tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post77319336663395168..comments2024-03-20T09:32:16.592-04:00Comments on Michael James on Money: Why I RetiredMichael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-67898939934374336362018-03-16T09:17:16.556-04:002018-03-16T09:17:16.556-04:00@Terry: It sounds like you've built a good lif...@Terry: It sounds like you've built a good life for yourselves. I've thought about selling the family home, but we're not in agreement on that point. I was nervous about the possibility of having to go back to work. I figured I'd wait too long, be much less valuable in the marketplace, and end up working for less than one-fifth of my former pay. So, I waited until I have a substantial buffer between how much we spend and how much we can afford to spend. I'm definitely with you on getting away for much of the winter. Like you, I've been getting in better physical shape. Here's hoping things continue working out well for both of us.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-15129264189447770572018-03-14T00:14:29.886-04:002018-03-14T00:14:29.886-04:00Wife and I pulled the plug 2 1/2 years ago in 2015...Wife and I pulled the plug 2 1/2 years ago in 2015. I was 54 she 52. Although we were small business owners, after 30 years of hard work, raising our 4 children, always living below our means, and dealing with everything a small business owner has to do we decided it was time. In our case we downsized within the first year selling the house and ridding ourselves of many of the things a family of 6 accumulates over the years. Bought a condo in a 55 plus development (so the kids couldn't come back lol). Living off the dividends we receive through our investments (around 4K month). All this is not a large income today we manage fine. It is surprising how well you can live once you eliminate the things that don't truly add to your enjoyment of life. Hope things will work out for us but if worse comes to worse we can always pick up part time jobs to supplement our incomes. Have been able to really concentrate on our health and can honestly say I feel better than when I was 40 ( blood pressure drop 15 points in the first 6 months). <br /><br />Have always enjoyed your blog and find the topics relate to the real world. I am writing this on our last day of a 3 month stay in Mexico so with careful planning you can get away for most of the Canadian winter and still make things financially work on a modest income.<br /><br />Good luck on your retirement.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14218932368762303915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-1865229537102466622018-03-12T14:02:01.281-04:002018-03-12T14:02:01.281-04:00@Eric: I'm sorry to hear about your wife, but ...@Eric: I'm sorry to hear about your wife, but as you say, retiring years ago to be together was much better than working your whole life. My wife and I can't know what the future holds, but we can enjoy today.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-29330535343911780422018-03-12T13:10:37.131-04:002018-03-12T13:10:37.131-04:00Note too that nine years after retiring, my wife w...Note too that nine years after retiring, my wife was diagnosed with colon cancer and died 10 months later. I am so glad we had additional years of patio and travel time and self improvement time. It would really suck to work right up to death. Eric Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-50755642233528566732018-03-12T13:08:23.696-04:002018-03-12T13:08:23.696-04:00I retired a decade ago, at age 54. At first, it wa...I retired a decade ago, at age 54. At first, it was a one year sabatical; I intended to go back to work in a different field with much less responsibility. Instead, I found my standard of living was excellent, I enjoyed investing and (hands-off-)managing my money, and the relaxed pace of life. Very soon though I was really busy, mostly volunteering, blogging, travelling, catching up on deferred house maintenance, then deciding to update the decor of the whole house. Absolutely NO REGRETS, the dividends keep coming, and now CPP and OAS. Buying time-saving stuff gets slowly replaced by do it yourself, which is fun, especially paying attention to cooking and my health. Just do it !Eric Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-62305857919429715392018-03-12T10:18:48.478-04:002018-03-12T10:18:48.478-04:00@Martin: My path was bumpier, but I recognize the...@Martin: My path was bumpier, but I recognize the 4 stages you describe. I'm happy to be at stage 3.9 out of 4. By that I mean that I'm willing to do some short-term consulting, but the work would have to be interesting, and the employer would have to seek me out.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-56948919452860227322018-03-12T10:14:21.576-04:002018-03-12T10:14:21.576-04:00A lot of this resonates with me.
At age 47, I'...A lot of this resonates with me. <br />At age 47, I'm in stage 2 of 4 stages of retirement.<br /><br />Stage 1. Work less. My old full time job was easily 5.5 (full but exciting) days/week. I went "part time" to 80% for 4 years. That increased my weekends from 1.5 to 2.5 days, a huge uptick. And due to the marginal-vs-average tax rate effect you mention, I only took about a 15% cut (vs 20%) on after-tax pay.<br /><br />Stage 2, where I am now. Quit my job, but make a career out of consulting. By that I mean, work fairly hard and keep moderately busy, but have a lot more flexibility to choose what I do, how intensively, and when I take time off.<br /><br />Stage 3, probably in a few years. Stop trying to nurture and sustain my consulting business. Take work when someone comes knocking and I feel like it, but focus my energy on non-work stuff.<br /><br />Stage 4. Full retirement. Martin P.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-38268634855398797312018-03-12T09:52:22.620-04:002018-03-12T09:52:22.620-04:00@Marko: Glad you liked it. It's a good feelin...@Marko: Glad you liked it. It's a good feeling to have enough money to do what you want. My wife and I enjoy hiking as well.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10362529610470788243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5465015914589377788.post-43647557015386056432018-03-12T09:38:15.785-04:002018-03-12T09:38:15.785-04:00Good for you and thanks for listing your rationale...Good for you and thanks for listing your rationale for retiring. I'm 58 and just retired because the income from high dividend ETF's is enough for me to live from. I'm in Sedona AZ hiking with my wife - life is good😀Marko@Northlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17781498043944695646noreply@blogger.com