Major Cleanup?: Can FIRE Survive COVID-19?

If you read our last post (Choose Your Own Adventure: So What Is Next?), I gave a short summary on our thoughts for what is next for us during these unusual times as far as FIRE and our adventure.

But ... I wanted to dig deeper.  Can FIRE (financial independence retire early) Survive COVID-19? 

How much of a mess is FIRE right now during COVID-19?  Or is it not?

Now is a good time to re-read our post How To Survive The Next Financial Apocalypse.  So the short answer to the question “Can FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Survive COVID-19” ... YES.  But the key is (like we mention in How To Survive The Next Financial Apocalypse) safety margins.  This post specifically relates to how to survive a financial apocalypse during early retirement without having to tap into your investments (as much) ... but safety margins (depending on which one) can be used even before you reach FIRE.  And I think as all or most of have learned from this global pandemic, it is best if ALL of us have some safety margins in place.  It is always best to be prepared, no?

In How To Survive The Next Financial Apocalypse, we mention these safety margins: 1) Cash, 2) Be Flexible, 3) Part-Time Work / Side Hustle, 4) Geographic Arbitrage.

1) Ahhh, cash cushion.  This has been a hot topic in the FIRE social media groups I am in ... regardless of FIRE, some people have lost their jobs completely, or income is temporarily halted, etc.  So how much cash cushion do you have saved up?  As we mentioned in our post, we recommend at least 3 - 5 years of cash cushion.  But we recommend this based on lowering your investment withdrawal rate... wait, what?  Remember, you only need to cover 1% of your expenses for 3 - 5 years, and your investments can cover the other 3%.  See our previous post for all the math!

So the question is ... have we tapped into our cash cushion?  No, we aren’t fully retired yet.  We are both still working FT (I did resign so my income will end mid-year, but we don’t plan on tapping into our cash cushion at this time).

One thought is ... if Erik continues to work due to staying in the Houston area (because of COVID-19), we may put even more into our cash cushion (but we have way beyond 3 - 5 years already saved).

2) Be flexible ... I think COVID-19 is teaching us all to be flexible!  ... including those in the FIRE community.  Is our plan for FIRE working out exactly as planned?  Well, no, probably not... are we being flexible?  Yes.  We will probably not get our Spain Visas on our timeline (and even if we could ... that may not be the safest thing.  Who wants to travel on a fun adventure only to be locked inside your place under quarantine?!).

So depending on the length of our next apartment lease, (6 - 12 months) ... we are probably not going to Spain on Visas for 6 to 12 months.  The length of the lease really depends on the cost of the lease also.  As we mentioned in our last post, we probably want to move into Houston (versus being in the suburbs now) so the cost difference for 6 to 12 months may be significant.  We shall see.  We are being flexible!

We’ve talked a little more about backup plans.  What if in 6 - 12 months Spain is still not issuing Non-Lucrative Visas?  I find that situation unlikely (although it may depend on timing .. more likely in 12 months), but anything is possible at this point!?

Plan A may be ... let’s travel to Spain on our passport (if they allow that), and we can stay for 90 days.  The biggest downside to this is we won’t be able to put the kids in school (besides not being able to stay a year), but again - being flexible!

We’ve talked previously about our idea to World School.  I thought that was 2 years away, but it may be moved to within the next 12 months!  So what does that look like?  Well, we are still at the very beginning stages of planning this “backup plan”, but we also talked about the idea of Costa Rica (look at this little gem we found on Airbnb) (especially if Spain is still a mess... we can still immerse in the Spanish language, just in a totally different location).  Our (tentative!) idea right now is ... 3 months (remember that 90 day passport rule!) Spain, 3 months elsewhere... (we’ve looked into Croatia!) ... 3 months back in the US to see family and friends (and maybe check out some National Parks?), and 3 months back in Spain (since on a passport you can’t stay more than 90 days).  I guess the key is ...like ALL of us are now learning, be flexible.

3) Part-Time Work / Side Hustle...I was already thinking about (before COVID-19 happened) exploring part-time work for my own enjoyment and some side income this summer through some on-line teaching options (maybe art classes on Outschool?  Or teach via VIP Kid?  Maybe resources on Teachers Pay Teachers?  And now the need for teachers on-line and resources has jumped tenfold!  As of right now, those are three options I plan on exploring this summer (and probably starting).  Remember, you don’t really need to bring in a lot to make a huge difference!

Erik will (most likely) still be working FT, but he also has his side gig he can develop of Financial Consulting.

4) Geographic Arbitrage... This is top of mind right now ... where can we go where our money goes even further (hello, Spain, Croatia, Costa Rica!).... this doesn’t always have to be the case (hello, NYC), but it is good to work the research into our current plans, backup plans, and backup to backup plans!

If anything, we may be set up even better for FIRE or more prepared in various ways because of what we are experiencing during COVID-19.  We may be able to put even more aside either into a cash cushion or investments.  Our side hustles may not only be researched even more but also implemented sooner than we thought.  Backup plans are going to be researched more (and again, may be implemented).  And also we had a version of Homeschool and World School on our list... I just didn’t think we would be thrown into unexpected Crisis Learning this school year (but I will be better prepared come “Fall” if I need to Homeschool in Houston).  So we are trying to find the positive during a very serious and scary time!

So can FIRE survive COVID-19?  Yes.  Are safety margins important?  Of course!  How have your safety margins looked during this global pandemic?  How can you be better prepared?

-Tara

How To Survive The Next Financial Apocalypse

Retiring early sounds nice and all, but what are you going to do when the stock market crashes again?

Calmly riding out the next financial storm (Lego Art in Houston).

This is by far the most commonly asked question in regards to early retirement, and rightfully so, because the stock market is going to crash again.  If you’re in your 30’s / early 40's like us, you will probably witness at least 3 - 4 more major stock market collapses in your life.  

What will we do when the inevitable happens?  Simple.  We’ll turn to our safety margins to ride out the storm.  

What are safety margins?

Safety margins are ways that you can protect investments during economic downturns.  Living off of the 4% philosophy of withdrawals is great and extremely safe on its own.  But when the market does tank, rather than continue to withdrawal down your investments, it’s good to be able to let them sit while you tap into your safety margins.

Safety Margin I: Cash

The first safety margin everyone should have in place is cash.  Cash is king, and when the market tanks, it is your best friend.  A good practice is to have 3 - 5 years of spending set aside in cash.  This will provide you with enough of a cushion to ride out any economic downturn that we have experienced in the history of the stock market to date.  

Wait!!  We assume that a typical early retiree lives on around $40k per year.  Are you telling me that I need $120,000 - $200,000 extra cash for when the market tanks?  No, not really.  Rather than worry about covering 100% of your expenses (in this example 4% or $40,000 per year), all you need to do is have enough to cover 1% of your expenses.  Thus you drop your withdrawal rate from a safe 4% to a bulletproof 3%.  Using our example of someone living off of $40,000 (4% of $1,000,000) this means that for this safety margin to be effective you only need a cash cushion of $30,000 - $50,000 (3 - 5 years worth).   Not too shabby.

Let us take 2008 as an example.  As bad as 2008 was (the market dropped about 40%), in 2009 the market was back up over 26% and has been up every year since.  So rather than pulling the 4% from your investments in 2008, you could have pulled maybe 3% from investments and 1% from your cash cushion and been just fine!  That should get you excited.

Safety Margin II: Be Flexible

Being flexible, should probably be number one on this list because it is absolutely key to having a successful retirement.  There are numerous ways to be flexible in early retirement.  It could be anything from reducing your grocery budget to deciding to take a cheaper vacation.  Here’s one example.  Let’s say you’re retired and enjoying the good life, and the bottom falls out of the stock market.  You’re a pro and so you don’t panic.  You adjust your withdrawals down to about 3% and tap some of your cash cushion.  Next you decide maybe it’s not the best year to take that big vacation to Disney World (or destination of your choice), so maybe you decide on a staycation and just do fun things around your own city for a couple of weeks.  Either way you have remained flexible and adjusted your lifestyle (temporarily) to help weather the storm.  Mickey Mouse will be there next year (I promise!).

Safety Margin III: Part Time Work / Side Hustle

Wait, WHAT?  Work??  I thought this was (early) retirement?!  You don’t work in retirement! 

Alright, settle down, and let’s consider some facts.  If you are an early retiree, you are probably still young, educated, and healthy.  Just because you’re “retired” doesn’t mean you are never again allowed or able to make any more money.  How silly is that? 

This is one of the most debated topics when talking about FIRE (financial independence retire early).  Being FIRE does not mean you are not allowed to work.  Being FIRE does mean that work is no longer mandatory.  You can instead pursue what interests you, and do it on your own time.  

Additionally, keep in mind, you no longer need $100k per year to get by.  Rather, $5k - $10k per year would be more than enough as a safety margin.  For example, let’s go back to our family living off of $40,000 per year at a 4% withdrawal rate.  Bringing in $5k just lowered your withdrawal rate from 4% to 3.5% or from $40,000 to $35,000.  That’s huge!

Safety Margin IV: Geographic Arbitrage

If you’re like us and part of your plan for early retirement involves a lot of travel, then geographic arbitrage is a very powerful safety margin.  When things get bad, instead of panicking you could just go to Croatia.  Or maybe Thailand is more your speed.  I don’t know about you, but spending time in either of those places while living off of considerably less money while you ride out the storm sounds like a win win to me!

The ride isn’t always going to be smooth.  There are going to be plenty of twists and turns along the way, but remain confident that your investments will last and continue to grow.  After all, up to this point you have been disciplined enough to clean up your budget, pay down all of your debt, invest, and reach FI (financial independence) much earlier than most people.  Do you really think that when you get to retirement that you are all of the sudden going to start making poor decisions with your money?  No!  You have a solid plan.  All you have to do is implement it, and sit back and enjoy the flight.

Are you ready to take flight with us?  Are you ready for the next financial apocalypse?

-Erik

How The Pandemic Changed My Full-Time Job Into My First Side Hustle In Early Retirement

If you’ve followed our blog up to this point, you know that we are planning to start our early retirement (ER) journey this summer. It is going to look a little different than we originally planned, BUT one of the biggest keys to a successful ER (or life in general?) is to stay flexible.  The last few months have definitely tested our flexibility, and I think we have responded perfectly. Let’s take a look at our revised plan.  

To be clear, Tara has officially retired (yay!). This will set her up with the opportunity to devote her time and energy to teaching the kids and also will allow her time to pursue a side hustle that she is interested in (and to take daily naps apparently).  

As for me, my plan is still to retire on 7/31/19, however, since there is still so much unknown in the world, I am choosing to turn my full-time job into my first side hustle in ER by continuing to work until 3/2021. 

Tara’s latest FIRE read by popular blogger Millennial Revolution.

But if you’re still working ... you can’t be retired! 

Anyone who makes that statement does not understand what ER is truly about.  To have a successful ER, one must be flexible, AND be open to earning income at certain points in order to lower their withdrawal rate during economic downturns.  That really is all I’m doing for the next 8 months.  Afterall this is EXACTLY what we will do WHEN the next crash comes.  That is, be flexible, and pursue income (through side hustles or traditional work) that would allow us to lower our withdrawal during the downturn.  This essentially lowers our withdrawal rate to ZERO to start our ER.  

Ok, so what’s the revised plan?

I believe Tara has touched on this in a previous post, but I’ll hit the highlights and go into a little bit of detail about the financial side of things. 

We clearly have to put off Spain due to the inability to get Visas at this time.  And honestly, even if we could get the Visas in time, it just doesn’t feel right. Instead, we are going to move back to an area known as the Museum District of Houston.  The idea behind this move is so that the Museums and Zoo can be used as teaching tools for the kids’s education over the next 8 months. Living in this part of town will allow us to turn Houston into more of a walkable city (which in my opinion makes life a lot more enjoyable).  It also gives us peace of mind to know that we don’t have to send our kids back to traditional school during such uncertainty (COVID-19!).

With that said, let’s review our investment strategy going forward!

Vanguard Taxable Account

401k

Cash Cushion

Vanguard Taxable Account

We have reached a place to where there is enough in this account to sustain us in our ER, so on 5/31/20, we made our last deposit.  Obviously as time goes by, if we end up making more money than anticipated during ER, we will start depositing here again. But for the time being we have reached our goal (yah!).

401k

Technically, this account is in the same boat as our Vanguard account mentioned above.  We have reached our goal. BUT since I will continue working for an additional 8 months after our ER date, I will continue to max this out.  It offers great tax benefits, and the company match that is offered is literally free money.  

Cash Cushion

This is the account that I am now turning most of my attention to.  We will use my income that is left after our monthly bills are paid to add to our cash cushion.  Over the next 8 months, this will essentially give us an extra $10 - 15k.  This will definitely pay off at some point in the future when we need to tap this account in order to lower our withdrawal during the next crash.  

To wrap things up, while the last few months have been scary for everyone, it has proven to be a great test to see how we mentally handle stock market crashes. Don’t panic, stick to your plan, and keep buying!

So what do you think? Are you on a journey to ER? Do you have any side hustles? Or if you had one ... what would it be?

-Erik

Moved Abroad: But What About School?!

Erik recently wrote about his first month of early retirement, and he answered two of the common questions we often hear ...but what are you going to do (aren’t you going to be bored)?  What about money?  You won’t run out?

I am here to answer another common question ... but what about school (for the kids)?

What if “school” was visiting the Alhambra Museum?  Writing or drawing during your visit?

Large fountain at the Alhambra.

But ... what about school?!

The first thing that comes to my mind is ...1) I get the question.  I understand why they are asking it.  But also 2) How much my perspective about learning has changed.  And maybe 3) Our current journey might have a positive impact on others and their ideas around learning.  

Background 

Let’s back up ... prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic I was already reading about, researching, and lurking in social media groups about the idea of World Schooling.  It was possibly in our tentative approximately 5 year plan.  You can read our previous post here.  Being able to slow travel and see the world with the kids seemed like the ultimate learning experience and opportunity for them (and us!).

And then along came COVID-19 and the global pandemic... I started preparing for the possibility of postponing our move to Spain (originally planned for August 2020) and preparing for potentially (and unexpectedly) schooling my children in a non-traditional way for the 2020 - 2021 school year (City Schooling).  I immediately started researching even more.  Lurking in even more groups online anything from Homeschooling to World Schooling to Wild Schooling to Unschooling and so on.  I also started reading more books about different approaches to learning (and one of my favorites being Balanced and Barefoot).

It’s been eye opening learning about all the different perspectives to childhood and childhood “education.”  My goal when we started this unanticipated City School journey in the Fall of 2020 was to escape from my personal biggest complaints with the public school system in the US ... such as inappropriate expectations for their ages, standardized tests, worksheets, too much desk work, not enough time outside / moving / in nature, long days / homework ... to name a few.  Oh, and not enough of science / history / the arts / hands-on experiences, etc.  (I guess I can definitely name more than just a few).  This is by no means targeted towards educators for the most part (I was a public school educator for 11 years!).  These are systematic problems with public schools in the US.  I say the US because that is our experience.

Don’t get me wrong... I can definitely go on and on about my kids and positive experiences in both preschool (church / private) and their elementary school (and how much I love their teachers).  Like I’ve mentioned before, we probably wouldn’t even be in Spain right now if it wasn’t for their exceptional experience in Dual Language at our school.  But this post is about the benefits of a learning experience outside of the traditional school system.

City Schooling to World Schooling 

How has our City School experience (and now transitioned into World School) gone so far?  Honestly, much better than I thought it would go.  The kids transitioned much more easily than I envisioned (and probably better than I did at first).  We fell into a nice flexible routine in Houston and spent much of our time outside of home ...in nature and / or on Field Trips.  We were thrown off some by the holidays and working on our Visas / move, but we now we have nice flexible routine again in Granada, Spain as we wrap up the year and look ahead to different learning experiences this summer.  I’ve tried to play on my strengths - Field Trips / adventures (and connecting that to book work / work at home).  Due to COVID-19, we also unexpectedly discovered 1000 Hours Outside and embraced nature.  And this will be a life-long change and benefit for our family.  I also made play and choice a priority, created a lot of my own “lessons”, let the kids and their interests guide us (our youngest has really developed a love and interest in snakes (thanks in part to our snake experiences at the Houston Arboretum and Snake Discovery on YouTube) which started August 2020), and finally yes, we did purchase some awesome resources too (hello, Beast Academy for math!).

I think the very common societal idea that a traditional school setting is the best setting for every child is definitely a misnomer.  (And yes, I understand that having the choice to do otherwise is a privileged choice though).

But to go back to the question ...what about school?  I think school is only ONE part of childhood (whatever school may be for that child).  One of the most important things about childhood is CHILDHOOD, and often school interferes with just that (in my opinion or personal experience).

What if “school” was ...

What if “school” (or learning) was reading about the history of the Alhambra and then visiting the Alhambra in person.

A photo from our recent Field Trip to the Alhambra.  We read history about the Alhambra prior to our visit.

What if “school” was actively engaging in the US Presidential Election Day in 2020 ...and involves practicing your writing skills by writing a letter to the first female Vice President, Madame Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Writing in Houston’s McGovern Gardens.

What if you could choose the math curriculum you think is best for your family in your “school” and balance that with hands-on or real world math skills ..?  Such as through hands-on math activities at a Children’s Museum or real world experiences like learning about Euros and handling money at a market?

Helping at the market in Plaza Larga (Granada’s Albaicin neighborhood).

What if “school” was science lessons IN nature ... or small group labs (cow eye dissection) at a local museum?

We loved our nature walks and studies at the Houston Aboretum.

Cow eye dissection lab at The Health Museum in Houston.

What if “school” was learning about history and current events by studying Nelson Mandela at home, visiting a local museum exhibition about his life, and learning to make connections to present day (such as the Black Lives Matter movement)?  (And unexpectedly being asked to appear on a local news segment about the Nelson Mandela exhibition).

George Floyd Mural in Houston, TX.

What if “school” involved being able to fully participate in your local community by getting to know your neighbors such as ones that work at a local garden across the street from you?

We loved the McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston.  We met now life long friends and unexpected teachers for the kids (like Master Gardeners) during our City School adventure.  On this day (photo above) one of the gardeners offered the kids fresh watermelon from the Family Garden.

We especially loved rainy days in the McGovern Gardens.

What if “school” is a day or half a day or even a few hours engaged in service in your community?

We enjoyed a more COVID-19 safe outdoor volunteer experience this “school year” in Hermann Park (Houston).

What if “school” was travel?  What if you had the opportunity (FIRE!) to learn a language and culture (for us Spanish and Spain) immersed in that language and culture?

Granada, Spain

What if you could put the arts and other areas that are considered extras / extra curricular activities at the center of your “school” through weekly trips to art museums (or other art experiences)?  Or what if your “school” had more time to pursue passions and interests such as weekly trips to the golf course (or the time to try new things!).  

Archeological Museum in Granada, Spain

These were all real experiences for us this “school year.”  Is everything always perfect and all ideal Field Trips?  No, of course not.  Life is not perfect, but I could not have dreamed of how many positive learning experiences we did have despite a really difficult year with Covid-19.

Even if you believe a traditional school setting is the best option for your family (or maybe in many cases the only option), I encourage you (and myself to continue to!) open our minds about different learning experiences during childhood or even young adulthood (or adulthood!).

But ...What About All Those Negatives (Homeschool)!?!

I still often hear (and even in some cases thought myself) the “negatives.”  The most common ones ...but 1) what about socialization!?!  2) Or hah!  They won’t listen to ME!  Not like they listen to their teachers ...and maybe to go along with that 3) What do I know about teaching them?  And finally 4) But they need to know XYZ by this age / grade, right?  What if they fall behind?

Honestly the only one above that I was somewhat concerned about was number 2.  Let’s go to number 1 first.  The idea that kids can’t be social outside of a traditional school system is a complete misnomer to me (of course this somewhat depends on the family situation and effort you put into it).  Now 2020 ...and into 2021 is a lot different obviously due to Covid-19, but I would argue under normal circumstances social activities and opportunities are even greater if you were able to school on your own.  My kids had structured and unstructured learning and playing opportunities throughout our City School and World Schooling year with other children their age, of various ages, and even adults.  They met new friends and saw old friends. I think like a lot of things ...it is what you make it.  Just because a child is in a traditional school setting doesn’t mean they are getting ample time to talk or play with others.

They won’t listen to me as much as they would listen to others.  For the most part this went MUCH better than I had initially envisioned.  I think given the right setting and situation children are naturally curious and WANT to learn.  Are my own personal children going to act the same as they would with a classroom teacher?  No, of course not.  I am their parent, and they are most comfortable with me (in fact I’ve had my children already as students since I was their art teacher!).  But I think that is okay.  And I think there are some ways around this to make the situation better for all involved.  My strategies included learning outside of home in public (take your book work with you!).  My kids are much less likely to act foolish in front of others versus at home!  Also balance their time learning with you by also learning with others ...either in structured ways (hello, outdoor adventures at Armand Bayou in Houston) to unexpected learning opportunities like when the master gardeners gave us lessons at McGovern Gardens Family Garden.

What do I know about teaching them?  For anyone that asks this ...you are their parent.  You know what is best for them!  You guided them prior to age 5 and yes, educated them on life then ...why aren’t you their best teacher now?  And for anything you feel like you need help on ...maybe learn WITH them, or yes, you can include other teachers or guides.  For example, my kids did (free) workshops with the Children’s Museum Houston for Tinkercad.  I know nothing about Tinkercad, but of course they can learn from others too.

And finally number 4 ... But they need to know XYZ by this age / grade, right?  What if they fall behind?  Even after being a public school educator for 11 years, this one still irks me.  I think (for the most part) there aren’t necessarily specifics they MUST know by a certain age or grade ...and there is no behind.  It is all arbitrary.  Kids aren’t all the same nor should their education be all the same.  They have different strengths and areas of growth.  They have different interests and talents.  They come from different family situations and from different neighborhoods.  For us instead of focusing on what they need to know by this age or grade...or worrying about falling behind ...I’ve tried to focus on a love of learning through our experiences each week while knowing our path will lead them to where they need to be as individuals.

Looking Ahead For Our Family

But despite everything I said above we do plan (or are in the process of) enrolling them in school next year.  What!?  Why?

Homeschooling is technically not legal per se in Spain.  And another reason... I think the best way to immerse them in the language and culture is through school.  (Luckily I think we found a school that is going to be fantastic for them and does things differently than we were use to in the US ...for example, embracing school outside and in nature).

What have I / we enjoyed the most about schooling on our own?  What will we miss as the kids head back to traditional school next year?

-Time.  Our time together.  This was also a huge reason why we took the path to FIRE.  Although as far as “losing” time with my kids, we had a pretty ideal situation.  I was a teacher, and for their baby and preschool years they were with Grandparents when I was at work (can’t beat family!  Well, for our situation at least).  And when they moved on to elementary school, they were at school WITH me.  But teaching is definitely an exhausting profession, and most of my time outside of school was spent recovering from teaching which is not an ideal use of time.  Luckily their school in Spain will be less time than we did in TX (9 am - 2 pm in Spain.  We were often at school together in Texas from 7:15 am until at least 3:45 pm ...often longer hours depending on my work that day or our schedule.  Leaving at 5 pm or later wasn’t uncommon for us).

-Flexibility.  You really can’t beat being able to go on daily adventures and Field Trips versus revolving around a school schedule or only on weekends.  We also currently have the flexibility to travel since our life doesn’t revolve around the school calendar (for example we are taking a weekday beach trip in May).  We hope to travel even more as Covid-19 improves.  I will never hesitate to take them out of school (within reason) though; I think outside of classroom experiences take importance over inside of the classroom experiences for the most part.

-Their own paths.  This may fall under time and flexibility too.  It’s nice right now to be able to explore their own passions and interests.  We were able to golf every week on the weekdays for my son.  We set out to read a lot of books on snakes and explore them at the Houston Arboretum with my daughter.  (Those are just two examples).  Sure you can try to explore passions and interests even when you are in a traditional school system, but no one can argue there is definitely more time and flexibility to do so if you aren’t in traditional school.

-1:2 Teacher Ratio ... in our family.  And now that Erik is retired, 2:2 especially since he likes helping with math.  Even in elite private schools you can’t get that kind of attention.  Kids are not all the same ...so I don’t personally think generalized and standardized learning for a group of children the same age is the best approach.  But when you have a classroom full of kids and one teacher, the teacher has to make the best of the situation.

-Play / Active Outdoor Play / Nature: Because of COVID ...and their “home learning” this year ...they’ve probably had more time (there’s that word again!  Time!) than ever before to play, actively play outdoors, be outdoors, and be in nature.  And I think all of those things should be at the top of a list or towards the top of a list for important aspects of childhood.  But unfortunately most of those areas are missing from US public schools now.  The good news is their school next year in Spain seems to place a high importance on the outdoors and nature.  I am not sure about the play aspect yet.

To come back to the question, “what about school?!,” my short answer is ...what about school?  Let’s reframe the idea or importance of traditional school.

And as we look ahead to traditional schooling next year, I would like to try to balance some of our World Schooling best practices with a new adventure in a Spanish school.  Time will tell.  So what has the process been like to get them enrolled in school?  Stay tuned for a future post as we are still working through the process.

Granada, Spain

What do you think?  What does school mean to you?  Would you embark on a City School or World School journey?  What are your perspectives on education?  Comment below!

Read Erik’s latest post here.  Embark on your own FI journey with us here.

-Tara

City School: Raising Kids To Be FI (Financially Independent)

I’m currently “finalizing” (our flexible) City School plans for the Fall / “new school year”.  And given that this is a FIRE (financial independence retire early) blog, let’s take a closer look at some of our plans / goals for Math (for a 9 year old and 7 year old ... in public school they would be entering 4th and 2nd in the US).

How can City Schooling help this year to better prepare the kids to be financially independent?

Math activities at the Children’s Museum Houston.

I’ve mentioned before how I want to attempt to take a somewhat non-traditional approach to City Schooling this Fall / “school year” ... try some learning that isn’t like what they were use to at school.  As in ... try less “book work” / “curriculum” / worksheets (... and even on-line learning) and more hands-on experiences.

 

With that said, it is definitely hard for me to take the leap to entirely Unschool so there will be SOME things they may be use to ... which brings me to Beast Academy.

Beast Academy:

I talked about Beast Academy in this post (City Schooling: What Will School Look Like This Fall?), and I decided to purchase the first guide book / practice book for each child (3A for our oldest, 2A for our youngest).  So far this is the only “curriculum / workbook” I’ve bought (and plan to buy at this point).  So why did I chose Beast?  It’s of course important to have an understanding of the basics / foundations of math.  Those prepare them for a better understanding of everyday math and also prepare them for upper level math / learning.  I think Beast will allow them to learn and practice the foundations of math in a rigorous and non-traditional way (through comic book characters).

Beast Academy: Example of a guide book page.

Beast Academy: Example of a practice book page.

For the “school year” we will plan to get through all 4 units for each child (oldest = 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and youngest = 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D).  I am opting for the books at this point, but there is an on-line option should / when we start traveling.

I plan to have this as our core focus for the year, but our supplemental learning will be just as important.

Cost: This really depends on what you decide to go with - books or on-line (or both).  Individual guide / practice books or a package (you do save money with a full set).  Each unit (guide and practice book) is $27 (for each child - 2A and 3A).  I decided to try this first to see how it works out (versus going with the package).  The cost will increase of course once we decide to buy more books or the on-line option.

Math “Schedule”:

Tuesday will be our focus Math Day along with Spanish, but they will do their Beast Academy guides / practice books almost daily.  Another great thing about Beast is their website is set up very well.  They even have planning tools.  I was able to follow along with their planning tools and fill in our calendar plan (I got a Bloom Planner ... how about you?) for September - December.

Monday:

-Beast Academy Guide / Practice

-Optional: Other Math Activities (These will be explained more below).

Tuesday: 

-Beast Academy Guide / Practice

-Required: Pick one or more other Math Activities (STEAM Bins, FIRE Lessons, Coding, Chess / Games / Legos).

Wednesday:

-Beast Academy Guide / Practice

-Optional: Other Math Activities

Thursday:

-Sometimes Beast Academy Guide / Practice (some weeks I only wrote down Beast for Mon - Wed).

-Optional: Other Math Activities

Friday: Fun Friday!

-No Beast Academy Required (Or finish unfinished work).

-Optional: Other Math Activities

I am going to try to have Friday (mostly) open for chilling out, choice activities, (more) Field Trips, and finishing unfinished learning.

Other Math Activities:

So what are those other math activities?  I did talk about them in a previous post about all of our City School plans this Fall, but let’s look more closely.

STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Math) Bin: This will allow the kids to explore math through hands-on learning (and connect math to other subject areas!).  They will have free choice exploring and making, and I will also have task cards to guide them ... if they are interested / needed.  When I was a teacher, I worked with our librarian on a Makerspace in the library, and I also had STEAM stations in my art classroom.  Kids love it, and it is a great way to explore math (and be creative!).

STEAM Task Cards: STEM Task Cards For The Year (Science Demo Guy) ($25)

STEAM Task Sheets: STEAM / STEM Writing Task Sheets For Classroom Makerspaces Or Libraries (Creative STEAM Studio By Mrs. C) ($3)

STEAM Materials: This is unknown at this point.  It will depend on what I need for the task cards plus other materials.  I will provide an update once I put this together!

Cost: $25 + $3 (So Far) = $28

FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early): Ahhh, this is the big piece.  Although all the other components are important for raising independent thinkers / mathematicians ...

How can we specifically raise our kids to be financially independent one day?  Also ... how can they just better understand how math fits in our everyday life (financial literacy) (and to better understand financial independence they need to have a better understanding of financial literacy)?

Let’s actually start with the second point - math in everyday life.  One thing we can work to do better is making the kids aware of money in our own family.  My kids also have somewhat of a background on financial literacy since various aspects have been covered in public school.

What are the different forms of money?  (Cash, Debit Cards, Credit Cards, Checking, etc.)

How do we make money?  How much money do we make each month?

Why is a budget important?  How much money do we spend each month (fixed spending and flexible spending)?  What do we need?  What are wants?

What is debt?

How much do we save?

How much do we invest?  What are investments?

How much do we donate / gift?  Why is that important?

And lead up to ... what is FI (financial independence) and FIRE (financial independence retire early)?  I think (for us at least) I need to focus on the core background first before we move to the ins and outs of getting to FI.  One resource I may look to is the ChooseFI Foundation.  They have curriculum already for 2nd Grade and 3rd - 5th Grade (check out ChooseFI Foundation ... they have curriculum for lower levels and upper levels too!).

I think a lot of school curriculum and even parents cover the basics (and those are important too!), but I think the key to financial independence is often left out - investments.

So what else can we do to reinforce financial literacy / FIRE?  Well, a quick Google search will bring up a wide variety of ideas.  But I have three key ideas that I may work with for now:

-ChooseFI Foundation: As mentioned above, we will explore financial literacy ... and lead that into financial independence with my own lessons and support from ChooseFI Foundation.

-City School Art Adventures: As mentioned in a previous post, you can join our City School adventures (in the Houston area) - City School Art Adventures will be my first side hustle (safety margins!).  Not only do I want my kids to actively help and participate, but I’m leaning towards paying them for their hard work (and in turn they can learn the value of $ and running our own “business.”).  Which leads me into ...

-BusyKid: Have you heard of this free app called BusyKid?  It teaches (using real money) the value of earning, saving, donating, investing, and spending.  I already set up an account for both kids.

Cost: So far “free”, but we will put money into our City School Art Adventures and money towards the kids earning money (BusyKid).

Coding:

Coding is such a great skills for kids to learn!  And the good news is there are lots of great ways to explore coding, including for free!  As of right now, I plan to use these as our main sources to explore coding:

Scratch Jr. (Free)

Scratch (Free)

Hour of Code (Free Options)

Code.org (Free Options)

And the Children’s Museum Houston (CMH) has some great areas in their lower level to explore coding (and they may also have virtual options for us to explore).

Cost: Free (We do have a Membership at the CMH).

Chess / Games / Legos: I think one of the best ways for young kids to explore math and critical thinking skills is through hands-on play such as through board games and Legos.  Max and I started playing chess during COVID-19, and we have an abundance of Legos (we could open a Lego store!).  I donated quite a few board games to our school since we were planning to leave for Spain in August, but I also kept quite a few so we are good to go here!

Cost: Free (I already have all of the above).

Connections to Spanish?  That is still TBD at this point (if I am able to directly incorporate Spanish into math learning).

What are your schooling plans this Fall?  In school?  Remote?  Homeschool?  Unschool?  Supplement at home?  If you are an educator ... or if you have kids / kids in your life, how might you help them become more financially savvy?  FI in the future?

Like what you read?  Please comment below, or share our post!

You can also read Erik’s latest financial post here: How To Adopt Positive FI Habits During A Global Pandemic.  And now is a great time to get your finances in order.  Contact Erik for more information on how he can help: Financial Consulting.

-Tara

What To Look For In An Airbnb?

As many of you know … we FIREd (financial independence retire early) this year, sold our home, purged most belongings, obtained a Non-Lucrative Visa to Spain, and moved to Granada.  Our new life has us living somewhat like a nomad, and we mostly use Airbnbs on our adventures.  What do we look for in an Airbnb?

Our neighborhood in Granada, Spain (Albaicin).

Airbnbs

Our Visa required a one year lease (Houston Consulate) which we initially found through Airbnb.  Our current approach to FIRE is to embrace the nomad life (look back here on Erik’s post about Renter’s Equity) and look towards Airbnbs when we travel.  We would definitely still consider ourselves pretty new to Airbnbs, but at this point we’ve stayed in enough of them to have some experience and opinions (Houston, Madrid, Spain; Granada, Spain; La Herradura, Spain; Málaga, Spain; Nerja, Spain) … and after reviewing 100s of housing options on Airbnb (including for future travels), I have a good idea of what I am looking for.  Do we have more to learn?  Yes, I am sure.  But here is what we know so far …

After I put in location, dates, number of people I start looking through the options.  First, I typically put in a budget. Let’s come back to that in a minute.

Then I start going through the options based on 1) Budget and 2) Location.  I sometimes “heart” and Wishlist the ones I will go back and look at more closely if the list is overwhelming.

The kitchen in our Airbnb in La Herradura, Spain.  You can see more photos here on our post and on their Airbnb link.

View from our La Herradura, Spain Airbnb.  Great location.  Quick walk to the beach!

Budget

Sometimes this can be somewhat flexible.  For example, if I notice there is nothing (or rather, no Airbnbs we would stay in) within the budget, we may up our budget (like in a HCOL (high cost of living) city like Paris).  Also I may look at ones that are $100 or so over budget just to see if they may be worth it.  Finally, I always look at the final cost which includes any extra service fees, cleaning fees, and so on.

Location

This is similar to budget as in it may be flexible.  I look at the map of the general area the Airbnb is in.  I also have a decent idea based on research of what part of the city / town we want to be in.  If I have to adjust the map to see where it is in relation to what we want to explore, not a good sign.  We like convenience so being in the center of town is usually what we aim for if possible, but not necessarily in a super touristy area.  We want to live like locals when we can.  Now sometimes Airbnbs that are not exactly where you thought you wanted to be may be okay.  I’ve found great beach towns I didn’t know about that way and great neighborhoods that have easy access to public transportation.  Staying a little further out can sometimes save money and be worth it (sometimes, but not always!).

What This Place Offers

What do I look at next?  I then look at “What This Place Offers” … what are musts for us?  Wi-Fi is a must.  I can’t believe some places don’t have Wi-Fi!  A washer is often a must (unless it is a quick stay like a few nights).  AC and Heating may be a must depending on time of year and location.  Weather and climate is a big one for us considering we moved from hot and humid Houston to Southern Spain.  We specifically chose Granada because of the climate.  Yes, it gets hot in the summer, but nothing like Houston (in our opinion!).  It also cools down at night in the summer (unlike Houston).  And we have easy access to the beach and mountains year round for possibly cooler weather or sea breezes.  With that said, looking at climate is important to us …and AC and heating, well, that just depends.  Finally, kitchen.  We prefer a full kitchen (fridge, stove (oven if possible), microwave, and other basic necessities).  Now this may vary depending on the length of a trip (similar to a washer).  But if it is a shorter trip (one or two nights), we may also just look at hotel options (although we prefer hotels with kitchenettes).

Our Airbnb in Nerja, Spain.  You can see their Airbnb listing here.

Photos

Ahhh, this is the fun part, right?  At this point I will look more closely at photos if I haven’t already.  I’ve found that few places (or at least in the minority) really stand out with great photos depicting a place … at least in our mostly budget traveler range.  It is also possible I have a high standard for quality of photos, but really it isn’t that hard to have a fantastic Airbnb and take great photos!

What gets a place eliminated for me?  For starters, bad photos.  Too dark?  Blurry?  Sideways photos?  Eliminated. If a host is too lazy to take good photos (which really is pretty easy these days! …and if it isn’t easy for them, ask a friend?  Hire someone?), I can’t image they would keep up with their place well or be a good host.  Also if an Airbnb leaves out a room in the photos (bathroom?  kitchen?) that is a red flag for us - eliminated.  Why are they avoiding certain rooms!?  There is probably a reason why …

There are some other things that bother me in photos, that may not bother everyone?  First, clutter.  Sometimes a place is so bad that it appears someone obviously lives in it for part of the time.  The fact that someone may live or stay in their place for part of the year in and of itself isn’t terrible, but I don’t want it to look or feel that way.  I’d prefer a place to be almost bare of things except necessities if possible.  When I was looking for Airbnb places in France (and specifically Paris), I saw more than a few places that had hoards of books.  Why?!  I like books as much as the next person, but most likely I am not reading someone else’s books on a trip…and I am definitely not reading 10,000 books on a trip.

What else may bother me …or cause a place to get eliminated?  Furniture / style / decor.  Okay this may sound picky, and it is not necessarily an automatic elimination.  But it can be.  It just depends on the place and all the other factors involved (for example, does it have a long list of great reviews?).  I personally like a modern / minimalist look and feel.  If a place has traditional bulky wood furniture, I tend to look at other options.  But again, this may come down to the bigger picture of the place (and what other options may be available).

What else in photos may cause a place to get eliminated from consideration?  Sloppiness.  What do I mean by that? For example, if it looks like someone didn’t even try to make the bed look nice in photos, red flag for me.  Another example might be if blankets on a couch look sloppy.  To me this comes back to the effort of a host.  If they can’t take the time to make a place look good in photos, this is probably not a good sign for the upkeep of the home and their ability as a quality host.

Ratings and Reviews

Once I have gone through the photos I look at ratings and reviews.

Ratings can be a little tricky.  The number of reviews may obviously affect a rating (10 versus 200 is a huge difference).  I tend to prefer places to be all 4.5 or higher.  I also look more closely at cleanliness.  If this is rated low or lower than the rest, I will eliminate a place from consideration.  Cleanliness is top priority for us.  

Something else I look at with ratings is if one (or more) ratings is much lower than the others.  For example, if a place / host scores 4.8 - 5.0 on everything except Communication gets a 4.1, well …that host must really struggle with communicating.  If we aren’t staying at a place for long, Communication might not be as important.  But if we are there a month?  All of the ratings are important.

Ahhh, reviews.  First, I prefer Airbnbs with 10 reviews or more (preferably much more).  But we may consider a place with less reviews if it seems exceptional.  We did book a trip for 2022 with few reviews, but the photos were outstanding.  The listing also was overseen by a property management company which was new for us.  I did some research …read some other reviews on their other properties, and I looked into their company.  I was confident with what I found so we moved forward with booking.  We shall see how it goes!  So yes …if a place has few reviews looking at reviews of their other properties may be a way to decide about staying at a place.

Generally the more reviews the better, and if we are seriously looking at a place, I will read all of the reviews (even if there are hundreds of them!).  I know I’ve found a gem when a place gets glowing reviews consistently and big kudos about the host.  This is always a good sign especially if we are planning a longer stay.

What about negative reviews?  If there are 1 or 2 negative reviews in a long list of positive ones, I am not too concerned.  There will always be someone that is negative nancy.  Obviously if there seems to be a pattern of the same complaints (one example: multiple reviews that complain about poor WI-FI), I will eliminate the Airbnb from consideration.

Our favorite Airbnb so far in Málaga, Spain.  Here is the link to their Airbnb listing.

Positives / Bonus

I’ve talked a lot about negatives and things to look for when eliminating an Airbnb for consideration.  This just helps to make it easier to look at the quality Airbnbs.  But what about the positives?  What do I look for or notice?

Now some of these are obvious and discussed above, like a great location … but some you need to look a little more closely at photos, ratings, and reviews.

I personally appreciate a place that is set up like an Airbnb…not someone’s home that sometimes serves as an Airbnb.  I notice places that go above and beyond with well thought out design and color scheme.  Are these things a must?  No, not necessarily, but they can certainly help.  My best example of this so far is the Airbnb we stayed at in Málaga.

To go along with design and color scheme …attention to detail on these items and the Airbnb as a whole.  You can really get a sense of this from photos and sometimes from reviews.  Again, my best example of this so far is our stay in Málaga, Spain.

A host that goes above and beyond  … I can sometimes see this through photos and / or through reviews.  Do they have quality photos of treats they leave for guests?  Did they take quality photos of the baby / kid extras that are available?  No, we don’t have a baby, but it tells me they care (or appear) to care about their guests and know how to be good hosts in the service industry.  This can also be seen in reviews (Did they leave treats for guests?  Give local tips?  Fix any issues that came up?  And so on …).

Ratings … if a place has a decent amount of reviews and all 5s or 4.9s and 5s, great sign!  This of course needs to be looked at with the complete picture of the Airbnb.

Finally, reviews …especially if there are quite a few reviews, you can really get a sense of a place.  Like mentioned above, if many guests are writing detailed and glowing reviews about a place and a host …I found a quality Airbnb. If numerous people talk about the quality of the home, ideal location / what they could access on foot and by transportation, and how their host went above and beyond …often there is no need to look any further for an Airbnb. I am looking for positive reviews that tell the complete picture of the place, location and access, and host.

Where will our next adventure take us (photo taken in our neighborhood…Albaicin in Granada, Spain)?

Final Airbnb Selection

After considering everything above, I get my list down to just a few places under strong consideration.  There’s been a few times (normally smaller markets …or maybe more expensive markets) where I didn’t find anything suitable for a destination.  In that case we may either adjust the budget or even change the destination.  Luckily because of FIRE our travel schedule is flexible (not including of course the kids being in school this coming year).

At that point, I look at our top choices and decide which one comes out as the number one choice.  Then I typically have a few back up ideas just in case.  

What were some of the Airbnbs we stayed at?  We would stay in all of these Airbnbs again, but for me Málaga comes out on top.  You can read more why here.

-Madrid, Spain

-La Herradura, Spain

-Málaga, Spain

-Nerja, Spain

There you have it … this is what we look for when considering Airbnbs.  What do you look for?  Any tips or tricks? Do you prefer other methods to securing housing?  What do you use?  Comment below!

Read our latest post here on a trip to Nerja and Frigiliana, Spain.  Want to join us our your own FIRE adventure? Read more how we can help you here.

-Tara