| Escape the rat race: Hit the road |
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- Banking:
The other major boon for the footloose is Internet banking. The
Sykoras still use credit cards to access cash, but now do most
of their bill paying and monitor their checking, savings and investment
accounts online. Automatic payments are the way to go for recurring
bills such as your electronic connectivity, insurance and RV-financing
payments.
To balance the expenses of life on the road, Coleen
Sykora points out one hidden savings for nomads: "We don't
spend as much money on miscellaneous stuff simply because there
isn't anywhere to put it."
The safety net
Starting out, you might have concerns that the gypsy life will turn
into the road to ruin.
Fortunately, people like Bob Clyatt are there for
you.
Clyatt, a part-time private equity adviser based in
Connecticut, became financially independent at 42 and tiptoed into
semi-retirement to pursue yoga, sculpture and actually eat dinner
with his wife and two children.
In his book "Work
Less, Live More: The New Way to Retire Early," he encourages
more people to get off the corporate hamster wheel as soon as possible.
"When you're younger, you always think that what
you need more of is money, because you do; everything costs money
and you have to pay your mortgage and all this stuff. But at some
point you realize you don't need more money, you need more time,"
he says. "The money starts to get used to buy stuff you don't
really need or don't want and you're not really any happier. That's
when the light goes on."
If you're planning to hit the road and live off your
portfolio, Clyatt says you can do so safely by following one simple
guideline.
"The key notion I offer as financial advice is
the 4½-percent rule, which is that you can spend 4½
percent of your financial assets each year safely in perpetuity
if you follow a few simple steps. That at least gives people of
sense of their bottom line."
Those steps: Start with a diversified, low-volatility
portfolio, cut your overall spending by 5 percent in lean times,
rebalance your portfolio annually and always stay ahead of inflation.
Whether you hit the road, the sea or the skies, keep
your financial picture grounded and you'll get the most out of life
without selling yourself short.
"This is a generation that is like prisoners;
they're prisoners to their lifestyles, prisoners to their careers.
If people love it, great. But for everyone else, start thinking
about how to live your life. You only get one," he says.
Jay MacDonald is a contributing editor
based in Mississippi.
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