Three Years Out
Things are becoming more real. We had our first major clear out and sold almost all of the items at a local second hand market. It felt both liberating and a direct step towards saving for our financial goals.
We've also booked our first sailing lessons; a full weekend course in October 2016. This is a big milestone for us in understanding the fundamentals of what our new life will be like. Although we have no experience in sailing, it's important for us to be self-sufficient and knowledgable. These new skills will also help us navigate our way through the purchase process when we come to buy our first boat. There is a lot to learn, most of which we hope to learn on the job, but whilst we have the time I think it's super that we are getting some experience under our belt.
I have to say, the way I think about this adventure is quite different to the initial "jackpot" feeling. Knowing we had found our mutual dream, something we are both passionate about is now much more solid. We have a direct path to a very different chapter in our "Series of Experiences" (life).
Despite literally no experience, I'm already very pleased with the type of journey we are planning. After observing and reading about other ways to do this (e.g. fly & stay, RV, slow travel), I feel like sailing gives us a great balance with what we enjoy. It has space, some level of luxury, home comforts, and provides an adventure in learning a very new way to travel. Exploring the world in what is essentially a floating apartment sounds phenomenally exciting, despite the initial cost. We'll figure that out along the way I guess!
A quick note on the finance side of things: I've created a very in-depth spreadsheet. Getting a hold of our finances was the first task. We were floating along (albeit comfortably), so it's not something I have had a razor sharp view on for some time. Now that a definitive goal has been set, I was keen to figure out exactly what was coming in and going out. Rather than go straight from this state to total save mode, I felt it was important to do it all in stages. Absolutely everything was up for debate initially, but the recurring monthly payments were analysed first (insurances, technology, entertainment etc.) and we promptly made some tough decisions on those.
Based on a number of blogs and guesstimates, I made an assessment of what our budget should/could be in 2019 and beyond. Once this was established I set a target amount that we need to hit by 01 July 2019 to enable us to leave Singapore, buy a boat, and live for one year without working. I then created a monthly tracker which tracks bank balances, investments and other financial variables to keep an eye on progress.
Coupled with our first clear out, this process was extremely useful for me. My brain works better once I can see it written down in black and white!
-Ben