Day 100 (Thursday, January 6, 2022)

Costs for the Day are in the Table below:

This will be my final daily journal entry. I thought it would be interesting to share my daily thoughts and activities as well as our costs for the first 100 days of early retirement and I hope you have enjoyed following along. However, I would now like to shift my attention to writing articles on other topics. So future journal entries will be more occasional which should allow me to make them more entertaining and less routine.

Comments on the first 100 Days:

• Finances: Based on our spending during these 100 Days we are on track to spend $63k USD per year.
  • Assuming a Safe Withdrawal Rate of 3.2%, one would need a portfolio of $1.97M to sustain that level of spending.
• Travel: Visited Portugal, Spain, and the UK
• Working Out: Ran 82 Miles and completed the best muscle up I think I have ever been able to do. I have lost ground now on the muscle up but will continue to work on it when my elbow issues resolve.
• Activities:
  • Rock Climbed in Sagres and Rocha da Pena, Portugal, and Puebla de Guzman, Spain.
  • Surfed at Meia Praia, Porto Mos, Luz, Tonel, Zavial, Castelejo, Cabanas Velhas, Beliche, and Bordeira

In general, these 100 days have been wonderful when compared to working. I thought I would be somewhat stressed about our finances but our net worth has grown since our retirement date so this has not been a concern so far (thankfully). Since my wife and I have moved abroad we spend every day together and this is both a blessing and at times a challenge. I would suggest this as something others should take into account to ensure they set aside time with their partner to work on communication and stay aligned. From a physical perspective, I think my strength and speed have increased somewhat but it has been difficult to keep a regular regimen when we are travelling. For sure, you can see improvement in my per mile pace which improved from 9:30/mile to 8:30/mile on distances of 4 miles. Mentally, I have found more than sufficient stimulation in reading, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, puppy training, beginning to learn Portuguese, submitting visa applications, and evaluating business opportunities such as real estate.

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Day 100 (Thursday, January 6, 2022) – Final Daily Journal Entry

Today, I woke at 8:30am, had a coffee, and practiced Portuguese on Duolingo for 30-45 minutes.

Then I listened to the BBC Global News Podcast and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir. I find that the BBC podcast is good for global news whereas the ABC podcast is really only US news.

I also continued listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, Supernova in the East II. I would highly recommend this to anyone with the slightest interest in history.

Later in the morning, I went for a haircut at Altered Image a few blocks away. (Cost: 15 Pounds)

Of course, we also did some training with Sydney in the yard and in the kitchen as well. She is very good at come, sit, turn around, and stay. She is working on lie down in the photo below and is coming along well.

Then we had a call with our banker, Jose Silva, at Millennium Bank in Portugal. We have submitted a loan application since we are considering purchasing a property.

Some interesting points regarding mortgage loans in Portugal (However, I am informed these rules change frequently):

• The length of the loan depends on your age or the age of the eldest in the couple. It is calculated by taking 74 minus your age. That is the longest period that a loan may be. I suppose they believe you will not be able to pay your mortgage if you are older than 74 years of age. (Example for someone 45 and a half years old: 74-45.5 = 28.5 so they will only allow a 28 year loan)
• The down payment needed on a mortgage ranges from 10%-60%. Residents are eligible for 10% down payments though it’s not clear if this is always granted. Non-residents may be asked for down payments of 25-60%.
• When the bank evaluates loan payment potential they consider employment income, income from rental properties, and social security, etc. They will NOT consider dividends or interest as viable income streams. They take 50% of your income based on this analysis and set that as the maximum amount you could afford to pay towards a mortgage on a monthly basis.

We are also considering buying an inexpensive vehicle that we could use to drive back to Portugal and to travel around a bit through France and Spain. So we went to check out and test drive a 2002 Mercedes Benz A Class nearby with 63k miles and priced at 800 Pounds. It may sound fancy but it is definitely not. However, it may be a cheap option for us vs. renting a car. 800 Pounds = 960 EUR and the best rental car we found was 11 EUR/Day so the car would only need to last 87 days or about 3 months to pay back. Also, the rental car price above is just for comparison since getting a one way rental car to pick up in the UK and drop off in Portugal is not available.

This particular model of Mercedes does not have a very good reliability record according to Whatcar.com. However, it was only a block away from where we were staying so we wanted to take a look and a drive. It actually drove well and the suspension seemed fine which is one of the major problem areas in this model accounting for nearly half of the warranty issues.