Eric was a schoolteacher in Boston. Along with his wife and two kids, they moved to France for two years. This seems like an impossible step for many people. But it was after years of practice taking smaller trips and spending time abroad. His wife is originally from France, and she used that time to complete a master's program. Eric shares the financials behind a massive move like this, showing how much more affordable France was than their life in Boston. His story shows how much can happen in life when you create some space for new things.

Stepping away from a successful, lucrative, and important job can be tricky. Even when that job is eating up all your free time and bandwidth and at the cost of your health and relationships. It's scary to kill the golden goose. But Amanda discovered all that life had to offer on the other side during her mini-retirement. Surprisingly, the lower stress and more free time even helped their finances. This mini-retirement created a huge opportunity for growth as a mom and wife. Plus it gave her new skills that might be a future business. She had a hard time imagining ever leaving her career, but now she and her wife are planning for a life full of travel and adventure.

Vikaash has always been good at work. Professionally, success came quickly. From Harvard Business School to 40 Under Forty Young Business Leaders award by CNBC, to CEO. But that type of success has a cost: 15 to 18-hour work days and little time or energy left over for family, health, sleep, or hobbies.

At the peak of his career, he decided to take a mini-retirement. What I find incredible about Vikaash is the vision and courage to take this step. I've known a lot of successful professionals, and stepping away from the thing they do best, in order to focus on areas of their life that need attention is not common. There is too much ego and fear and unwillingness to lean into the discomfort.

Vikaash shares about the motivation to make that change and the challenges along the way. Plus he's leaning into being the best father and husband he can while finally getting enough sleep and exercise.

The great thing about a professional half-time is that it allows you to regroup, refocus, and refresh. He probably won't go back to 18-hour work days. But this next chapter might be even more impactful professionally. He can leverage his expertise and skill set in new ways that support the lifestyle changes he's been making progress on. I'm sure his most impressive professional accomplishments are yet to come.

Jamie and her husband are both self-employed. Walking away from their business for a month seemed overwhelming. But they desperately needed to rest, recover, and focus on family, health, and fun for a bit. Jamie shares how they planned and prepared for that first month off. It was so good for everyone that they knew they wanted to do it again. Now, after their second mini-retirement, they are figuring out how to create more passive income to fund a yearly mini-retirement. They are organizing their work, home, and lives to be able to Retire Often.

Chad (Coach Carson) started his financial journey by investing in real estate. It helped fund his and his wife's first budget mini-retirement. Over the years, as his rentals became more profitable, he was able to upgrade the mini-retirement adventures as well. He is just finishing his third mini-retirement, a year-long trip to Spain with his family.

Chad gives practical and encouraging advice on how being a small real estate investor can give you even more financial freedom. Just a few rentals can fund your Retire Often lifestyle. His new book, The Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor is out now. https://amzn.to/3OLykyl

In her mid 30's, Rachel decided it was time for a change. She had been working 10 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, stressed about even asking for a day off. She was ready for a change of pace and autonomy over her life. Despite never being a hiker and never even traveling outside of the country, she began preparing for a 500-mile pilgrimage in Spain. Her two-month mini-retirement plan expanded into a year, as she finally started working on a business idea she had been dreaming about for years.

Old beliefs around work and money arose as she started spending down her savings. But this mini-retirement allowed her to focus on her personal growth that she can carry forward as she returns to work.