BB and I got to spend a few days together this week. I went down to FL for 3 days over the Easter weekend and then he followed me up to Savannah because he is off Mon-Wed due to a break between Spring Training and the regular season.

BB and I went to a barbeque hosted for the minor league coaching staff. It was …different. Many of the coaches are…older. So the party was pretty laid back, the music was not my preference, and there was a lot of watching MLB on the TV (opening day and all). After partying with the players for the last 7 years…partying with the coaches was like aging 15 years. But that’s ok. BB fit right in. He’s always had a mature mindset when it comes to hanging out with people- I think that’s why the coaches all like him.

Anyways- that culture shock moment aside- BB and I had a good conversation last night. We were back here in Savannah and talking about the future. I was talking about how 1 coach tried to caution me that a coaches life is “very hard because they travel so much.” I replied that I will gladly take the traveling over the constant fear of BB getting injured or released that we experienced when he was playing. BB said the coaches feel their career is tough because they only see their families half the year. Many of the coaches played in the Big Leagues so they really don’t need the money. They do it to be a part of the game- or to have a 2nd career because they are in their thirties with no job. But they tend to burn out quickly because living away from your family 6-7 months a year gets old quickly. Especially if you don’t need the money.

A new coach is currently in this exact situation. He and BB get along really well- but the coaches family and kids live in the Mid West and the coach will be living in New England all summer. The guy made close to a million dollars a year for several years...and now he pulls in about a tenth of that. BB is predicting he will last a year or two and is kind of sad about that- since they get along so well.

So this spurred me to ask BB how he is doing without me. We are used to this lifestyle, but I know it still kind of sucks for us both sometimes. BB is doing well, he knows this is his dream job, and he knows this is how it is. BB & I threw out some different scenarios about different teams he could work for that would be closer to home. But that’s a bit unrealistic to expect to be able to hop over to whatever job is the most convenient for you.

We were able to throw some numbers around…and maybe if we keep saving and living as we are now…I might be able to “retire” in 5 years and go back on the road with him. Obviously this is only if nothing happens to us financially between now and then (and something always does come up). But if we save at our present rate and the rentals generate the income we expect- once the construction is finished with The Impulsive Purchase- we might be able to live off his income and put my income into the mortgages. We owe $118k on one house…if I put $25k a year into the mortgage for 5 yrs…we would almost have it paid off. Once that one is paid off- I could “retire” and the rent collected from the other unit would pay about double the mortgage due on it every month. So we could aggressively pay that mortgage off as well while living on BB’s salary alone.

Of course the variable factor is a kid. That’s why I would “retire” in the first place…and why BB would want me on the road with him. So I would not have to put the child in day care and he can see our child more than 5-6 months a year. And it is this “kid” that would likely throw our expenses into havoc and make me unable to retire in 5 yrs. (BB has baby fever…I have to be a bridesmaid in 9 months so I don’t want to get baby fever until after I have to fit into the dress.)

So we’ll see. We have 9 months to play with the numbers before we go into maybe baby land. The cool thing was that during our conversation the money/saving concept really hit home with BB. Like…hit him like a ton of bricks. He said it never even occurred to him that I might be able to quit working because I am always harping on him not to spend money. I am always stressed about how the bills are going to get paid. It’s because I pay us FIRST (and I pay us well) by putting a large chunk into savings every month…and that leaves the budget with little room for error every month. I told him that if we keep living as we are living now, and we do not make any large want based purchases between now and 5 yrs (I see a boat in BB’s want future)…I think the numbers could work. However- it would only work if we do not add anymore monthly bills/ commit large sums of money to a purchase between now and then.

BB understood and said that he likes working towards allowing me to go on the road with him. He wants to live frugally now if that is in his future. He finally understood how strict discipline now will pay off big at a later date. He finished off by saying that the other coaches will be scratching their heads trying to figure out how BB...never got past double A ball can afford to do this when they spent years earning a million or close to it and cant get it done.