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Speaker 1: Freedom, burnout, and the real cost of stepping away. Mini

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Speaker 1: retirement's the real solution. Let's break it down together right

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Speaker 1: now as part of Start Here. Hi everyone, and welcome

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Speaker 1: back to Start Here, the very special mini series within

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Speaker 1: Sugar Mama's Fireplay. Now today, I'm really excited about this

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Speaker 1: particular topic because it's one that I've been thinking about

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Speaker 1: a lot, especially given the crazy pace of life where

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Speaker 1: we are all hustling at and I know that so

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Speaker 1: many of us feel like we never really stop and

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Speaker 1: get a chance to even catch our breath. Now, Alissa

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Speaker 1: recently wrote in to me and said, Hi, Canna, I'm

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Speaker 1: really curious about taking a mini retirement. I constantly feel

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Speaker 1: like I need a break and I'm not being present

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Speaker 1: enough with my family and my friends. But I'm worried

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Speaker 1: that I don't really understand the full impact of a

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Speaker 1: mini retirement. And if it's actually something that you would

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Speaker 1: recommend as a financial planner and working mother, I would

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Speaker 1: absolutely love to hear your thoughts and friends. This question

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Speaker 1: is so real and so relevant, and I know it's

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Speaker 1: one that a lot of people are quietly holding in

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Speaker 1: their heads. So today, what we're going to do is

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Speaker 1: talk about what this mini retirement is all about the

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Speaker 1: trend movement behind it, why gen Z and millennials are

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Speaker 1: gravitating towards this, and what it actually costs financially, professionally

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Speaker 1: and emotionally, and most importantly, how to actually think about time,

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Speaker 1: rest and work in a way that actually sustains and

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Speaker 1: supports our whole life, not just for a season. So

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Speaker 1: let us begin, all right, Can we start unpacking the

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Speaker 1: terminology behind a mini retirement also a micro retirement, because

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Speaker 1: you can get a little bit muddled. A mini retirement sometimes,

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Speaker 1: as I said, referred to as a micro retirement is

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Speaker 1: essentially an intentional extended break away from your career. It's

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Speaker 1: not a weekend holiday, and it's not even a month off.

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Speaker 1: It's typically like several months to even a year or

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Speaker 1: even more where you completely step away from your full

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Speaker 1: time work to switch off, to travel, to recharge, to

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Speaker 1: pursue maybe some other passions or interests, or simply just

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Speaker 1: to have a complete reset of your whole life balance.

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Speaker 1: And it's a deliberate pause during your working life, rather

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Speaker 1: than actually waiting all the way till the very end

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Speaker 1: at age sixty five to actually retire. So it's a

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Speaker 1: real shift in thinking. Instead of deferring, I guess all

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Speaker 1: of your retirement and freedom until the end stages of life,

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Speaker 1: you actually carve out a purposeful space throughout your career

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Speaker 1: so that you can live now. I guess this idea

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Speaker 1: actually isn't entirely new. Tim Ferris actually wrote about this

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Speaker 1: mini retirement idea concept in the four hour work Week

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Speaker 1: back in I think it was like two thousand and

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Speaker 1: seven maybe, And then social media has obviously picked this

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Speaker 1: up again and it's really sort of caught on and

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Speaker 1: making a bit of a wave amongst the younger generation.

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Speaker 1: Why has it resurrected itself after almost a decade and

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Speaker 1: a half later. Well, there's some key I guess drivers

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Speaker 1: behind this particular shift. The obvious one is burnout and exhaustion.

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Speaker 1: So many people, in particular the Gen zs and millennials

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Speaker 1: are experiencing burnout far earlier in life and actually have

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Speaker 1: kind of had a bit of an awakening where they

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Speaker 1: don't want to have to wait decades in order to

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Speaker 1: be able to reset and enjoy their life and make

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Speaker 1: the most of it. You know, they have that idea

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Speaker 1: that you know, life's too short. The second reason, and

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Speaker 1: I think this is particularly interesting is the changing work values.

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Speaker 1: So younger generations value the work life balance. They will

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Speaker 1: so really value experiences and building memories and living like

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Speaker 1: a purposeful life and really focusing on their overall well

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Speaker 1: being more than that like traditional corporate ladder climbing or

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Speaker 1: that lifetime workplace loyalty that we would often see, for example,

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Speaker 1: you know, with our parents or even our grandparents. So

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Speaker 1: their value system is very, very different. And then of

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Speaker 1: course there are the flexible work options that now exist

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Speaker 1: for so many of us, even though some of the

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Speaker 1: laws are obviously changing to go back the other way.

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Speaker 1: So seeing people who are able to work remotely, the

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Speaker 1: gig economy and portfolio careers where they have lots of

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Speaker 1: different hats and lots of different sort of sources of

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Speaker 1: income and jobs, this actually makes it even more feasible

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Speaker 1: for people to actually step away from one job and

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Speaker 1: then return or even pivot without actually losing their whole

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Speaker 1: career game plan. So we have already this incredible I

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Speaker 1: guess creativity and fluidity happening within our workplace already, so

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Speaker 1: it does almost feel to them in those situations a

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Speaker 1: little bit organic, you could say. And then of course

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Speaker 1: there's a greater caality on life focus. You know, in

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Speaker 1: a global study, almost half of Australian's planning a mini retirement,

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Speaker 1: so that they intended to take two to three mini

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Speaker 1: retirements in their lifetime, with most people planning to take

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Speaker 1: breaks between six to twelve months, and most believed it

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Speaker 1: would boost their quality of life. And I'm inclined to

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Speaker 1: kind of agree. So this isn't just a fringe idea.

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Speaker 1: There's actually some real momentum behind it. So what exactly

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Speaker 1: are the pros and cons here? Because I think it's

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Speaker 1: really important that we look at both sides. With those

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Speaker 1: rose tinted glasses taken off, if you take a mini

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Speaker 1: retirement with solid planning, what are the major upsides? Well,

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Speaker 1: of course there is the rest and recharge. You know,

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Speaker 1: time away can help reduce burnout, improve physical and mental health.

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Speaker 1: It could also help give you a fresh perspective and

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Speaker 1: outlook on life, and you know, really help you reconnect

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Speaker 1: with your values on a deep, authentic, meaningful level. You

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Speaker 1: also get to enjoy real life experiences now, so instead

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Speaker 1: of having to wait until you're sixties, when you get

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Speaker 1: to travel and explore the world and connect on a

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Speaker 1: deeper level with your community perhaps, or learn another language,

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Speaker 1: or spend time with loved ones. You can actually do

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Speaker 1: this whilst you still have the energy, the health and fitness,

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Speaker 1: and of course the mental capacity, which is I think

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Speaker 1: particularly topical with an increase in dementia and Alzheimer's, so

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Speaker 1: very very relevant. And of course there's the personal growth.

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Speaker 1: You know, you might develop some new interests, hobbies, passions,

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Speaker 1: and deepen relationships or even discover new relationships, or simply

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Speaker 1: come back to the workforce with a greater sense of

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Speaker 1: clarity on your next career phase or chapter, which could

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Speaker 1: actually end up meaning that you're even more successful both

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Speaker 1: on a career wise, professionally and of course financially as well.

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Speaker 1: And then there are obviously the career benefits. Some people

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Speaker 1: find that when they return back to work they're far

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Speaker 1: more creative, they're a lot more motivated, more resilient, greater perspective,

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Speaker 1: and therefore they're more productive at the workplace, not actually

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Speaker 1: less productive. So these are some really compelling reasons, but

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Speaker 1: they also come with some real costs too, which we

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Speaker 1: definitely need to explore together. So let's be honest about

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Speaker 1: these trade offs, because this is where so many people

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Speaker 1: go well, I didn't realize that, or I wasn't expecting that,

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Speaker 1: And this is where things can get messy, and they

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Speaker 1: could actually discover the hard way that it may have

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Speaker 1: actually not necessarily been the smartest move, or they may

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Speaker 1: have not necessarily done this in the smartest way possible.

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Speaker 1: So then, of course there are the financial costs. If

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Speaker 1: you leave work for say six to twelve months, you've

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Speaker 1: got to live off savings because obviously you're not receiving

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Speaker 1: any income, so you need a substantial financial cushion, at

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Speaker 1: least six to twelve months of living expenses, plus a

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Speaker 1: really decent buffer as an absolute minimum. And then on

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Speaker 1: top of that, you might have to possibly you cancel

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Speaker 1: or pause any sort of regular investing plans or mortgage

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Speaker 1: free or debt free goals that you may have had

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Speaker 1: in place, because you've no longer got the income to

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Speaker 1: stick to those game plans and those strategies, And of

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Speaker 1: course that could end up with a bigger opportunity cost

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Speaker 1: to you, or worst case or even worse, a bigger

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Speaker 1: interest expense to you, which really does obviously compromise your

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Speaker 1: financial future, particularly if you're working towards building long term

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Speaker 1: financial independence through a regular investment plan or regular superannuation

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Speaker 1: contribution plan or even a debt free plan. If you're

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Speaker 1: building up an investment portfolio that's geared, so you've got

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Speaker 1: to be aware of that. Then of course there is

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Speaker 1: your superannuation. Whilst you're away from work not earning an income,

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Speaker 1: these contributions will naturally pause, and experts have estimated from

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Speaker 1: their calculations that a twenty six year old who takes

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Speaker 1: one year off every decade could end up with around

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Speaker 1: twenty percent less in super by their retirement age, which

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Speaker 1: then obviously compromises the longevity of their financial independence and

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Speaker 1: the quality actually of their retirement lifestyle. So these are

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Speaker 1: big things you want to sort of know and understand

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Speaker 1: before you make any decisions. So if you really care

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Speaker 1: about financial freedom later, you really need to have a

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Speaker 1: plan in place as to how you'll make up for

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Speaker 1: that shortfall, or even better, you'll actually proactively plan in

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Speaker 1: preparation to take a mini retirement, such as salary sacrificing,

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Speaker 1: say for three or four years beforehand, so that in

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Speaker 1: the lead up to taking that retirement or mini retirement break,

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Speaker 1: your super is already there. You don't need to worry

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Speaker 1: about it. So there is a strategy obviously behind that.

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Speaker 1: The other thing is obviously the cost to your savings

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Speaker 1: and emergency funds. You know, if your emergency fund gets

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Speaker 1: hit during your mini retirement break, or if there's like

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Speaker 1: a change in the job market, you know, such as

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Speaker 1: your job being replaced by AI, or you know, your

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Speaker 1: industry dramatically changes, it may take a lot longer than

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Speaker 1: you initially thought to get back into the workforce and

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Speaker 1: find not just any job, but the job that it's

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Speaker 1: perfect for you and your qualifications and experience and your

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Speaker 1: own career path. So again, your plans could really unravel

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Speaker 1: quickly if you don't consider absolutely everything. So maintaining a

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Speaker 1: deep emergency fund is not just optional, it's i think central.

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Speaker 1: And of course there's a career momentum. Taking time off

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Speaker 1: away from work as a gap can be seen by

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Speaker 1: some implay and sort of negative move especially in those

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Speaker 1: really traditional industries. And this is when you know re

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Speaker 1: entry isn't always necessarily instant or assumed. You know, some

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Speaker 1: research actually shows that career breaks can sometimes lead to

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Speaker 1: this thing called scarring effects, and it's where job opportunities

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Speaker 1: and career confidence really do plummet, and it can leave

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Speaker 1: people in a really sticky situation and not feeling particularly

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Speaker 1: positive about their futures. So even though some employers may

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Speaker 1: see a mini retirement as something that's really brave and refreshing,

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Speaker 1: you need to be aware that not all workplaces necessarily

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Speaker 1: will agree with this. And then, of course there is

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Speaker 1: the impact on your future promotions and pay rises. Employers

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Speaker 1: often assess long term commitment. If a manager knows that

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Speaker 1: you've taken extended breaks periodically, it may actually influence decisions

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Speaker 1: about giving you promotions or pay rises, or you know,

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Speaker 1: those key projects that will really improve your skill set

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Speaker 1: and your resume. But the cost of this to your

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Speaker 1: future earning ability could really add up, especially when you

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Speaker 1: think about the cost of long term income. So again,

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Speaker 1: these are the things that you really need to think about.

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Speaker 1: Should you really do this? Is it really worth it? Well,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot of things here, So here's the bottom line. Yes,

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Speaker 1: a mini retirement can be powerful, it can be transformative,

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Speaker 1: but it's not something that you would decide on a whim.

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Speaker 1: It's not an impulsive reaction. It's a major financial and

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Speaker 1: professional choice that really does need some really clearly defined goals,

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Speaker 1: Like you know, why are you really doing this, what's

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Speaker 1: the objective behind it? Have you done some budgeting? Do

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Speaker 1: you know exactly how much you're going to need to

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Speaker 1: be able to maintain the life of this mini retirement.

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Speaker 1: How much do you have in deep savings, emergency funds,

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Speaker 1: having really sensible wise buffers, and maybe some passive income

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Speaker 1: streams perhaps to help back you. And of course, how

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Speaker 1: are you going to re enter the workplace or perhaps

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Speaker 1: even reinvent yourself. How exactly do you plan to return

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Speaker 1: to the workforce successfully so that your mini break actually

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Speaker 1: turns out to be something that gave you a brilliant

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Speaker 1: return on your investment and amazing long term value out

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Speaker 1: this thoughtful planning, taking mini retirements may actually do more

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Speaker 1: harm than good financially, professionally, and of course emotionally. Now,

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Speaker 1: being a strategy and solutions type of girl that I am,

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Speaker 1: I really want to talk about how to build a

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Speaker 1: sustainable life as perhaps an alternative than taking away, say

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Speaker 1: a year off every ten years. Taking time away from

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Speaker 1: life is obviously not the only way to live well.

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Speaker 1: What many people right now are really craving and I

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Speaker 1: think craving deep down the part that actually drives burnout

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Speaker 1: and exhaustion it's not just a holiday, but actually a

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Speaker 1: sustainable life design where you get to have those regular

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Speaker 1: mini pauses, like weekly rhythms, regular breaks away, you know,

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Speaker 1: margin in your schedule to actually be able to breathe

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Speaker 1: and catch your breath and relax and just have time

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Speaker 1: for you to hear yourself think where work doesn't own

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Speaker 1: you or even own your schedule, where you actually have

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Speaker 1: time that's carved out for friends, for family, for pets,

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Speaker 1: even for your hobbies and passions, and that deep soulful

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Speaker 1: rest and your finances support your life and not the

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Speaker 1: other way around. This is actually so much more in

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Speaker 1: alignment with the movements like the coast Fire or even

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Speaker 1: the lean Fire if you like, where you can actually

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Speaker 1: intentionally structure your career and your savings and your investment

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Speaker 1: portfolio so that you can afford to work part time

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Speaker 1: or work in a flexible way and of course fund

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Speaker 1: your lifestyle, but also while still being able to build

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Speaker 1: that long term financial resilience within your life. This is

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Speaker 1: not a one off vacation. It's more of a lifestyle

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Speaker 1: architecture that actually prioritizes your own energy, your own meaningful,

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Speaker 1: beautiful relationships, and of course your own health and longevity.

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Speaker 1: So if you're thinking of about this mini retirement movement

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Speaker 1: or micro retirement movement, can I suggest that you treat

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Speaker 1: it like any other major financial decision. You have a budget,

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Speaker 1: you have a plan, you have a backup plan and

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Speaker 1: maybe even another backup plan, and of course a brilliant, resilient,

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Speaker 1: robust return to work strategy that is very real of

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Speaker 1: what's going on in the world right now. And you

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Speaker 1: understand that the impact on your superannuation, you're saving goals,

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Speaker 1: your regular investment plans or even those debt repayment plans,

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Speaker 1: and then of course your career progression, both immediate and

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Speaker 1: long term. Whilst you're on that break, having that time away,

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Speaker 1: your mini retirement, make sure it's purposeful, not just a

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Speaker 1: burnout escape. You actually come back so fulfilled, so recharged

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Speaker 1: and ready to completely reinvent yourself, like a resurrection. And

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Speaker 1: of course consider whether instead perhaps you might just need

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Speaker 1: to create a life that doesn't actually make you need

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Speaker 1: to take these big breaks in the first place. You

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Speaker 1: build something that is sustainable into the long run and

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Speaker 1: serves you in the right way so that you always

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Speaker 1: feel replenished and realogized. So, in wrapping up, today, Yes,

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Speaker 1: many retirements. They can be incredible, absolutely, but sustainable lives

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Speaker 1: can be even more powerful in my opinion, because they

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Speaker 1: don't actually cost you your long term future. All right, everyone,

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Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening to today's Start Here show.

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Speaker 1: I pop my email address in the podcast notes so

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Speaker 1: you can send through your question asking me what I think,

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Speaker 1: my opinion, or perhaps even where to get started with

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Speaker 1: building your own coastal fire strategy or right. Everyone, have

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Speaker 1: a fantastic weekend and I will see you on Monday

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Speaker 1: morning at five am for Sugar Mama's Fireplay Chow for

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Speaker 1: Now