Author Topic: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!  (Read 3184 times)

Poiss

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Hello all,

This is my first post but I've been following the forum and blog for a little while now, and my wife and I have just put in motion a plan to drastically increase our savings that I though I would share here as it could apply to others.

To start with a little bit of context: we're in our early 30s, no kids yet and only one income. I work as a consultant/CPA and the pay is good but I spend most of my weeks travelling while my wife stays in our apartment in Los Angeles.
This creates two problems for us: we have expensive fixed costs from renting and living in LA, and we spend most our time apart.

The plan: my company offers a "road warrior" status, where the expectation is that you constantly travel, but in return are paid 30% on top of your ordinary salary. All housing / food / car costs are taken care of by the company.
So we've crunched the numbers and if my wife follows me everywhere I'm deployed, we can give up the apartment, the car, and most of our monthly expenses, thereby bringing our monthly spending budget from $5k to $1.5k, and getting the additional 30% in income.
With this, we would be looking at a savings rate of 86% (of take home pay), vs. $57% today!

Combined with our current $250k in assets, we can hit our FIRE target (30 times annual spending) in 6 years only!

The obvious downside is that its much harder building your social network when you only spend a couple of months at each location .. but we're hoping that the prospect of financial independence in our 30s is worth that much.

So if you job gives you that opportunity you should go for it! If not and you're a CPA, send me a private message because I know we're always recruiting!

If anyone has suggestions on how to make the nomadic lifestyle work best, I would love to hear them.

Cheers,
Poiss

fuzzy math

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Now is the time, definitely before kids!!! I wish I'd taken the time to travel for work before I had mine. I"ve only done a few short stints here and there, and it is definitely tough. I hope you guys like the adventure, it should be an upgrade for your wife who will no longer be alone. Perhaps get her a gym membership or something to a national chain, some sort of situation that allows her to go to a familiar place no matter where she is. If she were to find work (which I know is tough since you'll be moving), you could both probably cut another year off your FIRE time which might be appealing to her if she wants to have kids and have you FIREd by then.

Poiss

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Yes, although we are thinking that having kids would not materially alter the situation.
My office typically rents me a 2 bedroom apartment so we could live there as a family. Complications will surface when the kids have to go to school..

kaposzta

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2019, 06:23:49 AM »
TLDR: Go for it!
My suggestion is that you should at least try this kind of life - if it doesn't work, I'm sure your company will let you return to your current role.
If you'll be ready to have kids, you can always go back to LA or any other place you like, and I'm sure you can reach FIRE still in your 30s.

lookingforadelorean

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2019, 08:03:24 AM »
Are you conducting audits?

I would love this lifestyle (for a specified time) even with kids. We homeschool so we have the freedom to travel whenever and wherever.

LifeHappens

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2019, 08:33:09 AM »
If I were young and single I would be all over this lifestyle. In a lot of ways it's my ideal. I think the key in whether this works or not is your wife's preferences. If she has ways to occupy her time and stay happy and engaged while you're at work this could be a great opportunity for you. If she's going to be bored in an apartment all day the job isn't going to last. If I were you, I would make sure she's 100% on board and has a plan for work/community/mental health.

Poiss

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2019, 11:21:03 AM »
Are you conducting audits?

I would love this lifestyle (for a specified time) even with kids. We homeschool so we have the freedom to travel whenever and wherever.

I used to be an auditor, and now its consulting.
I'll tell you soon how it works out!

highflyingstache

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2019, 01:26:16 PM »
A thought,

As someone who has been on the road above 20 days a month on average the past 7 years, absolutely the biggest thing I've found, isn't so much the consistency of being in one place. It's the consistency of having routine. Whether it's friends that know you come and go, accept that and work with a wacky schedule (some people really don't, trust me) or the same membership to a gym chain like was mentioned above. I have hobbies that are flexible. Things like the meetup app are great for getting out and playing sports or socializing when away. Gym memberships give classes, picking hobbies that are flexible on times (non-team based stuff) really can help. Especially if you're hitting the same few cities again and again you'll form habits, mini-cultures in each of those. Even if it's the same hotel/apartment location or coffee shop/dinner stop, certainly you'll become more comfortable. Even then, as something becomes mundane, you'll be able to look forward to the next time you get to go back to X, Y or Z.

It's not for everyone, but hopefully you'll find a balance. Certainly finding your partner something compatible, that can work on the road is ideal too. Unfortunately, when someone follows you for work, I've found it very difficult to get them more than just temporary work to do.

texxan1

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2019, 03:52:18 PM »
Nomadic can be total fun, you just have to learn your style and pace yourself.

There are a ton of digital nomads i met while on walkabout last year in southeast asia and they are killing it.... What i heard most is that once you go nomad, the opportunities pop up like crazy....

Give it a shot, your young.. You got this

EngagedToFIRE

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Re: Changing to nomadic lifestyle - 85% savings rate and FIRE in 6 years!
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2019, 06:39:26 AM »
You may find it cheaper to have your own car and take it with you.  Generally the company provides an amount for the car expenses and pays them regardless of whether you rent a car or not.  If you HAVE to rent a car, then yeah, rent it, but just something to keep in mind.  You may also be able to find cheaper housing where you go and pocket the difference.  I know when a family member of mine does travel nursing, it's all fixed amounts they get for car/housing, etc.  And so they will find cheaper accommodations and pocket the difference.