Retire Often
Episodes
From Corporate Stress to Unplanned Mini Retirement
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Meghan Combs shares her journey from a stressful corporate job to an unplanned mini retirement, highlighting the importance of adaptability, mental he...
How to Plan a Mini Retirement Abroad in 18 Months
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stacy Ennis explores the evolution of mini retirements, living abroad, and shifting mindsets around work, rest, and travel with Jillian. Stacy shares ...
Opting for mini-retirements instead of FIRE
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Herriot discusses the concept of mini retirements and the journey towards financial independence with Jillian. Brian shares his personal experie...
Mini-Retirements in Healthcare and Other All-Consuming Careers
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
28% of doctors consider leaving the profession on a weekly basis. Can mini-retirements allow people to stay in these demanding careers that they love,...
The Benefits of Taking a Mini-Retirement When You are Already Retired
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why take a mini-retirement when you are fully retired? Justin shares his personal journey of taking a six-month adventure around the world, detailing ...
F-You Money, Side Hustles, and Hacks to Afford for Mini-Retirements
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jillian and Chris dive into Chris's seven-month mini-retirement, where he and his wife traveled through Asia and Europe. Chris shares how they structu...
Reinventing Life Before Retirement
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jillian and Brenda explore Brenda's journey of taking a mini-retirement to rediscover herself through hiking and writing. Brenda shares her experience...
JL Collins: affording mini-retirements on the Simple Path to Wealth
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Jillian and JL Collins explore the themes of financial independence, the value of mini retirements, and the importance of life...
Mini Retirements to Practice for Early Retirement
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Jillian and Doug discuss the concept of mini retirements and how they can lead to a fulfilling lifestyle while pursuing financia...
How to Decouple Identity from Career for a Mini-Retirement
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mitch shares his journey towards a mini-retirement, discussing the challenges of decoupling his identity from work, the role of therapy in his transit...
Mini Retirements: A Lifetime of Adventures by saving 6.5%
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jillian discusses the concept of mini-retirements, exploring how much one needs to save to enjoy these experiences throughout life. She emphasizes the...
Developing Failure Immunity with an around the World Trip
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Charles shares the inspiring journey of taking a seven-month mini retirement with his family, exploring the motivations behind t...
Seasons of life with expiration dates
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this solo episode, Jillian discusses the necessity of taking mini retirements to engage in meaningful activities that have expiration dates, such a...
When the dream job becomes soul crushing
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jacob Wade shares his transformative journey from a high-stress tech sales job to a life of travel and family connection through a mini retirement. He...
Embracing the Three Phases of a Mini-Retirement
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Stacy shares her experiences part way through her mini retirements. She shares how she created distinct phases. While explaini...
Your Guide to Negotiating A Month Off
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explain that a month is an ideal starting point due to the ease of negotiation, lower costs, the ability to achieve significant per...
Building Freedom for Mini-retirements into Your Business
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Jillian speaks with Ken and Mary from The Humble Penny about their journey of taking mini-retirements as business owners. They d...
Do you have the Capacity to Suffer or the Courage to Change?
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this solo episode, Jillian Johnsrud covers one of the tools that she uses with her coaching clients, focusing on the dual skills of courage for cha...
The Rest You've Earned
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Frances Benjamin shares her mini-retirement story and the transformative impact it had on her life. Before her mini-retirement, Frances was working ...
Business Growth after a Year Off
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
PT, is the creator of a large event, FinCon. Taking a mini-retirement as a business owner can be stressful, confusing, and scary. PT shares his experi...
Take an epic year-long road trip with the family
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you have ever been curious about taking an epic yearlong road trip, Heidi's story of how her and her family embarked on a year-long mini-retireme...
How to Take a Mini-Retirement Every Year
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Corey Allen and his wife embarked on a month-long mini-retirement, traveling in an RV and exploring national parks. The idea originated in 2010 wh...
Reinventing Yourself Post-Divorce with Travel
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Brooke Thayer shares her experiences with taking multiple mini retirements and traveling the world. She discusses the inspirat...
Road Trip Across Canada
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Brent and his wife were on the path to financial independence, planning to retire early at 40. However, they realized that their plan wasn't serving t...
Negotiating Time Off to Hike the Camino Trail
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Diania shares her experience of negotiating a mini-retirement to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She initially planned to support her uncle on t...
Redefining Work-Life Balance Through World Travel
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we accompany Cosmin on his remarkable journey from the brink of burnout in his career to embracing a life of nomadic adventure. After...
From Early Retirement to Flexible Work and Mini-Retirements
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation with Darlene, we delve deep into the journey of early retirement and the surprises it holds beyond the workplace. Darlene's story...
The Art of the Sabbatical: Navigating Career Gaps with JL Collins
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation with my friend, JL Collins, we take a look at a professional journey that defies convention, punctuated by career breaks and the ...
Outdoor Adventures and a Path to FI
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In college, Joe fell in love with hiking and climbing. He loved the community and time in nature. He tried pursuing a corporate life, but a mini-retir...
Multiple Mini-retirements as a Medical Professional
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Getting diagnosed with a brain tumor during her residency helped Dawn refocus on who she wanted to be as a person and what she wanted her life to look...
From School Teacher to Living in France for Two Years
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eric was a schoolteacher in Boston. Along with his wife and two kids, they moved to France for two years. This seems like an impossible step for many ...
From Breadwinner to Stay-at-Home Mom
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Stepping away from a successful, lucrative, and important job can be tricky. Even when that job is eating up all your free time and bandwidth and at t...
Mini-Retirement as a Half-Time for a Successful CEO
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vikaash has always been good at work. Professionally, success came quickly. From Harvard Business School to 40 Under Forty Young Business Leaders awar...
One Mini-Retirement Leads to many More
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jamie and her husband are both self-employed. Walking away from their business for a month seemed overwhelming. But they desperately needed to rest, r...
Using Rentals to Fund Mini-Retirements
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chad (Coach Carson) started his financial journey by investing in real estate. It helped fund his and his wife's first budget mini-retirement. Over th...
Solo Adventure as a Single Mom
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In her mid 30's, Rachel decided it was time for a change. She had been working 10 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, stressed about even asking for a da...
Mini-retirements Single and then Married with a Baby
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in Mexico, Angel never expected to travel the world. If he did well financially, there was an expectation of simply buying nicer stuff. Dur...