So the way I have been looking into things is multiplying my income streams. I have limited means to do this, as with three young kids, there is not a lot spare of anything in life right now. But there are still options. And as I enjoy writing, and appear to be at least reasonable at it, perhaps freelance writing is the way to go. I can do the odd article here and there, and maybe make a few bucks.
I wrote the first two paragraphs of this article either still in Malaysia or when we had just reached Australia - namely, just on two years ago! Yeah, yeah, I know my blogging leaves much to be desired in terms of getting it done. Actually, come to think of it, my blogging prowess kind of reflects my work. As in, I am full of great ideas (I think) and great at putting together the bones of a plan. Getting it done, doing the detail and actually finishing stuff? Well, that's always been a challenge for me. That's why I work well under pressure I think, not that I would be happy doing so for long periods. But fairly frequent, short, sustained bursts do seem to work for me.
The real problem I have now is that my job just takes too much of my time. It has almost double in size since I started it. Yes I do have a larger support structure in place, well I would if those roles were filled. But in due course it shouldn't be so bad. I really hope so, as right now it is just insane. Managing 18 quarries, an engineering team, a technical team, a mobile crushing and drill & blast team, and a workshop, was a pretty big ask. I have lost the technical team now, although I still need to advise and support them. The workshop in Victoria has gone across to Transport, and mobile and D&B teams have been split amongst the quarry managers in Victoria. Plus all QM's now report into Regional Managers, who themselves reports into an Operations Manager. So out of my original nine direct reports, on the Victorian side of the border, I have only two of the original ones, with an extra one added in the Sales & Marketing Manager. Problem is, our structure is pretty much mirrored now across the border, with a Mining Services group thrown in too. So I now only have five direct reports, but am in charge of 34 quarries, two mining operations, an engineering team, sales and marketing for the whole company (quarry/mining side), and all the stores and workshop facilities in NSW. Whew.
Now this would be a big enough job, should all those roles be filled and we had a settled company. But we have anything but. More than half the key leadership roles are vacant, we have covid restrictions, and we are very much in the infancy of our integration with the new company. Plus even though we had planned a controlled, low-key integration over two years, instead we jumped in feet first and decided to do it in two weeks. Ok, one could argue that we didn't have much choice in the end, given the loss of some key people in the new company, but still, it is hectic, stressful and a huge burden to bear.
Why am I writing all this in a post about retiring early? Haha, possibly because I wish to darn that I could do just that right now. Seriously, if my numbers came up, and the prize was sufficient, I would retire immediately! One of these days I need to set my model up, to figure out exactly what that number might be, and failing that (i.e. the most likely scenario), how much longer do I need to keep working to ensure my family is cared for until all the kids reach adulthood, and my wife has enough in reserve to enjoy a good retirement. Hopefully with me still around of course, but I need to plan for the worst, and expect the best. Something like that anyway.
So the thing is, retirement doesn't have to equal no income. I wrote a while ago about my genius idea to become another one of the "special projects" ex-GM's and do my analyst work part-time from afar. I figured I might be able to make 30-50k per year doing this. The thing is, the boss thinks that WFH = not working at all, so the likelihood of this is slim. Still, you never know. Assuming I leave on good terms, I will certainly put that forward as an option.
So the other option is what they call the digital nomad. I have also written about this before. Picture this: mid-range apartment in Penang. Quick ride down to the waterfront for a beer, or wander around the corner to the hawker stalls. My own little nook or study at home with my computer, where I sit for a couple of hours per day, either freelance writing, doing a bit of analysis on data for my current job, or any of a number of other things. I am not sure what sort of income I can expect from Super and when that might kick in, and I have no idea of the same things for the pension. But this is what I want for my future. Ideally, it would happen while I am still full-time parenting, so I can dedicate more time to that and more time to myself and my wife. But if it has to wait for retirement years - as in older years - then so be it. But these are the kinds of things I think about, and often.
