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- Photo: NatBat / Flickr
A mini-retirement is unlike a sabbatical in that it is not to be viewed as a once-off event. A mini-retirement is recurring and is more of a lifestyle choice. Some people, like entrepreneur and public speaker Timothy Ferriss, take three or more mini-retirements every year – which means staying in one place for a month or more before going home, or travelling to a new spot. Here are some tips from Ferriss on how to plan ahead for a mini-retirement, starting with a snapshot of your finances and your dream location.
Take a look at your finances
Write down all your assets and their values, including property, bonds, stocks, retirement and bank accounts. On a separate page, calculate your income from all sources and your outgoing expenses. Take a look at both sheets of paper to identify which areas don’t bring much value to your life ‑ or create stress without giving you much in return. The idea is to eliminate what’s not working for you.
Identify any dream location – and your corresponding fears
If you were to take a mini-retirement for a year, where would it be? Write down the fears you may have associated with taking such a mini-retirement. Address your worst nightmare and outcomes that you could possibly imagine, and then consider what actions you could take to repair the damage and gain control again, even if it is just for the short term.
Now consider more positive and probable outcomes: external and internal rewards. Ferriss asks ‘How likely is it that you could produce at least a moderately good outcome? Have less intelligent people done this before and pulled it off?’
Examine the cost of inaction
Inaction can be a risk in itself. Where will you be in the coming years if you don’t go after those things in life that make you happy or excite you? Look at the emotional, physical and financial costs of postponing the idea. Ask yourself what you’re waiting for. If you find that you’re scared, Ferriss advises you to ‘realize the unlikelihood and repairability of most missteps, and develop the most important habit of those who excel and enjoy doing so: action.’
Now choose a location
Avoid choosing a place that has a similar culture to yours if you’re looking for a transformative experience. Ferriss says to opt for a place that is foreign but not dangerous and advises the following places where you get ‘the most lifestyle for your dollar’: Buenos Aires and Cordoba in Argentina, Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand and Berlin in Germany. Otherwise, he recommends places like China, Japan, Norway, Italy, Spain and Holland.
Look out for ‘hip, recently gentrified artist areas,’ he says.
Prepare for your trip
Start getting used to a minimalistic lifestyle before you leave. Try and keep only 20 per cent of your belongings that you use 80 per cent of the time. Also eliminate those things that only bring you stress.
Organise for the trip, remembering that you can always re-purchase things.
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