My combination fire plan
41/m/single/no children/American
I have worked as a traveling nuclear power contractor for 18 years. Most years I traveled between 6 and 10 months. The lower end of that scale has started feeling too tight for my annual expenses in the States. My particular position doesn't translate well towards any other industry, so I've basically been locked in the industry. Leaving this work would give my annual income a extreme haorcut. The burnout from being on the road, working 50 to 80 hour weeks, hotel hopping is legit. 2.5 years ago I started developing my plan to partially fire outside of the US.
I began selling my large assets. Now I the only 2 things I own are a vehicle and a cargo trailer. Houses, toys, extra vehicles are gone. If it could not fit inside my cargo trailer for storage, I cut it loose.
I started shuffling my finances and investments. I came up with a 4 legged financial plan that provides some form of safety net in the event I can not work for an extended period of time, or the market goes on an extended downturn.
1- Save two + years of projected COL in a HYSA for the area I plan to spend my time.
2- Open and find a brokerage account that sacrifices growth for monthly immediately accessible income production.
3- Fund a small growth focused brokerage (outside of untouchable IRA) that can be sold and used as needed.
4- Cut my benefits loose at work to become a contractor who can basically make a phone call and work when I need to, if I need to back in the US. Instead of working 6 to 10 months a year, a 2-4 month trip back home each spring would cover my cost of living abroad, probably a little additional savings/investment money, and allow me to visit family, all while keeping my investments untouched.
My plan doesn't fit squarely in to any particular fire group. It's lean, expat, and significantly cuts back on work but doesn't change my actual job title.
The only things I have left to clean up are my US based subscriptions and US based health insurance. The insurance aspect is tricky for me because I will need both interantional coverage and some type of coverage in the US while I am back for work. I plan to tackle those once I officially decide make the move, but have looked in to some of the higher cost insurance options to build my budget projection.
I have agreed to about 5 months of work between this fall and the end of spring of 2027, mostly because I had a house on the market and had no clue when it would sell. After spring next year, I will take my multi month budgeting trip to verify my estimates are aligned with reality. I'll be talking with visa agents, healthcare providers, and realtors to view condos in a couple of my choice countries.