Are Micro Retirements The Answer To Career Burnout?

“It was the best year and a half of my life, so enriched with amazing opportunities, culture and people,” says 29-year-old Beth Lawson from Newcastle, reflecting on her own micro retirement, which ended in June last year. She travelled from Argentina to Mexico with her boyfriend. “Ever since I was at college, I wanted to travel South and Central America, but it made sense to go to university first. After that I secured a graduate job in London and the years flew by happily, and COVID also happened. Once we saw the gap and opportunity to leave, we took it.” Lawson and her boyfriend, both working as junior designers, were able to save as they shared one room in a house-share, meaning their rent was less than their housemates’. Each month, over a period of five years, they put money aside. “We are not flashy people. We like to cook, we cycle most places, and always opt for tinnies in the park,” she adds. “When we were travelling we maintained this attitude, mainly staying in hostels and travelling by bus.” This made their micro retirement financially achievable. Lawson plans to take another break in a few years, once she’s saved up again.