Last January 31st, 2014, we became financially independent. For the last 6 months of our working career we were extremely excited! However, we were cautious – we wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in row. So we decided to take a leave of absence for one year from our employers to make sure we were correct in our financial planning . We looked at this as an experiment: a one-year leave of absence is like insurance, a guarantee in getting our jobs back if something went wrong or if we miscalculated. It’s going to help us understand what it’s like to actually be financially independent for one year. The excitement was overwhelming.
We have been fortunate to be working for 20 years straight. Seventeen years ago we set out a goal to retire at 45. We were only 28 but we were already thinking about this shared goal. Being on leave is accepting being unpaid for the first time in our adult lives. We are fortunate that we are in a position where we can take a leave without pay for one year. This was not included in our original plan and we are grateful that we can test this exciting time.
We are now in our eighth month and things are looking great. We now know that early retirement is very much a possibility. We are now planning a trip to Europe next year as our son is now away at university. We are also planning a driving trip for 6 weeks to visit all our families and friends. So it seems we are among The Fortunate Few, -it’s so exciting!
Thank you for allowing us to share our story.
