We quit our jobs in our 30s to travel and live part-time from a sailboat. We have no regrets about giving up the golden handcuffs.
A Seattle couple quit their lucrative jobs for a 'first retirement' to travel and live part-time from a sailboat. Here's how they planned for it.
Bianca and Charles Boddie, a Seattle couple, decided to quit their lucrative jobs in their 30s to embark on a "first retirement" and travel the world aboard a 42-foot sailboat named Windsong. The couple, who had both been thriving in Seattle's tech boom, had good salaries and promising careers, but they felt that their "golden handcuffs" were not too tight. To make their dream a reality, they meticulously planned their finances and left behind their Seattle condo, selling it to fund their new lifestyle.
The Boddies started by creating a spreadsheet to estimate their daily expenses, travel, and boat costs. Even though the estimates were rough, having a concrete plan helped them feel more confident about their decision. They identified how much they could afford to spend without jeopardizing their long-term financial goals, eventually deciding to allocate 10% to 20% of their savings for their first retirement.
Once they determined their budget, the couple focused on eliminating their debt. Their only debt was the remaining mortgage and HOA costs for their condo in Seattle, a property they had purchased in 2022 at the peak of the housing market. With the real estate market in Seattle becoming less favorable, they decided to sell their condo quickly and use the proceeds to fund their new adventure. They also decided to temporarily move in with family to help reduce their living expenses during their time off.
After two and a half years, the Boddies have traveled over 1,000 miles around the Pacific Northwest, visited a dozen countries, and spent quality time with their family and hobbies. They acknowledge that the hardest part of their decision was initially getting comfortable with the uncertainty and potential impact on their future retirement. However, through careful budgeting, asset-rearranging, and mutual confidence in each other, the Boddies transformed their fear into a calculated bet on their future.
Written by urgent.news from Business Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
