My Escape Plan

I think and plan far more than I act and I see that as a strong point -- I make less mistakes that way. For the last several years I have pondered how and when to leave the corporate world and a plan has finally gelled.

I will work another year until March 2011. March is when we receive our yearly bonus. I have no idea how much the bonus might be, but money is money. By this time, I will have accumulated over $500k.

During 2010, I will build my earth-sheltered studio. Thanks to some changes at work, I now get two more weeks of vacation for a total of four (plus holidays). I should be able to make good progress on the simple studio.

In 2011, I will sell my house. Having very little income, taxes on any capital gains will be minimized. Depending on where the housing market is, I should be able to pull in $250 - $350k bringing the total to probably around $800k. In 2011, I will turn 47. Assuming a life expectancy of 80, I shouldn't run out of money especially as my expenses will be quite low. I won't have any utility bills, nor house insurance. The primary expenses will be food, gas, and vehicle insurance. Without the commute into the city, I can get rid of the car and just have the van. The car should bring in another $10k.

I have thought from time to time about living in Europe for a few months. I have visited there and really like the feel. It's amazing to see such old buildings. Here in America everything is so new and has so little history. So, I was thinking when I turn 50 in 2014, going to Europe for a while. I'd start out in London and then gradually visit each of the other countries with most of the time probably spent in Britain and France. Money is the greatest obstacle because this won't be cheap. I'll have all of 2012 and 2013 to get adjusted to no income so by 2014, I'd fully know how much money I need to live on and could see if there was enough estimated surplus to live in Europe for 6 months.

I am nearly complete in clearing an nice area for the studio on my property. The next step is to survey the clearing and determine how to position it.