But we go back in August.
Retire Often?
Mini-Retirement is now a trending idea with its own podcast and multiple proponents.The gist of it is that you take time away from the grind to recharge, travel, explore interests, and then return with renewed vigor and purpose. Sound familiar teachers?
We teachers get the same opportunity every year to “retire” for a few months. As I write this my wife(K.) and I are starting week five of over a ten week summer break.
In this post I think about how we budget for summer, and how these breaks prepare us for real retirement.
This Year’s Mini-Retirement
So far I have spent a week in San Diego paddle boarding, hiking and camping with my daughter’s scout troop and a week RVing up the beautiful California coast. We celebrated our twenty-third anniversary and will celebtrate three of our birthdays this summer. I am working on painting the barn while K. is doing a ton of work on the garden. Later this summer she is traveling to Napa to visit her friend, and we will take a few more days to hang in San Diego.
Retirement is awesome. We have been walking more and swimming in the afternoons. We have time to sip morning coffee on the patio and have a beverage in the pm. Our poor kids get a little bonus summer school time with us each day, but they also have time to do unstructured activities
Finding a New Mindset
In the past, August Scaries were like Sunday Scaries times 1000, but more filled with an anxiety and regret melange than just pure Sunday Scaries’ anxiety. If summer ended and we hadn’t “spent it wisely,” then we felt depressed; we felt we had wasted the opportunity. So we planned elaborate vacations: five weeks in Europe or three week cross country R.V. trips.
I’m not gonna lie, that really helps. First we get the fun and anticipation that starts when we book the trip or make the first reservation. Once we set a budgeting goal we have another reason to work as well. It’s exciting to budget and fill the progress bar in YNAB as we assign the dollars towards that summer trip. I like to stay busy, and there is so much to plan, research, and prep.
This year though, I am trying to find a new mindset: the free time is enough; even without extensive travel. In reflecting on our values this year, clearly we really value freedom. Summer is awesome, because we can do anything we want. We can also do nothing, and that’s ok.
Doing Nothing
Doing nothing still means doing something. Today I am going to sand and prime the last of our barn. We are tutoring our kids. I am writing, and will play a little guitar too. K. is playing soccer tonight in an over 50 league.
The difference now vs. when we were younger is that now we can do something if we want to. We have the financial flexibility. We aren’t staying home because we have to, it’s because we want to. Our priority this year is to paint the barn and house, work on the bathrooms, and take a few short trips. And it is awesome to have that choice.
The Financial Cost
It costs money to mini-retire. We paid for summer camps, day camps, the r.v. trip, birthday celebrations, paint, tools, pet sitting, and a huge bill to crank the a.c. whenever we want. That’s the truth: doing “nothing” costs something.
The key is planning. We are both paid on an eleven-month paycheck cycle with no check at the end of July. So to prepare for August we created a sinking fund. We put an even percent into the fund and then pull it out on August first when we budget for the month. There are summer saver accounts at the credit union that will assist in this with great interest rates, but we just keep the money in our high yield savings.
We use the same system with funding our summer trips. In the fall or winter we start to set up the savings goals for the next summer. Camps, vacations, mad money, r.v. maintenance and house projects all get savings goals. We allot money during the year and then enjoy spending it guilt free. Sometimes there are bumps in the road, like this year our dog had a huge emergency vet bill. We modified our vacation plans a little and we are still having a great retirement.
Practice Makes Perfect
Retirement is not all roses. It is well documented that many retirees suffer from depression, increased divorce rates, and other serious issues. After years of saving, some people struggle to flip the switch to spending. Health can fail as well.
We teachers get to practice for “real” retirement. If we do this right, we are learning how to budget for retirement, how to handle so much free time, how to balance life and leisure, and how to just be without our jobs defining us. Travel is a skill as well that needs to be practiced.
That’s a huge advantage. Every year we get more of the most valuable resource: time. I am personally choosing to use the time in a way that lets me follow my interests, build relationships, have fun, and stay healthy. I am looking forward to my real retirement and all the mini-retirments along the way.