Experimenting with Retirement
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I’m way too young to retire, but for for the last four months I’ve been retired. With a family of three. Without any loss of savings (actually I’m net positive).
Being Financially Independent Retired Early (FIRE) has been an interest of mine before I even knew the term for it . For the purpose of this experiment, I didn’t have any job at all — but to me, the incentive of FIRE is that I can do any job that I want. I’m the kind of guy who needs a job because I have an inexorable urge to build things that make a mark on this world. Also because it’s a disservice to humanity to leave my incredibly flat dad jokes untold (my friends are basically immune at this point).
Back in October, my life was work. I was hunched over a computer 10–15 hours a day, every day. I was 84kg (184lbs). I hadn’t spent more than an hour a day with my kid in 6 months. I hadn’t cooked a meal for myself or the family in years. The only thing going well was the bank account.
One morning after a night of heated argument with the wife about poop (potty training), I realized what I had become (an asshole) and the cause was the job. When the opportunity next arose at work, I decided to give my notice with the intent of experimenting with early retirement.
So I said goodbye to San Francisco and said hello to Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Goals:
Money
I chose Sofia because the wife is from there and we would enjoy spending time with her family (and gladly accept free slave labor…erm, babysitting). I allotted myself $1000 a month to spend knowing that I would be in a low cost of living area. Considering this was below the 4% rule, I felt that I could make adjustments if needed. Here’s an oversimplified breakdown:
╔═══════════════╦═══════════════╦═════════╗
║ ║ San Francisco ║ Sofia ║
╠═══════════════╬═══════════════╬═════════╣
║ Housing ║ $3,400 ║ $500 ║
║ Food ║ $1,500 ║ $250 ║
║ Entertainment ║ $1,000 ║ $150 ║
║ Gas/Metro ║ $150 ║ $25 ║
║ Total ║ $6,050 ║ $925 ║
╚═══════════════╩═══════════════╩═════════╝Lifestyle Inflation
When I lived in London or San Francisco, I found it surprisingly easy to spend as much as I earned. In Sofia, I wanted to understand what was important to me and my family so we decided to only do the things that mattered to us, like skiing and travel. :P
Health
Being 5’8 and 84kg made me feel self-conscious when I watched Netflix while eating Cheetos off my hairy fat naked belly and attempting to maneuver my drone to retrieve the beer that I forgot on the kitchen counter.
Family
Who were these people again? Wait, don’t tell me. The kid’s name starts with an R… Ronald! Shit, that’s not it… Remis!… Rubeus… Ravenclaw?
And The Results:
Money
Being in a Low COL area went extremely well. As of today, we’re net positive about $20k due to other investments. However, I was unable to meet the $1k a month because:
- We opted for a 3bd apartment, which increased the price from $500 to $600. Despite my strong urge to make the budget work, I didn’t want to skip out on having an office of my own. I needed space to work on side projects.
- Medical expenses. I had to go to the doctor twice. First: throat check + medication = $35. Second: ultrasound + blood test + urine test + medication = $112. I consider this a win because an uninsured person in the US would probably be looking at a $1,000 bill for these two visits.
- Holidays. We went over about $200 buying gifts for everyone.
- We had to buy a mattress that wasn’t made out of the rigid souls of people who hate sleep.
Total monthly expenses averaged around $1.3k.
Lifestyle Inflation
Here’s a small list of the things we did:
- 5 days skiing for 3 people in Bankso ($425) plus we got to hangout with the brother-in-law’s family
- 7 days wanderlust in Dobrineshte mountain resort town + hot springs pool ($130)
- 2 day trip to Hungary ($112)
- Kukeri festival in Pernik ($16)
- 2 days in London ($750)
- Lots of stuff around Sofia (est $150 total)
- And we’re eyeing a 7 day trip to Japan next month
Here’s the list of stuff we didn’t do that we normally do:
- Eat out every day
Cooking every day seemed like a massive chore at first, and I nearly ragequit in the beginning of the experiment, until I discovered /r/gifrecipes. Since then, I’ve become Gordon Ramsay.
Knowing what is actually going into a meal is a pretty great feeling. Which leads me to…
Health
The way to lose weight is in the kitchen. The way to get fit is in the gym. Why not both?
My fatbodies: First I did the research and caloric deficit seemed to be the truest way to reduce mass. So I set out on an 1500 calorie diet at the start to see if it was maintainable. Turns out that it was extremely easy when I’m cooking my own foods. I know the exact ingredients and the exact density of calories each food contains. So when I was feeling famished, I loaded up on filling food like thick ass Bulgarian yogurt with honey. After 2/3 months of 1500 kcal days, I found myself enjoying the slight pang of hunger before meals. It’s energizing. I found myself needing less in order to have the same results.
Workin’ on my fitness: In the gym, I didn’t care about being tone or becoming a gym bro. My rule was simple: I couldn’t watch Netflix unless I was on the treadmill. Over time, I found that my interest in being fit extended passed Netflix and I started lifting. 90 days after I’m at 75kg (165lbs); I’ve got the six pack and I’ve got much of the tone. My BMI is still too high but I’m sure it’ll get there.
Family
It’s Randall! No wait… I’m kidding. Let’s just say the wife and I don’t argue about poop anymore.
Bonus Benefits
The time I spent on myself was something I’ve not had in a long time. I picked up playing the piano. You should hear my rendition of Final Fantasy 7’s Gold Saucer (sounds like it’s being played by a guy who’s only been at it for 2 months AKA still shitty).
I’ve been advising for an e-commerce site in SF called India Boulevard and it’s coming along nicely. Excited to see where it’s going.
But the real win is the time I’ve had for my side projects. One of which, Casting Call Club, has taken off. I’ve been able to dedicate real effort to help the 40,000 users it has. Features they’ve wanted for months are live. And in return, they’ve put CCC in the top 3 websites for voice acting (only BTVA and Voices get more traffic).
Retirement is fucking excellent, but the catch is that I really miss working with a team. I’m going to give it 1/2 more months as I turn my focus to search for a new job back in America. I haven’t quite decided on a city yet and I’m open to suggestions.
Bulgaria gave me the knowledge that if I ever wanted to step away from the daily grind to work on myself without burning my bank account to cinders, I could (assuming Trump doesn’t fuck up all foreign relations).
Thanks for reading, Internet. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy a $0.18 coffee before I go Netflix ‘n Treadmill.
