Definitely on the countdown for you guys then! Hope all goes well for you and glad you can take some things away from our channel both about retirement and vanlife. Thanks for watching 😊🚐
From two Aussie 50-year-olds who are still a little way off retirement, thank you for sharing your early retirement journey! We take inspiration from every video you post 😀
Jackie and Richard, you are the embodiment of early retirement and how that you can do it and make it into a lifestyle. I retired early too and can support the differences in the amount of stress that you will experience.
Thank you - such kind words! We are certainly trying to make the most of every moment both for ourselves and with our family. Stress is a strange thing - there are just different things to worry about now - just not work
Nice one guys. I'm only 39 but looking to 'retire' within the next couple of years hopefully. Working full time is akin to modern slavery. My Dad recently passed away at 71. Life is short. Cheers from Australia 👍
That's a great timeline Jason- great effort! Life really is too short and sometimes we need a tragic loss to wake us up to what is really important. Good luck with your plans👍
I just retired as a high school teacher last May at age 58. 33 years in the public schools. This is the first video of yours Ive seen thanks to the YT algorithm bringing it to me. Congrats on being successfully retired and doing it just the way you want. I loved your thoughts about stress, worrying about worrying (It’s like I’m now manufacturing things to worry about), and finally being able to put your physical and mental health as a priority. I’m learning all these things now. Thank you! Looking forward to following along and going back to your earlier videos. If you’re ever in Colorado US, I’d love to offer travel recommendations or share a glass of wine.
Hi Dave and welcome to the channel. Congratulations on the retirement and also such a long career in education. We loved our jobs, but to be honest, we love retirement just that little bit more😉 We love Colorado and were there at the back end of last year doing a RV road trip with Jackie's Mum that we documented on the channel. We had and absolute blast and will definitely be returning sometime in the future. You live in such a beautiful part of the world and we really fell in love with the Colorado vibe. You may regret offering the glass of wine😂 Many thanks for the comment. It is so good to hear that we are seemingly attracting educators from around the world. Have a great weekend👍
My wife and I are the first amongst our friends to early retire, even though we're probably the poorest! The one question they all ask is, "What do you DO all day?". I find this a strange question and I struggled to answer it initially, but you are correct. You can do what you want, when you want. Also, its about what you DON'T do! Or rather, what you dont have to do. FREEDOM! Your comment about alcohol was also interesting. Before I retired I thought I'd become an alcoholic when I stopped working but I actually drink less. A great summary and im glad you're both loving life.
Someone has to be the trail blazer in a friendship group. Glad that you are enjoying your early retirement. It is amazing how curious friends get about ER and what our new lives now entail. I love the link to not doing things...we had never thought of that but it is so true. Thanks for the comment.👍
Just want to thank you both for your videos. I retired early because my husband is older than me. I’ve just bought a van and I’m loving your very informative videos.
Thanks Jaq- love that you have got a van- we hope it brings you as much joy as Nelson has to us. Have you named your van yet? It's so important that they have a name😂 Have a great weekend.👍
Love your approach and videos both. I totally agree that the job market is such that there’s always a requirement and this gives fallback options. I’d definitely consider seasonal work….or even consultancy for discreet projects. Makes me think my 3-5years left is more like 3! Keep up the good ‘work’ and the smiles.
Thanks for this Ian. We think that the thing that really surprised us was the range of opportunities that are open to us all in early retirement. We definitely lacked confidence in doing any other job but teaching...but we can actually do more than we could have ever thought possible. We have friends that love the consultancy opportunities in the modern work place, and particularly the discrete timelines for projects that have a definitive end date. Good luck with your plans! Have a great weekend and thanks again👍
A great summary of your first two years of retirement. Watching your channel over the last few months has really got me thinking. I'm 54, wife is 51, but with a university-bound daughter from Sept 2025, we'll keep working to help fund her, and then go for it!
Thank you - It is amazing how quickly those university years pass by and they were actually a great transition for us to have the house to ourselves and get away for lots of weekends and holidays while we were still working with no guilt about abandoning the children 😂 Hope she enjoys her time at Uni - ours both went to Cardiff and loved it!
This is the first video on your channel I've watched. Love it. I early retired a year ago (wife still works), and I absolutly get your "do what I want when I want" ..... but it's hard to shake the habits of a life time! I find myself still rushing things so I can get on with unspecified "more important stuff" ... and when I'm engrossed in my hobbies (furniture making, fishing, running) I feel vaguely uneasy because of that unspecified "more important stuff". It's going to take me a while to get used to the freedom!
Hi David and thanks for joining the channel. You are so right- I also get that guilty feeling, particularly when engaging in my hobbies that I need to do something more important. I wonder when this feeling will go away. I guess it's as a consequence of our hobbies coming a poor second best to our work demands for so many years. One thing that I do not however feel guilty about is prioritising our health. A walk is now no longer just a walk...it is a priority in our day! Thanks for the comment👍R
Enjoy your channel and really appreciated the reflection and honesty of this latest one. I have been made redundant at 59yrs and still have teenagers at home. Not something I planned but upon my own reflection everything you are saying gives me confidence and confirmation that I am making the right choice to retire.
That is much harder to get your head around when the decision has been pushed forward for you and I hope that all works out well - sometimes those little nudges are for the best! We retired a few years earlier than planned so have had to be a bit more creative with our finances for a while but we have had no regrets so far. All the best x
Brilliant, love your reflections on your early retirement journey, so interesting and insightful and gives perspective on what it might be like, thank you!
I’ve been retired a few years and it’s taken me until now along with my partner who recently retired to really start embracing developing new skills, hobbies and travelling more in our camper van together
I think retiring and relocating at the same time probably helped us more than we realise - we were constantly busy renovating the cottage for the first few months and then really enjoyed getting into our travels. Hope you are both settling into having the time together now that you are both retired - I think that can take some adjusting to as well - there were times that we were like ships that passed in the night when working and then suddenly together 24/7!
Hello Richard and Jackie from Ontario, Canada! I'm Barry, also a retired teacher (high school). Yeah, I decided to leave in June '22; just wasn't motivated to return for another year! I was 57 at the time. My wife (Salve), a few months older than me, continues to work part-time hours as a Cashier. Congrats. on your own retirement and your channel, etc. Good for you both (and family)! We don't have kids; just nephews and nieces. I've seen some of your clips (so far); all well-done! One of your messages, in particular, caught my attention - the idea of having experiences over physical things! You're absolutely right with this! There's certainly a big world out there that we should explore, enjoy quality time with family, etc. while we're still not too old and pretty much in good health! Salve is a Filipina and we've been to the Philippines several times (married there, actually, years ago). I'm from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Atlantic Canada, but have been here in Ontario (central Canada) for more than 20 years. I have Irish ancestry (Hennessey). We made our first trip across the Atlantic this past May to the U.K. (England and Wales); Salve has cousins in London and north Wales. It was an excellent time sightseeing, etc. The weather was great for almost the entire trip! Do you have any plan to visit Canada? Well, bye for now..! Take care. Barry H.
Thanks for this Barry and regards to Canada. We love your country! When I was teaching I led a couple of rugby tours to BC and Victoria Island and had a blast. We had the privilege a few years back of watching our son play rugby in BC on tour and then road tripped around BC and Alberta. We intended to go back as a family in 2020, but Covid put paid to those plans. We definitely want to get across and spend some time in the US and Canada, but it will probably have to wait a few year yet. Glad that you are enjoying the channel and welcome along. Have a good one👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust good to know you've visited out west (at least) over here. Yeah, some great scenery, etc. Salve has a sister and family in Seattle, Washington. We've flown, different times, out that way through Vancouver (including enroute to the Philippines) and we've driven from here back in '08/back later by train. Like yourselves, we enjoy camping during our summers! Are you folks familiar with Norm and Tina (older British couple) who have a channel "This is our Retirement"?; it's been a favourite of mine. They moved to Canada, years ago, and are seasoned travellers! All the best..! Barry
Thank you - we are on the Orkneys at the moment and filmed at the beach by the Brough of Birsay. Hope your husband has settled into retirement OK - It did feel a little strange at first thinking that we were never going back to our schools after the summer holidays! We love planning our trips and where we want to go - be it for a weekend or a longer one like the Shetland Islands that we are on at the moment!
Thank you - it is a strange one filming a retirement video outdoors but it was a lovely afternoon and much more scenic than our tip of a van!! We are in the Orkney Islands now 🚐 😊
@@earlyretirementwanderlust to be honest I think you couldn’t have picked a better place. Enjoy the rest of your trip, hopefully I will be up that way in September
Hi guys, I recently stumbled across your channel and I’m loving it. It’s been great inspiration. I’m 62 and ready for retiring. I’m currently living in the USA holding down 2 plus jobs to survive here. We now have grandchildren and aging parents back in the UK, so me and my wife plan to move back next year, then hopefully we can take on and adopt a similar lifestyle to the one you have. 🤞 Thanks again.
Wow that's a big change for you but I can definitely see the pull to come back. We are really conscious that we have a limited amount of time left with our mums and want to be there for them both. There are no grandchildren yet but I can see that being a big incentive to be at home more for us in the future. Hope you plans work out for you x
Great video guys. Myself and my partner retired just over two years ago. We just love the freedom! Like you both, we love travelling, off to China in October! Keep up the brilliant communications!
Great video, fantastic reflection points, we are one month retired, older than you guys but we are really noticing positive change. Travel starts in 7 weeks and then the new chapter really begins. Thanks again
Good luck with your travel adventures...that's when the fun really begins👍 Glad that you are enjoying the first few weeks of retirement. Thanks for the comment👍
Orkney is gorgeous...glad you have the weather for it. I still do a little bit of professional stuff in my early retirement. One gig pays for a holiday, and it keeps my hand in and mentally challenged. I used to write for Caravan Club many years ago when I was working full time....each article helped pay for the caravan holiday, and it looks like your youtube channel and writing is doing the same for you now. That's great, and thanks for the video.
We are loving our time here on the Islands - we are on Westray at the moment. We are enjoying doing the odd freelance article and being creative with the RUclips channel - as you say it keeps us challenged mentally but does not feel like work in any way.
So pleased for you both to be enjoying your early retirement so much 😊 My husband and I are semi- retired, working 2 days per week in our career skill sets, but we also manage a few months off to travel with our caravan several times a year. I know exactly what you mean about having your weekends freed up. Thank you for the interesting content - I always find inspiration in your videos 👏
Thank you - It is great that you have been able to combine part time work and also having time to get away on extended travels - best of both worlds. The freeing up of our weekends has been significant in seeing our family which has been a real bonus. Hope you have some fab trips planned - we are really enjoying the northern Isles at the moment.
Only just found you guys. We also retired early 2 years ago! Really interesting to hear your reflections. Reckon we’ve spent half that time travelling in Europe mainly in our campervan. Coming from a high pressure senior sales environment the self identify was my biggest challenge. Love managing our finances and utilising my spreadsheet skills!
Hope you have enjoyed your campervan travels as much as we have - there are so many fantastic places out there to discover and it is so nice to have the time to do just that. Richard does still like an opportunity to get a spreadsheet out! But it does seriously help keep us on track - combined with taking our weekly spend out in cash because we then have to really think about if we want something enough to pay by card.
Congratulations on 2 years of early retirement guys! We are 8 days post-retirement and making our way through the American West toward our new state. I'm curious if you might speak to any realizations in your relationship since you retired. While we have a great relationship, the shift in our "roles" and new things we do together has helped realize how I need to ask for help and let go and go with the flow. Thanks for another wonderful video! We are learning so much from you sharing your journey. Have a wonderful trip in the US.
Thanks Susan- and congratulations on the retirement and relocation. We hope it all goes well. Funnily enough we were just talking today about how we have managed our relationship over the last 2 years...if we are feeling really brave, there may be a video coming up on that in the next few months. We are so exited about our US trip and our adult kids are beyond excited! It will be so great to have everyone together, in the sun, in one of our family happy places. Have a great week and enjoy the retirement feeling!👍🙏
We’ve been retired coming up to 6 years and it’s interesting to note the psychological stages we’ve been through. We’re about to get our state pension and bus passes so a new stage! My teacher’s pension has risen each year however it’s not really kept up with inflation…despite the government guarantee. The state pension will help with this and as I use buses a lot the Bus Pass will save me around £80 a month.
Thanks for this Bonnie. It's nice to have some insight to the next stages that are ahead for us. Hopefully the issues with the TPS will get a little easier now that teachers are actually getting pay rises...it was a tough decade to get through when we were working with no pay rises for the profession. Have a great day👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust yes the 5.5% rise helps a little… it’s probably worth looking at extra income (RUclips is helping you guys I’m guessing?) I give Guided City walks mostly for fun but also earn a little bit from these.
I was a teacher, too. That "teacher" identity is a bit hard to shake at first, but it does lessen over time. Also- your comments about "just saying yes" to things- have you heard about the Yestival? It's held every year in Lincolnshire every June and is aimed at encouraging people to just say yes to adventure. You might like it and would be great workshop presenters! Look it up and see what you think.
Yes I definitely don't identify as a teacher now! We found in the first year particularly that we referred to everything in terms of 'term time' but now I don't even know what day we are on! Yestival sounds cool 😊 We tend to be away in June avoiding the peak season rush in Europe now that we are not teachers - a huge bonus of being retired teachers 😂🚐
Thanks for sharing this, it's really inspirational. We are mid forties in a similar position to yourselves at that age. Our campervan sits idle a lot of the time while we are at work and juggling all the priorities that life forces on us. Your videos give us confidence that we can do something similar in the not too distant future. If we ever run into you on a campsite somewhere then will be buying you both a drink. 🙏
Many thanks for this Philip- your kind words are very much appreciated. We still remember working life well- it is a constant balance, but we found that our van was our little haven of peace at the weekends that we had free. Glad that what we do helps...we are just muddling through the best we can...and loving it! Always happy to share a beer or a wine👍
Think early retirement is a leap of faith for lots of people? I feel lucky that my parents had very little money, but had a great retirement. We are taking the leap with that knowledge very soon! Thanks for sharing confidence to others. Very best wishes!
The same with us - Richards dad had to retire at 52 as a joiner after a heart attack but his parents had a great retirement together. We live a modest but happy life and at the moment and are at our happiest just being out and about being active - it may change as we get older. Hope your plans for retirement go well 😊
Thanks for sharing this Jamie- we are glad that we could help. One of the reasons we started the channel was to try and get a really honest and pragmatic view of what ER can really be like. 2 years in and we are loving it. Have a good one👍
Loved this video, you can always earn more money but not more time. I was blessed to be able to care for family members as I have not worked in a career for many years due to being a stay at home mum, now we have 4 years to go til my husband can finish hopefully a bit sooner :)
Thanks for this. We really love how "you can always earn more money but not more time" sums up everything that we believe. Enjoy your planning for retirement- it's a really exciting time! Have a great day👍
Love your channel and your love of travel. I retired a couple of years ago (two years earlier than state pension age) and love the freedom. Most of my family and friends are in Europe so I spend a lot of time there using it as a base for further exploration. 😊
Thanks for this Lindsay- the freedom is really the key thing isn't it? Love that you have a good network of friends across Europe- what better reason to get out there and explore. Thanks for the comment🙏 Have a great day👍
Another great video. I'm a teacher - was going to retire this year but have been talked into doing another part time. Did you save lots when teaching to afford all those lovely holidays? Did you have an inheritance? Did you free up money when you sold your house? My wife and I certainly plan lots of travel. Many thanks
Thanks for your kind words Rob- good luck with the PT role this year. We worked really hard to save as much as we could in our last few years of teaching as our overheads reduced, our expenses for the kids uni disappeared and we made the decision to live a much more modest lifestyle on our salaries. We were really quite surprised how much we managed to save during this time and it was almost quite addictive. When we sold our family home and downsized to our lovely renovation project in the Dales we released a big chunk of equity that we had always planned to use to prop up our savings. More recently, we have managed to use the small income that we are now getting from RUclips and freelance writing to put towards our travel costs. Owing our van outright and having no debts really helps with our travel and adventure plans. The budget is tight, but we think that it is worth it for what we are now getting out of life. Thanks again for the comment🙏 Have a good day👍
I always look forward to you videos and this one was great. I love your outlook on retirement and your values in life. I’m so much more relaxed and happy since I retired a year ago. Looking forward to seeing the puffins. Did you pack “the jumper” Jackie for this trip😀
Many thanks as always 😊 The puffins were so adorable! We have actually seen some more today on Westray in the Orkney Islands which was a surprise as I though they had all gone to sea ❤️ I am wearing my lovely jumper as I type!
yeah teaching ... bottle of wine a night or more... half the profession is borderline alcoholic but I love my job.. 2 years to retirement ..need to cut down....love your channel.. T5 bought and converted... we will get there...
Yes we loved teaching too, but surprisingly do not miss it now! It is quite scary how much we did used to drink - a definite bad habit we had got into and I am glad we have broken it! Have fun travelling in your T5 🚐 Nelson the camper was a god send when we were working - we loved planning where we would go each weekend and getting away regularly.
Interesting you found retired life cheaper as my parents found it more expensive as you have much more time to spend it and do things to spend it on. So if you do the things you would normally do in your free time all the time you spend a lot more. I guess your type of pension and ability to easily find work makes money less stressful.
I suppose for us we have changed our lifestyles significantly in many ways since retiring - we live a modest day to day lifestyle even when we are travelling where as when we were working and had the children at home we would eat out a lot or have takeaways. We were supporting our 2 children through university and still paying for 2 cars. Now our outgoings are a fraction of what they were as we are mortgage free and have a much smaller council tax bill and utilities. We cook and eat well at home (or in the van) and have no debts like cars or credit cards. Our interests are cheap - hiking and getting out into the outdoors so we don't spend much outside of the travel. It is not a life style every one would want to lead - my mum loves getting out for lunch several days a week as it is part of her social life so she would also say retired life is not cheap 😂
I think for busy people , spending your time doing jobs you’d other wise pay people for saves a lot of money. The people for whom retirement is expensive are people who have to do things which cost money , like people who go shopping all the time, people who have to do a paid for activity. Teachers are very resourceful having to manage at work with very little
Quick question and comment. The question, what do you use for audio recording.. it's always been amazing.. have you changed how you have recorded audio.. are you able to share.. The comment Richard the colour of your sunglasses appear to match Jackies top... are they her sunglasses you have nabbed 🙂
Hi Daren- thanks for your comment. After lots of trial and error with audio- we splashed out on the wireless DJI Mic set up that has two mics, links to both iPhones and our DJI Action 3 and charges in the build in case. It was a game changer and we wonder now why we struggled on for months with other camera mounted directional mics. They have brought out the Mic 2 now, so the original mic is even cheaper. I would not work without it now. I have tried to pop the exact kit in our Amazon Shop if you fancy a look? As per the sunglasses...its a very fashionable colour don't you know😂😂😂 Jackie bought the top after seeing my glasses were so unique😂 On a serious note, they were cheap as chips from the US- my days of having expensive glasses are over as I completely trash them. Now I can trash them and replace without too much financial pain. Have a good one.👍R
You could apply for seasonal jobs on campsites .. A RUclips channel called ‘Suzy bee travels’ does exactly that she’s on a campsite called Glemore in Scotland at the moment and it looks absolutely gorgeous … Love your channel by the way 😁 … X
Thanks Karen- it is something that we have thought about. We know a few couples who have gone down this route and love it. It seems a real win-win situation. We will check out Suzy for some inspiration. Have a great weekend👍
Great reflections on your first two years of ER. Where has the time gone. You're both amazing and inspirational. We look forward to the spring of 2025 for the next chapter of our lives 😀❤️🚐🐾 xx
Thanks for this Janet, your support is always really appreciated. You must be getting really excited for 2025. We loved the prep for our retirement, but the result has turned out to be even more enjoyable than the prep! Have a good one👍
Hi, just wanted your opinion on whether you think you could have done what you have done with a caravan in tow instead of a campervan? Been as flexible, stopped in the same stopovers etc.
Hi Philip- for most parts we think that it could be done. We have met so many people in similar situations to us that use a caravan in Europe...particularly Dutch people. You would obviously not be able to use aires or park-ups, but in off season the ACSI sites are full of retiree Caravan owners. The added advantage is that once in a base, you are free to explore areas in your car. Hope this helps? 👍R
Hi Chris- not something that we seriously looked into TBH. We know it works well for many people in similar career situations, but for us it would have meant increasing the distance between us and our Mum's which we didn't want to do. Have a great weekend👍
Wife and i are retiring early 2025 , we also have a campervan . Watching your channel is great to watch for inspiration , thank you .
Definitely on the countdown for you guys then! Hope all goes well for you and glad you can take some things away from our channel both about retirement and vanlife. Thanks for watching 😊🚐
From two Aussie 50-year-olds who are still a little way off retirement, thank you for sharing your early retirement journey! We take inspiration from every video you post 😀
Oh wow thank you! It still amazes me that it is people from all over the world that watch the channel - glad you are enjoying what we do 😊
Jackie and Richard, you are the embodiment of early retirement and how that you can do it and make it into a lifestyle. I retired early too and can support the differences in the amount of stress that you will experience.
Thank you - such kind words! We are certainly trying to make the most of every moment both for ourselves and with our family. Stress is a strange thing - there are just different things to worry about now - just not work
I can’t believe I’ve been following your journey for 2 years - it’s been a privilege to share your experiences. 😊
Thank for sharing our journey with us - we feel like we have shared quite a bit of your journey too over the years 😊
Nice one guys. I'm only 39 but looking to 'retire' within the next couple of years hopefully. Working full time is akin to modern slavery. My Dad recently passed away at 71. Life is short.
Cheers from Australia 👍
That's a great timeline Jason- great effort! Life really is too short and sometimes we need a tragic loss to wake us up to what is really important.
Good luck with your plans👍
I just retired as a high school teacher last May at age 58. 33 years in the public schools. This is the first video of yours Ive seen thanks to the YT algorithm bringing it to me. Congrats on being successfully retired and doing it just the way you want. I loved your thoughts about stress, worrying about worrying (It’s like I’m now manufacturing things to worry about), and finally being able to put your physical and mental health as a priority. I’m learning all these things now. Thank you! Looking forward to following along and going back to your earlier videos. If you’re ever in Colorado US, I’d love to offer travel recommendations or share a glass of wine.
Hi Dave and welcome to the channel. Congratulations on the retirement and also such a long career in education. We loved our jobs, but to be honest, we love retirement just that little bit more😉
We love Colorado and were there at the back end of last year doing a RV road trip with Jackie's Mum that we documented on the channel. We had and absolute blast and will definitely be returning sometime in the future. You live in such a beautiful part of the world and we really fell in love with the Colorado vibe. You may regret offering the glass of wine😂
Many thanks for the comment. It is so good to hear that we are seemingly attracting educators from around the world.
Have a great weekend👍
My wife and I are the first amongst our friends to early retire, even though we're probably the poorest! The one question they all ask is, "What do you DO all day?". I find this a strange question and I struggled to answer it initially, but you are correct. You can do what you want, when you want. Also, its about what you DON'T do! Or rather, what you dont have to do. FREEDOM! Your comment about alcohol was also interesting. Before I retired I thought I'd become an alcoholic when I stopped working but I actually drink less. A great summary and im glad you're both loving life.
Someone has to be the trail blazer in a friendship group. Glad that you are enjoying your early retirement. It is amazing how curious friends get about ER and what our new lives now entail.
I love the link to not doing things...we had never thought of that but it is so true.
Thanks for the comment.👍
Spot on both. You are both looking great and it’s amazing the benefits of not having WORK stress. 👌🏻
Thanks Dominic- very kind words. We are definitely feeling the difference👍
Just want to thank you both for your videos. I retired early because my husband is older than me. I’ve just bought a van and I’m loving your very informative videos.
Thanks Jaq- love that you have got a van- we hope it brings you as much joy as Nelson has to us. Have you named your van yet? It's so important that they have a name😂
Have a great weekend.👍
Love your approach and videos both. I totally agree that the job market is such that there’s always a requirement and this gives fallback options. I’d definitely consider seasonal work….or even consultancy for discreet projects. Makes me think my 3-5years left is more like 3!
Keep up the good ‘work’ and the smiles.
Thanks for this Ian. We think that the thing that really surprised us was the range of opportunities that are open to us all in early retirement. We definitely lacked confidence in doing any other job but teaching...but we can actually do more than we could have ever thought possible.
We have friends that love the consultancy opportunities in the modern work place, and particularly the discrete timelines for projects that have a definitive end date.
Good luck with your plans! Have a great weekend and thanks again👍
A great summary of your first two years of retirement. Watching your channel over the last few months has really got me thinking. I'm 54, wife is 51, but with a university-bound daughter from Sept 2025, we'll keep working to help fund her, and then go for it!
Thank you - It is amazing how quickly those university years pass by and they were actually a great transition for us to have the house to ourselves and get away for lots of weekends and holidays while we were still working with no guilt about abandoning the children 😂 Hope she enjoys her time at Uni - ours both went to Cardiff and loved it!
This is the first video on your channel I've watched. Love it. I early retired a year ago (wife still works), and I absolutly get your "do what I want when I want" ..... but it's hard to shake the habits of a life time! I find myself still rushing things so I can get on with unspecified "more important stuff" ... and when I'm engrossed in my hobbies (furniture making, fishing, running) I feel vaguely uneasy because of that unspecified "more important stuff". It's going to take me a while to get used to the freedom!
Hi David and thanks for joining the channel. You are so right- I also get that guilty feeling, particularly when engaging in my hobbies that I need to do something more important. I wonder when this feeling will go away. I guess it's as a consequence of our hobbies coming a poor second best to our work demands for so many years.
One thing that I do not however feel guilty about is prioritising our health. A walk is now no longer just a walk...it is a priority in our day!
Thanks for the comment👍R
Enjoy your channel and really appreciated the reflection and honesty of this latest one. I have been made redundant at 59yrs and still have teenagers at home. Not something I planned but upon my own reflection everything you are saying gives me confidence and confirmation that I am making the right choice to retire.
That is much harder to get your head around when the decision has been pushed forward for you and I hope that all works out well - sometimes those little nudges are for the best! We retired a few years earlier than planned so have had to be a bit more creative with our finances for a while but we have had no regrets so far. All the best x
Brilliant, love your reflections on your early retirement journey, so interesting and insightful and gives perspective on what it might be like, thank you!
Thank you so much - glad you can take something away from the video 😊
I’ve been retired a few years and it’s taken me until now along with my partner who recently retired to really start embracing developing new skills, hobbies and travelling more in our camper van together
I think retiring and relocating at the same time probably helped us more than we realise - we were constantly busy renovating the cottage for the first few months and then really enjoyed getting into our travels. Hope you are both settling into having the time together now that you are both retired - I think that can take some adjusting to as well - there were times that we were like ships that passed in the night when working and then suddenly together 24/7!
Hello Richard and Jackie from Ontario, Canada! I'm Barry, also a retired teacher (high school). Yeah, I decided to leave in June '22; just wasn't motivated to return for another year! I was 57 at the time. My wife (Salve), a few months older than me, continues to work part-time hours as a Cashier. Congrats. on your own retirement and your channel, etc. Good for you both (and family)! We don't have kids; just nephews and nieces. I've seen some of your clips (so far); all well-done! One of your messages, in particular, caught my attention - the idea of having experiences over physical things! You're absolutely right with this! There's certainly a big world out there that we should explore, enjoy quality time with family, etc. while we're still not too old and pretty much in good health!
Salve is a Filipina and we've been to the Philippines several times (married there, actually, years ago). I'm from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Atlantic Canada, but have been here in Ontario (central Canada) for more than 20 years. I have Irish ancestry (Hennessey). We made our first trip across the Atlantic this past May to the U.K. (England and Wales); Salve has cousins in London and north Wales. It was an excellent time sightseeing, etc. The weather was great for almost the entire trip! Do you have any plan to visit Canada? Well, bye for now..! Take care. Barry H.
Thanks for this Barry and regards to Canada. We love your country! When I was teaching I led a couple of rugby tours to BC and Victoria Island and had a blast. We had the privilege a few years back of watching our son play rugby in BC on tour and then road tripped around BC and Alberta. We intended to go back as a family in 2020, but Covid put paid to those plans.
We definitely want to get across and spend some time in the US and Canada, but it will probably have to wait a few year yet.
Glad that you are enjoying the channel and welcome along.
Have a good one👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust good to know you've visited out west (at least) over here. Yeah, some great scenery, etc. Salve has a sister and family in Seattle, Washington. We've flown, different times, out that way through Vancouver (including enroute to the Philippines) and we've driven from here back in '08/back later by train. Like yourselves, we enjoy camping during our summers! Are you folks familiar with Norm and Tina (older British couple) who have a channel "This is our Retirement"?; it's been a favourite of mine. They moved to Canada, years ago, and are seasoned travellers! All the best..! Barry
We love Tina and Norm! They are absolute RUclips legends!
Have a great weekend👍
My husband retired in June at 53. The background to your video is beautiful! Would love for us to travel in future years
Thank you - we are on the Orkneys at the moment and filmed at the beach by the Brough of Birsay. Hope your husband has settled into retirement OK - It did feel a little strange at first thinking that we were never going back to our schools after the summer holidays! We love planning our trips and where we want to go - be it for a weekend or a longer one like the Shetland Islands that we are on at the moment!
What a beautiful location to film a vlog especially given the subject too.
Thank you - it is a strange one filming a retirement video outdoors but it was a lovely afternoon and much more scenic than our tip of a van!! We are in the Orkney Islands now 🚐 😊
@@earlyretirementwanderlust to be honest I think you couldn’t have picked a better place. Enjoy the rest of your trip, hopefully I will be up that way in September
Hi guys, I recently stumbled across your channel and I’m loving it. It’s been great inspiration. I’m 62 and ready for retiring. I’m currently living in the USA holding down 2 plus jobs to survive here. We now have grandchildren and aging parents back in the UK, so me and my wife plan to move back next year, then hopefully we can take on and adopt a similar lifestyle to the one you have. 🤞 Thanks again.
Wow that's a big change for you but I can definitely see the pull to come back. We are really conscious that we have a limited amount of time left with our mums and want to be there for them both. There are no grandchildren yet but I can see that being a big incentive to be at home more for us in the future. Hope you plans work out for you x
Great video guys. Myself and my partner retired just over two years ago. We just love the freedom! Like you both, we love travelling, off to China in October! Keep up the brilliant communications!
Thanks for this Neal- wow what a trip to China! That will be amazing. Glad that you are loving retirement- it's great isn't it!
Have a good one👍
Great video, fantastic reflection points, we are one month retired, older than you guys but we are really noticing positive change. Travel starts in 7 weeks and then the new chapter really begins. Thanks again
Good luck with your travel adventures...that's when the fun really begins👍 Glad that you are enjoying the first few weeks of retirement.
Thanks for the comment👍
Orkney is gorgeous...glad you have the weather for it. I still do a little bit of professional stuff in my early retirement. One gig pays for a holiday, and it keeps my hand in and mentally challenged. I used to write for Caravan Club many years ago when I was working full time....each article helped pay for the caravan holiday, and it looks like your youtube channel and writing is doing the same for you now. That's great, and thanks for the video.
We are loving our time here on the Islands - we are on Westray at the moment. We are enjoying doing the odd freelance article and being creative with the RUclips channel - as you say it keeps us challenged mentally but does not feel like work in any way.
So pleased for you both to be enjoying your early retirement so much 😊 My husband and I are semi- retired, working 2 days per week in our career skill sets, but we also manage a few months off to travel with our caravan several times a year. I know exactly what you mean about having your weekends freed up. Thank you for the interesting content - I always find inspiration in your videos 👏
Thank you - It is great that you have been able to combine part time work and also having time to get away on extended travels - best of both worlds. The freeing up of our weekends has been significant in seeing our family which has been a real bonus.
Hope you have some fab trips planned - we are really enjoying the northern Isles at the moment.
Only just found you guys. We also retired early 2 years ago! Really interesting to hear your reflections. Reckon we’ve spent half that time travelling in Europe mainly in our campervan. Coming from a high pressure senior sales environment the self identify was my biggest challenge. Love managing our finances and utilising my spreadsheet skills!
Hope you have enjoyed your campervan travels as much as we have - there are so many fantastic places out there to discover and it is so nice to have the time to do just that. Richard does still like an opportunity to get a spreadsheet out! But it does seriously help keep us on track - combined with taking our weekly spend out in cash because we then have to really think about if we want something enough to pay by card.
Congratulations on 2 years of early retirement guys! We are 8 days post-retirement and making our way through the American West toward our new state. I'm curious if you might speak to any realizations in your relationship since you retired. While we have a great relationship, the shift in our "roles" and new things we do together has helped realize how I need to ask for help and let go and go with the flow. Thanks for another wonderful video! We are learning so much from you sharing your journey. Have a wonderful trip in the US.
Thanks Susan- and congratulations on the retirement and relocation. We hope it all goes well. Funnily enough we were just talking today about how we have managed our relationship over the last 2 years...if we are feeling really brave, there may be a video coming up on that in the next few months.
We are so exited about our US trip and our adult kids are beyond excited! It will be so great to have everyone together, in the sun, in one of our family happy places.
Have a great week and enjoy the retirement feeling!👍🙏
We’ve been retired coming up to 6 years and it’s interesting to note the psychological stages we’ve been through. We’re about to get our state pension and bus passes so a new stage! My teacher’s pension has risen each year however it’s not really kept up with inflation…despite the government guarantee. The state pension will help with this and as I use buses a lot the Bus Pass will save me around £80 a month.
Thanks for this Bonnie. It's nice to have some insight to the next stages that are ahead for us. Hopefully the issues with the TPS will get a little easier now that teachers are actually getting pay rises...it was a tough decade to get through when we were working with no pay rises for the profession.
Have a great day👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust yes the 5.5% rise helps a little… it’s probably worth looking at extra income (RUclips is helping you guys I’m guessing?) I give Guided City walks mostly for fun but also earn a little bit from these.
I was a teacher, too. That "teacher" identity is a bit hard to shake at first, but it does lessen over time. Also- your comments about "just saying yes" to things- have you heard about the Yestival? It's held every year in Lincolnshire every June and is aimed at encouraging people to just say yes to adventure. You might like it and would be great workshop presenters! Look it up and see what you think.
Yes I definitely don't identify as a teacher now! We found in the first year particularly that we referred to everything in terms of 'term time' but now I don't even know what day we are on! Yestival sounds cool 😊 We tend to be away in June avoiding the peak season rush in Europe now that we are not teachers - a huge bonus of being retired teachers 😂🚐
Love these reflective videos!
Glad you like them!
Thanks for sharing this, it's really inspirational. We are mid forties in a similar position to yourselves at that age. Our campervan sits idle a lot of the time while we are at work and juggling all the priorities that life forces on us. Your videos give us confidence that we can do something similar in the not too distant future. If we ever run into you on a campsite somewhere then will be buying you both a drink. 🙏
Many thanks for this Philip- your kind words are very much appreciated. We still remember working life well- it is a constant balance, but we found that our van was our little haven of peace at the weekends that we had free. Glad that what we do helps...we are just muddling through the best we can...and loving it!
Always happy to share a beer or a wine👍
We are loving retirement, always planning our next get away, yes we enjoyed listening to your reflections, thanks for sharing 😊
Isn't it fab just being able to get away as much as you want! Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
Think early retirement is a leap of faith for lots of people? I feel lucky that my parents had very little money, but had a great retirement. We are taking the leap with that knowledge very soon! Thanks for sharing confidence to others. Very best wishes!
The same with us - Richards dad had to retire at 52 as a joiner after a heart attack but his parents had a great retirement together. We live a modest but happy life and at the moment and are at our happiest just being out and about being active - it may change as we get older. Hope your plans for retirement go well 😊
You two look so well…such a good advert for early retirement! 😊
Thank you Anna- you are far too kind🙏
Thanks for the comment👍
Brillant channel : has inspired us as a couple to change how we live! Huge thanks guys
Thanks for sharing this Jamie- we are glad that we could help. One of the reasons we started the channel was to try and get a really honest and pragmatic view of what ER can really be like. 2 years in and we are loving it.
Have a good one👍
Many thanks its great to see you enjoying it so much and settled into a new way of life....keep enjoying every minute.
We will certainly give it a good go! Thanks for watching 😊
Freedom is often used, but means something else to everyone. Interesting video, thnks
Thanks as always for your comment- we quite agree. 👍
Thoroughly enjoyed all of that, I didn't skip through any of it. Thank you! From a new subscriber :)
Awesome, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved this video, you can always earn more money but not more time. I was blessed to be able to care for family members as I have not worked in a career for many years due to being a stay at home mum, now we have 4 years to go til my husband can finish hopefully a bit sooner :)
Thanks for this. We really love how "you can always earn more money but not more time" sums up everything that we believe.
Enjoy your planning for retirement- it's a really exciting time!
Have a great day👍
Great video. Really enjoyed the candidness of it. Thanks for sharing.
Our pleasure! Thank you 😊
Love your channel and your love of travel. I retired a couple of years ago (two years earlier than state pension age) and love the freedom. Most of my family and friends are in Europe so I spend a lot of time there using it as a base for further exploration. 😊
Thanks for this Lindsay- the freedom is really the key thing isn't it? Love that you have a good network of friends across Europe- what better reason to get out there and explore.
Thanks for the comment🙏 Have a great day👍
@@earlyretirementwanderlust❤
I’m on my lunch break and feeling jealous❤. I’m on it though - enjoy xx
Glad that we can keep you company on your lunch break😉😂
Glad to hear that you are on it!
Thanks for the comment👍
Loving your channel - still debating if I early retire Feb 25 or 2026 but your experiences are helping me! Thanks
Great to hear that you have a plan Tim- good luck with making the decision- we found the whole process really exciting!
Have a good one👍
Great insight Richard and Jackie as to how it’s going. 😊
Sounds like you made a great decision. 😊
Thank you - we definitely feel like we have settled down into our new lives now 😊
Just started watching you and love the vlogs. 😊
Thanks Carol, and thanks for the comment👍
Excellent, thought provoking video as always. Many thanks!
Thankyou you 😊
Great work guys. I love your outlook on life & values. 🤗
Thank you 😊
Another great video. I'm a teacher - was going to retire this year but have been talked into doing another part time. Did you save lots when teaching to afford all those lovely holidays? Did you have an inheritance? Did you free up money when you sold your house? My wife and I certainly plan lots of travel. Many thanks
Thanks for your kind words Rob- good luck with the PT role this year.
We worked really hard to save as much as we could in our last few years of teaching as our overheads reduced, our expenses for the kids uni disappeared and we made the decision to live a much more modest lifestyle on our salaries. We were really quite surprised how much we managed to save during this time and it was almost quite addictive.
When we sold our family home and downsized to our lovely renovation project in the Dales we released a big chunk of equity that we had always planned to use to prop up our savings.
More recently, we have managed to use the small income that we are now getting from RUclips and freelance writing to put towards our travel costs. Owing our van outright and having no debts really helps with our travel and adventure plans. The budget is tight, but we think that it is worth it for what we are now getting out of life.
Thanks again for the comment🙏 Have a good day👍
I always look forward to you videos and this one was great. I love your outlook on retirement and your values in life. I’m so much more relaxed and happy since I retired a year ago. Looking forward to seeing the puffins. Did you pack “the jumper” Jackie for this trip😀
Many thanks as always 😊 The puffins were so adorable! We have actually seen some more today on Westray in the Orkney Islands which was a surprise as I though they had all gone to sea ❤️ I am wearing my lovely jumper as I type!
yeah teaching ... bottle of wine a night or more... half the profession is borderline alcoholic but I love my job.. 2 years to retirement ..need to cut down....love your channel.. T5 bought and converted... we will get there...
Yes we loved teaching too, but surprisingly do not miss it now! It is quite scary how much we did used to drink - a definite bad habit we had got into and I am glad we have broken it! Have fun travelling in your T5 🚐 Nelson the camper was a god send when we were working - we loved planning where we would go each weekend and getting away regularly.
Congrats on hitting 2 year point!
Channel is very useful resource for me to reflect/contrast on my own early retirement.
Thank you - the time seems to have flown! We feel like we have really settled into our new lives now 😊
Well done!
Thanks!👍
Interesting you found retired life cheaper as my parents found it more expensive as you have much more time to spend it and do things to spend it on. So if you do the things you would normally do in your free time all the time you spend a lot more. I guess your type of pension and ability to easily find work makes money less stressful.
If you go back through the videos, you’ll see that it’s very possible and doable.
I suppose for us we have changed our lifestyles significantly in many ways since retiring - we live a modest day to day lifestyle even when we are travelling where as when we were working and had the children at home we would eat out a lot or have takeaways. We were supporting our 2 children through university and still paying for 2 cars. Now our outgoings are a fraction of what they were as we are mortgage free and have a much smaller council tax bill and utilities. We cook and eat well at home (or in the van) and have no debts like cars or credit cards.
Our interests are cheap - hiking and getting out into the outdoors so we don't spend much outside of the travel.
It is not a life style every one would want to lead - my mum loves getting out for lunch several days a week as it is part of her social life so she would also say retired life is not cheap 😂
I think for busy people , spending your time doing jobs you’d other wise pay people for saves a lot of money. The people for whom retirement is expensive are people who have to do things which cost money , like people who go shopping all the time, people who have to do a paid for activity. Teachers are very resourceful having to manage at work with very little
Quick question and comment. The question, what do you use for audio recording.. it's always been amazing.. have you changed how you have recorded audio.. are you able to share.. The comment Richard the colour of your sunglasses appear to match Jackies top... are they her sunglasses you have nabbed 🙂
Hi Daren- thanks for your comment. After lots of trial and error with audio- we splashed out on the wireless DJI Mic set up that has two mics, links to both iPhones and our DJI Action 3 and charges in the build in case. It was a game changer and we wonder now why we struggled on for months with other camera mounted directional mics. They have brought out the Mic 2 now, so the original mic is even cheaper. I would not work without it now. I have tried to pop the exact kit in our Amazon Shop if you fancy a look?
As per the sunglasses...its a very fashionable colour don't you know😂😂😂 Jackie bought the top after seeing my glasses were so unique😂 On a serious note, they were cheap as chips from the US- my days of having expensive glasses are over as I completely trash them. Now I can trash them and replace without too much financial pain.
Have a good one.👍R
You could apply for seasonal jobs on campsites .. A RUclips channel called ‘Suzy bee travels’ does exactly that she’s on a campsite called Glemore in Scotland at the moment and it looks absolutely gorgeous … Love your channel by the way 😁 … X
Thanks Karen- it is something that we have thought about. We know a few couples who have gone down this route and love it. It seems a real win-win situation. We will check out Suzy for some inspiration.
Have a great weekend👍
Great reflections on your first two years of ER. Where has the time gone. You're both amazing and inspirational. We look forward to the spring of 2025 for the next chapter of our lives 😀❤️🚐🐾 xx
Thanks for this Janet, your support is always really appreciated. You must be getting really excited for 2025. We loved the prep for our retirement, but the result has turned out to be even more enjoyable than the prep!
Have a good one👍
Hi, just wanted your opinion on whether you think you could have done what you have done with a caravan in tow instead of a campervan?
Been as flexible, stopped in the same stopovers etc.
Hi Philip- for most parts we think that it could be done. We have met so many people in similar situations to us that use a caravan in Europe...particularly Dutch people. You would obviously not be able to use aires or park-ups, but in off season the ACSI sites are full of retiree Caravan owners. The added advantage is that once in a base, you are free to explore areas in your car.
Hope this helps? 👍R
Hi, sorry to bother you again but one more question.
Why is it that you can’t use caravans on aires or park ups?
Is it French law?
Thanks
Hi I am not really sure but the aires generally have a sign saying specifically no caravans
Did u consider an international teaching phase before retirement. Im considering that.
Hi Chris- not something that we seriously looked into TBH. We know it works well for many people in similar career situations, but for us it would have meant increasing the distance between us and our Mum's which we didn't want to do.
Have a great weekend👍