The 12 Steps to Semi-Retirement

12 Steps to Semi-Retirement – How to Live Your Life on Your Own Terms.

We have put together an overview of the 12 Steps and the processes involved in becoming Semi-Retired. These steps are purely based on our opinions and life experiences from the years working up to quitting our full-time careers and throughout the last 4 years being semi-retired by the age of 40.

Over the next 12 months, we'll be covering the 12 Steps below. You can also follow our YouTube Channel to hear us talk about each step in detail every month.

1.        Defining Semi-Retirement

2.        Assessing Your Financial Readiness

3.        Setting Your Semi-Retirement Goals

4.        Creating a Financial Plan

5.        Downsizing and Simplifying Life

6.        Exploring Alternative Income Streams

7.        Developing a Flexible Work Plan

8.        Managing Health and Well-being

9.        Staying Engaged and Fulfilled

10.   Adjusting to New Financial Realities

11.   Planning for Full Retirement

12.   Overcoming Challenges in Semi-Retirement

Step 1 – Defining Semi-Retirement

 “Semi-retirement isn’t about quitting work—it’s about designing a life where work fits around your lifestyle, not the other way around. Step one starts with redefining what semi-retirement really means.”

"What if you could work less, earn enough, and finally have the freedom to live life on your terms? That’s the idea behind semi-retirement—and it doesn’t have to wait until you’re in your 60's. We want to break down the 12 steps to semi-retirement, so you can start building a lifestyle with more freedom, flexibility, and balance. Let’s kick it off with step one: defining what semi-retirement actually means —because once you’re clear on that, the rest of the steps make a whole lot more sense."

The first step is understanding what semi-retirement is and thinking about what it means to you. We’ve all heard the term, but below gives you a basic understanding of some points you might not have thought of.

What is Semi-Retirement?

-            It’s a balanced lifestyle that transitions you away from full-time work and focuses on things you enjoy doing that you never used to have time for.

-            A career phase where a person reduces their working hours or job responsibilities instead of fully retiring. Rather than stopping work entirely, they might take on the following –

· Part-Time Employment

• Someone who worked full-time for decades shifts to a part-time schedule at the same company, or a new one, working say, 2–3 days a week. Whatever works for you.

· Consulting or Freelancing

• Retired professionals (like engineers, managers, or teachers) offer their expertise on a contract basis, choosing projects they like without the commitment of full employment.

· Seasonal or Casual Work

• Some people take seasonal jobs (like tax prep during tax season, tourism work in peak months, farming jobs - like harvest or mustering seasons or holiday retail jobs) and then have the rest of the year free.

· Starting a Small Business or Hobby-Based Venture

• Semi-retirees might open a small shop, run a market stall, become fishing guides, start online businesses, or sell crafts/art — mixing passion with income.

· Job Sharing

• Two semi-retired individuals might share the responsibilities of one full-time job, allowing each to work reduced hours.

· Remote or Gig Work

• With remote work and gig platforms (like tutoring online, freelance writing, or ridesharing), semi-retired people can control their hours and workload.

· Volunteer + Paid Combo

• Some people volunteer part of their time for causes they care about and work minimal hours at a paid job to cover personal expenses.

Just a few examples to get your mind ticking over about opportunities that might work for your skill set or lifestyle.

Why It Appeals to People?

1. Financial Security

   Many people aren’t financially ready to completely stop working, but they also don’t want to keep grinding full-time. Semi-retirement offers a middle ground where they can still earn an income without the full pressure of a 9-to-5.

   
   

2. Work-Life Balance

   It allows people to enjoy more freedom—time for hobbies, travel, family, or even passion projects—while still staying productive and engaged.

   
   

3. Health and Wellbeing

   Easing out of full-time work can reduce stress and allow for a healthier lifestyle. Staying partially active also helps keep the mind sharp and the body moving.

   
   

4. Purpose and Routine

   Some people genuinely enjoy their work or the structure it brings. Semi-retirement helps them stay involved in something meaningful without burning out.

   
   

5. Smooth Transition

   Going from full-time work to zero can be a shock. Semi-retirement makes the change gradual, which can be easier emotionally and mentally.

What Does Semi-Retirement Mean to Us?

• Work Less

• Spend More Time Doing the Things You Love

• More Choices

• Freedom

  
  

To take you back a decade or two, we had been leading up to this moment since our mid-twenties. Early in my career, I worked alongside a couple of older tradesmen who had retired after more than four decades in mining. Within a year of their full retirement, they both passed away. Those moments hit hard. I started questioning life and purpose… and while you may have to dig deep for your own answers, for me, it smacked me in the face. From that point on, I swore I would live life on my own terms and work hard to avoid becoming just another mouse on the wheel.

From there, Kel and I unknowingly started our "Semi-Retirement Training." Over the next six or so years — from our late 20s to early 30s — we repeated a simple but powerful cycle: Save Money → Quit Work → Travel → Work Abroad → Travel More → Return Home → Work Full-Time Again... and Repeat.

This process led us on some incredible adventures:

• Working and tour guiding in the mountains of Canada

• Travelling and Snowboarding across the US

• Lapping Australia in a Land Rover

• Living and helping manage a B&B in Japan

• Working on a cattle station in Far North Queensland

In between these adventures, we'd always return home and work full-time again. But soon, we realised: if we set ourselves up a little smarter, we could continue this lifestyle without the need to keep going back to full-time work. Through these repeated cycles, two major lessons became clear:

1. When travelling and working abroad, our living expenses were much lower than when living our regular life at home.

2. We could pack way more experiences into a single 12-month adventure than it would take decades to achieve if we stayed stuck in a 9–5 grind.

   
   

There are plenty more benefits we'll cover throughout the "12 Steps to Semi-Retirement," but these two were the big motivators that kept us pushing for a new way of living. So, we made a rough plan to set ourselves up over the next decade (or less) to be able to quit full-time work — and live life on our own terms.

Fast forward 8 years: In 2021, after the Covid shitshow — and as Kelly was slowly recovering from her treatment for breast cancer — we decided it was time to just make a date and send it. If there's any silver lining to something as brutal as cancer, it's that it can kick your motivation into top gear. That's why I have a quote tattooed on my arm that reminds me every day: "The Trouble Is, You Think You Have Time."

Since September 2021, we've been semi-retired — working when we need to and travelling the rest of the time. And what semi-retirement means to us has evolved: Of course, we wanted to work less and travel more, but we've also found deeper value in spending more time with family and friends when we're home. Even though we travel away, we still see them more than when we worked full-time less than 20km from them, plus, we've met some amazing people during our travels who have become lifelong friends from all walks of life!

Which brings us to why we're putting together these "12 Steps to Semi-Retirement" — not just to tell our story, but hopefully to get you thinking about life differently. There are so many more options out there than working 9–5 for 40+ years, and there is so much more to life than grinding away in the system.

Enjoy it. Your Future Self is Watching... Catch Your Dreams.