Keith and Tina Paul are destination and experience influencers and marketers.

HAVING felt they missed out on travel early on in life Keith and Tina have certainly made up for it since!

Their decision and determination to retire early and explore all the world has to offer meant some hard work and planning but certainly paid off. They offer advice and guidance to all who have similar ambitions on their informative and well-read blog www.retireearlyandtravel.com.

Read on and you will find how the bond between the pair has made it all possible and also learn more about their life in the South American country of Ecuador.

Tell us about your earliest experiences of travel and when you both knew you’d caught the ‘travel bug’?

The year after high school graduation (we started dating one month after graduating high school and have been together ever since) we traveled in 1980 to the Dominican Republic. Back then it was a developing country. We
fell in love with the different smells, sights, and colors of the country compared to what we were used too. The people were so friendly and welcoming. We decided then that we would like to see the world.

Keith and Tina’s love of travel meant they were determined to retire early and enjoy other parts of the world.

When did you start planning your own early retirements and how much time, saving and effort did it take?

We did not do anything in our 20s or the first few years of our 30s for retirement. We wish we had. In our 30s Keith started contributing to his retirement plan. In our 40s we began to look at our retirement accounts.

We began to educate ourselves. We were thinking of early retirement at that point as maybe 60 or 62. It wasn’t until we were in our early 50s that we said hmm… with some changes and a bit more planning we can retire soon

Keith and Tina chose Ecuador as their country of retirement and have enjoyed everything from the social life to the weather it has to offer.

What made you choose Ecuador as the country to move to and what is the community and lifestyle like where you live?

When we were considering moving abroad we were looking for a place with a great climate, not too hot nor too cold and more importantly low in humidity.

It had to be easy for us to bring our two dogs too. The city had to be large enough that there would be a lot to do and plenty of people to meet. We wanted to live in a walkable city so we would not need a car. We were looking for a city with a low cost of living, and we were hoping that we would find this in a place where Spanish was spoken since we both knew a little. Cuenca, Ecuador met all of these requirements.

We are busier socially in retirement than we were before. We have learned to play bridge, so we play cards, go out to dinner and get together with friends a lot. We walk almost everywhere. Cuenca’s climate is that of eternal spring. There is no heat or air conditioning here, anywhere. There are all sorts of museums; many are free or a dollar or two. There are two symphonies, a jazz club and lots of free concerts. 

Tell us about the website and how it can aid others to benefit from early retirement too?

We provide a lot of advice on things you can do to achieve early retirement or partial retirement. We have met people who could not completely retire but instead, are just working part-time. They have side gigs that are generating that extra income. We have posts that show you how to add to your income. In a month we will have a mini video course coming out and later this year a full-length video course that will show exactly how we achieved early retirement and how you can too.

If they feel they missed out on travel early on in life they have certainly made up for it since.

If you had to have one golden rule on how to make a dream of early retirement happen what would that rule be?

Pay yourself first. Save before you ever get the money in your hands and then live off the remainder.

Tell us about some of the podcasts available on the website as well as the blogs about your own travels and adventures?

We don’t have any podcasts of our only, only ones of others that we’ve been guests on. Our website is all about how to retire early and travel. We document our travels around the world including video.

The bond between the pair has meant they have been able to achieve and live their dreams.

How are you currently most spending your time and what exciting projects or adventures do you have planned for the year ahead?

When we are home, we spend our time socialising with friends and hosting our friends and family from the US. This year we will be doing a Panama Canal cruise. We will be in Eastern Europe visiting the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Croatia, and Slovakia. Later in the year, we will also be in Africa. For sure we are
doing a safari in Tanzania, and we are working on a couple of other countries. Lastly, we are working hard on completing our early retirement video course.