So you’ve worked hard these past 15 years, diligently saving most of your money so that you have the optionality of retiring before the age of 40. You’re dreading doing the same old thing for another 3+ years and discover How To Engineer Your Own Layoff.
After digesting the information, you develop courage and execute the framework to produce a severance package valued at three years of living expenses. It’s as if you’ve worked until 40 but managed to save three years of your life and quit at age 37 instead. Now what?
Spend your money of course!
One of the biggest mistakes a retiree can make is not spending their money. An early retiree is so accustomed to saving that it becomes ingrained to continue saving for retirement, even though s/he is already retired! You should theoretically spend 100% of your income every month and live it up! Alas, the process of saving money is almost an impossible habit to break. Maybe I can help!
THREE TIPS FOR HOW TO SPEND YOUR MONEY
1) Say no to spoiled offspring. As a result of not spending, we don’t maximize the exchange value of our money and die with too much. Sure it’s nice to leave some for the kids in a trust. But, you don’t want deadbeat kids now do you? If I knew I had a million dollars waiting for me by the time I turned 25, it is unlikely I would have worked so hard to accumulate my first million by 27. I probably would have taken a year off after college to travel the world and then work at a coffee shop in Hawaii, which sounds pretty good actually! One friend new she stands to inherit $1.5 million after taxes and is now entering her 10th year as a PhD student!
2) Extract true value from paper. Money is but a medium of exchange. Unless you love making paper airplanes out of hundred dollar bills, you really can’t do anything with the actual money you’ve saved. I remember getting absolutely sick of seeing the savings account grow after three years post college. Due to savings, I became demotivated because I had more than I needed. As a result, I bought a condo in SF and got motivated again because I had something nice to pay off. Money became valuable again, because it had a purpose.
3) Save the world with joy. Given you are retired, you can now spend more time saving the world. You can give away your money or volunteer your time now that you have more of it. I’ve got a better idea for you. How about saving the world by going to the place that needs your money most? Last year I took a two week cruise that stopped in Venice, Santorini, Mykonos, Olympia, Istanbul, Kortula and a few other places that really needed capital. I spent about $10,000 during this time, which hopefully multiplies into a $30,000 positive affect on the economy! Coincidence the markets started rallying again in November of 2011? Maybe, maybe not!
HOW I PLAN TO HELP SAVE THE WORLD WITH JOY
The European debt crisis is really starting to drag. Millions of retirement accounts are at risk of losing billions in value thanks to the indebtedness of our European brothers. Imagine if 100 million working Americans decided to go to Europe for just a week vacation each and spend $2,000 each? That’s $200 BILLION dollars worth of capital that will be injected by the private sector in just one week!
$200 billion of non taxpayer money would surely jump start Europe’s economy don’t you think? I believe so, which is why I’ve booked a 2.5 week vacation for two.
Destinations:
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Copenhagen, Denmark
Warnemunde (Berlin) Germany
Helsinki, Finland
St. Petersburg, Russia
Tallinn, Estonia
Nynashamn, Sweden (Stockholm)
Bruges, Belgium
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The vacation for two will cost about $12,000.
Airfare: $3,000 (keeping it real with economy)
Cruise: $5,000 (12 nights balcony suite)
Excursions: $2,000 (want to see as much as possible at each stop)
Hotel: $1,200 (five nights)
Food: $800 (five nights on land as cruise is all you can eat)
Hence, if 100 million Americans each spend $6,000 while in Europe, we could inject $600 BILLION dollars worth of capital into the continent! An injection of this magnitude would probably shore up investor confidence, which would lead to increased production and hiring by corporates, which would lead to a surge in stock market performance that will make you way more than $6,000 per person!
Not only will you make all your money back in the stock market, you’ll have a bloody good time in the process!
ALWAYS CREATE MULTIPLE WIN SCENARIOS IN RETIREMENT
One of the key tenets of How To Engineer Your Layoff is creating a positive scenario for your employer to lay you off. You can either convince them that laying you off will bring them more profitability in the future, or perhaps take advantage of their panic and desire to cost cut in exchange for giving you a healthy severance package. Do not try either of these strategies before reading the book. There are many more strategies you should employ first!
Here are the multiple win scenarios for going to Europe:
* See nine new countries/cities.
* Inject badly needed capital into Europe.
* Test out working abroad for almost three weeks.
* Develop new blog content for upcoming posts.
* Play around with new retirement spending habits.
* Crystallize the value of my separation package.
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Photo: Grand Canal, Venice. Updated for 2018.
Travelling doesn’t have to be that expensive. One of the ways to make it cheaper is to go for extended periods of time to the same place. The most expensive part of longer term vacations is getting from place to place. The longer you stay in one location the cheaper you can make it for yourself as you will save on food and accommodations.
One of the better work which we can choose during our retired life is to serve the society. Put our remaining life serving the society.
My wife wants a 3-4 week European vacation in the next decade. I’m hoping to do my part to help Europe and plan to drop a cool $12k-$15k. I also lol’d at your statement about the markets rallying after your trip to Europe last year. Sam, single-handedly recovering the economy, one foreign bottle of wine at a time :)
Cool! What’s the catch?
Oki doke. Will check it out!
I plan on going back to Greece and stay on land over the next 5 years. Athens was rioting when we tried to go last Fall!
I have a fanny pack for my fanny pack.
Thx! Flying into Amsterdam then immediately going on the cruise. Will spend the last 3 days touring the city. Im surprised your mom is already Talking inheritance. I refüsier to Talk about ist as well.
Hey Sam,
Congratulations on the early retirement – if you’ve been able to generate enough capital to live on you certainly deserve the vacation.
Have you considered going to someplace a little more challenging, like sub-saharan Africa or China? I’ve found those trips the most rewarding. Europe is terrific, but it substantially similar to the U.S. such that you dont’ get all the benefits of the travel.
Best,
James
I traveled for 6 months in China and have go about 15 times already, so I’m kinda tired out of that country. However, it’s been over 25 years since doing Africa, so will probably give that a shot soon!
Warnemünde, really?
I’m curious why you would name this as the most desirable location to visit in Germany.
I’ve been there various times myself, and it’s nice if you have young children and it’s summer, but I could think of many places that for me are more interesting here.
Love the criticism of Warnemunde!
I’m on a cruise. Let me know when Berlin opens up a port.
Sam
I like the sentiment – there is no point in retiring early if you are not going to use the time well. There is no point in making money if you are not going to put it to good use.
Cheers
Traineeinvestor
And if we can save the world with our spending, why not right?
The Euro should be pretty good right now. Enjoy the trip, I think I took that cruise a few years ago. I absolutely love Amsterdam and will go back sometime soon. One of my favorite meals was breakfast of a dutch pancake. It was expensive, but so memorable.
Will have to try out what a Dutch pancake is! Thx for the tip.
It is a very thin large pancake (whole wheat) usually topped with whipped cream and fruit. It is amazing! Also definitely take the canal buses! You can hop on and off and travel the city with an all day pass. The museums are good too and don’t forget Anne Frank house. You will probably see my last name all over the place because it means newspaper and kranten means news. Enjoy, Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities.
Sweet trip, have a blast, Sam :)
On behalf of all Europeans (yes, we Brits are honorary Europeans) I want to thank you in advance for the sacrifice you’re about to make. ;)
You bet! Trying hard to help my brothers out!
“it is unlikely I would have worked so hard to accumulate my first million by 27.”
Wow, congrats on that! Was that accomplished primarily via salary/bonus, or riding SF real estate?
Savings, investing, and luck! Had one stock turn out to be a 50 bagger, which I then parlayed to real estate. I might write a post one day on how I got there.
Europe for two? I can take a hint. Of course I’ll help you tour Europe. Sam? Sam? …..
haha – my thought exactly.
Come on down! Oops, tickets already paid for.
Oh, so nice. It sounds like you will be busy. We just got back from a Mediterranean cruise ourselves. It seems kind of strange to think that you are helping the European economy while taking such a nice vacation but it’s true.
Which ship did you go on and what did u see?
Amsterdam and Copenhagen? I’m so jealous! You gotta ride a bike in one of those cities and share your experience. Enjoy your trip!
Walking like a madman here in Copenhagen! It’s a lovely 75 degrees on a Sunday morning now. The Danish don’t lock their bikes!
Whenever you get a chance to check in I hope you are having an awesome trip. The shift from saving to spending will be interesting for me but once I get there I think I will be ready! Only time will tell!
Damn nice vacation package Sam. I love Europe and St. Petersburg is on my short list. May I suggest a safari in Kenya or Tanzania? Evey beer you buy will be equal to a days salary for an average guy in Africa. Plus you will be able to experience some wildlife that may not be around when you are old. Hope your Europe trip is a blast. I will see you out there if you go next year!
Well definitely try Kenya and Tanzania. I’ve gone on an African Safari before.. Zambia, when I was a kid. Might have to revist!
It sounds like you really want to take a vacation to Europe. No need to rationalize. You can go if you want to! Actually, it sounds great.
Thanks for letting me go!
Went for 2.5 weeks in 2011 and decided to return again now.
Awesome – somebody needs to save Eupope! Now I can sleep easier, me Euro account is in safe hands! :) Enjoy the trip!
I’m retired and I’m trying to save the world by blogging about the economic cycle – how you can really benefit from it. Let the economy work for you, I say. If I can make a dent in the number of people who get plowed under by each recession I’ll die a happy man.
Of course, enjoying the upcoming fall foliage and football season, plus the odd trip to Africa, won’t hurt, either. :)
Just bought a $22 cheeseburger in Copenhagen! Man the Nordic countries are expensive!
Bullish on the world.
Cheeseburger in paradise? :)