Joney Talks!

Admit to yourself that it is overwhelming and refer back to “The Manual”

In today’s episode, we will speak to my good friends Dragon Gal and Dragon Guy from the Dragons on FIRE.

We recorded an episode 2 years ago (time flies!) as Dragon Guy was about to retire early from his career while Dragon Gal was already retired.

I thought it would be interesting to follow-up with them on how they experienced their early retirement especially with the pandemic that hit just a couple of months into this early retirement! We will also talk briefly about the Minimalism challenge that Dragon gal is going through at the moment and she has some great tips to reduce your clutter as well. (I actually ADDED the topic of minimalism spontaneously during the conversation, adding something that is suppose to help you REDUCE stuff, ironic isn’t it 😁?)

Listen here:

…or listen on Apple Podcasts

This episode is for you if you want to hear about a real-life story of how to handle a crisis during early retirement but as well how to handle it in general.

Key Takeaways:

• Early retirement:
  • You will be busy: Volunteering, contract work if you want to, traveling,…in short doing the stuff you like!
  • Contract job: You do not need to push yourself to get promotions or raises for example. The pressure to work and get that paycheck at the end of the month is off.
  • It remains interesting, evolving and exciting.
• Pandemic:
  • Did not do anything really different with regards to money management.
  • 5 years in cash when retired as well, a cushion of more than the 4% rule to sleep easier.
  • It is key not to panic. Have a plan or a retirement manual,…
•  The retirement manual:
  • This is an excellent way to write down all your activities, flexibility on expenses, chores and how to fund the early retirement. It helped them to stay calm: “Let’s refer back to the manual, what are the adjustments we need to make to our plan,..” and they remained flexible.
• Mental Health:
  • Acknowledge you are panicking, admit to yourself that it is overwhelming due to all the uncertainty.
  • And then go back to the manual!
• Decluttering challenge:
  • Maintaining, storing, and cleaning takes a lot of time.
  • Get rid of doubles, you can always borrow, am I using the object on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? Am I willing to create a routine around this object so I will actually use it?

Who are the Dragons?

RESOURCES 

• Website: Dragons on FIRE
• Twitter: @DragonGuyAndGal
• Previous episode: Reaching FIRE without even realizing it with the Dragons on FIRE
• Book recommendation:
  • Laziness Does Not Exist
  • Killing Lincoln
• Number 1 tip to reach FIRE:
  • Buy less and detach feelings from objects and shopping.
  • Time in the market is more important than timing the market.

If you liked this episode you can buy me a drink, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or share the episode with a friend 🙏 . Make sure you follow us on social media as well for more great content, check our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and join our e-mail list. I would love to connect with you!

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