I am 24 years old, and I recently got married to my high school sweetheart (aww). We've shared our finances for several years, and we been living the Mustachian life since graduating from college together (never been happier, by the way). I am a public school physics teacher ($42k/yr), and she does marketing work ($38k/yr). I also do a lot of odd jobs (including photography), and we churn credit cards, totaling a few thousand extra dollars of income per year. Our net worth has reached 4-6 times our low level of combined annual expenses, and it's parked in paper investments and some cash (no house, no debt).
We never took a honeymoon because neither of us has any interest in week-long luxury vacations. We are more of the adventurous type, and we both enjoy a great deal of change in our lives as often as is realistic (no kids), and we even prefer our vacations to have a "challenge" aspect to them. As our "honeymoon equivalent," we are quitting our jobs and moving from Florida to Hawaii in June 2015. We have never been to Hawaii. We don't know if we'll want to stay 3 months, or 6 months, or forever. The goal is to work as little as possible in Hawaii while maintaining a constant net worth or only slightly increasing our net worth. This is supposed to be a mini/partial "retirement," with the plan of going back to full-time work (in Hawaii or not) after 6 months or so.
The tentative plan (with questions bolded) is:
-Arrive at the Honolulu airport and rent a car. We'll need the rental car for at least a week, perhaps two if it's not expensive. I have never rented a car. How much should I pay for a car rental? How do I do this most efficiently?
-Spend a few days driving around the island and evaluating the answer to the questions, "Is this a place I want to live? Am I in love with this place like I thought I would be?" We'll be combining sleeping in the car, sleeping with two friends we have on Oahu, and sleeping in Marriott hotels paid for by credit card rewards points.
-If we decide we want to live on Oahu somewhere, immediately rent a place, hoping for month-to-month rental or a 6-month lease if possible. We'd like to rent a studio apartment for maybe $900-1200 per month. We know we want to live as close to the ocean as possible, but not in a big city (Honolulu). Our #1 priority is natural beauty where we live. Secondary priorities are price, proximity to decent grocery stores, Walmart, Costco, etc., and possible client base for our skills (details to come below). Any suggestions on where to look?
-If we decide we don't like Oahu, we will fly to the big island (Hawaii) and look at living in Kailua-Kona, which we think we will like. Anyone with first-hand Hawaii experience have any strong opinions about trying this first?
-Once we've confirmed housing, we will purchase one car and two bicycles, all used. On the car, we'd like to spend under $6000 on something reliable with good resale value (since we might move away in several months again). We'd really like to have a small and efficient convertible if it's reasonable, but I know nothing about cars. Any suggestions on the type of car to buy, how much to expect to pay, where to find a car, or how to evaluate if a car is a good buy, reliable, well-maintained, etc.?
-Once settled, we'll begin finding sources of income. I have a B.S. in physics and an M.A. in science education. My wife has a B.S. in journalism. My wife already has an ongoing remote freelance job which brings in $500/mo with very little effort. She is working on increasing her remote responsibilities and bringing in up to $1500/mo remotely, but this is not guaranteed to happen (maybe not even likely). I am a professional photographer, and I will attempt to market myself locally. In addition, with an education in math and physics as well as experience as an educator, I plan to market myself to local high school and college students for math and physics tutoring. Any advice on other potential sources of income or on how to market oneself?
-Once our monthly cashflow is net zero or better (hopefully by the end of the first month), our only focus will obviously be enjoying ourselves. I'm very into bicycling, and we both love photography and the ocean. What are the must-dos (especially those off the beaten path) in Hawaii?
-If things are extremely comfortable financially, we'd like to consider flying to other Hawaiian islands and/or Japan. Other suggestions as well as details about how to make our ideas inexpensive and awesome are welcome.
Just some side thoughts:
Everyone tells me that the cost of living is "insanely high" in Hawaii. Any comments on the cost of living, how to keep it reasonable, and if these are just complainypants comments from others?
I will still have free health insurance through my parents, but my wife will be losing hers. We were planning to just buy the highest deductible plan possible for her privately. Any suggestions on what to do about health insurance?
We probably won't be dumping loads of cash into investments as we normally do during this time, since our income will roughly equal our expenses. Does this warrant a temporary change in our asset allocation (more conservative)?
I can't think of anything else to write or ask...Maybe you have questions for me that would enlighten the discussion? Maybe you thought of something I didn't mention at all? Please share!
THANK YOU!!!