{"id":1055,"date":"2019-07-18T01:16:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T01:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joshfrom.nz\/?p=1055"},"modified":"2019-08-03T09:44:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T09:44:49","slug":"how-are-you-funding-this-mini-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshfrom.nz\/index.php\/2019\/07\/18\/how-are-you-funding-this-mini-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"How are you funding this mini retirement? \ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I said I was taking a mini-retirement in good old Upper Hutt<\/a> there were a number of questions, such as \u201cHow did you get to this point?\u201d and “How are you funding<\/g> it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the most common was \u201cDoes Katie work\u201d? The answer is yes! What<\/g> I think the question is alluding to is “do we factor in or rely on her wage to survive”?
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As well as her unpaid, but super important Mum job, she works 2 hours a week at the gym. Not so much for the money (although that helps), she works because it\u2019s something she is passionate about, interested in and genuinely enjoys. She has also been involved in all the business ventures I have been a part of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Side Note: She has actually helped me in business way more than she gives herself credit for. I am so thankful to have such a smart, supportive and loving wife! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Tim Ferries comments in the ‘4-Hour Workweek’, It doesn\u2019t take a million bucks in the bank to live like one (millionare<\/g>), but you do need to be purposeful about defining what you want to do and how much that is going to cost you. Read the Define section of his book for more info.  
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Before I talk about how we got to this point, first let me be clear on one thing. I am not a financial advisor, and these are my opinions. Obviously, this is not the only way to do things, but a way that has worked for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Stance on Debt
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In Failure: The Ups and Downs of Business and their Challenges<\/a> I wrote:
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\u201c….I was in about $25,000 debt when I was 19 years old. This culminated in the court taking my car from me to pay for all my driving fines. They turned up to Maccas one lunch rush, asked for the keys, and towed the car away. I was left with a personal loan for the car, lots of driving of fines, and no car to drive. In the end, it was a massive turning point, but at the time it felt like my world was crashing down around me
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At the time, almost 100% of my income was dedicated to paying off this debt. After my basic living costs, and then paying off debts, there was about $10 a week leftover. It was like that for about 2 years until I paid off the final debt and vowed never again to borrow money to live outside my means\u2026\u201d 
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Since then Katie and have lived out this rule. 
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The engagement ring I got Katie, when I was 20, was worth $250. We saved and paid for our wedding and honeymoon with cash. This meant our wedding was super basic, but it also meant we weren\u2019t starting off our marriage in debt and on the back foot already. (I did manage to upgrade Katies rings for our 10 year anniversary, again using savings.) 
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Early on we knew we wanted to travel so we opened a savings account and started putting in anything we could spare. At first<\/g> it was $5-$10 here and there but we took on as many extra shifts as possible and eventually saved $10,000. In 2008 we took off to the USA and managed to travel on one way<\/g> tickets for a year and a half all up.
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By no means are we anti debt<\/g>, we have borrowed money to buy a rental propertry<\/g>, the family home and the restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However we have always  
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