13 Years After Early Retirement

Hey everyone! It’s been 13 years since I retired from my engineering career. Wow, has it really been that long? Hard to believe, but it’s true. Time flies.

The big news this year is that Mrs. RB40 reluctantly took the leap into early retirement. She prefers to work, but her office environment turned extremely toxic this year. Fortunately, we prepared for this eventuality and she could decide her future without worrying about money. That’s too bad because she loved her job and isn’t quite ready to retire yet. Oh well, that’s life. Things never stay the same. You have to accept change and adapt.

SAHD

Another big change this year is RB40Jr turning into a teenager. He is taller than me now! It’s awesome, but a bit sad as well. He is more independent now and prefers to spend time with his friends rather than his parents. It’s a big change than when I first retired. Back then, we spent almost every waking moment together. I miss those good old days sometimes. He was such a cute kid.

In a few months, he will start high school and be more independent than ever. He will ride his bike to school and hang out with friends even more. The middle school years flew by, and I’m sure high school will be over in a flash. Pretty soon, my days as a SAHD will be over. That’s a little sad, but I’m glad our son is growing into a smart young man.

Blogging

The other big part of the last 13 years is blogging, but that is also changing. The blog traffic and my online income have been in decline for several years. Pretty soon, blogging will turn into a hobby instead of a side hustle. (A hobby loses money.) I plan to continue to post once per week this year. However, I’m not sure what next year will bring. It’ll be hard to stay motivated if this site doesn’t generate income. The posting frequency will probably drop way down. We’ll see what happens.

Finance

Financially, we are doing pretty well. Our net worth has grown nicely since I retired in 2012. We have Mrs. RB40 to thank for that. Her income enabled our net worth to grow during the long bull market. Now that she is retired, we probably will start drawing down our savings next year. I’m not too worried because we still live moderately. Our annual spend should be below 3% of our net worth for the next 4 years. Once RB40Jr starts college, our annual spend will go through the roof. I think we’ll be fine in the long term, but the college years will be painful unless he gets some kind of scholarship.

What’s next?

I retired from my engineering career to become a SAHD/blogger. After 13 years, the finish lines for both projects are within sight. What will I do next? I’m not really sure. My new hobby (pottery) is a ton of fun and takes up plenty of time. I even sold a few pieces at the Art Sales last month, but I doubt pottery will ever generate positive cash flow. Pottery is an expensive hobby.

Anyway, I have 4 years to figure it out. We still have a lot of stuff to do before our son graduates high school.

Sell the rental condo. Sell the duplex. Move to California to be closer to Mrs. RB40’s parents. Build an ADU in Mrs. RB40’s dad’s backyard. He has an acre, plenty of space. Help RB40Jr get into college. Figure out how to live in Thailand 6 months/year. Mrs. RB40 needs to figures out what to do next too. She isn’t quite ready for full retirement yet.  

All in all, these past 13 years have been pure gravy. Life has been great and I’m grateful it worked out so well. I don’t regret a thing. We would have been wealthier if I kept working, but these last 13 years as a SAHD/blogger were priceless. I would have been miserable if I stayed at Intel. They’ve gone to hell since I left.

Thank you for all your support over the years! I really appreciate it. Keep chasing the dream! It can be done.

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