5 Fantastic Things To Do In Your Mini-Retirement

You’ve taken the courage to plan your mini-retirement, now what do you do? Here we will discuss ideas for things to do in your mini-retirement. 

Taking a mini-retirement can be a big step. You have taken the time to think about planning your mini-retirement, including negotiating your mini-retirement with your employer. Now, what do you do with all this time off work?

The time away from your work can be a great way to test your early retirement schedule. I mean, what would you do with all that newfound free time? There are so many options!

You can choose to travel. Solo? With friends? What will you do? Or do you want to do some volunteering? 

Aside from that, you can also use this time off work to educate yourself about retirement planning and other related topics. You can start by checking out reliable resource websites that provide valuable information, including a great retirement guide. 

On the other hand, you should know that what things to do in your mini-retirement depends heavily on the time you have available and the funds you have. 

1. Go Explore The World

Taking a mini-retirement is the perfect opportunity to explore the world. This is the perfect time to go see other countries, learn new languages, and explore different cultures. 

Traveling is one of the most enhancing experiences in life, showing you things you have never seen before. 

When you’re taking a mini-retirement, there are other things and other ways to see the world compared to when you’ve entered a different phase in life. For example, you can take photographs to capture happy moments, explore the cuisine, banter with locals and build a good relationship with them, and learn about the place’s history.  

Try doing something renowned in that specific country to maximize your world exploration. A great example is when you visit Belgium: you can eat their prestigious brands of chocolate and learn why they’re so coveted worldwide. 

Of course, you can choose to travel on a budget, explore a lot of places on foot, go hiking in the mountains, and do many more things. 

2. Cross Things Off Your Bucket List

While you have time off work, think about things that you always wanted to do. Perhaps that’s learning how to paint, writing your own book, or picking up that hobby you never had any time for. 

During our working life, it can be challenging to seek out new experiences every week. Simply because there is so much to do in the average week. You work, cook, work out, see friends, relax, and need some time for yourself. If you manage to do that all in one week, you’re doing better than most. 

Think about what you really want out of your mini-retirement and make it into a bucket list. It would be great to cross things off as you go, making for an adventurous mini-retirement. 

If it is difficult to think about what different experiences you want to have, focus on ONE experience. There must be this one thing that you’ve always wanted to do. Focus on that and build your mini-retirement around that!

3. Build Passive Income Streams

When we talk about things to do in your mini-retirement, of course, we need to talk about money and passive income. 

Passive income is great, and it can make your life (and mini-retirement) a whole lot easier. If you’re building up passive income, you still have some income even when you’re not working your day job. You also can save faster towards your next mini-retirement or early retirement when you have passive income streams. 

I love passive income because I truly believe that time is more important than money.

There are many forms of passive income, like:

• Low-Cost Index Funds – this is the easiest way to start building passive income with any amount of money. You can buy any shares that you want, and every quarter, you get passive income from that. 
• Peer-To-Peer Lending – this is where you lend money to people or companies against high-interest rates of typically between 10-15%. Be aware that this is a risky business, and you should only invest with money that you can lose.
• Crowdlending Real Estate – this is where you invest in real estate through crowdlending, meaning you only buy a small portion of the building. The building is the collateral, meaning that the risk is lower compared to peer-to-peer lending. Besides that, you get paid with a monthly passive income (like rent) or when the project is sold. 
• Start A Blog – it is very quick to start a blog, but I must admit that it is not very passive. You can earn money from it when you’re not publishing posts, but this is only when you’ve put the upfront capital in it. Upside: it is a very low barrier and low investment way to start with passive income. I started my blog for $60 the first year!
• Real Estate – there are many people who want to buy and rent real estate. This can be a great source of passive income if you have some money lying around and want to put it to some use. For example, if you have an extra room in your home, you can have it rented to generate a good source of income until you reach your desired retirement age.  
• Start An E-Commerce Store – With the increasing demand for online shopping, these shops have a vast customer base. As such, it can be an excellent passive income stream for your retirement. Starting an e-commerce store also has several advantages, such as lower overhead costs, greater flexibility, and the ability to reach a wider audience.

It is important that you check what fits you and what kind of passive income streams you want to build. This way, you can take advantage of the passive income stream you choose to earn and save money in preparation for your retirement.  

4. Start (or Grow) A Business

Some people are debating to start a business for years. It is hard to find time to think about it, research it, and execute it in normal life. 

A mini-retirement is perfect for exploring the idea of starting a business. You can do a test, see what you like, and see what interests you. 

If you find a project you’re passionate about along the way, this is the perfect opportunity to go into it deeper and start to really work on your business. 

If you already have a business and you’re working a 9 to 5 job too, it can be hard to keep up with all business developments and opportunities. You want to use this time in your mini-retirement to see what else is possible for your business. 

Perhaps you will find new opportunities, you will grow significantly, or you may never need to return to your job. All endless possibilities in your mini-retirement experience. 

Let the fun begin!

5. Volunteer (or Work) For Food And Lodging

When you’re in your mini-retirement, it’s important that you focus on what you think is important. Personally, I believe being kind to others is a fulfilling experience like no other. 

Volunteering can be a way to meet your personal goals as well as help others. There are many places that offer volunteer work in exchange for food and lodging. This is a great way to keep costs low and do something that you love in your mini-retirement. 

The most known options to check out are:

• WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farming) – here, you work on an organic farm in exchange for accommodation. They also have teaching opportunities or cleaning projects if you want something different than farming. The goal here is to help create lasting sustainability and be part of a community. 
• UNV (United Nations Volunteers) – this is volunteer work based on your personal preference and experience across industries. You can choose from 130 different countries, so you will probably find something you like! 

Personally, I’ve done numbers 1, 2, and 3. In my first mini-retirement, I took time to explore the world and work on my bucket list. In my second mini-retirement, I took the time to explore and build passive income.

How To Have Your Own Mini-Retirement?

Many of you may be wondering how you can have your very own mini-retirement. The planning stage is one of the most important stages. That part is behind you now.

There are a couple of other important things:

1. Manage your finances – know what is going in and going out so that you can save for your mini-retirement. I do this by having a monthly money routine where I check in with my money habits.
2. Make extra money – in order to speed up this process, making extra money may be a good way to stay motivated. As long as you know what you’re doing it for, that will help tremendously!
3. Focus on yourself – don’t follow the money advice others give you. They mean well, but it may be outdated financial advice or not relevant to your situation. Get knowledge from blogs, podcasts, or books like Rich Dad Poor Dad & Think And Grow Rich.

What things would you want to do in your mini-retirement?