Retire Often: How anyone can take multiple career breaks to unlock adventure, advance their career, and find financial freedom

by Jillian Johnsrud

Why do we have to work for 40 years and only retire once? Why can’t we take occasional career breaks to focus on the other areas of life that family, friends, adventure, rest, hobbies, our health, and achieving long-held dreams?

And what if there was a way of doing so that not only avoided financial or career downsides – but brought profound upsides?

Author Jillian Johnsrud has walked the walk – taking numerous mini retirements that have unlocked work-life balance and a more purposeful life, while also helping rather than hindering her career thanks to simple steps and practical principles that anyone can follow.

She has coached hundreds of people to achieve the same, and in Retire Often she shares everything you need to make the most of every season of life by retiring not once – but often.

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance, Audiobook, Self Help, Personal Finance

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Jillian has been slowly growing her creative and entrepreneurial life since she was a teenager. About once a month she realizes she's not cut out for this life and quits, but only for a few hours.

Her work has been featured in Forbes, Good Morning America, USA Today, Glamour, and Parents. Her work has been viewed over a million times with it's fair share of praise and criticism.

She is a popular podcast guest, speaker and coach. She runs an online education company teaching people how to create financial freedom while building meaningful and enjoyable lives.

Over the last 19 years of marriage, she and her husband, Adam, have adopted 4 kids, had 2 biological kids, traveled to 40+ of the United States and 27 more countries, lived abroad, bought and renovated homes, then became financially independent in their 30s.

Jillian and Adam live in Montana with their 5 kids and dog, Cheesy Taco. They spend their time reading, hiking, drinking tea, watching their ducks and traveling with their kids.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Money with Katie for interviewing the author and leading me to this book. While the book is well written, its content is illogical for most professions and individuals. The theory is fantastic and if you can make it work and still jump back into the corporate bandwagon after (if you still want to) then I'm very happy for you. However, I don't see how this could be feasible for me. I appreciate that she gives examples but they too are just not applicable. I would suggest to integrate her suggestions into as long as vacations as you can get from your employer. Maybe you get 2, 3, 5 weeks off each year, if you can put them back to back then implement suggestions from this book to make the most of that time.

[J M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very barebones personal finance book. Cute concept — not exactly practical in an age of constant layoffs and attrition. Author clearly endured some trauma in her life which gives her this “happy go lucky” mentality. I’ve never seen anyone who has purposely adopted 5 kids say “sometimes life just happens” so often. Anyways, kudos to those of you who can actually pull this off. Wouldn’t pick up again.

[Rachel Lucas Hough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jillian’s work completely changed how I view retirement. Because of her, I took my own mini-retirement, and it was life-giving in ways I didn’t expect. Retire Often is encouraging, practical, and a reminder that you don’t have to wait until you're 65 to step back, rest, and reset.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've followed Jillian's work for over seven years, and her latest book, 'Retire Often,' is her most impactful yet.
Chapter 2, which dives into lifestyle design, was a standout for me. Jillian offers practical tools to help readers envision their ideal day, week, and year — from crafting a dream to-do list to reflecting deeply on what they truly want out of life. Her guidance feels both inspiring and actionable.
As a former HR Business Partner, I also appreciated her bold critique of traditional work culture. In Chapter 12, she challenges the status quo by suggesting that employers give employees a month off every year — a radical idea that feels surprisingly reasonable once she lays out the case.
The book is highly readable from start to finish, but it also works well as a reference guide, especially when planning specific phases of a sabbatical or mini-retirement. I only wish 'Retire Often' had been around when I took my own career break — it would have helped me approach that time with far more confidence and intentionality.

[Kateryna Maw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of the book is great and I enjoy the author's podcast. But somehow the book felt uninspiring and flat to the premise preached. I believe people can set goals to take mini-rerirements, financially-speaking, but also, find time to do it. I think that the structure described in the book does help but I also felt as though it was written poorly. I wish there were other, better, books about this topic that are inspiring to leap! On the other hand, I appreciated that the book was not all about travel. I agreed with the author that we often ignore the mess in the house that can not be dealt with during nights and weekends, so that mini-retirements are not always about luxury trips to Europe but also time to declutter and make time for the projects that have been neglected.

[Fritz Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever considered taking a sabbatical, this book is for you.

Jillian draws a beautiful map, based on her personal experience and coaching clients, to lead you down the path that many thought impossible. Rather than wait until 65 to retire, sprinkle regular "mini-retirements" throughout your life at key points (e.g., before the kids leave home). Avoid future regret, and live your best life now.

Many people dismiss this alternative approach, but this book shows that its possible, and lays out all of the steps to make it a reality in your life. A "must-read" if you're curious about a new way of living, and a trend that is gaining steam.

[Brandon Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little wordier than necessary but makes up for it with some good anecdotes and real-life stories. Essentially a checklist of things to consider and plan for, with elaborations. Some of it you probably won’t need to be told, but the financial section is a little underweight and further reading will likely be required. As with many of these books, very U.S.-centric with their wacky taxes and healthcare rules. Mostly useful advice, although I enjoyed figuring out a lot of this stuff for myself when I took a sabbatical!

[Tim Mathis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the practicality and philosophy behind the book. Super useful and I feel like the author is a kindred spirit. Would recommend to anyone looking to take control of their life back from work and/or an unreasonable sense of responsibility to accumulate.

[Josh Overmyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jillian has been an invaluable resource for me as I planned and then have taken my own Mini-Retirement. I love this concise collection of her best stories and examples from her career coaching others and the guests on her podcast.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

Admittedly I didn’t go into this very open because I heard the author on a personal finance podcast and was doubtful of its applicability to my life and I still feel that but it’s a nice thing that maybe I’ll eventually try for :/

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book to rethink stretching our breaks in careers, life etc and budget effectively to do so. Sabbaticals and pushing the limits to not work just to retire but making vacations into normal annual life is good to look at

[Sophia Khawly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to take multiple mini retirements. I used to think I wanted to retire early, but after taking several mini retirements, it is no longer necessary.

[JL Kegley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking breaks from work made easy!

Easy and fun read.

[Zachary Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and would be helpful in a different phase of life. I will hopefully be returning to this book soon.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my new personality.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept, but maybe a little lacking.

[Jamie Hatcher]

Love the idea and am trying to implement it!

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook. I love and agree with the premise of the book but it didn’t need to be that long.

[Sarah Beadle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting concept, made me think in a new way. I really enjoyed this!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jillian Johnsrud is a good one. I really enjoy her podcast about mini-retirements and I love how down to earth she is about sharing logistics for making big career changes work.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reframe on for the personal finance world, one that challenges the reader to think creatively about their career and life.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was inspiring and challenged my thinking about the decisions we were making with our time and money. This is a book I will read again and again.

[Alexis Gerst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retire Often presented a compelling case for taking time away from work multiple times throughout a career. I've delayed a 3-month sabbatical to explore several National Parks with my husband for over 2 years since it was originally planned because I love my current job and can't bear to quit, but the principles in Retire Often give me confidence that I can help frame this as a positive break with my employer and take the trip without negatively impacting my career!