Yes to all of this!!! I hit rock bottom at 36 years old - $170,000 of debt (I don't own a home or car). I decided to dig myself out of that hole. It took many years but was worth it! Now I'm saving and investing to retire early. If I stick to this path, I'll retire at 55 years old!
First of all, my husband and I have learned so much from your videos and podcasts. Thank you!! We are retired and in our 60s. We love to travel and have been doing 3-4 week stays in Portugal as well as cruises. We have two bucket list trips coming up, a back to back New Zealand and Australia cruise and a 3 week tour of South Africa the following year. After these trips, we’re committed to slower travel. We are both active and healthy and we have no issues with walking 5-10 miles per day but I wish we had done what you both did when we were in our 50s. We are currently debt free so our plan is to sell our home and downsize to a condo. We are minimalists and have not accumulated much “stuff” thankfully. At our age, we feel comfortable traveling for 1-2 months at a time then returning to a home base for a few months before heading out again. Turkey and Ireland are on our list!
It sounds like you are in a great situation!! NZ, Australia, South Africa are all on our list!! Being a minimalist to start the downsizing process you are already months ahead of the game! 😁 Thank you for sharing and safe travels. We would love an update!! Cheers!!🍻
Can't under emphasize the need to start your process early. When we decided to set up our 6 year plan, in year five we started to sell our stuff. It took every year (2 bedroom home) slowly downsizing to sell everything. The last year we had four yard sales. My original estimate was maybe 4 to 5 thousand dollars. I was shocked when it was all added up to nearly 10k. Don't underestimate the value of your stuff, adding value to your budget. Both cars came to 50k a truck and CR-V. Both five years old, but paid off. Learn from Brian and Carrie..... Huge value and savings. Thank you for everything, Safe travels, Larry and Minnie. 🎉❤
When we first retired we treated ourselves a lot like we were on holiday- cocktails, nice lunches, expensive day trips…. But it was a phase 😅 after about a year we settled into the next stage of every day being like a weekend 😊 but now we’ve entered the next stage and have dumped a lot of the expensive stuff like gym membership- we don’t need this as we walk or cycle 🚲 everywhere and swim in the sea. We also stopped a lot of subscriptions eg Audible books as the local library gives us free audio books Spotify also gives audiobooks. We spend less now than we did at first in retirement.
That is so cool!! Thank you for sharing! It sounds like you are in a great situation financially and have a place to call home when you return. One thing that we wish we had, although we don't want the responsibility. 😂 Thank you again for commenting and adding to the channel!! Safe travels! Cheers!!🍻
Love hearing from you guys. I retired long ago but my wife is type A, loves her job and may never retire. We’ve been traveling since getting married in Nepal many decades ago, and we spent five years living in Palau Micronesia. That said I get load’s of great ideas and suggestions on places to go and things to do from you. So I thought I would just say thanks.😎
Thank you for your time and posting. I've been pretty poor most of my life so have no problem being frugal (and I don't drink coffee or tea). Now I have a minimum SS, but my VA disability finally came through which tripled my income. So, even though I'm almost 70, I'm ready. All by my little lonsum. Never married, have no kids, and no pets, never had a mortgage, have zero debt, and can fit everything I own in my Honda Accord. :) If VN works out, I'll sell my car and computer set up and fly away. Thanks again for your time. :)
It sounds like you have the means, David!! That is so exciting!! It's time to hit the road!!! 😁 Thank you for sharing and we appreciate you supporting the channel!
Great tips. We had a ten year plan to retire early at 55 with a move to Turkiye 🇹🇷.....12 months in and loving it. Debt free was our number 1 target then utilising rental income from our family home. 👍
For Ontario in Canada there have been challenges with tenants, and the issue of getting tenants once under lease out at the end. There are plenty of horror stories about non-payment of rent, damage done etc with little recourse. It can be a true headache, and just another thing to consider when balancing these ideas.
Are you still in turkye? We are headed to Istanbul on Monday for a month and then Antalya for 15 days. I’m a bit nervous about how the price increases will affect our budget trip?
I’m happy to see someone is renting their home while doing this. My husband and I have a low mortgage payment and interest rate (2.875). We really hate to give up those by selling. We have been “landlords” before and realize the issues that can arise, but we really hate to give up our home and interest rate - at least anytime soon. Most of the “stuff” we could part with, but the actual home is the issue. Our vehicles are paid for, so we could sell or keep them. 😊😊
Your story is inspiring! Becoming debt free in 2006 was for me the first step towards personal freedom. Looking back now, this step was not only significant financially, but also spiritually.
Debt free for us was the key element that allowed us to do what we are doing. The added presser of debt isn't something that we will ever have again. Like you say, being debt free is spiritually uplifting! Thank you for adding to the channel, John. Cheers!!🍻
We are 2-3 yrs out and have started the process of downsizing and eliminating. We love to travel and look forward to experimenting with the nomadic life … I do think most everyone with or without full time travel can benefit from downsizing & simplifying their life style. Keep up the great work! I know these videos take effort you are doing a great job at it.
You are right, Carter. Anyone can benefit from downsizing and decluttering. We do put a lot of time into our channel, so we appreciate very much that you watch and comment!! 😁 Thank you!! Cheers!!🍻
Love this. I recently spreadsheet all my expenses along with all my pennies saved up. Then I forecasted future earnings against expenses. Then I spreadsheet budgets for living abroad in difft places for comparison.🤦♀️🤣 I'm so motivated. Nerd here.
@@Mialovesphoto during Covid, I made so many spreadsheets looking at every possible scenario and they all showed me I could retire. I was 51 and now, 3 years into retirement with no real issues.
Great stuff! The wife and I are starting our process now for five years from now and being a screenwriter means I'll never REALLY retire, but, you know, retirement is more a mindset than a lack of tasks. I also say that I define retirement as living by the calendar, not the clock. We'll be moving/retiring full time to Bulgaria (She's Bulgarian and still holds citizenship which makes it much easier for us as far as Schengen Zone time limits are concerned) and then spending six months out of the year doing slow travel. My wife needs a home base but can handle half a year as long as she knows she has that touchstone to which to return. Right now it's saving and downsizing here in Denver for the time being and visiting Sofia every year to remind ourselves what we're working toward. Again, your videos are always informative and though-provoking so thank you!
It sounds like you have a great plan in place. We love your quote "Living by the calendar, not the clock". We are so grateful for our regular viewers. We are still young and like having something to focus on and this channel has given us just that. We take days off, "work" on our own schedule, and still travel the world. Thank you for sharing your story!! 😊
My wife and I are looking at doing this as well. We did a lot of world travel back in our 20‘s & 30‘s. Now we are ready to retire and get out on the road again and see the world. I love your content. Keep the great videos coming.
Love your tips! Totally agree with no debt and following a budget. I’m a big Dave Ramsey fan and his baby steps put me on track for an early retirement and world travel. I’m still four years out since I’ve got to get my daughter through high school first. Thanks for all your great videos and inspiration! ❤
We understand having to wait! It will give you time to get everything in order!! Dave Ramsey says a lot of things that make sense and a great resource that we us as well. Get that kiddo thru high school and hit the road!! 😁 Thank you so much for watching and adding the community!! ❤️
I grew up very poor but I was raised with the mindset that you needed to save money and then buy things without credit. I have a comfortable retirement income at age 53, I own my home and rent it out on Airbnb while traveling to offset the home costs such as insurance and maintenance and I have sold my car and I share my wife’s car when we are home. It really comes down to what’s important and what makes you happy.
"What's important and what makes you happy" Very true, James. We all have different wants and needs. It sounds like you two have it figured out!! We would love to have a home base but without the responsibility! 😂 Thank you for sharing and adding to the channel! Cheers!!🍻
All great advice. I have been debt free, except for my mortgage of $1360/mo for about four years now. The last item I paid off was my 2013 Toyota Tacoma. (Standard issue for us PNW folks). GO COUGS! Now at almost 61, I have a decent 401k, lots of savings, VA disability of 80%, and soon Social Security. My partner is equally debt free and self sufficient. We will travel, not so budget style for 10 months minimum beginning in March 2025. After, we will decide on the next chapter of our life. Buy a forever home in the U.S., or sell and buy a small place in Europe as our base of travel. The world is ours in two months. Both will be retired and excited to see it!!
Thats awesome, Greg!! Very exciting to see what's to come so close. You two are in a great financial situation. And yes, I also (being from the PNW) owned a Toyota Tacoma!! Go Dawgs!! 😁
Yes, planning for an early retirement is important. The years go by fast and it's nice to have the option to retire early and especially if one wants to retire and do long and slow travel, after retirement, but which was not my personal goal. I'm from a generation and a culture where we went straight into university from high school and didn't stop until we either finished the first four years and usually also grad school or specialties like those who went to law school/medical school, etc. Then, we went straight into our professions in order to rack up the years to retire early. Our parents told us to figure on 30 years in a profession to retire early. They had also done years at university and were used to planning as were their parents. So, the plan was to be out of university at around age 24 or 25 or later depending on one's course of study and then add 30 years to that for early retirement or 35-40 years for non-early retirement. However, one close friend went into a profession where one was trained on the job and didn't need to go to university. That person also retired at age 55 and only had to put around 25-28 years into that profession, but had also done odd jobs since very young. Most of us are in our 60s now. During the years of both going to school and also working, we were also traveling overseas almost annually. We just saved our money to be able to do it. While some friends were driving back and forth from L.A. to Vegas, several times a year, or going to other places around the U.S., we were putting our money into our overseas travel savings accounts. I wasn't one for taking constant trips all during the year here within the U.S. unless it was within my own state which has a lot to offer, like zipping up to San Francisco on a cheap flight or down to San Diego or other such places. Friends and I were on different travel budgets depending on where we were within our salary scales within our professions, but most of us were within about the same range. We did a lot of budget travel, in our early years, and then increased our travel budgets as we got older. We did a lot of budget airline trips and zero-star hotels for a long time. In the 1970s, I used to get charter flights from L.A. to Europe for as low as $375 round trip, but it took forever to get there as the planes couldn't fly that distance non-stop back then. So, it was usually refueling in Bangor, Maine, Newfoundland, Chicago, or other places. I feel that friends and I got the best of both worlds, able to do overseas travel and also continue to go to school and/or or work while doing it. And also to be able to experience overseas travel over many decades during different times and events in history and also during different political times in history. I had started at age seventeen and was totally solo at age eighteen. And back in the younger years, our parents gave us a little allowance for our trips, but we had to earn the rest. We always had a very high work ethic along with a strong vision of what we wanted and wanted to accomplish in life. It's good to at least have a basic plan even though life isn't predictable. Greetings from Los Angeles
Very good information. For me the biggest life changers have been not having any consumer debt, automating my investments and maintaining a budget. We also downsized our home once the kids left, that freed a lot of not only money but also time. Even more important is working together we our spouse and have the same goals.
Totally agree with the detailed spend tracking. Another tip is to live on the retirement budget one year before retirement, which forces you to reduce the spendings. I also made many changes to my portfolio and added dividend paying stocks to provide nice income.
I want to do full time travel in the next 6 to 10 years. Crossing fingers my (and my husband's) health allows it. Health is definitely a very important variable in this equation. I am trying to be debt free in 6 to 10 years. Once I do that, I will probably use income from real estate to retire early. It is a process. I wish I could do it now but as you say, it takes time to get there. My estimate is that I can't do it in less than 6 years, but realistically we are looking at 10 or 12 years. Wish me luck! :)
Great advice as usual! I'm behind on catching up on your videos. In 3 years our youngest will be done with high school and we'll be almost debt free, including our mortgage. We're headed back to Romania in August/September and to Belize in January/February.
We would be interested in hearing about Belize. That is a region of the world that we need to do more research on. As always, thank you for adding to the channel!! 😊
Thanks for the video. As a fellow full-time nomad, I was interested in hearing how you handled your income streams to cover expenses while traveling. Cutting expenses is great, but leaving work for full-time travel requires having some form of income (investments, real estate, pension, etc.). What are your recommendations in this area that others could replicate? I also didn't hear you mention the FIRE community. There are tons of great free resources (blogs, podcasts, books) that provide information on how to retire early, travel rewards, etc.. Thanks again -- cheers!
Hi Brian and Carrie, I love your videos! How do you fund your monthly travel expenses? Do you rely on rental income, interest from a bank accounts, dividends, or simply draw down your savings?
Thank you, Steven. We really on our savings. We calculated a budget that we could live on and adjust as we go accordingly. Being debt free to begin with was a key factor is our final decision. We do make money to supplement our travels on RU-vid but will always need to be budgeted. Thank you again for watching and asking the questions! Cheers!!🍻
@BrianandCarrie hi there for how many years did you calculate your budget as your only in your fifties? I assume at one point you will get a pension?also, if you don't want or can't travel anymore what will you do? thanks so much you are great 😊
I absolutely agree with everything you said. I did all that prior to moving to Ecuador last year. I ended up having to return to the States after 3 months due to health issues. I am retired and have great health insurance. I am going back to Ecuador soon for 2 months to have dental work done. After that, I am thinking of doing what you are doing. I just found your channel today and have learned a lot and am inspired.
A really good video to emphasize that this is a process, and doesn't happen instantaneously. Depending on the length and places of the stays, it is more than just a vacation. There are tax, health insurance, visas, credit cards, passports, international drivers license etc that may or may not come to impact your choices. Downsizing and clearing out clutter is a long process. Plan ahead. Talk to people. Maybe do that trial one year or six months that Brian suggested to see if it meets your needs. All very good advice. Cheers both!
Hi guys! Love this video. We're in our late 20's and have been thinking of our long term goals. We still think we may have kids in our early/mid 30s, but have been thinking of what we want our lives to look like when we're your age. We're living a lot like you describe - no debt, investing most of our income, large savings, very frugal! With our future projections (hoping the market continues on like it has haha) we should be in your shoes around 54! Very inspiring seeing someone living it out :)
Because you are in your late 20's and thinking about long-term goals, living with no debt, and investing, you are already ahead of the game!! Good for you two!! Sacrifice a few meaningless luxuries now and live out your dreams later!! Thank you for watching our videos, 25 to 34-year-olds only make up 7.2% of our audience! 😁 Cheers!! 🍻
@@BrianandCarrie Definitely! Finding the balance between living now while saving for the future is super important but so worth it!! We love your videos, actually found you guys when we went to Romania and were looking at other vlogs!
My wife and I have already started some of the things you mentioned, but Thank you. We don't plan on traveling full-time, but do plan on moving to Germany when I retire. I'm still working on becoming fluent so I can possibly get a Tech job there if I retire early.
Thank you for watching and commenting!! We have learned that learning a new language is difficult! Very cool that you are doing it!! Good luck! Cheers!!🍻
Good video guys, very important information, however most people don't get debt and spending/finances, they never will get it. Debt free is #1, Starbucks and fast food, and other unnecessary things are retirement killers (after retirement no problem going to restaurants), I retired at 49, now I'm 64, we never went to restaurants or Starbucks before we retired (but we can now), we now travel all over the world, never touch our principal investment portfolio, at some point we could even start to spend our principle and never run out of money, Canada pensions kick in soon, that will really help. NEVER CARRY CREDIT CARD DEBT!!!!!
@@annaartesana2622 I go to restaurants all the time when I Travel because I now have the money, because I did not go to restaurants when I was younger, proper retirement planning, I can afford those things now, not at all boring, we love travelling and not having to worry about what and how much we spend, the younger generation has it all backwards, they spend as if they will never run out of money, they will be screwed when they retire, "the system" will not look after them if they did not plan, Canada Pension or Social security is a bonus, not a retirement plan
Always great stuff guys and hello from Mukilteo! Thank you. We’re so so close now. We’re heading out on a 7 week trip starting this late August. We’ve taken a lot of your tips n tricks into our plans. Cannot wait for the adventure to see if slow travel for longer periods will be right for us. Cheers
My question is, what happens when you hit your mid 70's? Or 80's? Or you get some illness/disease? Where will you be living? You've sold everything to travel. It's great for now while you guys are still relatively young. We are debt free have been for years, but are still working and will be for a number of years (in our early 60's) we do travel (I spend 3 months total in Italy every year as one of my kids lives there).
By that time, God willing, we will have Medicare. What happens if we get sick now and never got the opportunity to travel? We could also come home at any time and get jobs.
@@BrianandCarrie if you get sick now you wouldn’t be travelling anyway. You wouldn’t be able to get travel medical insurance. I don’t know, just seems like you are only thinking about the present and not say 10 years from now.
If we get sick now, we can look back on three years of incredible experiences that we otherwise would never have had. You can always play it safe, stay home and never get the opportunity. We decided to experience life while we still can.
@@monicamillin9659I’m confused as to what your point is? Are you suggesting they should sit down and sacrifice the joy of actually living in the moment to prepare for a possible disaster in the future?
Thanking both of you in advance. Actually lost some friends by not going out with them to $150+ dinners. Simply didn't feel the $1,000's a year was worth it.
Same here. 3 bedroom house and I don’t like the upkeep. But apartments are out of reach for me. I looked at a one bedroom for $1300 (temporarily) and it was only 700 Sq. Ft. That’s pretty small 😮
the other retirement killer is drugs/alcohol/prescriptions, bad health kills retirement, healthy food, exercise and good health = great retirement!!!! Nobody needs a gym membership, we play pickleball every day, for FREE!! walking and hiking are also free. Music/movie memberships are a waste of money
Do you plan on coming back to the US when you are at the retirement home stage, or stay in Europe or Asia? Do countries accept older seniors as citizens?
In reference to credit card debt…wouldn’t it make more sense to pay off the card with the highest interest rate first as opposed to the one with the lowest balance? Just a thought. Love your videos, this is a good one!
Hi guys, I've got an idea for a future video. Now we have come to know you through your channel, it would be great to have your back story. What did you do before Fire (jobs, how you met, lifestyle etc), and what was the catalyst for Fire etc.. Thanks :)
We have touched on this in the past but haven't dedicated an entire video to it. We did introduce ourselves at the beginning of our podcast series. 😁 Here is a link that may answer your questions. Thank you so much for watching and taking interest! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9UcQF-2bjKc.html
@@BrianandCarrie Thanks guys. How old were you when you both Fire'd if you don't mind me asking? Also what age does the US state pension kick in (it's 67 in the uk nowadays)? Cheers
Social Security starts at 62. We quit our jobs at 50 but any financial adviser would have recommended we continue to work. The key for us was zero debt.
In our country (USA) after you have 35 (they average your top 35) qualified years for social security your benefit is fairly stabilized. For example my first year of qualified work at 13 years old. Retired 52. My last 15 years were my highest paid years like most people. However the first 20 are bumped up and indexed to an age adjusted / inflation based average. So even if you worked five more years you might only change your max benefit by a hundred or two hundred a month. That might be huge for some people but most would rather trade 5 more years of retirement over 2500 dollars a year benefit.
So exciting!! We would recommend getting the Hepatitis AB shots. It is not necessary, but we got them. We know others that did not and didn't have any problems. We would also recommend drinking bottled water, although the plastic situation in SE Asia is bad. We now use Larq water bottles. I'll leave you the link below. We also ate street food that was prepared in front of us. You will have an amazing time!! Safe travels!! Cheers!! 🍻 www.livelarq.com/shop?irclickid=QDpSNZxrwxyKWvKXKMw6xxO7UkHVjuxZNTTBSI0&irgwc=1&Impact&Online%20Tracking%20Link
Thanks for a good tips. I am thinking to go for full time travel to Jomtien Thailand and Nha Trang Vietnam probably at the end of this year or early next year. I plan to retire at 53 years old. I will be glad not to see my stupid Indian Manager. Waiting for that day to come soon. I am glad you both making a travel while you can.
We have a few Q and A videos that will answer all your question! Here is a link to our phone plan and how it works. www.airalo.com/?irclickid=131zCw0%3AQxyKTo3y1zWaWQBzUkHXmqwxBUEQSQ0&irgwc=1&Brian%20and%20Carrie%20LLC
That is exciting!! The planning and prepping are part of the fun. A bit stressful but so exciting!! We are glad that you found us as well!! Welcome to the community!! 😁
The thing about it is even if you’re debt-free and then you quit your job and travel around the world and don’t work a job no more you still need income coming in. You can’t just live off of a nest because that’s an infinite amount of money you just can’t keep pulling away from it and not have any income coming into replenish it because you don’t know how long you’re going to live so you still have to have a source of income, such as a pension or Social Security or of course RU-vid videos but that isn’t gonna last forever like for example if you live to be 70 or 80s or even 90s, no one’s gonna wanna watch videos of old buzzards so eventually that’s gonna end so you have to have something coming in before you even start the travel process
We need to bridge the gap between now, 54 and 53 years old, to have access to our pensions, 401k's and Social Security. We each worked 9-5 jobs for over 30 years to get to where we are. Being debt free at 50 allows us to do what we are doing now.
Carrie is using e-sim on her phone, and I get a sim card in each country, although sometimes I just use Wi-Fi. Here is the link that Carrie uses for e-sim. www.airalo.com/?irclickid=131zCw0%3AQxyKTo3y1zWaWQBzUkHVEfw3l3D-0s0&irgwc=1&Brian%20and%20Carrie%20LLC
thanks for the fantastic video. what will juice it up is somehow communicate a bit your net worth before the leap of faith. i know it’s not always possible. i am on the cusp of slow travel 5-6 months a year but plagued by the “1 more year” dilemma. my emergency fund is 1 year due to the investment portfolio. one question - do you guys get hit with departure (aka exit) tax when you leave more than 6 months from US but at the same time you are also travelling all the time and i presume you are not tax resident of another country.
Hi! Exit tax is only if we leave and give up citenship which we would never do. We also don't have residency in any other country. Thanks so much for watching.
@@BrianandCarrie thanks for replying. this is a bit different than canada where you will trigger departure tax when you become a tax resident of another country. nothing to do with canadian citizenship status. wow come to think of it, the option is more favourable for US citizens in this regards.
Great stuff. Would you say you were prefer to have a 6 month, 12 month, or 24 month living expenses saved up? 🤔 📺 Knowing what you know now, do you see your lifestyle / way you travel, changing because your multiple income streams start preforming very well?😮💰📚 Ie. More business class, $100 Fresh Clean Threads tshirts, super cool bucket hat?😉 Or just a slightly bigger monthly budget.🌞💪🌎
Maybe a little bit of everything but mainly a slightly higher monthly budget for accommodations and some dinners out. We are still in no position to buy $100 t-shirts but having limited clothing, the quality of what we do have is important. Our travels will not change anytime soon. Having 3 months of a safety net in the bank would be enough. The bucket hat is super cool huh?!! 😁
25 dollar breakfast? How is that possible? Even major chain 4 star hotels don’t charge that for their buffets. I know, cause i do breakfast at a fancy hotel at least once during a month long trip. All you can eat…..and best part, all coffee I can drink.
That's the cost in any big city. $50 for two, for a very average breakfast. But amazingly, I think it's the best value meal of the 3. Dinners have become really ridiculous. $150 is the new lower baseline at anything approaching a half-decent restaurant in the big city.
