If you have ever been curious about taking an epic yearlong road trip, Heidi’s story of how her and her family embarked on a year-long mini-retirement traveling all around the US, will inspire you and give you practical tips for planning. They took an intentional break from work and school, with no W2 jobs and no traditional schooling for their three kids. They experimented with different experiences to prepare, such as traveling in Hawaii for three weeks and renting an RV. These experiments helped them make decisions and prepare for their mini-retirement. 

They saved enough money to travel for a year, but ended up extending their trip to 15 months. They budgeted for $70,000 to $90,000 but ended up spending around $60,000. (Heidi mentions they spent $45,000 during the interview but let me know it was close to $60,000) They were surprised by how well they got along and how close they became as a family during their adventure.

Takeaways

• Link to Heidi’s additional resources: https://ordinarysherpa.com/<wbr />lifestyle

• Taking a mini-retirement or family gap year can be a meaningful and impactful experience.

• Experimenting with different experiences can help in making decisions and preparing for a mini-retirement.

• Budgeting and saving enough money is important, but it's also important to be flexible and open to unexpected opportunities.

• Finding joy in everyday novelty and valuing different types of experiences can enhance the mini-retirement experience.

• Spending quality time together as a family can strengthen relationships and create lasting memories.