For all that I am a planner and my lists have lists, there is a lot in life that I leave up to chance. In general, I have to say, it hasn’t turned out badly. Admittedly, there have been a few mini disasters, but in a life where I’ve made those big decisions basically on a gut check, I can’t say I’m disappointed where I wound up.
Looking forward, however, the next few years should be fairly significant for both of us. For my microbusiness, the challenge will be to stay “just busy enough.” I want to chug along with a few clients, get work, stay busy and keep my calendar open enough to enjoy all of the things I missed out on while I was busy building a career. It’s a bit of the opposite for my husband. His path will generally be a canon-shot to retirement. It will just be incredibly busy until he’s finally able to take the leap. And unlike other folks and for various reasons, it’s hard for us to say how long it will be until we retire. It could be two years, three years or even close to five or six years. We really can’t predict it.
So, what can I predict? More than one would think.
First, the big thing: financial freedom. While it’s true that we need to keep saving for a little while, we made a lot of really smart moves that initially felt like overkill but now that we are here, demonstrates their brilliance. (Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut! 😊) With solar panels and a geothermal heating system, its costs us $40 a month to heat, power and cool our house, even in the dead of winter or the hottest part of summer. Some years, it’s even less if its sunny and we are able to produce more electricity or if its warmer and the geothermal doesn’t run that often. And we can do it without being uncomfortable. In winter, the house stays at 70 degrees, unless it gets warmer due to the fireplace going. In summer, the air conditioning stays at 74 degrees. Other smart moves? All renovations happened out of cash and we did what we could ourselves. Finally, after the State And Local Tax (SALT) exemption was removed, we quickly paid off our house. Essentially the strategy has been simple: get our operating costs as close to zero as possible. That way, we would need less resources to maintain our standard of living.
The second thing? Good infrastructure. When we first got married, we discussed our future living space a lot. We even went and looked at houses. The point? Let’s decide now if this was our forever home. If it is, we would put in the time, money and effort to make it both as we wanted it and so we could age here. The result? Every year since 2014 we have done one big project and today the house and yard are nearly done. There are still projects on the list, but they’re dwindling. The big projects left are the deck we are doing this summer, our main bathroom and adding a garage and new driveway. Along the way, my hubby insisted that we take everything back and start from the beginning. Since I’m a hurry-up-and-get-it-done kinda girl, that initially frustrated me. Today? I’m so glad we did. Behind every renovated wall there is new insulation which ensures our heating demands don’t escalate during a cold winter. The electric is new and run properly, the plumbing has been thoughtfully designed, the subfloor was screwed down to eliminate squeaks before the hardwood went down and the outside of the house was insulated before it was sided. Yes, all extra steps but now that they’re done? We both have confidence that they’ll last the rest of our lives and we won’t be redoing anything. This was a true case of “an ounce of prevention.”
The third thing? Well, that’s where I can finally say: well planned. From the financial to the infrastructure to what our daily lives will look like when retired, this is where my lists with lists come into play. I’ve been running a retirement spreadsheet for years and I know exactly where we are financially. I have project plans upon project plans for the completion of our house. And most importantly? We have talked about and designed our future and what we want it to look like. This past summer, I bought myself a good mountain bike to go cycling with my husband and sisters. We have plans to add a French drain and fill to part of our yard to make it more maintenance free. We have invested in the grow and canning operations to ensure that we can maximize our garden yields. And I can genuinely see the future.
While we are not yet completely ready, I now know what our future looks like and I’m excited for it. I’m ready for some lazy mornings with coffee on the back deck while we make plans for the day. Afternoons of bike rides and lunch at the state park and evenings of campfires. I’m looking forward to fall harvesting and planning without zoom calls or reports due. I’m looking forward to being able to chop and stack firewood on a sunny, warm Tuesday instead of a cold, miserable Saturday. I’m looking forward to falls full of holiday time from Halloween through New Year’s. To winter breaks in the sunshine (because you know that’s on my list) and spring planting season.
And I’m not naïve. I know that given who both of us are, we will likely work some even if its volunteering. I also know that we will continue to have routine maintenance around the house and yard, which is impossible to escape. Things will always break and with six acres, there’s always something to do. But the pace of life – professionally and as homeowners – will finally slow to the pace of retirees.
In the next few years, however, my job is still to finish preparations for retirement. Along with saving financially and completing the infrastructure, there are other small, incremental moves to be made. It’s time that I begin those efforts in earnest. I need to time out the purchase of new vehicles, help to fully launch the kids, shed more of the excess around here (we still have a full basement) and generally march ever-so-slowly forward to that golden reward. For all that life up to know wasn’t so well-planned, it now needs to be. That’s my task ahead and I’m ready for it.
The Yuppie Homesteader 