Sneak Peek At Financial Independence

I’m extremely excited! 

This Monday, February 17, begins a two-week sabbatical from work. I decided to take my entire paid vacation allotment all in one shot this year, instead of splitting it up a few days at a time as I usually do to get paid while I visit my family in Michigan during holiday breaks or the odd weekend. It’s been years since I took some time to just relax and take it easy.

Since early 2010 I’ve been fully engaged in my journey to financial independence. It’s been hundreds of weeks filled with long hours at work, building my portfolio from nothing to well into the six-figures, building wonderful relationships with you readers, writing hundreds of articles here on Dividend Mantra and keeping my body in shape as much as possible. It’s involved tracking every single penny I’ve earned and spent while maintaining a healthy balance between frugality and happiness.

However, I’ve been feeling burned out at work lately, and the addition of a new co-worker strengthened my resolve to take a break from things right now. The new guy has bruised my paycheck more than my ego, and while it’s been great to have a reduced workload I can see that my journey to financial independence might be just a tad longer now with less income coming my way. I’m still processing exactly how I feel about all of this as I go, partially because it’s still a relatively new change for me. I’ve been a bit bothered by it, but it’s not something I can really control.

So I felt now was a great time to take a couple weeks off from work to step back and concentrate on a few others things to get my mind off this disappointment. And best of all, this is going to be my little “sneak peek” at financial independence, because for the next 14 days I won’t have any work responsibilities at all.

Instead, I’ll be focusing on a few other things:

Relaxation

The first thing I’m going to do is just relax a bit. For the last few years it’s been hard to find any time at all to just chill out. Living down here in Florida is wonderful, but every single time I take vacation pay it’s because I’m flying home to Michigan to spend time with my family.

So my idea of a “vacation” over the last few years has involved the hurried rush to the airport and all the stress that comes with flying only to get in as much time with as many family members as I possibly can once I land in Michigan. After a few days of catching up it’s back to the airport and doing the security dance so I can fly back to Florida. While I love seeing my family, the whole experience is never really relaxing. Instead it can be quite stressful.

So this year I’m taking a couple weeks to actually relax in a city that so many other people come to vacation in. I won’t be going anywhere at all these two weeks. I’ll be instead enjoying the opportunity to sleep past 6:30 am and spending some time at our world famous beaches. I really wish I could tell you guys I’m doing something exciting like flying off to Thailand to explore a potential early retirement spot, but I’ll be taking a frugal staycation instead.

I’m actually a night owl by nature, so staying up past 10 pm is another thing I’m really looking forward to. In fact, I’ve always anticipated my ideal day once I’m financially independent to run from 10 am to 2 am. I would then get in eight hours of sleep from 2-10. These two weeks gives me a great opportunity to indulge in my natural circadian rhythm.

Unstructured Free Time

I’m also looking forward to seeing how I do with unstructured free time. One aspect of retirement that seems to catch some people off guard is the lack of a real schedule. I think this is something that some people just naturally do well with, while others need a schedule to keep them in some kind of rhythm. I haven’t had a lengthy break from a regular work schedule in many years now, so I’m anxious to see how I do with a lack of a schedule. This little break will be a great little test on exactly how much I enjoy not having a full-time job to report to for 50+ hours per week.

Will I love it as much as I think I will? Or will this little sneak peek at financial independence be a disappointment? Will I actually – gasp! – miss work? I’m excited to get answers!

Writing

One major area of concentration for me over the next couple weeks will be writing. I’ve got about 70 articles in draft mode right now. Some are no more than a title, while some are a paragraph or two long. Blogging has become a real passion for me over the last couple years, and I have you readers to thank for that. I started this blog off as an innocent way to chronicle my journey to early retirement/financial independence, but it’s grown into much more than that for me. It’s become an outlet for me in a way I never imagined, and I’m really grateful for it.

I tell ya, it’s incredibly difficult to work more than 50 hours at a dealership, hit the gym a few times, and then sit down and write a few great articles every week.  On top of that there is managing the investment portfolio that has grown into a wonderful monster. Now these are what we call “first world problems”, but it’s still difficult to manage. These two weeks gives me an opportunity to concentrate on putting my best work together, and writing is something that I think will be what I spend most of my time on once I am actually financially independent years down the road.

Switch To WordPress

As I recently discussed, I’m also in the process of switching over to WordPress. I’ve been trying to get some help with the move, but I may actually end up doing it all myself as nothing so far has seemed to work out. These two weeks will give me plenty of time to learn how to make the tech side of it work, as I know very little about servers, databases, permalinks and all that other jazz. I’m just a guy who loves to read and communicate with you guys! However, I’m also a guy with a lot of determination. Give me a whole day to figure this out and I bet you I will. Besides, I knew nothing about investing before I started. We all have to start somewhere, right?

I’ll have some time to not only get the move right, but also make sure the new platform looks good and works well. It’ll give me a chance to work out any potential bugs or issues before you readers see them. I’ll also be more available for emails and other communication methods over the next two weeks, as the relationships I have with you readers are something I like to put a priority on.

Investment Research

I have a confession to make. I’m a bit behind in my investment research lately. The aforementioned switch to the new blogging platform has consumed most of my available free time lately as I continue to research how all of this works, transfer my domain name, open a hosting account, etc. So due to that, I’ve struggled to keep up with not only the stocks within my own portfolio, but also new potential investments.

For instance, I haven’t had a lot of time to really read about the announced partnership between The Coca-Cola Company (KO) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR). This is something I usually would have immediately investigated and read every press release I could get my hands on. I just haven’t had the time lately, and it’s not like I believe Coca-Cola is going to do anything other than what’s best for me anyhow. That’s one major reason I’ve entrusted my investment with the company. But that doesn’t mean my responsibility as an investor goes out the window. Besides, I enjoy this aspect of investing. If I didn’t I’d probably just buy index funds and forget about it.

So I’m looking forward to not only refreshing my memory on what’s going on with the 44 companies in my portfolio, but also taking a fresh look at any potential dividend growth stocks out there that could warrant an investment right now. It’s a very exciting time for me!

Fitness

I haven’t slacked off at all when it comes to my fitness lately. I lost a lot of weight over the last year and I continue to shed the pounds. In fact, as I write this I’m 171 pounds – which is about as light as I’ve been since middle school! I’m in some of the best shape of my life right now, but these two weeks will give me an opportunity to run just a little further, work out just a little longer and tweak my body just that little bit more.

The past four years has been crazy, so these next two weeks will give me a nice reprieve from all that and allow me to take it down just a notch. Ultimately, the journey to financial independence isn’t about sitting at home all day in pajamas while I eat pizza and watch television. It’s really about focusing productivity on things I enjoy, instead of working for an employer and creating value for them.

Look, we all have limited time here on this planet. We’re all dying one day at a time. Financial independence is about directing your most limited and valuable resource to the things you really enjoy in life. And the things I enjoy most in life are spending time with the loved ones in my life, writing, managing investments, keeping fit, and occasionally taking it easy. The next two weeks will give me an opportunity to direct my time toward these activities while not worrying about the work that tends to get in the way of the things I love.

Unfortunately, this little experiment comes at the expense of not having any paid vacation left for the rest of the year. So any time spent back in Michigan will either have to be short weekend jaunts, or I’ll just have to forgo pay while I see family. However, I think this trade-off is well worth it. Not only do I get a break at an opportune time, but for the first time since I started this journey I get to see what freedom looks like on a day-to-day basis as I continue to go about my normal life. Let’s see how it goes!

Full Disclosure: Long KO

How about you? Do you enjoy unstructured free time? What do you think of this little sneak peek?

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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65 Comments

  1. That’s great, I hope you enjoy your “staycation” (as my work colleagues call it). Sometimes that’s just the best way to actually relax. The overhead associated with travel and jetlag can really take its toll.

    As a side note, it’s cool that you acknowlege that your new coworker is only bruising your paycheck and not your ego. I personally don’t know how I would react to a similar situation because I’m a very competitive person at work. You are wise beyond your years =).

    I’m looking forward to hearing about your FI preview!

  2. DividendMantra,

    I find that taking some time for your self is not just a luxury but a necessity. I hope you have the best free two weeks possible and it gives you a chance to reboot and unwind a bit. This three day weekend I decided to withdraw from the world and focus fully on myself, spending time researching and building my stock wishlist, exercising, and catching up on some t.v. By day two my work stress is already a distant memory.

    Enjoy your you time, and come back strong in two weeks.

    Take care.

  3. Spoonman,

    Thanks! I haven’t taken a staycation in many years, so I’m looking forward to it. 🙂

    Yeah, the new guy is an interesting change. I’m actually enjoying the reduced work load. I now get off about 30 minutes early twice a week, so I have an extra hour to myself. If I was interested in a more traditional retirement timeline this would actually be perfect. Unfortunately, I’m not interested in that and am rather interested in getting out as soon a humanly possible. I’m still mixed on the whole thing, but I fear that my paycheck is going to take a fairly substantial hit here pretty soon by the way things are going. If it was a few hundred dollars less per month it might not be that big of a deal. But I fear it’s going to be quite a bit more than that. Based on January’s sales I missed out on about $1k. So my feelings are going from mixed to negative pretty quickly here. That’s why this break is coming at an apt time. I’m still thinking about whether I’m going to stay where I’m at, so getting a little perspective from outside that situation is really great.

    Thanks for stopping by. Always appreciate the support. What time line are you and the missus on for FI? Later this year, right? I bet you’re getting pretty excited!

    Best regards.

  4. Dividendasaur,

    Thanks! This is definitely going to be a great time to reboot. I’m already feeling great being up at almost 2 am on a Monday morning. I’d usually be pretty deep in sleep right now, looking forward to a screaming alarm clock in a little over 4 hours!

    Glad you recently got some R&R in as well. It’s always nice to recuperate a bit and get energized for another productive run! 🙂

    Best wishes!

  5. Monty,

    Haha, you know it’s funny. Everyone at work was wondering what I could possibly do for two weeks. They were all speculating that I’d be bored out of my mind and want to come back to work after two days. They’re just all in a completely different world.

    I agree with you. It’ll be tough to go back. If I wasn’t so dedicated to this plan I might be inclined to just quit now, go to some kind of part-time work and coast my way through the rest of life. But I really believe in what I’m doing here, so I’m about 99% sure I’ll be back to slogging it through 11-hour days in two weeks. Of course, I did leave that 1% possibility in there! 🙂

    Thanks for the perspective!

    Cheers.

  6. Charles,

    Hey, thanks for the mention! I really appreciate it. 🙂

    Glad to have you on board as a fellow Coke shareholder. I’m currently researching the partnership and equity investment by Coke into GMCR. Very interesting stuff. As a Coca-Cola drinker myself, I’m not quite sure I’d be interested in making it at home. I like just cracking open a can and going about what I was doing. But if the process was cheap, simple and allowed for the finished product to taste exactly the same – well, that would be hard to pass up. Interesting development for sure.

    Hope you had a great weekend!

    Take care.

  7. By reading your post it sounds like you really needed a break, I know the feeling!

    Now that you are on vacation you can make many posts!

    Note KO reports earnings on the 18th BMO, should be interesting but I’m a buyer regardless.

  8. Sorry to say this, but the time off doesn’t work. It just makes you want to be done with the daily grind no matter what the financial costs. The more days I take off from work the more I don’t even care about the money. I just want the daily grind to be over!!! Enjoy your time off..

  9. Jason,
    Based on your Coke analysis I purchased some shares around the time of the Green Mountain announcement. Enjoy your vacation and look forward to seeing your 70+ posts. I mentioned you in my American Dream post.

  10. I get more done in structured time, but I still prefer it unstructured. Still, some things require structure (classroom classes, some kinds of volunteer work, seeing plays, etc.) and that’s good, too.

  11. The only extended unstructured free time I had was when I was laid off and I loved it. Having the freedom to do whatever I wanted whenever was awesome. I didn’t have to hit the gym and peak times so I could go there and get in a great workout when no one was there and get on with my day. That’s a huge reason why I was in the best shape of my life and I want to get back to that. It’s not as easy when you have a job that eats up 8-12 hours of your day and then you still have to find the motivation to get to the gym.

    70+ posts in draft mode. That’s awesome. I’ve got about 30-40 that I just don’t have the time to sit down and write. I’m hoping to be able to take advantage of some of my time off to get more writing done as well, but that never seems to work out. There’s always something else that needs to get done.

    Make sure you take some time to visit those wonderful beaches and don’t get completely wrapped up in the blog/investments.

    As for the KO/GMCR partnership there haven’t been a lot of details released so you haven’t missed too much. Definitely sounds interesting and I’m hoping for some more information with KO’s earnings release tomorrow.

    Thanks again for the continued inspiration.

  12. Have a great vacation! I enjoy reading your blog and am looking forward to reading the large number of pending posts. (It was actually an inspiration for starting my own blog and focusing on dividend investing…so thanks!)

    Not sure how far along you are in the conversion to WordPress, but I have been very impressed with BigScoots (www.bigscoots.com). They are super fast (reason why I switched away from Bluehost) and have great customer service. They would be able to help transfer over your Blogger posts.

  13. Phenomenal Jason! Definitely good to see you step back and take a break. I’m sure it will be great for you to pounce on the opportunity to write and pursue some of you other ventures. Looking forward to seeing how your new site and the upcoming transition goes.

  14. Hey Jason, ya a holiday is never a bad thing. they always bring new ideas, opportunities, reinvigorate and so on. You never know, maybe that amazing idea may come from being chill on a beach one day 🙂 The only downer is that holidays always go by far too quickly lol 🙂 Enjoy the time off!

  15. Jason, Enjoy the time off. I’m not in FI yet (shooting for Aug 2016), but I’ve found that when I first take a vacation, my first week or so is simply getting into the rhythm of not having anything to do and not falling into the pajamas-until-1pm routine.

    The irony of my situation is that I created my own day job, now I want out. Over the past few years, I’ve gotten more ‘connected’, so I would gladly take my computer along with me on ‘vacation’, connect for a few hours each day (great ‘vacation’, right??). I then found an island in the Caribbean on which Verizon cost $2.35/minute and ‘good’ internet was $3/15 minutes on 56k, so I was forced to unplug. I always felt out of sorts for those first few days, but then settled into a great new routine.

    I wasn’t living as frugally as I should have been (that’s why I ended up on an island in the Caribbean). So, this year is the first in a while that we aren’t heading down there for time off. I’d rather save/invest the cash now, so I can enjoy FI while I’m still young enough to do so.

    Enjoy the time off. I’ll try to imagine what it’s like to sit on a beach as I wake up to 6degF with 18″ of snow outside my window.

  16. Sounds like you need the rest. I’m a firm believer in 2 week vacations. Personally, I just start to unwind after 1 week. The second week is when I really chill. Of course, being here in Michigan I would be thinking about going to Florida :-).

    Hope you have a great trip. It’s cold here, of course. If you are going to be relaxing indoors though, it shouldn’t be too bad.

  17. I forget if I mentioned it before, but web-dev and wordpress are my profession, so I’ll be happy to field any questions you have.

    Enjoy the staycation, this is my favorite time of the year for florida since it’s not so beastly hot out.

  18. DM,

    I hope you get to really relax and enjoy yourself for the next 2 weeks, along with getting all your projects done. I’m looking forward to reading some of those articles, but don’t work too hard on them on your vacation!

  19. That staycation sounds great. I hear you on the stress inherent with travel: it’s never quite as relaxing as you think it’ll be.

    Best of luck with the move to WordPress. I think I’m sticking with Blogger until I hear some compelling reasons to switch. But if you like the new digs, maybe you can share your new found knowledge? 🙂

  20. We are hoping to quit work some time around the end of August. That’s only about 6 months away! I personally find it hard to believe that it’s right around the corner. I’m starting to think about my exit strategy, things like when and how I am to break the news at work.

    That may get bumped forward by another 6 months if we decide to stay around long enough to collect certain bonuses. The prospect of staying an extra 6 months seems like a real downer to us right now, but that may feel different when we approach our target date. The way I see it, once we declare ourselves FI, it will be a lot easier (psychologically speaking) to hang around for an extra four or five weeks…but not sure about 6 extra months.

    In the meantime I am having a blast fine tuning our future budget and deciding which visit we’ll spend our first year. We’ve decided that it might be best for us to spend a year in the US before we venture abroad, that way we can get acclimated to the lifestyle.

    I’ll keep you updated with our progress!

  21. Here is a wild thought that may help with your reduced income situation. Have you ever looked into vandwelling? If I were single and working towards early retirement like you are, I would be looking into this option as a way to drastically reduce expenses. Google it and you’ll find many people who are doing it. Between your blog income and your dividend income I imagine that you could be close to retiring now.

    Just a thought.

    Steve

  22. Hi dude!
    I updated my WP blog just today, still got a lot things to improve, looking forward to seeing your new site, so if you need help throw me an email.
    And have a nice holiday!

    Aloha..

  23. I am on the last day of an unplanned 5 day weekend stay-cation. (I had to work last weekend and therefore got Thurs and Fri off + President’s Day) It has been amazing! I have gotten to relax and do some projects I’ve wanted to work on. But it does really make me sad to have to go to work again tomorrow, even though I enjoy my job most of the time.

  24. Dexter,

    Looking forward to the KO earnings report. I’ve looked into the equity investment/partnership with GMCR and there isn’t much to be found. Looks like I didn’t miss much.

    I’m already feeling really refreshed and I’m only one day into the staycation. This is going to really recharge my batteries and get me ready for another good run. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  25. Steve,

    Well, I’m not actually going to Michigan this time around. And that’s only because it’s hard for me to actually unwind and relax when I go. It’s a lot of going from one house to another house and catching up with people. Driving here, driving there, stopping in, etc. This is the first time in more than four years I’m just taking it easy. 🙂

    I’m only one day in and I can already see how a two week vacation is sublime! This is exactly what I needed. I feel much better already, so the other 13 days are just going to be icing on the cake!

    By the way, what part of Michigan are you in? I do miss it up there. Not a great time of year right now, and you guys are getting hit particularly hard this winter. However, I do miss the change in seasons. And more than that, I miss my family quite a bit. It’s getting more and more difficult to live so far away from them as time passes.

    Take care!

  26. Jason,

    I hope you enjoy your time off, you deserve it!

    The longest I’ve ever been off was 8 months from Oct 09-May 2010. At the beginning it was hard but eventually I found things to do and I really enjoyed it. It was a wonderful peek into being FI and not having anyone demand your time. The side hustle things I did to earn money during that time were more enjoyable because I wanted to be doing them.

    The company I work for now pretty much shuts down every Jan/Feb so i know what its like to have unstructured time every winter. I’m jealous that you get your time off somewhere nice and warm, its hard for me to feel productive when its freezing outside and I don’t ever want to go anywhere.

    Because of my experience with long periods of time off I know when we reach FI that I will have some structured time of some sort to keep me busy. But it will be nice not to have to worry about how much I’m making at that time.

    Enjoy your time off!!

    BJ

  27. Debbie M,

    I’m actually doing great so far, but I’m only really one day in to this. We’ll see how it goes after a week or so. I think I do okay with the unstructured free time because I have so much to do right now. I still have to finish taxes, complete this migration to WP, catch up on writing and investing, etc. If I wasn’t so busy I might be better with a structured schedule.

    I just honestly can’t see how people get “bored” when they don’t go to work. That is just an insane concept to me. Life is short and I’d much rather live life for me than an employer. That’s just me.

    Cheers.

  28. Pursuit,

    I’m with you. I’m looking forward to really pushing myself physically with this time off. This is about as light as I was in 8th grade, so it’s really crazy. This will be a great time to get a good sweat in without having to watch the clock. It’s tough to hit the gym at 8 pm, come home at 9 and then immediately get ready for bed. It’s such a buzzkill.

    I noticed that KO hasn’t released much information about the equity investment/partnership with GMCR. So I definitely haven’t missed much! I guess I’m not far off my game after all. 🙂

    Looking forward to earnings and any further info on it. It’s a unique partnership. I just don’t know if it’s going to be a hit. As a soda drinker (weekends only now) I just don’t see the benefit of making my own unless the cost savings is significant. However, I can see the green angle as it’s better for the environment. And I’m all for something like that. If it is a hit it would be huge for KO. Very little costs and big margins in the licensing. We shall see!

    Thanks again for all the support. I’ll try to find some time to unwind at the beach. The only problem with that is this place is crawling with snowbirds right now. And the temperature outside today is like 80 degrees so it’s gridlock everywhere. Hopefully after the holiday it’ll be easier to get around and hit the beach. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  29. Scott,

    Hey, glad this blog inspired you to start your own! That’s awesome! 🙂

    As far as hosting goes I’m settled on Liquid Web. Great customer service, although a bit pricey. I will never, ever recommend HostGator after my experience. Really horrible.

    I hope you enjoy writing and chronicling your journey. I’ll make sure to stop by and check it out!

    Take care.

  30. w2r,

    Thanks so much! Appreciate the support both here and through email. I’ve taken some of your suggestions with the new site seriously and have already implemented them. I’m very excited to make the move and see what everyone things. The new platform is really professional, and allows the content to remain the primary focus (which is what it’s all about).

    Congrats on your engagement and your 2013. I seen your goals and I’m confident you’re going to nail them. I think 2014 is going to be a really great time for many of us as our passive income continues to grow!

    Hope you had a great weekend!

    Best regards.

  31. TalesFromTheTape,

    The break definitely always goes too fast. Two weeks sounds like a long time, but I’ll be back to work before I know it. Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it!

    I’m just super excited to take a break, focus on writing and investing (which is where my heart really lies) and get some things that have been on the back burner (like taxes) done.

    I think 2014 is already off to a great start here. I get to sit back and collect dividends AND a paid vacation for the next two weeks. Plus it’s gorgeous outside. I’m the luckiest guy on Earth! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  32. Liam,

    Wow! August 2016, huh? That’s just around the corner. I wish you the best of luck with that! You’ll have to share with the class what FI is like on the other side. 🙂

    I know what you mean by always being connected. I’ve kind of put myself in a similar situation with the investments and this blog – both of which require a computer and an internet connection to manage in the way I feel fit.

    Sorry to hear about the 18″ of snow and the cold weather. I will I say I miss the four seasons back in Michigan, but it was always from about mid-January to early March that depressed me with the gray skies, cold weather and lack of outdoor activities. By some of the pictures on your blog it looks like you’re a bit more adventurous in cold weather than I ever could be!

    Cheers.

  33. Buttercup,

    I know exactly what you mean. I’m only one day into this vacation and I’m already dreading going back to work! It’s way in the back of my mind, but the thought is there.

    Enjoy your last day! Make the most of it. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care!

  34. BJ,

    I can imagine that it might be tough to get used to unstructured free time if you’re not used to it. One’s personality type also has a lot to do with this. I’m a night owl and more of a free-thinker. I believe in productivity, but not at all costs. I’m also not a do-er in the traditional sense of working with my hands and building things. I like to think, contemplate, write and things like that. So I suppose the “inner artist” inside of me likes the unstructured free time, while the pragmatic side of my personality that keeps up on investments and is constantly seeking a way to improve finances enjoys structure. It’s an interesting dynamic.

    Glad to hear you get a little break every winter. Nothing wrong with having some slow periods for a month or so every year to unwind and recharge. My job tends to be busy all year, although we slow down just a tad in the summer once the snowbirds leave town and head north.

    Take care!

  35. BuySmart,

    Oh, that’s awesome! I’m definitely a rookie with WP, but I’m getting the hang of it so far. I’m very, very excited to see what everyone thinks of the new platform. There’s going to be a few small changes for the better, and it looks very professional. I hope it’s a hit!

    You’re right. This is definitely the best time of year down here. Late Fall is also pretty nice – around November or so.

    I’ll make sure to drop you a line if I need any help. I appreciate the offer!

    Best regards.

  36. fiveoh,

    I’ll try to take some time off to just unwind. I’m still in “work mode” right now and I’ve been busy all morning getting a custom header created for the new site, going over taxes, responding to emails, etc. I’ve been busier than I usually am at the day job! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. I’m looking forward to doing some stock research over the next couple weeks to see what pops up.

    Cheers!

  37. DB40,

    Well, the move to WP isn’t necessary. And it’s a bit expensive to do hosting on a large site like this.

    But I’m doing it because I want to own my content and I also want to provide a more robust experience. The new platform is going to be very professional and polished while also allowing more options for staying in touch, etc. I think it’s going to be great.

    But, again, it’s not necessary. If I didn’t have so much content here or if this was nothing more than an occasional hobby I’d stick with Blogger. Blogger is easy and free, and I’ve enjoyed it.

    Travel can indeed be stressful. I hope you guys are making the most of your time as I know you’re on vacation right now too. Hawaii, right? Cheers to relaxation and living life! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  38. Steve,

    I’ve actually looked into it. However, I’m not single right now. And my girlfriend has a child. So that definitely wouldn’t be possible.

    If I were to be single again I’d consider it. However, I looked into a couple blogs by vandwellers and it wasn’t as cheap as I thought it would be. One prominent blog that includes expenses listed her monthly expenditures somewhere around the $550 mark. I think I could get pretty close to that by simply renting a room, really clamping down on the food expenses, getting rid of the car and biking it, and then also eliminating the student loans. I bet I could get down to $700 if I really wanted.

    Of course, the blog I looked at implied she moves around a lot and makes the most of her mobile living situation. So gas was a big expense. A more stationary existence would be cheaper, but then I don’t know how much I’d like living such a life.

    Thanks for the thoughts! I’m always interested in thinking outside the box. Conventional wisdom usually sucks.

    Take care!

  39. investingIdiot,

    Very cool looking site! I think you did a great job there. 🙂

    I’m definitely looking forward to making the move. I’m hoping it’s all finalized in the coming days!

    Keep up the great work.

    Best regards.

  40. DM,

    Relaxing and being stress free is a massive investment. You’re investing into your health. You can stay healthy and when your reach FI, you can enjoy it. Trust me, I’ve seen too many people who have had money and retired earlier than normal not enjoy it because they’ve destroyed their health. The best investment you can make is in your health. Enjoy your time off.

  41. Not just you. What I tell people is that I’m pretty sure I can be better at thinking up things I want to do than a boss is!

    On the other hand, my boyfriend’s favorite aunt told us she likes to hire retired women as her helpers in her business because after about a year when their house finally gets all fixed up they get bored and start wanting to work. So I’m not totally sure that won’t happen to me, since I don’t have some big-deal project to work on. But I do have lots of little things that, at least when I’m working half-time or less, I have no trouble filling up my day with!

  42. A good buddy of mine took 3 weeks off all at once. The place where he work saw that they could get by with out him. He lost his job. The good news is he got another one within a week so all is well

  43. DM,

    That’s awesome! Enjoy your time and remember to take things SLOOOOW! Sometimes, the best vacation is the one where you don’t have to go anywhere. You not only get to save on money, but also maximize on your time away from work. And that’s always a wonderful thing!

    I actually will be vacationing in Thailand later this year, as part of my round the world trip in August. Can’t wait, and I will have to come back with a full report on prospects for early FI out there. I’ve heard great things, so can’t wait. Just 6 months to go!

    Take care!

  44. Anonymous,

    I agree. Reducing stress as much as possible is a big key to a long, healthy life. If you ever look up the major causes of death and the risk factors behind them stress is what many of them have in common. Stress is definitely a “silent killer”.

    The minimization of stress is one big reason I’m chasing after financial independence so aggressively. Today was a great day with no stress. I woke up at 10, responded to some emails, did some research, had some great conversations here in the comment section, got some of my taxes done, worked on the new WordPress blog, etc. It’s been wonderful! 🙂

    And I agree that one’s health is a fantastic investment. Without health you really have nothing. I certainly am guilty of letting my health slide a bit when I first started this journey and ate ramen noodles almost every day, but I also wouldn’t change that experience for the world. It taught me a lot about sacrifice and what I can really live on, while also allowing me to save as much as possible.

    Thanks for stopping by. Appreciate your thoughts!

    Cheers.

  45. Stephane,

    Very nice. Glad to see you start your own blog! I wish you nothing but the best with it.

    I might recommend The Dividend Girl to you, if you haven’t already seen her blog. I believe she is French Canadian as well, and her writing is very similar to your own.

    http://www.myfirst50000.com/

    Her strategy of using debt to build her portfolio is not necessarily something I would recommend, but she’s done pretty well so far from what I remember. I haven’t visited her blog in a while, but I remember she was collecting some pretty serious dividend income last year.

    Best of luck!

    Take care.

  46. Anonymous,

    Yikes. So you’re saying my vacation might be a lot longer than I had expected? I don’t know whether to celebrate or worry. 🙂

    Just kidding, of course!

    That story is just reinforcement for this strategy. As an employee you’re always expendable. You’re best off creating value for yourself whenever you can instead of focusing solely on an employer’s needs. That’s just business.

    Thanks for stopping by. I’ll make sure to look over my shoulder. Haha!

    Best regards.

  47. FI Fighter,

    You read my mind. I’m looking forward to not only taking the time away from work, but also saving a little money. I won’t have to drive anywhere for the most part, so I’ll save on gas. Plus, I won’t have to bring a lunch so I’ll be able to mix up a couple sandwiches for a nice, cheap lunch here at home. Usually, I bring a Lean Cuisine and water for lunch. That adds up at $2.50 a pop.

    Man, that’s exciting stuff you’ve got going on there. I remember reading your post where you talked about flying ’round the world for basically nothing due to your travel hacks. That’s awesome. I’m sure you’re going to love it. And I can’t wait to hear about the potential for early retirement out in Thailand. I’m particularly interested in that! 🙂

    You just have to bide your time a bit now. But six months will go by quickly. Then it’s time to jet set! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Best wishes.

  48. Hello Jason,
    Sometimes, I wonder if I should post, giving you some additional work ! Some people would miss their work, but with your others passions, I don’t know how that could happen to you. I resolved my question whether I should have dividends stocks or index. I will have both : 50 to 60% Vanguard VTI ETF, and 40 to 50% stocks that I want to own directly like KO etc … Many books recommend to have this king of strategy. Best Moorea9 (Patrick)

  49. Guess I misread the article. Thought you were coming to Michigan. I understand what you are saying. House-hopping is tiring. Every year, we rent a cottage on a lake for two weeks. We do nothing except decide what time we should go to Dairy Queen or take the pontoon out on the lake. That staying in one place thing has a lot going for it.

    I’m from the Lansing area and yes, this winter has been rather brutal. Ice storms, bitter cold and snow. Way more snow than Lansing usually sees. The snow banks along the driveway are over 4 feet high. Another 3 to 6 inches coming tonight. Bought a large snow blower 2 years ago. Best investment I’ve ever made.

    Enjoy your chill time.

  50. Patrick,

    Trust me, responding to comments isn’t work. I really enjoy this. If I could one day do nothing but write and build relationships with you guys then I’d be a very happy man!

    Sounds like you have a good strategy there. You have a great tax situation. Do take advantage of that. 🙂

    Enjoy paradise. 🙂

    Cheers.

  51. investingIdiot,

    Thanks so much! Glad you like the new look. 🙂

    It’s been a difficult journey, and I’m still seeing some issues…but I’ll get them fixed. 🙂

    I didn’t see anything I didn’t like with Coca-Cola’s quarter. Volume was up slightly, EPS matched and revenue was negatively impacted by bottling operations and exchange rates. A rather ho-hum quarter, which is what I like. Put me to sleep. 🙂

    Cheers!

  52. Good Luck during your staycation Dividend Mantra! Sounds like it should be a productive yet relaxing break away from work!

    I like the idea of using all your vacation days at once. I think it will help you refresh away from work. While I’ve always thought of trying this, I’ve never actually done it because I don’t know if I could tolerate not having any other days off the rest of the year. Sometimes I get so frustrated at work I have to take a day off for relief.

  53. Hi dude!
    Your new site looks rely good!
    Good Job!
    Looking forward to see your opinion about the Coca-Cola company’s results that were released today!
    So no holiday for you! 🙂

    regards!

  54. Hey D. Mantra,

    Sorry I haven’t commented in a while. Work has been a bit extra insane lately plus the other stuff in life on top. Just can’t keep up. It’s amazning how you keep up writing articles, responding to comments and refreshing your blog so I guess I shouldn’t complain about posting a comment once in a while.

    Anyhow, congrats on your goals and the blog. Wow, looks fresh! I still check in and it seems things are going well for you. And special thanks for the article where you talked about your personal experience with your mother. That was powerful stuff to share a deeply personal reason for seeking FI. It really resonated with me. A few years ago, my father passed away after suffering from Alzheimers. My mother took care of him and I tried to help out as much as I could but I definitely wanted to be there more for both of them. But, the increasing demands of work made it more challenging. I’m determined to have more time to spend with my mother as she ages and not have work get in the way as much. Fortunately, she is in good shape for her age but again I’m determined to NOT let the job get in the way of my family as it did with father. Anyhow, again, thx for sharing. I think a lot of us have deeply personal reasons to pursue this but it doesn’t always come out in all the discussion of valuations, payout ratios, growth rates, etc.

    On a more mundane note, I wanted to comment on PEP. It is one of my core holdings. And I agree with your assessment of Nooyi as CEO. In the face of sometimes vociferous criticism, she is positioning Pepisco well for the future with a greater emphasis on health and especially with her steadfast refusal to split up the company. I am strongly opposed to splitting companies apart to “unlock shareowner value”. The desire seems driven by short-term traders (esp activist investors) who want to make a quick buck and then sell the stock. It is certainly benefical for them but generally detrimental to long tern investors as you now have two new companies who have NO dividend history. This creates uncertainity with the income flow and you also lose the advantage that diversity brings. Look at JNJ. If their pharmaceutical arm experiences a revenue loss, the consumer hlthcare and medical device revenue streams can at least partially buttress the loss. IMHO, it would be a horrible act if JNJ would break up into three different companies to “unlock shareowner value”. If a company has a product line that falls outside their core competency better to sell it off than embrace the corporate fad of splitting the company up. The talk of PEP splitting up was fairly strong a couple of years ago when I bought the stock but it has mostly subsided since although it does seem to pop up here and there as another activist investor makes their opinions known.

    It’s amusing how despite the 15% divy increase and overall good quarter results, PEP was still down a bit. I suspect that some of the short term traders were disappointed that there was NO indictation of the company splitting and decided to sell. That gave an opportunity for long term income investors to buy some at a bit of a reduction. I’m not adding any as I already have a good allocation but I’m definitely holding.

    Heck, if these traders want a split, why don’t they go all out! Not just snacks and beverages. Split snacks into chewy and crunchy. Or maybe “American” (chips) and “Latin” (Tostitos,etc). Beverages could be split into zero cal and full calorie. Or mabye dark (Pepsi) and clear (Sierra Mist). If splitting into two should “unlock shareowner value” then splitting into four, six or eight companies should unlock exponentially more. Ha, maybe I should become an activisit investor like Peltz or Icahn. OK, I will get off my soapbox now. Thx for listening.

    -Rock the Casbah

  55. Dan Mac,

    Thanks so much! And you’re right. It’s definitely been a nice mix of productivity and relaxation. Certainly it’s been very productive over the last couple days as I readied for the move to WordPress, but I hope to tilt that balance to a little rest and recuperation over the latter half of the staycation.

    I hear you on vacation time. I’ve never done this before. I’m still quite confident I’m going to have to take time off throughout the year, but it’ll just have to be unpaid time. For me, that’s okay because I plan on taking a 40 year unpaid break once I’m collecting enough dividend income to live off. 🙂

    Cheers!

  56. Rock,

    Hey, good to see you again. You know, it sounds funny but I was just thinking about you last week because Rock The Casbah was playing over the radio at work. I was hoping everything was still well.

    Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. That’s really tough. And I can imagine that really provides you a lot of motivation to pursue FI so that you have time to spend with loved ones. I hope you make it! We’re not getting any younger, right?

    It’s funny because one reason I’m trying so hard to reach financial independence so quickly is so I can spend more time with family. Yet here I am living 1,200 miles away from them. Moving to Florida was a fantastic decision to really get me to where I am now, but it’s tough living so far away from the people I love the most. And I find myself particularly close to my family because of all we’ve been through. We’re a bit ‘Brady Bunch’ sometimes when we get together – playing board games, watching movies as a family, etc. Sometimes I think about moving back, but my opportunities to chase FI there are limited. So it’s spend more time with family because I’m closer, but stay busier at work because I can’t claim FI as quickly, or live far away so I can reach FI faster to spend more time down the road – but in the meantime I can’t see them as much. Life is funny sometimes.

    Anyway, glad to hear you’re still at it!

    Regarding PEP, I couldn’t agree more. I think Nooyi is doing a fantastic job. I love her focus on the healthier side of PEP’s products, especially snacks, as that’s really the future. I remember people were dogging her for this, yet these are the same people complaining that their products are unhealthy and will see reduced demand from developed markets. You can’t win. And I concur completely on your thoughts regarding a split. When you see companies merge you hear about synergies and all of the cost savings, and yet then they want to see splits to “unlock shareholder value”. Where’s the value? In the synergies or in separate companies? Again, you can’t win. And you made a great point with certain product lines picking up the slack. And that’s exactly what’s happening right now with PEP. Their snack segments are doing very well right now while the beverage segments are struggling a bit. Investors tout diversification, yet scream for splitting companies up and reducing it at the same time. Makes you want to pull your hair out. I guess it’s good I don’t have any. 🙂

    Thanks again for stopping by. Always glad to read your perspective and thoughts!

    Stay in touch.

    Best wishes.

  57. When I was a little girl I had a very naive view of the world. I wanted to live in a huge mansion, have 10 luxury cars, and a butler. I’m not joking. I really did want those things. Then I grew up and realized “Oh my stars, you basically have to exchange your soul in the corporate world to live like that.” Unless you’re a celebrity and even then you’re exchanging your private life to make money as a celebrity.

    So I said no thanks to all that. My time is more valuable than working 9-5 til I’m 65, for some corporation who won’t care about me once I quit. I’ve learned if you’ve worked for one corporate company then you’ve worked for them all and what I mean by that is that most corporations are pretty much the same. Even among white collar workers with college degrees there’s a lot of red tape, backstabbing, office politics, etc. I’m not a backstabber even when other people back-stab me.

    I just don’t have that within me. But I’m not a pushover either. I have left toxic companies and found better ones to work at. But still you’re working 9-5 at some boring job. Most jobs are boring, let’s face it.

    Plus I realized I don’t care if my clothes come from Ralph Lauren or J.C. Penney. If you buy quality clothes they will tend to last regardless of their brand. As long as you look clean and neat who cares where they come from? I also realized a house is a house. So I don’t need to buy a $500,000 house. I do want to buy a house but I’ll stick to one that is within $150,000 to $180,000. Maybe I can buy one for less.

    In the mid-west you can buy a nice house for $100,000. Once my car dies, my next car will be a Toyota Camry and I’ll drive that one until it dies too. The things that do bring me joy are: exercise, family, friends, my boyfriend, going to my art studio and creating art, writing, visiting state parks, hiking, being among nature, going on a couple of nice vacations each year (you can vacation without going broke), I also like to cook, I like donating to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, volunteering in my community.

    I like watching movies and TV shows like “Bones” and “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones.” I like going to my library and getting books, movies, audio discs, even magazines. Right now I’m learning Spanish for free on http://www.duolingo.com on my spare time but would love to learn more languages if I had more time.

    Most of the things I enjoy doing aren’t that expensive. I don’t see how living frugally hurts me and my quality of life. I’m happy for the people that want to be executives, own yachts and mansions, but I just don’t have enough desire within my psyche to work for those things. Reading blogs like Dividend Mantra and MMM inspire me to keep going.

  58. Lila,

    Thanks for stopping by! I really appreciate the thoughtful comment.

    I’m glad you have found what really matters to you in your life. Material possessions only increase happiness to a certain point. Once you have a roof over your head, some basic clothing, a way to get around and some food in your belly you’re just about as happy as you’re ever going to be. Living frugally tends to actually increase your overall happiness, which is the opposite of what most people would expect. And that’s because you’re actually in control of your life. You’re not operating at the whims of your employer or those who hold your debt. You are the master of your own destiny once you have your finances under control and you’re building wealth that would insulate you from calamity. That kind of control is really freeing in a way that material possessions could never offer.

    I wish you the best of luck as you continue your journey! Please stay in touch.

    Cheers!

  59. Dear DM, enjoy your time in Florida at the beaches! BTW I also bought KO shares just last week. Nothing beats a cold CocaCola to be honest and that won’t change for decades.

    Best regards,
    Marco from The Netherlands

  60. Marco,

    I’m enjoying my time off very much right now. I’ve taken my sneak peek, and I like what I see! 🙂

    It’s going to be hard to go back to work now. Haha.

    Congrats on the purchase of KO shares. I’ve also been adding as much as I can here. Not super cheap, but a low risk play and a very high historical yield. I think we’ll be very happy shareholders over the long haul. The world’s largest beverage company isn’t going anywhere.

    Cheers!

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