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Episode 3598:
Chris explores why he willingly delayed financial freedom to take a year-long mini-retirement and spend more time with his young children while they still want him around. His story offers a thoughtful perspective on balancing long-term wealth with the fleeting opportunities that family life provides.
Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.keepthrifty.com/trade-financial-freedom-mini-retirement/
Quotes to ponder:
"Enjoy these moments. They grow up so fast. Before you know it, they’ll be all grown up and you’ll wonder where the time went."
"My kids are more important to me than just about anything in this world, and they aren’t going to stay little forever."
"Trading twenty-seven months of financial freedom for fourteen months of mini-retirement now seems like a pretty good deal when you put our life situation in context."
Episode references:
Mr. Money Mustache: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
Wealthfront’s high-yield Cash Account: https://wealthfront.com/OFD
This experience may not be representative of other Wealthfront clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Experiences will vary. The Optimal Finance Daily Podcast, Diana Merriam (collectively "Media Partner") are not clients of Wealthfront. The Media Partner receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage for this paid endorsement placed in their video, creating a conflict of interest. More details available via the referral link. The Direct Deposit Plus Investing Program from Wealthfront Advisers LLC and Wealthfront Brokerage LLC provides eligible clients a 0.25% APY increase above the base APY on eligible Cash Account balances (up to an overall boosted rate of 4.30% for a limited time when including the 0.75% APY boost for new clients) when you direct deposit $1,000 a month, plus open, fund, and maintain an investing account. Wealthfront may change or end the program at any time and determine eligibility at its discretion. Terms apply. Full details at wealthfront.com/promo-terms.
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[00:00:56] This is Optimal Finance Daily. Trading Financial Freedom for Mini Retirement by Chris of KeepThrifty.com. Who doesn't want financial freedom? Getting to the point that your passive income can cover your expenses buys you opportunities and time in a way that most people can't imagine. Despite the allure, I took an active step away from financial freedom this year, choosing to delay my freedom date by over two years.
[00:01:24] What siren could have pulled me away from my destination? An even better one, a mini retirement. A vision for financial freedom. Like many others, I discovered the concept of financial freedom from Mr. Money Mustache back in 2012. The concept is simple. You've reached the point where you have enough income from passive investments to cover your expenses.
[00:01:49] Once you're at this point, you can choose to be relatively indifferent about money. For some, this means early retirement. For others that love their work, it means working without concern for the financial influences. Since learning about financial freedom, we've been working on diligently saving, maxing out our 401k, prepaying our mortgage, and looking to improve our financial situation to invest even more.
[00:02:13] As of this past June, we were on track to reach financial freedom in February of 2028. At that point, I'd be 46 and could have chosen to push for a reduced work schedule, either part-time or lots of vacation, or even retire. Doesn't that sound awesome? Why I'm trading financial freedom for a mini retirement.
[00:02:34] While financial freedom in my mid-40s would be an amazing accomplishment and would give me a ton more time to pursue whatever my heart desires, there was a big problem with the timing. Upon reaching financial freedom in February of 2028, I'd have a high school senior and two high school juniors. As soon as you become a parent, you start hearing the same phrase from every other parent out there. Enjoy these moments. They grow up so fast. Before you know it, they'll be all grown up and you'll wonder where the time went.
[00:03:05] There's a reason every parent says this. Because it's true. We have a 7-year-old and 5-year-old twins. And I feel like they were all just babies yesterday. The years have flown by. So if I pushed hard over the next few years and achieved financial freedom in February of 2028, I'd be gaining freedom right at the time that my kids are least available, due to school activities, coursework, and hanging with friends.
[00:03:32] I hope my kids still want to make time to hang out with me when they're teenagers, but there's at least a small chance that being seen with me will be considered embarrassing. My kids are more important to me than just about anything in this world, and they aren't going to stay little forever. So I chose to push out my financial freedom date by over two years in order to get more time with my kids now by taking a one-year mini-retirement. A vision for a one-year mini-retirement.
[00:04:01] My last day of work was June 30th, and I'm planning on staying mini-retired through the end of next summer. So technically, my current plan is 14 months of being intentionally unemployed. My plan this year is to make the most of the time I have with my kids. Here's what my mini-retirement is buying me. In August, we took our summer road trip without worries about the work that would pile up while I was gone. During the school year, I walked them to school and home every day.
[00:04:30] On days off, we have fun adventures. Yesterday, we went for a two-hour hike at Devil's Lake State Park. As the school year progresses, I'll attend field trips and volunteer in each of our kids' classrooms. In addition, when my kids are at school, I'll be busy working on my passion projects, this blog, and my app for the financial freedom community, Thrifty. It may not sound as exciting as a 40-country tour around the world, but I'm excited to focus on being a really awesome parent.
[00:05:00] So, as awesome as my vision of financial freedom is, it can't beat my vision for the next year, soaking up life with my wife and kids. The exchange rate of my mini-retirement for financial freedom. Taking this mini-retirement comes at a cost, though. Because we're drawing from our savings, and I won't be making new contributions to our investment accounts this year, our net worth is going to be going down. The good news is that we've got more than enough savings to make this work,
[00:05:29] and the investments I do have will still earn some interest. As a result, I'm still on the path to financial freedom. I'm just pushing it out a bit. 27 months, to be exact. Trading 27 months of financial freedom for 14 months of a mini-retirement now seems like a pretty good deal when you put our life situation in context. I'm usually one of the first people in the room to prioritize the long term over the short. But in this case, it's pretty clear we're making the right call.
[00:05:59] Factoring in my mini-retirement, my new projected financial freedom date is May of 2030, just before our twins graduate from high school and we become empty nesters. A small delay for a big payoff now. And hey, that's right when the twins will be starting college. How perfect! I'll have the free time to walk them to and from class every day and volunteer in their classrooms. I'm sure two college freshmen couldn't hope for anything more.
[00:06:29] You just listened to the post titled, Trading Financial Freedom for a Mini-Retirement, by Chris of Keepthrifty.com. My philosophy with money? It's a tool for freedom, not a source of anxiety. Wealthfront helps you tune out the noise and earn more on every dollar with a high-yield cash account and sophisticated, easy-to-use investing products. The Wealthfront cash account offers an industry-leading APY, no monthly fees, and easy transfers to Wealthfront's expert-built investing products.
[00:06:58] Right now, you can earn up to 4.3% variable APY on your uninvested cash in the Wealthfront cash account. You start with a 3.3% base APY from program banks. New cash account clients can get an OFD-exclusive 0.75% APY boost for your first three months on up to a $150,000 balance. Then you can add another 0.25% APY increase above the base APY, no expiration date or balance limit,
[00:07:28] just by enabling direct deposit of $1,000 a month, plus open, fund, and maintain an investing account. Join the million-plus people trusting Wealthfront. Visit wealthfront.com slash OFD. Terms and conditions apply. This is a paid endorsement of Wealthfront. Client experiences will vary. Wealthfront brokerage is not a bank. The base APY is as of January 30th, 2026, and subject to change. For more information, please see the episode description. You have one new message.
[00:07:59] Translating. Disney and Pixar's Hoppers is now available on Disney+. You could say that again. Critics are calling it Pixar's funniest movie ever and a wildly entertaining ride. Blizzard Potato. It's certified fresh and verified hot. Now we party. This is incredible! Wow! I am clear in the rest of the day. Disney and Pixar's Hoppers, now available on Disney+. Rated PG. I'm a big fan of mini-retirements and sabbaticals.
[00:08:28] I did this in 2017 when I took two months off work to walk the Camino, which is a 500-mile trek across northern Spain. It took me 38 days to walk across an entire country, and it was an incredible life experience. I'm really glad that I didn't wait until reaching Phi to do this. In fact, my goal to walk the Camino was a big motivator for me in my late 20s to get out of debt and clean up my finances.
[00:08:53] Not only do mini-retirements allow you to test drive what full retirement might look like, but it can also help you mentally disconnect your identity from your profession. Sabbaticals also help us test our assumptions on what we actually want in retirement. For example, I used to think that I wanted to be a digital nomad, traveling the world with no home base.
[00:09:16] While I do enjoy traveling, the experience of the Camino showed me that I really do enjoy having a place to come home to that feels like mine. So when I got back, I bought a house. I imagine it would have been pretty disorienting to work 10 more years towards this goal of being a nomad, only to discover it's not a good fit for me. But that should do it for today. Have a happy rest of your day. And I'll see you on the Thursday show tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.