I'm Done With The Rat Race At 51. This Is The Plan

I'm 51. I taught school for 18 years, served in two branches of the military, raised my son as a single dad, drove three hours a day, and did everything the plan asked. And I'm done with the rat race. This episode is the whole plan. The final straw that ended my teaching career. What I actually have in savings and what I don't, full disclosure, no magic number. Why the coast won even though everyone told me it's too expensive. Where in South Carolina I'm actually going, and the one obstacle down there I didn't see coming. The house that has to sell first, and why it's the engine of this entire thing. And the honest version of semi-retirement for four or five years, because I won't have enough to do nothing, and neither will most of us. No montage. No $500,000 portfolio. Just a real exit, in order, from a guy actually doing it. If you're done too, or getting there, tell me where you're at in the comments. You didn't fail. The white picket fence did. CHAPTERS 0:00 Sound Familiar? 4:45 Fired Up. Then Stuck Again. 7:30 The Final Straw 10:30 What This Channel Is. And Isn't. 12:30 The Goal: Smaller, Freer, Out Earlier 16:20 The Money. Full Disclosure. 18:20 My Son, And What's Left Here 20:30 The Van, The Schoolie, The Off-Grid Plan 22:45 Where I'm Going: South Carolina 23:40 The HOA Obstacle 27:00 The House Is The Engine 28:15 Semi-Retirement: The Real Plan 29:45 I Haven't Figured It All Out 30:45 You Didn't Fail This is the podcast side of the channel. Longer, looser, more of the whole story. The regular videos aren't going anywhere. Not a financial advisor. Just a guy working his own exit and showing you the real math of a real life. #semiretirement #retireearly #midlife