Retirement Plan

I've recently settled on a retirement plan. I retired from the U.S. military a couple of years ago when I was 42 years old. Since then I've worked at several very lucrative jobs that has had me traveling quite a bit, mostly internationally. Thus far I've probably seen 20% of the world's countries in one form or another.

I've recently decided that I'm going to sell everything that I own, and just strike out into the world. As one can imagine, I've amassed quite a bit of stuff over the course of my life, but a couple of divorces have thinned that out some. So for the next six months I'm selling it all, on eBay, Craigslist, whatever. It's all going. Then it's a ticket to China to learn Mandarin and a very long walk.

My military retirement can easily support my wanderings, so what else is left? I just need to find a way to do my taxes every year, which should be pretty simple, and re-up my passport every once in a while and I'm done. That's my retirement plan.

-eric

Sounds like a brilliant plan. I hope to do a similar thing one day.

If you dont mind me asking, what sorts of work have you found success in that allowed you to travel like that? Im always looking for ideas.

I'm a retired U.S. Army officer. I retired when I was 42-yrs old, and spent the last 6 of years traveling for various companies. Now, my debts are nonexistent, and two divorces have made me the ultimate minimalist. Pretty much everything that I own or care about can fit in an Osprey Argon 85. -enjaku

Eric,
Do you have a blog or something similar? We retire from the navy in a couple years so I'd love to follow your travels for some tips. Our budget will be a bit tighter than yours as I'm the only one actually 'retiring' but overall it sounds like we plan on leading a similar lifestyle.

Tara

My husband and I love traveling and it's a big part of our lives but I also love my own country and enjoy coming home to all the familiar things that make home home.

I come from a country (Canada) that has changed so much that there is no feeling of "home" left there.

Returned this past August & was treated like a criminal at the airport where I was subjected to an hour long interrogation & had some personal property stolen.

Returning to El Salvador with my dog & cat waiting fr me was returning HOME!

Busman7 you are right. I had a similar experience in 2009 when I returned to Australia after living in China for over four years. It did not feel like home but it is now finally starting to feel like home.

Enjaku, you're plan sounds great! We took off for a 15 months at 40 and then came back to "normal" jobs. Now trying to figure out a way to do it again...

Regarding your comments on taxes, here's what we did - maybe it will help. We got most of our W-2s and interest statements delivered electronically, and for the few that couldn't, I had a family member scan and email to me. I had a small laptop on the road and just downloaded Turbo Tax and filed electronically. If you think you might end up owing money or having other issues, it might be worthwhile to give someone that you trust back home power of attorney before you leave. I did this with my dad and it was a life saver when I had some documents that needed to be signed and few checks that needed to be cashed while I was in the middle of nowhere. You can get a pretty simple legal document for this online (I used Legalzoom.com).

Finally, for the passport renewal, I just did mine a few months ago at a US embassy in Europe. The only tricky part is that you need to do it in a place where you going to be for about a week because they actually make them in the US and mail them back to the embassy. Mine took about 6 working days.

Happy trails!