Thanks Lns! I'll listen to it while I work today.
It's been on my mind a lot lately. My last contract ends on 5/19 (usually I've been juggling at least 3 contracts at a time for the last 8 years), and so far they haven't mentioned new projects yet, so I've been taking the time to think about the idea of not working for a while.
The more I think about it, the greedier I get haha, 12 mos of no work sounds pretty nice. I think I've decided to kick the can on the wife's tuition and get a loan versus paying it in cash now, it'll cost me $1900 in interest, but it leaves my cash reserves nice and high, which makes me feel more comfortable. I'm hoping I'll have a burn rate of less than 1,000 per month (after rental income and wife's contribution), in theory it'll be less, but I'm sure everyone knows how that goes...
As for what to do? I like the day at a time approach. I have a big list of things I've wanted to do for a long time, but I have a feeling I will really enjoy doing very little while I recharge and rediscover who I am outside of work, alternating project days with lazy days.