It’s really official now, I mean as in no turning back. At the end of 2024 we both will be unemployed, ON PURPOSE. 

 I haven’t posted for a while but with time ticking down I thought it was time to update you. Our local newspaper published an article about my retirement a while back.  Why do you ask would they publish an article about my retirement, like am I really that important, the answer is a resounding, NO!    Public education in VT is a huge topic of conversation.  We have a very complex education funding system, and quite frankly we pay a lot in property taxes to support the system for less than 80,000 students in the whole state. Our local paper, the Brattleboro Reformer, specifically Reporter Chris Mays,  understands this and publishes many articles about our local supervisory unions and school districts to keep the community informed.  It sure was nice to be recognized, however as I told Chris, I was hoping to fade into the sunset unnoticed…. He said “you need to be celebrated”, thanks Chris! Retirement Article  

  Sam and I both have given our resignation dates at our workplaces.  I gave mine sixteen months in advance and Sam gave 10 months.  Pretty ample time for our positions to be filled.  It’s surreal to think of no paycheck for a year.  No matter how small or how large your paycheck is, if you have been paid on a regular schedule there is a comfort in that old direct deposit that you see in your bank every week or two weeks. 

Expenses Still Roll In After The Paycheck Stops

 For me, from an emotional perspective,  it will be important to create a “paycheck” from our savings account.  One of the preparatory exercises I have done is to track our expenses.  As a person who enjoys finance this was a fairly easy exercise for me.  I have been tracking our income and expenses for 30 years with Quicken. However, it is easy to bundle the “miscellaneous expenses” into a big pot of unaccountable items when you are not paying close attention.  Those small items start to become a major expense so I set about making a spreadsheet to really dial in on what we actually live on, or as Roger Whitney from The Rock Retirement Club defines as your “base great life”.  I highly recommend his podcast; Retirement Answer Man.  Again I love this stuff and have learned a lot from listening.  Podcasts are a great way to get in some learning for me, although I have been cautioned by people in my life to understand that you have to weigh everything against your own judgment, and to listen to a variety of Podcasts for differing points of view.  I take this advice to heart.

For Me Tracking = More Opportunities

Honestly for me it is a game to track expenses (yes that means a spreadsheet),  but I know for a lot of people, I would say most of the people I know, HATE tracking expenses.  That would include my dear beloved husband!  If you are one of two in a relationship and you both hate budgeting then I am not sure what to say other than sometimes to get to the end goal you gotta do hard stuff.  That includes budgeting and hard choices.   Let me just say from my point of view, Sam is one lucky guy and has it easy in this case!  I certainly fluctuate between “save for the future” and “you only live once” mentally on a daily basis.  Balance is key, finding it is the hard thing. If you do find it, LET ME KNOW!

RVing and Saving Money- Is it a Myth?

I’ll let you know if it is a myth for us as the year goes on!  I belong to several Facebook groups and have read multiple blogs about the financial aspects of RVing full time.  For us this is not necessarily the goal; to save money from living in our “sticks and bricks”.  Even though it is not the ultimate goal for the “golden gap year” it would be a perk.  We will attempt it at any rate.  We can be very frugal when we need/want to be, but we both also struggle with the above mentality of “save” vs “live life now”.  I have found after reading so many blogs that there really are no two comparisons for expenses while RVing. There are just too many variations on how you camp, how you eat, and what activities you do. You can only really compare your own two realities.  However, I will share out over the time period what this adventure costs.

I hope it will be informative for others that might be thinking about taking a long trip. 

Do you love a good budget? or are you a free wheeler when it comes to tracking expenses?