Author Topic: Case study: To retire or not to retire, that is the question...  (Read 2962 times)

Bob TB

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Case study: To retire or not to retire, that is the question...
« on: December 09, 2013, 04:18:39 AM »
Dear Mustachians,

My husband and I are facing a FI cross-roads and would like to call upon the infinite wisdom and financial badassity of this forum to help us make our next move.
 
We are in our early thirties and have been mustachians for some time now. We have been aggressively paying down our mortgage and saving up a stache in order to take a step back from the grind. Since we had our first child, I’ve been able to transition from full-time work to consulting. I enjoy what I do, I can do it from home, and largely when I please. So this is something I’ll likely continue in the future.

As for my other half, he is not so enraptured with his job. We are currently living abroad, and were planning to wrap things up and head to Australia mid next year. However, life has thrown a spanner in the works. The spanner is a potentially very cool job for my husband, in a field he loves. BUT – it would mean relocating to another country. The pros, aside from the good job bit, is the cash. We could potentially stash another 250-300k per year. Say we do two years, that’s a lot of extra safety net in the bag.

My biggest issue is – do we really need to do it? Great job or not, it’s still a job. And one that can be pretty consuming at times. When we were planning to leap gleefully into semi-retirement, it’s mentally kind of tough to recalibrate to take on two more years.

So, to help you help us, here are the numbers.

Plan A – pull the pin mid 2014
Assets
-       Property 1 (primary residence) – 750k
-       Property 2 – 870k
-       Property 3 – 320k
-       Shares – 140k
-       Cash – 300k

Liabilities
-       Property 2 – 540k
-       Student loan – 32k

Ongoing Revenue Streams
-       Rent Property 2 – 31k per annum
-       Rent property 3 – 6k per annum
-       Consulting – 100k per annum*
-       Interest on cash/shares – 11k per annum

Expenses
-       Rental property maintenance etc – 8k
-       Estimated living expenses – 25k (no mortgage, no car)**
-       Travel budget – 8k (we plan to travel every year for a month or so to see family o/s)

*While this is ongoing, it is not permanent and is not something we can count on forever
** If anyone can chip in on average cost of living in Sunshine coast area in Australia we’d be grateful


Plan B – suck it up for two more years
Our ongoing revenue and expenses would be the same as above. The only line item that really changes is the cash.

Assets
-       Property 1 (main residence) – 750k
-       Property 2 – 870k
-       Property 3 – 320k
-       Shares – 140k
-       Cash – 760k

So there it is. Obviously it’s very top line, but hopefully it’s enough detail to enable you to provide us with some advice. We don't know whether to punch ourselves in the face and just leave. Or punch ourselves in the face and take on another two years. 
 
Huge thanks in advance for your help!

 
« Last Edit: December 09, 2013, 09:21:00 AM by Bob TB »

goodlife

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
Re: Case study: To retire or not to retire, that is the question...
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2013, 11:41:33 AM »
It seems to me that this is not really a question of money, but more a question of what kind of life you want for the next two years. You have enough money in my opinion to just do your semi-retirement and move to AUS. So to me, the real question is whether your husband would really like to do this job for a reason other than the money and whether you two would enjoy living in whatever country that job will be in. There will always be jobs that pay a lot of money, so in 2 years time, you might face the same situation again....there is always another year and another year and so on. If it was me, I would ask myself how I would like to spend the next two years and take the money out of the equation while thinking about that. Good luck!

gimp

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2344
Re: Case study: To retire or not to retire, that is the question...
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2013, 11:49:49 AM »
I think it really depends on your husband, but if I were him, I wouldn't pass up a great job that he's excited about. Some say a job that is worth getting excited about is just another job, but I think there's nothing wrong with being free and working an awesome job, because you're using the freedom to do fun things every day.

But then, I like work.

okiedoke

  • Guest
Re: Case study: To retire or not to retire, that is the question...
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2013, 12:03:28 PM »
Take the job.  Living in another country, while being able to sock away that cash, would be fantastic.  You've left out some key details (i.e., is the new country somewhere you'd like to live?), but all in all, I'd say bank the cash while you have the opportunity.  You're still really young, and you will be in two years -- but you'll have more of a cushion and you'll have learned something and had a great new experience by living in a new country.