A Quick Exit Out of the Rat Race

[HikerMom58]

I am at the other end of the scale compared to most of the other posters. I, personally, don't agree with your decision or plan.

1) I fully respect your right to do whatever you feel like doing. It is your life. You are an adult. Hike Your Own Hike.

2) HOWEVER, I personally think that you are being "unwise" and perhaps even a bit foolish--to be doing what you are doing.

3) I can't fathom why you would give up a fairly good job--in a field that you love, sell almost all of your possessions (and, leave yourself without a lot of cash to start over again)--JUST TO GO HIKING. (particularly in light of the next point)

4) For me the real kicker is this: YOU HAVE ESSENTIALLY NOT DONE MUCH HIKING AND DON'T REALLY KNOW IF YOU WILL EVEN LIKE IT!

5) If you had posted your plan BEFORE you had already taken all of these dramatic steps, I would have personally recommended that you try some section hikes FIRST. THEN, if you actually LIKE the outdoor life and ENJOY hiking--MAYBE, at that point, you could give up your job and your possessions.

As it stands, you have taken some pretty dramatic and severe steps--all to pursue a romantic notion of hiking for several months on an outdoor trail--when you don't know if you even LIKE hiking. The reality is, a very large percentage of folks who begin an attempted thru hike don't complete it. An even more harsh reality is that the dropout rate is VERY high among those who have little--or no--hiking experience.

Ultimately, I wish you all the best--and much success--on your hike. I just wish that you hadn't taken such bold steps--before you know if you even like hiking. Good luck!

(And now, I brace myself the inevitable negative feedback that I will probably receive on WhiteBlaze for daring to question someone's actions and daring to rain on their parade)

I think you are making some very valid points. It's a crap shoot as 2 if he will enjoy the adventure or NOT. He may love it or he may hate it or something in between. He won't be able to know, for sure, until he does it.

As far as my possessions go.. I have a love/hate relationship with all my "stuff". I like my home. I like my car.

If Andrew does "The Hike", I believe, it will give him a different perspective on life and everything that goes with it. It could be a very good thing.

[Slo-go'en]

As it stands, you have taken some pretty dramatic and severe steps--all to pursue a romantic notion of hiking for several months on an outdoor trail--when you don't know if you even LIKE hiking. The reality is, a very large percentage of folks who begin an attempted thru hike don't complete it. An even more harsh reality is that the dropout rate is VERY high among those who have little--or no--hiking experience.

I could not agree more on the above point. To the OP's credit, he is planning a couple of training trips. It would be a good idea to do those before being 100% commited to the hike. It's not rocket science, but learning as you go probably isn't a good idea in the 100 mile wilderness!

[10-K]

The balances don't matter. If say the Roth is earning 8% and the student loan is at 5%, a dollar in the Roth is making more than a dollar lost in interest in the student loan. Similar to why you pay off the highest interest credit cards first not the ones with the highest balances. Also, why you may not pay off a house first as the interest rate is general lower than say a credit card.

The Roth could be doing poorly though, I don't know.

That's what I mean - there's no way to tell without knowing the details.

[Cookerhiker]

As one who put off completing the AT until retirement, I'd normally advise caution before quitting a good job for something that may not even work out. But in your case, you have a number of factors in your favor: youth, no obligations except for the student loan, and most of all, a good skill set i.e. software engineers will still be marketable when your (hopeful) thruhike ends.

The choice for a shakedown hike is obvious: being that you live in MN, hike for a week on the Superior Trail where the terrain of rocks & roots is very similar to the part of Maine where you'd start a SOBO AT hike. And work on your aerobic fitness; Maine becomes very hard before entering NH.

[Hosaphone]

I'm a huge believer in delayed gratification. That's why I'm semi-retired at 51 and go hiking all the time.

I doubt many of you would have encouraged me to work all those hundred hour weeks I worked to get here.

It had paid off a thousandfold.

I suppose that, as with everything in life, there has to be some balance and middle ground, and everyone has to figure out what's right for them. I'm not going to go spend my life savings in a week on some crazy thing, but I'm also not going to wait until I'm 60 to have fun or do "bucket list" things.

[hikerboy57]

I think you are making some very valid points. It's a crap shoot as 2 if he will enjoy the adventure or NOT. He may love it or he may hate it or something in between. He won't be able to know, for sure, until he does it.

As far as my possessions go.. I have a love/hate relationship with all my "stuff". I like my home. I like my car.

If Andrew does "The Hike", I believe, it will give him a different perspective on life and everything that goes with it. It could be a very good thing.

seems to me the trip is just a part of his purge.
you can always buy more stuff.hes not selling his waterfront home and yacht, family heirlooms, etc.
if he doesnt finish his trip or if he only makes it a month, he can still buy more stuff.
cmon guys, its just stuff

[Alligator]

That's what I mean - there's no way to tell without knowing the details.

Chief's reply suggested that it was a balance problem when it is really an interest rate problem. That's the only point I was making. Often people worried about debt focus on balances when it's the interest rates that are important. (Barring some other minor issues such as minimum payments for instance.)

[10-K]

Alligator, just a point of clarification, ROTH contributions can be withdrawn penalty free before 59 1/2 at any time but earnings cannot. It's a 2 step process and requires an IRS worksheet but it can be done .

For ex, if you contribute $4k to a ROTH on Monday and Friday it is worth $4,026 you can withdraw all but $26 penalty free. I have a few friends who use their ROTHs for emergency funds for this reason.

There might be an early withdrawal fee for cashing in a CD if that's what's in his ROTH.

[10-K]

Chief's reply suggested that it was a balance problem when it is really an interest rate problem. That's the only point I was making. Often people worried about debt focus on balances when it's the interest rates that are important. (Barring some other minor issues such as minimum payments for instance.)

Agree......

You just can't throw out financial advice willy-nilly - he may stand to get a substantial inheritance in the future making all of this moot - who knows.

[Fur Queue]

Don't forget to pack a Taxation and Investment guide in your pack...read it every morning to remind yourself what you are missing....

[chief]

Depends on the interest rates on both plus early withdrawal penalty probably as well on the Roth.

Yep, it depends on a lot of things. Note I said "you might consider".

[Alligator]

Yep, it depends on a lot of things. Note I said "you might consider".

Just clarifying the parameters some. I did what you suggested a few years back to close out some high interest debt myself.

[chief]

Chief's reply suggested that it was a balance problem when it is really an interest rate problem. That's the only point I was making. Often people worried about debt focus on balances when it's the interest rates that are important. (Barring some other minor issues such as minimum payments for instance.)

Without knowing the details, we don't know whether it's a balance problem or an interest rate problem. It just seems to me, if his savings balances are substantially less than his debt balances, his interest earned may not be enough to fill the gap. So yes, it could be a balance problem.

[HikerMom58]

seems to me the trip is just a part of his purge.
you can always buy more stuff.hes not selling his waterfront home and yacht, family heirlooms, etc.
if he doesnt finish his trip or if he only makes it a month, he can still buy more stuff.
cmon guys, its just stuff

His stuff isn't as big of a deal as what you are suggesting, HB. That's true.

If he realizes that it could be a month long trip or a 6 month trip. If he stays realistic about what his life will "look like" after the "purging hike".... he won't have any regrets, IMHO. I would say, go for it! It won't impact anyone else right now, that's a plus!!

[10-K]

No matter what his ROTH balance is he should keep enough in it for emergencies since it can be withdrawn w/o a penalty.

Otherwise he might be forced to borrow money to cover an emergency.

No matter how much debt you have you should have an emergency fund.

[Alligator]

Without knowing the details, we don't know whether it's a balance problem or an interest rate problem. It just seems to me, if his savings balances are substantially less than his debt balances, his interest earned may not be enough to fill the gap. So yes, it could be a balance problem.

No the balance is unimportant. Consider it this way. Loan of $400 at 5% simple interest per year. Investment of $100 at 10% per year. Losing $20 a year on the loan, gaining $10 a year on the investment. Net loss of $10. You might suggest taking the investment and paying down the loan. That leaves $300 on the loan, with loses now $15/year instead of $10/year. Any dollar though taken out taken out of the investment side and applied to the loan is a worse option because of the interest difference. The balance could be anything. Granted with a lower balance he may still be losing money, but losing less than if he took the investment and put it towards the loan. As a second case, if the $100 investment yields over 20%, it is actually making money to cover the loan.

There are other considerations such as credit scores and whether one might need further loans, credit scores vs. car insurance, even credit scores and jobs, debt and job hiring etc.

[Andrew Ferk]

Hi everyone,

Wow! Thanks for all the comments.

I would like to quickly address the financial concerns. I'm not worried about it. Mostly, I'm worried about wasting my 20s away at work. Yes, I have a $40k student loan, but I'm very confident that I could pay this off in two or three years by living below my means. My skills are in high demand and the market is paying a lot for them. No one expects this to change in the next five years. With that said, quitting my job was not a risk or considered bold, as I didn't like my job (I love my industry/career) and I had a few offers waiting for a response. Also, I do have additional emergency funds, but I pretend I don't have this so I didn't mention it. Yes, I have made some mistakes, such as buying a brand new car. I blame that on my uncle, the guy who sold it to me; he was very convincing

I think I initially came across too confident. When I think about walking the AT at an average 14.5 miles/day, with 30+ lbs, in unpredictable weather and terrain it makes me a nauseous. At the same time, it is the challenge that drives me, not that hiking may be fun or that I'm actually "escaping" the rat race. Ultimately, I will get back into the race, but hopefully I can make it into my own race, just as people make the hike into their own hike. Also, I'm confident that the stories I can tell about the AT will be better than the stories I could tell about that video game or TV show I played/watched, or the drive I made heading downtown, or that line of code I wrote that one day

Again, thanks everyone for the comments. I enjoy the many perspectives and take them all seriously.

Regards,
Andrew

[HikerMom58]

Sweet Andrew..... I wish you the very best.... glad we could help you out and that you gave us a chance to have some input into ur life's decisions!

[10-K]

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[Fur Queue]

Best of luck Andrew!