Not much new on my end recently... still tinkering away on truck additions and modifications, but they are all non-critical... Just doing things as I can to "make it better".
I guess the significant change is really simply that I am counting down to when I head off on my big drive southward. I told my management earlier this year that I was intending to leave them within a year... and they understand, but I suspect are a bit skeptical since I have been saying that it was "near" for the last few years... But its a lot nearer than they really think, and Im not backing down this time.
I still have significant worries about "will I have enough money to live comfortably for how ever long Im around", and I dont really have a well laid out plan of what retirement will actually look like for me (other than the initial truck trip)... But Im going anyway!
I have reiterated to my management that Ill be leaving them at end Q1 2027 (so end of March 2027) and Im on track to get it done this time :)
Ive renewed passports and drivers licenses and mortgages etc. Ive done basic budget calculations and overall rout generalities... I think its gonna be about 100,000Km of driving and will take about 15-18 months (400days?), and will likely cost two people about $100K (so $50K each).
And my partner Ifan has also basically been preparing to leave her work soon after I leave mine and has been giving her management the necessary "hints" and trying to work with them on various things... Its a harder sell for her to step away into "retirement" since she is significantly younger than I am and the worries about money lasting long enough are a bigger concern for her, but she is as committed as I am to the plan, so Im really proud of her taking the plunge to take the time to spend with me on this trip... She is being very brave for someone who has not done something of this duration and scope before.
But anyway, Im into the last six months of work and am really mentally ramping down now.
Not sure what shape the world will be in or what diesel will cost or where the global "hot spots" will be... But Im gonna go!
