The Blueprint

Return of the Wand!

I walked into work Tuesday afternoon to find that the security wand at the bank job was finally fixed. No more leaving work in the mornings to go home and relax until my shift is up. Ah well, I can't complain. After four months of playing hookie, how can I complain? At first I was disappointed that I’ll have to stay at work instead of at home having a good time, but that feeling was quickly replaced with excitement. I felt this way because the fixing of the security wand signals the beginning of my retirement plan. The following is a blueprint of how I plan to retire from paycheck work by the end of 2017, and it will be in three phases. As one might expect, this will be quite the long post, as I want to be as detailed as possible.

Phase 1:

Eliminate Tuesdays from the shipping depot

Buy Property 4

I currently work the bank job, Monday through Friday from 6:30am to 2:30pm, and the shipping depot on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4:00pm-12am followed by Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 12am. Now that the wand is fixed, I can finally prepare to eliminate Tuesday at the shipping depot from my schedule. For the last several months I’ve been feigning a back injury at the shipping depot. I pretend to grimace when I have to pick something up from the floor or when I have to bend for any reason. I’ve been hinting at my boss Charles that I’m going to need back surgery soon. So I just called him 30 minutes ago to let him know that I’ll be doing the surgery on Feb. 2^nd, and I’ll be back on the 13^th. From then on, I’ll let him know that I can’t work Tuesdays anymore.

Why go through all this lying when I hate to lie? Because I have no choice. I need them to believe that I have a valid reason for trimming down my schedule, or else they’ll ask for documentation and doctors’ notes. Perception is everything, especially to these fucking hillbillies. I get the most respect amongst the guards there because I’m always on time, do my job consistently well, and I rarely ever call off. I’m going to use that respect and get Tuesdays off, while keeping the rest of my schedule intact.    

The next step is to purchase Property 4 before the end of this year. I prefer to buy it in the summer, which would allow me to make more payments towards Property 3’s principal balance. The quitting of Tuesdays at the shipping depot and the purchase of Property 4 will complete Phase 1.

Phase 2:

Pay off Properties 2 and 3

Remove Fridays from the shipping depot schedule.

After Property 4 is purchased, I begin paying off Properties 2 and 3… which has a principal balance of $53,000 and $40,000 respectively. With rents from all properties coming in, plus the stock market and job income, I should have them paid off fairly quick. Once that happens, I will eliminate Fridays from the shipping depot as well. My schedule by the end of Phase 2 will be the bank job Monday-Friday, and the shipping depot on the weekends only. No more package handlers! That will complete Phase 2.

Phase 3:

Pay off Property 1

Get fired from the Shipping Depot

Get fired from the Bank Job

Retire

Wake up the next morning screaming “Fuck the World”

After properties 2 and 3 are paid off, it’s off to the races. The minute I pay off Property 1, I will get fired from the shipping depot and bank job. Notice I said “get fired” and not “quit”. I never want to work for anyone again, but I know how money-hungry I can be. If the option to work at those jobs remained open, I may fool myself into believing I need to work and go back. I can’t do that. I need to go into retirement from paycheck work with no safety nets, and that means I have to burn the bridges. I’m at my best when I know I have no other options, so it means a lot when I know my only source of income is in the rents. Know yourself, remember? That knowledge will make me sharper and more determined to build my financial empire the right way. Paying off Property 1 and quitting the jobs will complete Phase 3 and I’ll finally be done. It’ll be just me and my properties, with no bosses, security wands, or co-workers. What a day that will be!

By the time it’s all said and done, I should be making good money. They say that one can live off of earning $5000 a month, but I think that’s total bullshit. For me, I don’t want to “earn” $5000 a month. I’d like to “save” $5000 a month. That’s a big difference. I currently earn around $4500 per month with the 2 jobs and the 3 properties, and it doesn’t feel good to come away with a pathetic $2000-2500 savings per month. When I retire, I need to be able to SAVE at least $4000 every month after living expenses, bills, and property/income taxes. To me, that’s real money to live comfortably, and I can use that money to buy even more properties should I choose to do so.

So that’s the blueprint. It’s exciting to see it on the computer screen instead of as an idea dancing around in my head. I still have some tax stuff to iron out, but the blueprint is more or less solid. The wheels are in motion. All I have to do is stick with the plan and I’ll be one happy bastard in 2017.