Love your energy and journey. I watch your video every Sunday and sometimes more than once. My wife and I are now retired and we are financially independent. We booked a trip to Europe and hope that covid would not block us. Hope to spend a lot of time in Europe in the next few years. 😀🙏
Yep! We have 3 young kids and want give them an extraordinary childhood. We moved to Qatar in 2019 and the plan was to use it as a base to travel. It hasn’t worked out that way because of covid. On the bright side it’s allowed us to save, and now we can afford to take a few years off if we wanted. Our plan is to travel around Europe for 2-3 years. Not sure if we’ll start in 2022 or 2023. Depends on the covid situation. Travel with 3 kids right now isn’t appealing with all the testing and quarantine requirements in many countries.
Ditto ! We have just over 35X our yearly living expenses mostly in IRas and 401Ks, so we need to be close enough to where our bridge funds get us to 59.5 so we can tap them without penalty. We hit that milestone by end of this year !! We love our jobs so there is that but are waiting for our Daughter to get settled outside the home and on her own 2 feet. She is in the process of that now. Just started her job out of college and moving into an apt near her job as I type this. We are keeping her on our insurance for now but next year she will need to jump on her companies insurance as we set a retirement date. Once she has fully assumed all her own costs, that will reduce our yearly spending by 6 to 7 K at current numbers. That's like getting a raise ! With that additional cost savings, we are good to pull the plug. We have traveled some over the years to Ireland, Scotland, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand and want to spend time in Europe next. As soon as more opens up from the "rona", those options grow. Looking forward to getting lost somewhere in the world.
@@mohammedsharif2651 So great to hear that you're enjoying our videos! And congratulations on reaching financial independence. Hopefully you'll be able to live out your dream of exploring Europe soon enough.
We have the same exact life story, except the "overseas" real state investments are actually my home town business. So now most part of my passive income is from rented apartments. 🥳 Thanks for this video girls
This is now my favorite video of yours. Without disparaging the 4 hr Workweek or the Nomad Capitalist you concluded that their ways wouldn't work for you. I feel the same about both. Personally, both of those paths sounded like they would increase the stress in my life rather than decrease it. For me, financial independence is one of the greatest stress-relievers.
Our thoughts exactly! Both the 4 Hour Workweek and Nomad Capitalist did inspire us to think differently about our careers and our lifestyle -- even if we eventually chose a different path.
Financial independence...Yes! I looked at these same options too and a few more as a way to unhitch from the corporate chain. But in the end, any new ventures would take significant time and energy to produce meaningful results. Once I discovered the FIRE calculation (thanks to finding the Tim and Amy vlog) I realized FI was within reach and it was much quicker to stay in my current role for just a few more years than to start something new. Just FIREd at the end of May!
Congrats on reaching FIRE! What a great accomplishment. Sounds like your path was much the same as ours. With a few lifestyle changes, we were closer to FIRE than we realized.
Early retirement is a dream.. I got to understand that I have to be at the end of my life to enjoy time freedom.. let's hustle to financial independence
Another great video! Always informative, and I certainly appreciate hearing the reality of it all too. It is so easy to romanticize our vision of retirement and slow travel, and look past the challenges. Your honesty is well accepted. Thank you!
Thanks! It's not easy to bring two dogs around the world but it's certainly worthwhile. Here's another video about how we ended up tackling our world travels with them: bit.ly/3qdX6ta 😊
Glad you liked it! We have another recent one you might enjoy about how we decided that we were financially ready to finally quit work bit.ly/3j3ykdX 😊
Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing your story. I’ve been inspired that I can retire at all. Being older with a one income family and a disabled child, I truly didn’t realize it would be possible before I sat down and crunched the numbers. Enjoy your journeys!
This is so great to hear! Sometimes impossible things can become possible once you have the right tools and resources at hand. It's wonderful that a little number crunching has opened the door to new opportunities for you.
Great advice ladies, appreciate your honesty in this video. And we did have a chuckle....we wonder if your old boss is still up to his old tricks of phoning people on a, Saturday night to "just checking" if your replacemet is prepared for Monday 🤣
We certainly don't miss those days at all! So happy to have discovered financial independence. There is really no better feeling than walking away from a soul-crushing job!
It's really shocking when we look back at how much we were paying! Still living and working there was a great experience and ultimately helped us reach our financial goals.
Sadly, $3000 would be a great bargain for us here in NYC. As much as we love the city, we would prefer living in lower cost places as you are and not have to work!
@@MikeL-qr4dz I'm sure it's hard to save up while you're paying those sky-high NYC rents! Hopefully you'll have a chance to explore those lower cost destinations one day.
I know you two love to cook. I'm curious how that works when you're on the move. I'm thinking about the things you accumulate when cooking (spices, oils, etc.) Do you repurchase in each place or just cook very simply? Potential video idea?? :)
Great question! We make room in our luggage for a few specialty items that we enjoy, like smoked salt. Otherwise, we've become pretty good at buying just the amount we need for a month. Of course, we don't mind leaving behind some olive oil and vinegar for the next guest. Generally our cooking is fairly simple and mostly uses whatever is available locally.
I'm curious about something you mentioned. You said you bought a one-way ticket to Europe. I have been told that a foreign country will not allow you to come into the country unless you have proof (either a ticket showing you moving on or a round trip ticket). Thoughts?
This is an excellent point and something that every traveler should be aware of. Usually this will be checked at the departure airport. Certainly we always review the entry requirements for each country well in advance. In the case of our one-way flight, we were entering Poland and already had train tickets on hand for going to Ukraine.
Hi Stephanie and Gillian. My wife and I really enjoy your videos and plan to travel the world in 2024. You may have answered this in another video ... but my question is regarding mobile data and international calls. In one of your videos you mention Flexiroam. Do you use the 10 GB for a 360 day plan? Is that enough data allocation for a year? Also do you have a mobile phone plan in addition to Flexiroam? If not how do you handle local and international calls?
We stock up on data whenever it goes 70-80% on sale, which happens almost every month. I usually buy 3-5GB at a time. How much we go through depends on where we are and what we're doing; it's usually around 1GB/mo each. I have a dual sim phone so we have a number to receive calls and texts on. For outbound calls we use Skype for around 5 cents/min - you can call any number, not just Skype accounts. Hope this helps!
@@OurFreedomYears Thank you Gillian & Stephanie for your clarifying responses. Sharing your life story has given us confidence when we expect to be slow traveling in 2Q 2024, starting in Europe. We also have dual SIM phones. Where do you get the phone number to receive calls and texts? I've been reading about Google Talk. Does Skype need this phone number?
@@mike90278 We have SIM cards from GoSim which give us free incoming calls and texts. The number is Estonian which is occasionally problematic, especially in Canada when people expect a Canadian number. Skype isn't linked to any specific phone number and we only use it for outgoing calls. We put all this in place 4 years ago and it has served us well. However, there always new options coming available and if you happen to be American there are options we didn't have access to so I would check some forums etc. to see what others recommend too.
@@OurFreedomYears Thank you for the advice and insight. Really appreciate it. Being American citizens, we do have more options. The research continues!
It makes me feel better lol I've looked into all of these options too and I'm like ..mmmmm but I just wanna.....not work.LOL like am I the only person in the world who doesn't feel the desire?
@@OurFreedomYears I feel much less lazy now,thank you. We are still not going to reach any version of FI for another 12 years or so but having a good time nonetheless
Yep. We were on track to retire young and then we had 3 kids. It has definitely put that dream on hold for us. We do have plans to travel long term for a few years, but it’s very likely I’ll have to return to work.
It's true that we don't have children but, of course, we still have parents to look after. In fact, we're very grateful that we have the freedom to come to Canada and spend time with them...another great benefit of financial independence. 😊
Are you dreaming of a life of travel? What are your big plans for making it happen?
Love your energy and journey. I watch your video every Sunday and sometimes more than once. My wife and I are now retired and we are financially independent. We booked a trip to Europe and hope that covid would not block us. Hope to spend a lot of time in Europe in the next few years. 😀🙏
Yep! We have 3 young kids and want give them an extraordinary childhood. We moved to Qatar in 2019 and the plan was to use it as a base to travel. It hasn’t worked out that way because of covid. On the bright side it’s allowed us to save, and now we can afford to take a few years off if we wanted. Our plan is to travel around Europe for 2-3 years. Not sure if we’ll start in 2022 or 2023. Depends on the covid situation. Travel with 3 kids right now isn’t appealing with all the testing and quarantine requirements in many countries.
Yesss, I'll be on my way to Full time travelling as soon as I get vaccinated 🙏
Ditto ! We have just over 35X our yearly living expenses mostly in IRas and 401Ks, so we need to be close enough to where our bridge funds get us to 59.5 so we can tap them without penalty. We hit that milestone by end of this year !! We love our jobs so there is that but are waiting for our Daughter to get settled outside the home and on her own 2 feet. She is in the process of that now. Just started her job out of college and moving into an apt near her job as I type this. We are keeping her on our insurance for now but next year she will need to jump on her companies insurance as we set a retirement date. Once she has fully assumed all her own costs, that will reduce our yearly spending by 6 to 7 K at current numbers. That's like getting a raise ! With that additional cost savings, we are good to pull the plug. We have traveled some over the years to Ireland, Scotland, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand and want to spend time in Europe next. As soon as more opens up from the "rona", those options grow. Looking forward to getting lost somewhere in the world.
@@mohammedsharif2651 So great to hear that you're enjoying our videos! And congratulations on reaching financial independence. Hopefully you'll be able to live out your dream of exploring Europe soon enough.
"Go Where you are treated best."
Exactly! Not a bad philosophy at all.
@@evasanz3466 Yes, we find it quite interesting.
We have the same exact life story, except the "overseas" real state investments are actually my home town business. So now most part of my passive income is from rented apartments. 🥳
Thanks for this video girls
Nice investment strategy! A great way to gain your freedom.
This is now my favorite video of yours. Without disparaging the 4 hr Workweek or the Nomad Capitalist you concluded that their ways wouldn't work for you. I feel the same about both. Personally, both of those paths sounded like they would increase the stress in my life rather than decrease it. For me, financial independence is one of the greatest stress-relievers.
Our thoughts exactly! Both the 4 Hour Workweek and Nomad Capitalist did inspire us to think differently about our careers and our lifestyle -- even if we eventually chose a different path.
I love this video. You both are my role models. In currently on the path to investing to reach financial independence in the next 12-15 years. 😄
Congrats on setting your plan to reach FI! It's not an easy path but the freedom is totally worth it! Keep us posted on your progress. 😊
Financial independence...Yes! I looked at these same options too and a few more as a way to unhitch from the corporate chain. But in the end, any new ventures would take significant time and energy to produce meaningful results. Once I discovered the FIRE calculation (thanks to finding the Tim and Amy vlog) I realized FI was within reach and it was much quicker to stay in my current role for just a few more years than to start something new. Just FIREd at the end of May!
Congrats on reaching FIRE! What a great accomplishment. Sounds like your path was much the same as ours. With a few lifestyle changes, we were closer to FIRE than we realized.
Early retirement is a dream.. I got to understand that I have to be at the end of my life to enjoy time freedom.. let's hustle to financial independence
Definitely! It's worth the hustle!
Another great video! Always informative, and I certainly appreciate hearing the reality of it all too. It is so easy to romanticize our vision of retirement and slow travel, and look past the challenges. Your honesty is well accepted. Thank you!
Always a pleasure to receive your very kind feedback -- thanks so much! 😊
Love you two and your excitement can't believe you do this with 2 dogs
Thanks! It's not easy to bring two dogs around the world but it's certainly worthwhile. Here's another video about how we ended up tackling our world travels with them: bit.ly/3qdX6ta 😊
Good video. For the people who think it can't be done -- it's about priorities! Excited to see where your next adventure takes you.
More news on that soon! We're sharing all the details during next Sunday's livestream.
Such inspiration! I love watching all your videos and follow along on your journey, dreaming of something similar soon!
Thank you so much! And best of luck planning your own big adventure. 😊
This is awesome! Thank you for the information and keep up the great content!
Glad you liked it! We have another recent one you might enjoy about how we decided that we were financially ready to finally quit work bit.ly/3j3ykdX 😊
Yes! This is our plan! thanks for another great video
Thanks for watching! 😊
You two are inspirational! Thanks for sharing the details of what you did to get to where you are!
You're very welcome! We're happy to know that you're finding our content helpful 😊
This is one of my favorite videos you have done! Such a great perspective. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! We're so happy to hear that. 😊
Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing your story. I’ve been inspired that I can retire at all. Being older with a one income family and a disabled child, I truly didn’t realize it would be possible before I sat down and crunched the numbers. Enjoy your journeys!
This is so great to hear! Sometimes impossible things can become possible once you have the right tools and resources at hand. It's wonderful that a little number crunching has opened the door to new opportunities for you.
You guys are awesome! Thank you for talking about financial independence as an option for early retirement instead of focusing on “digital jobs”.
Glad you enjoyed it! We were really happy to land on FI as the concept that would work for us and hope that others discover it too.
Yes, I am subscribed to the Nomad Capitalist channel!
Same here 👍
We find that the Nomad Capitalist has some interesting things to say...definitely worth taking a look for those who haven't heard of him.
Love Andrew Henderson!
Us too! We learned a lot from him.
Great videos! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much - really appreciate it! 😊
Hi! We love your videos! We heard you are in Belgrade now. So are we! Dobro došli!
Amazing! Isn't it a great city? We're loving all the restaurants and the parks.
Great advice ladies, appreciate your honesty in this video. And we did have a chuckle....we wonder if your old boss is still up to his old tricks of phoning people on a, Saturday night to "just checking" if your replacemet is prepared for Monday 🤣
We certainly don't miss those days at all! So happy to have discovered financial independence. There is really no better feeling than walking away from a soul-crushing job!
@@OurFreedomYears we too are on our way to FI....26 months to go, but hey, who is counting ha ha ha. Enjoy your day
$3000/month in rent almost made me pass out! Huge congrats on reducing that number; I know Singapore is insanely expensive.
It's really shocking when we look back at how much we were paying! Still living and working there was a great experience and ultimately helped us reach our financial goals.
Sadly, $3000 would be a great bargain for us here in NYC. As much as we love the city, we would prefer living in lower cost places as you are and not have to work!
@@MikeL-qr4dz I'm sure it's hard to save up while you're paying those sky-high NYC rents! Hopefully you'll have a chance to explore those lower cost destinations one day.
Love this video, hoping to join slow travel lifestyle in a year......want a little bigger buffer than 4 percent
Glad you enjoyed the video and good luck with all your planning! Yes, we also wanted to play it more conservative than 4%.
I know you two love to cook. I'm curious how that works when you're on the move. I'm thinking about the things you accumulate when cooking (spices, oils, etc.) Do you repurchase in each place or just cook very simply? Potential video idea?? :)
Great question! We make room in our luggage for a few specialty items that we enjoy, like smoked salt. Otherwise, we've become pretty good at buying just the amount we need for a month. Of course, we don't mind leaving behind some olive oil and vinegar for the next guest. Generally our cooking is fairly simple and mostly uses whatever is available locally.
I'm curious about something you mentioned. You said you bought a one-way ticket to Europe. I have been told that a foreign country will not allow you to come into the country unless you have proof (either a ticket showing you moving on or a round trip ticket). Thoughts?
This is an excellent point and something that every traveler should be aware of. Usually this will be checked at the departure airport. Certainly we always review the entry requirements for each country well in advance. In the case of our one-way flight, we were entering Poland and already had train tickets on hand for going to Ukraine.
Hi Stephanie and Gillian. My wife and I really enjoy your videos and plan to travel the world in 2024. You may have answered this in another video ... but my question is regarding mobile data and international calls. In one of your videos you mention Flexiroam. Do you use the 10 GB for a 360 day plan? Is that enough data allocation for a year? Also do you have a mobile phone plan in addition to Flexiroam? If not how do you handle local and international calls?
We stock up on data whenever it goes 70-80% on sale, which happens almost every month. I usually buy 3-5GB at a time. How much we go through depends on where we are and what we're doing; it's usually around 1GB/mo each. I have a dual sim phone so we have a number to receive calls and texts on. For outbound calls we use Skype for around 5 cents/min - you can call any number, not just Skype accounts. Hope this helps!
@@OurFreedomYears Thank you Gillian & Stephanie for your clarifying responses. Sharing your life story has given us confidence when we expect to be slow traveling in 2Q 2024, starting in Europe. We also have dual SIM phones. Where do you get the phone number to receive calls and texts? I've been reading about Google Talk. Does Skype need this phone number?
@@mike90278 We have SIM cards from GoSim which give us free incoming calls and texts. The number is Estonian which is occasionally problematic, especially in Canada when people expect a Canadian number. Skype isn't linked to any specific phone number and we only use it for outgoing calls. We put all this in place 4 years ago and it has served us well. However, there always new options coming available and if you happen to be American there are options we didn't have access to so I would check some forums etc. to see what others recommend too.
@@OurFreedomYears Thank you for the advice and insight. Really appreciate it. Being American citizens, we do have more options. The research continues!
Great vid 👌🏼
Thanks so much!
Thanks
You are most welcome! 😊
Amazing vid guys, thanks for the tips and advice!
Our pleasure! Glad it was helpful.
It makes me feel better lol I've looked into all of these options too and I'm like ..mmmmm but I just wanna.....not work.LOL like am I the only person in the world who doesn't feel the desire?
Actually, I think there's a pretty big club of people who also don't want to work (us included!!). 😂
@@OurFreedomYears I feel much less lazy now,thank you. We are still not going to reach any version of FI for another 12 years or so but having a good time nonetheless
@@user-dv8bs7tb5c Perfect! It's important to live life now and not be so focused on the future that you don't enjoy the present.
High income, low expenditures, simple. What do I want to do with my life? harder to answer
Yes, that's the hardest question of all! I think I'll be working on the answer for the next couple years. 😉
😸
😊
No children, no parents to look after? Living without responsibilities looks so easy, doesn't it? lol
Yep. We were on track to retire young and then we had 3 kids. It has definitely put that dream on hold for us. We do have plans to travel long term for a few years, but it’s very likely I’ll have to return to work.
It's true that we don't have children but, of course, we still have parents to look after. In fact, we're very grateful that we have the freedom to come to Canada and spend time with them...another great benefit of financial independence. 😊