might be building equity, but this only 1 of 20-50 other factors that should be considered.

Repairs and maintenance can cost....a lot. Any new homeowner can relate.

Interest expense.

Taxes

Insurance

HOA fees?

Owning a home is sweet. Owning a rental or AirBnb property is sweet as well...but proper due diligence, research, and thought should be put into purchasing a piece of property.

It's not an asset simply because "you're building equity."

3 - How Zeona furnishes her newly-bought AirBnB properties.

While not an "actionable tip" from the episode, Zeona's creativity and resourcefulness are to be admired.

AirBnB has reshaped the way our society thinks about travel and rental properties. But the lucrative process of side-hustling AirBnB has looong surpassed it's opportunity, right??

Nope.

Our guest today is Zeona McIntyre (https://www.zeonamcintyre.com), an AirBnB expert who has years of experience managing her own (and other peoples!) AirBnB properties...all for the purpose of working towards FI.

In fact, she makes well over six-figures and owns five properties across multiple states...just for AirBnB. I'd call that expert-level.

We chat...

How she got started in the first place, and why AirBnB?

How she grew (great entry-level tips for first-timers, and great REI tips in there as well)

Managing properties remotely

Why you might need to try out a relationship shaman :)

She was an absolute delight to speak with. Enjoy!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Zeona's blog: https://www.zeonamcintyre.com/

Suzi Orman - personal finance author (Zeona first got into personal finance watching Suzi Orman tapes with her mom!)

Mr. Money Mustache - yes, we mentioned MMM again :)

AirBnB

Headspace App - Fantastic meditation app

TaskRabbit - cool place to find people online to do....well, random tasks!

Key takeaways from our chat with Zeona McIntyre

1 - There is a still a LOT of potential for AirBnB, despite everyone knowing about it

AirBnB is mainstream now, but that doesn't mean opportunities are dwindling (see point 1.5 below).

One important note: An AirBnB rental is a different animal than long-term REI rentals.

One vital tip Zeona gave was this: make sure to look at the long-term math. If AirBnB fails 7 years from now (or your local government lays the crackdown on your property), you need to make sure alternative solutions are available (i.e. does long-term renting make sense for this property? Could you easily re-sell? etc).

Also, though more and more landlords are specifically including AirBnb limitations in their leases...the effects of subletting like this is becoming better and better understood.

You might honestly just talk to your landlords and make an exception. Most know what AirBnB is about these days.

1.5 - Abundance mindset vs. Scarcity mindset

Semi-related.

Don't fear competition.

Sure. AirBnB listings are increasing, it's true...but so are the people traveling.

In addition to AirBnB, the mindset switch to abundance-thinking can literally affect your entire life.

Start viewing potential competitors as teammates, and your jealousy and anxiety could very well plummet. There is plenty of life-pie for all of us at the table. :) :)

2 - 90% of the time, a house is not a good investment

This could very well turn into a 8,392 word count blog post...but we'll just serve to reinforce the point here.

Our culture largely thinks of a house (or property) as an asset, where is probably isn't for most people.

Yes, your mortgage payments might be building equity, but this only 1 of 20-50 other factors that should be considered.

Repairs and maintenance can cost....a lot. Any new homeowner can relate.

Interest expense.

Taxes

Insurance

HOA fees?

Owning a home is sweet. Owning a rental or AirBnb property is sweet as well...but proper due diligence, research, and thought should be put into purchasing a piece of property.

It's not an asset simply because "you're building equity."

3 - How Zeona furnishes her newly-bought AirBnB properties.

While not an "actionable tip" from the episode, Zeona's creativity and resourcefulness are to be admired.

AirBnB has reshaped the way our society thinks about travel and rental properties. But the lucrative process of side-hustling AirBnB has looong surpassed it's opportunity, right??

Nope.

Our guest today is Zeona McIntyre (https://www.zeonamcintyre.com), an AirBnB expert who has years of experience managing her own (and other peoples!) AirBnB properties...all for the purpose of working towards FI.

In fact, she makes well over six-figures and owns five properties across multiple states...just for AirBnB. I'd call that expert-level.

We chat...

How she got started in the first place, and why AirBnB?

How she grew (great entry-level tips for first-timers, and great REI tips in there as well)

Managing properties remotely

Why you might need to try out a relationship shaman :)

She was an absolute delight to speak with. Enjoy!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Zeona's blog: https://www.zeonamcintyre.com/

Suzi Orman - personal finance author (Zeona first got into personal finance watching Suzi Orman tapes with her mom!)

Mr. Money Mustache - yes, we mentioned MMM again :)

AirBnB

Headspace App - Fantastic meditation app

TaskRabbit - cool place to find people online to do....well, random tasks!

Key takeaways from our chat with Zeona McIntyre

1 - There is a still a LOT of potential for AirBnB, despite everyone knowing about it

AirBnB is mainstream now, but that doesn't mean opportunities are dwindling (see point 1.5 below).

One important note: An AirBnB rental is a different animal than long-term REI rentals.

One vital tip Zeona gave was this: make sure to look at the long-term math. If AirBnB fails 7 years from now (or your local government lays the crackdown on your property), you need to make sure alternative solutions are available (i.e. does long-term renting make sense for this property? Could you easily re-sell? etc).

Also, though more and more landlords are specifically including AirBnb limitations in their leases...the effects of subletting like this is becoming better and better understood.

You might honestly just talk to your landlords and make an exception. Most know what AirBnB is about these days.

1.5 - Abundance mindset vs. Scarcity mindset

Semi-related.

Don't fear competition.

Sure. AirBnB listings are increasing, it's true...but so are the people traveling.

In addition to AirBnB, the mindset switch to abundance-thinking can literally affect your entire life.

Start viewing potential competitors as teammates, and your jealousy and anxiety could very well plummet. There is plenty of life-pie for all of us at the table. :) :)

2 - 90% of the time, a house is not a good investment

This could very well turn into a 8,392 word count blog post...but we'll just serve to reinforce the point here.

Our culture largely thinks of a house (or property) as an asset, where is probably isn't for most people.

Yes, your mortgage payments might be building equity, but this only 1 of 20-50 other factors that should be considered.

Repairs and maintenance can cost....a lot. Any new homeowner can relate.

Interest expense.

Taxes

Insurance

HOA fees?

Owning a home is sweet. Owning a rental or AirBnb property is sweet as well...but proper due diligence, research, and thought should be put into purchasing a piece of property.

It's not an asset simply because "you're building equity."

3 - How Zeona furnishes her newly-bought AirBnB properties.

While not an "actionable tip" from the episode, Zeona's creativity and resourcefulness are to be admired.

Olá! We're thrilled to bring you another FIRE enthusiast, money blogger, travel rewards (expert-level I'd say), and overall amazing dude.

Meet Noah from Money Metagame.

Noah is about to embark on a gap year, so this proved an excellent opportunity to discuss setting that up, how it'll look on a resume, as well as a dive deep on the financials and how it might affect early retirement.

Also, he and his wife took a worthy-of-viral-pinterest $14,000 honeymoon to Fiji, New Zealand, etc, flying business class the whole way....

For less than $500 total.

In this episode we discuss:

how a gap year might affect your target retirement date

how he's manage to build an incredible amount of miles/points (travel rewards 101)

why he's used over 60 credit cards over the past few years

the different savings vehicles you can use to save for FI (important!)

how he aspires to be a professional obstacle course racer :)

This is a great episode for investors (specifically those building for FI), as well as current and future travel rewards enthusiasts. Enjoy!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Noah's blog: Money Metagame (and on Twitter!)

Reddit's travel rewards subreddit --> /r/churning

Chase Sapphire Card (preferred) - Great everyday CC for transferrable points.

The Flight Deal - One of Noah's favorite sites for grabbing low-fare price alerts!

Southwest Companion Pass info

Tough Mudder - one of the obstacle courses Noah has been into. This scares us ;)

Are you in our Facebook group yet? Come join! We have cookies.

Key takeaways from our chat with Noah at Money Metagame

1 - The details of planning for a gap year (i.e. mini-retirement)

One of the goals of early retirement is to....retire early.

Still with me? Good.

Taking a gap year, or any extended break from work and income, usually delays your targeted FI date.

So the question is...it worth it? The short and long answer is "it depends completely on you."

In Noah's own words, any delay or change in his targeted retirement date "is worth the experience." He and his wife plan on driving around the country, staying in hotels, adventuring, exploring.

They might not be able to do that later in life (different circumstances, jobs, kids, old age). Since they have the opportunity to take the gap year now, early retirement can wait. Goals change, and "it's the right time in our lives," in Noah's case.

Would you delay FIRE for a year for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Food for thought.

2 - Explaining a gap year in your resume

Frankly, just be honest.

"I took a year off to travel the world" likely makes you more desirable to an employer, rather than the other way around. If anything, a hiring manager would respond with "how'd you do that??"

You can always find more work. Don't stress over the resume.

3 - Travel rewards are real.

Noah is a master at juggling credit card spending bonuses, finding cheap flights, nabbing access to private airport lounges, etc...

But the takeaway is this: it's doable for the rest of us as well.

You don't need to juggle 60+ credit cards, but you get plugged into various low-fare alert sites right this second, for free.

Check out the links above for some resources Noah mentioned, and take advantage of one!

Even if you don't have specific travel plans, why not try for one CC spending bonus anyways? (just pay off the debt in full every month of course...). Those miles might come in handy sometime soon.

Also, Southwest Companion Pass (more info here). Enough said.

4 - Where does the money you save for FI go?

Olá! We're thrilled to bring you another FIRE enthusiast, money blogger, travel hacker (expert-level I'd say), and overall amazing dude.

Meet Noah from Money Metagame.

Noah is about to embark on a gap year, so this proved an excellent opportunity to discuss setting that up, how it'll look on a resume, as well as a dive deep on the financials and how it might affect early retirement.

Also, he and his wife took a worthy-of-viral-pinterest $14,000 honeymoon to Fiji, New Zealand, etc, flying business class the whole way....

For less than $500 total.

In this episode we discuss:

how a gap year might affect your target retirement date

how he's manage to build an incredible amount of miles/points (travel hacking 101)

why he's used over 60 credit cards over the past few years

the different savings vehicles you can use to save for FI (important!)

how he aspires to be a professional obstacle course racer :)

This is a great episode for investors (specifically those building for FI), as well as current and future travel hackers. Enjoy!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Noah's blog: Money Metagame (and on Twitter!)

Reddit's travel hacking subreddit --> /r/churning

Chase Sapphire Card (preferred) - Great everyday CC for transferrable points.

The Flight Deal - One of Noah's favorite sites for grabbing low-fare price alerts!

Southwest Companion Pass info

Tough Mudder - one of the obstacle courses Noah has been into. This scares us ;)

Are you in our Facebook group yet? Come join! We have cookies.

Key takeaways from our chat with Noah at Money Metagame

1 - The details of planning for a gap year (i.e. mini-retirement)

One of the goals of early retirement is to....retire early.

Still with me? Good.

Taking a gap year, or any extended break from work and income, usually delays your targeted FI date.

So the question is...it worth it? The short and long answer is "it depends completely on you."

In Noah's own words, any delay or change in his targeted retirement date "is worth the experience." He and his wife plan on driving around the country, staying in hotels, adventuring, exploring.

They might not be able to do that later in life (different circumstances, jobs, kids, old age). Since they have the opportunity to take the gap year now, early retirement can wait. Goals change, and "it's the right time in our lives," in Noah's case.

Would you delay FIRE for a year for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Food for thought.

2 - Explaining a gap year in your resume

Frankly, just be honest.

"I took a year off to travel the world" likely makes you more desirable to an employer, rather than the other way around. If anything, a hiring manager would respond with "how'd you do that??"

You can always find more work. Don't stress over the resume.

3 - Travel hacking is real.

Noah is a master at juggling credit card spending bonuses, finding cheap flights, nabbing access to private airport lounges, etc...

But the takeaway is this: it's doable for the rest of us as well.

You don't need to juggle 60+ credit cards, but you get plugged into various low-fare alert sites right this second, for free.

Check out the links above for some resources Noah mentioned, and take advantage of one!

Even if you don't have specific travel plans, why not try for one CC spending bonus anyways? (just pay off the debt in full every month of course...). Those miles might come in handy sometime soon.

Also, Southwest Companion Pass (more info here). Enough said.

Olá! We're thrilled to bring you another FIRE enthusiast, money blogger, travel hacker (expert-level I'd say), and overall amazing dude.

Meet Noah from Money Metagame.

Noah is about to embark on a gap year, so this proved an excellent opportunity to discuss setting that up, how it'll look on a resume, as well as a dive deep on the financials and how it might affect early retirement.

Also, he and his wife took a worthy-of-viral-pinterest $14,000 honeymoon to Fiji, New Zealand, etc, flying business class the whole way....

For less than $500 total.

In this episode we discuss:

how a gap year might affect your target retirement date

how he's manage to build an incredible amount of miles/points (travel hacking 101)

why he's used over 60 credit cards over the past few years

the different savings vehicles you can use to save for FI (important!)

how he aspires to be a professional obstacle course racer :)

This is a great episode for investors (specifically those building for FI), as well as current and future travel hackers. Enjoy!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Noah's blog: Money Metagame (and on Twitter!)

Reddit's travel hacking subreddit --> /r/churning

Chase Sapphire Card (preferred) - Great everyday CC for transferrable points.

The Flight Deal - One of Noah's favorite sites for grabbing low-fare price alerts!

Southwest Companion Pass info

Tough Mudder - one of the obstacle courses Noah has been into. This scares us ;)

Are you in our Facebook group yet? Come join! We have cookies.

Key takeaways from our chat with Noah at Money Metagame

1 - The details of planning for a gap year (i.e. mini-retirement)

One of the goals of early retirement is to....retire early.

Still with me? Good.

Taking a gap year, or any extended break from work and income, usually delays your targeted FI date.

So the question is...it worth it? The short and long answer is "it depends completely on you."

In Noah's own words, any delay or change in his targeted retirement date "is worth the experience." He and his wife plan on driving around the country, staying in hotels, adventuring, exploring.

They might not be able to do that later in life (different circumstances, jobs, kids, old age). Since they have the opportunity to take the gap year now, early retirement can wait. Goals change, and "it's the right time in our lives," in Noah's case.

Would you delay FIRE for a year for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Food for thought.

2 - Explaining a gap year in your resume

Frankly, just be honest.

"I took a year off to travel the world" likely makes you more desirable to an employer, rather than the other way around. If anything, a hiring manager would respond with "how'd you do that??"

You can always find more work. Don't stress over the resume.

3 - Travel hacking is real.

Noah is a master at juggling credit card spending bonuses, finding cheap flights, nabbing access to private airport lounges, etc...

But the takeaway is this: it's doable for the rest of us as well.

You don't need to juggle 60+ credit cards, but you get plugged into various low-fare alert sites right this second, for free.

Check out the links above for some resources Noah mentioned, and take advantage of one!

Even if you don't have specific travel plans, why not try for one CC spending bonus anyways? (just pay off the debt in full every month of course...). Those miles might come in handy sometime soon.

Also, Southwest Companion Pass (more info here). Enough said.

Today's guest has an amazing story.

Graduated college with a positive net worth? Check. Traveled the world on $50/day? Has helped people pay off over $1M+ in student debt? Check and check.

Travis from Student Loan Planner (and Millennial Moola) started like many of us; in the corporate rat race throughout his early 20's, but has since gone on to "retire" early (you'll see why the quotes are there) and start a lucrative and inspiring student loan business.

We chat about...

How Travis traveled the world for $16k/year

The benefits of working corporate (at least for a while...)

The ultimate motivation behind Travis's success (hint: he didn't want to go back to full-time work)

He drops an insane amount of knowledge bombs throughout the show. Enjoy!!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Travis's blog(s) - Student Loan Planner and Millennial Moola

Mr. Money Mustache - We might actually be referencing this blog every episode. :)

Physician on Fire and White Coat Investor - Two great finance blogs for high-earning professionals, specifically in the healthcare arena.

Key takeaways from our chat with Travis

There were a metric-ton of takeaways from this interview, so bear with us!

1 - Early retirement doesn't have to last forever.

When we asked Travis about how he retired at age 25, he made it a point to explain he had only saved up enough money to "not work" for 10 years.

Not forever, just 10 years.

For those of us considering a career change (or dropout), the question is this: Could we get back to where we are today, should our sabbatical/RE force us to?

Most likely, yes.

There's a 93.5% chance most of us could jump back into the workforce if we *needed* to. If that's the case, what are we waiting for?

(Please don't go rage-quit your day-job tomorrow by the way. It's still an important decision requiring thought, planning, and execution. We're just suggesting a potential reframing of what "retirement" looks like.)

Travis on "How to Retire in Your 20s"

2 - Maybe just quit your job for a year?

Directly related to the point above...what if you could execute a temporary retirement? This could bring several benefits:

It might reveal whether or not true retirement is what you actually want

It'd be fun (hopefully?)

It'd be easier than ever to return to full-time work if you desired/needed to

It'd actually look good on a resume (maybe)

You can likely get another job. It might take effort, but you probably could, yes?

A one-year mini retirement could be a lot more manageable than full FIRE as well.

3 - Travis's unique budget mindset for full-time travel

Spend less than $50 a day. Simple.

While staying in areas that cost a bit more, Travis would make up for it by staying longer in cheaper areas (averaging it out). For whatever reason, this seems like a smart way to approach budgeting for long-term travel (relative to your income of course).

4 - Life has opportunity cost as well

Would you take this offer?

I'll give you a million dollars, but on a 30-year vesting schedule. You're required to work at XYZ company the entire time, and you get $0 if you ever quit.

Would you take that deal? Not likely.

It doesn't sound appealing in that long-term context, but we opt-in for this every day. It's roughly $33k a year at a "normal" job (simplified of course).

According to Travis, we should all think of *life* having an opportunity cost as well: "If you're spending 8-10 hours a day at work unhappy, that's time you never get back."

That's powerful,

Today's guest has an amazing story.

Graduated college with a positive net worth? Check. Traveled the world on $50/day? Has helped people pay off over $1M+ in student debt? Check and check.

Travis from Student Loan Planner (and Millennial Moola) started like many of us; in the corporate rat race throughout his early 20's, but has since gone on to "retire" early (you'll see why the quotes are there) and start a lucrative and inspiring student loan business.

We chat about...

How Travis traveled the world for $16k/year

The benefits of working corporate (at least for a while...)

The ultimate motivation behind Travis's success (hint: he didn't want to go back to full-time work)

He drops an insane amount of knowledge bombs throughout the show. Enjoy!!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Travis's blog(s) - Student Loan Planner and Millennial Moola

Mr. Money Mustache - We might actually be referencing this blog every episode. :)

Physician on Fire and White Coat Investor - Two great finance blogs for high-earning professionals, specifically in the healthcare arena.

Key takeaways from our chat with Travis

There were a metric-ton of takeaways from this interview, so bear with us!

1 - Early retirement doesn't have to last forever.

When we asked Travis about how he retired at age 25, he made it a point to explain he had only saved up enough money to "not work" for 10 years.

Not forever, just 10 years.

For those of us considering a career change (or dropout), the question is this: Could we get back to where we are today, should our sabbatical/RE force us to?

Most likely, yes.

There's a 93.5% chance most of us could jump back into the workforce if we *needed* to. If that's the case, what are we waiting for?

(Please don't go rage-quit your day-job tomorrow by the way. It's still an important decision requiring thought, planning, and execution. We're just suggesting a potential reframing of what "retirement" looks like.)

Travis on "How to Retire in Your 20s"

2 - Maybe just quit your job for a year?

Directly related to the point above...what if you could execute a temporary retirement? This could bring several benefits:

It might reveal whether or not true retirement is what you actually want

It'd be fun (hopefully?)

It'd be easier than ever to return to full-time work if you desired/needed to

It'd actually look good on a resume (maybe)

You can likely get another job. It might take effort, but you probably could, yes?

A one-year mini retirement could be a lot more manageable than full FIRE as well.

3 - Travis's unique budget mindset for full-time travel

Spend less than $50 a day. Simple.

While staying in areas that cost a bit more, Travis would make up for it by staying longer in cheaper areas (averaging it out). For whatever reason, this seems like a smart way to approach budgeting for long-term travel (relative to your income of course).

4 - Life has opportunity cost as well

Would you take this offer?

I'll give you a million dollars, but on a 30-year vesting schedule. You're required to work at XYZ company the entire time, and you get $0 if you ever quit.

Would you take that deal? Not likely.

It doesn't sound appealing in that long-term context, but we opt-in for this every day. It's roughly $33k a year at a "normal" job (simplified of course).

According to Travis, we should all think of *life* having an opportunity cost as well: "If you're spending 8-10 hours a day at work unhappy, that's time you never get back."

That's powerful,

Today's guest has an amazing story.

Graduated college with a positive net worth? Check. Traveled the world on $50/day? Has helped people pay off over $1M+ in student debt? Check and check.

Travis from Student Loan Planner (and Millennial Moola) started like many of us; in the corporate rat race throughout his early 20's, but has since gone on to "retire" early (you'll see why the quotes are there) and start a lucrative and inspiring student loan business.

We chat about...

How Travis traveled the world for $16k/year

The benefits of working corporate (at least for a while...)

The ultimate motivation behind Travis's success (hint: he didn't want to go back to full-time work)

He drops an insane amount of knowledge bombs throughout the show. Enjoy!!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Travis's blog(s) - Student Loan Planner and Millennial Moola

Mr. Money Mustache - We might actually be referencing this blog every episode. :)

Physician on Fire and White Coat Investor - Two great finance blogs for high-earning professionals, specifically in the healthcare arena.

Key takeaways from our chat with Travis

There were a metric-ton of takeaways from this interview, so bear with us!

1 - Early retirement doesn't have to last forever.

When we asked Travis about how he retired at age 25, he made it a point to explain he had only saved up enough money to "not work" for 10 years.

Not forever, just 10 years.

For those of us considering a career change (or dropout), the question is this: Could we get back to where we are today, should our sabbatical/RE force us to?

Most likely, yes.

There's a 93.5% chance most of us could jump back into the workforce if we *needed* to. If that's the case, what are we waiting for?

(Please don't go rage-quit your day-job tomorrow by the way. It's still an important decision requiring thought, planning, and execution. We're just suggesting a potential reframing of what "retirement" looks like.)

Travis on "How to Retire in Your 20s"

2 - Maybe just quit your job for a year?

Directly related to the point above...what if you could execute a temporary retirement? This could bring several benefits:

It might reveal whether or not true retirement is what you actually want

It'd be fun (hopefully?)

It'd be easier than ever to return to full-time work if you desired/needed to

It'd actually look good on a resume (maybe)

You can likely get another job. It might take effort, but you probably could, yes?

A one-year mini retirement could be a lot more manageable than full FIRE as well.

3 - Travis's unique budget mindset for full-time travel

Spend less than $50 a day. Simple.

While staying in areas that cost a bit more, Travis would make up for it by staying longer in cheaper areas (averaging it out). For whatever reason, this seems like a smart way to approach budgeting for long-term travel (relative to your income of course).

4 - Life has opportunity cost as well

Would you take this offer?

I'll give you a million dollars, but on a 30-year vesting schedule. You're required to work at XYZ company the entire time, and you get $0 if you ever quit.

Would you take that deal? Not likely.

It doesn't sound appealing in that long-term context, but we opt-in for this every day. It's roughly $33k a year at a "normal" job (simplified of course).

According to Travis, we should all think of *life* having an opportunity cost as well: "If you're spending 8-10 hours a day at work unhappy, that's time you never get back."

That's powerful,