My Early Semi-Retirement
I’m 58 years old and have been retired for just over a month now. It has been quite an interesting experience and one that caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to get laid off two years short of my early retirement goal of 60, but that is how life works out sometimes. I thought it would be temporary and I would find a new job and go back to work. But as I researched financial strategies, I realized I had enough money invested to cover my basic living expenses for the rest of my life. I am already financially independent and just beginning to realize all the possibilities.
My Old Plan
I have had a retirement plan since 1992 and it was pretty simple. I was going to buy a house, pay it off, save up a million dollars and retire on the income from my investments. I formulated this plan 4 years before I even bought the house and now 30 years later, the house is paid off and my investments are close to a million. I am almost to my goal, but not quite. A million dollars isn’t what it used to be and I was only able to save $930K, before I got laid off.
Using the 4% rule, I was about $1,000 per month short of covering my basic living expenses. Then, I learned about the 5% rule (Guyton-Klinger Rule), which added $930 dollars to my monthly budget and covered my health insurance.
No financial plan survives contact with the economy. Be ready to pivot and improvise.
My New Plan
Knowing I had my basic living expenses covered from my investments opened a lot of new doors for me. Things I was scared to do in the past, such as starting a new business, were suddenly risk-free. My entire adult life I have been afraid to fail financially and now that fear is suddenly gone. I started to envision my new life in the future and a calm feeling came over me. I’m no longer dependent on anyone for my income and I’m no longer subject to the uncertainty of my employer. Not only am I free, I’m confident and excited about my new future.
My new retirement plan is to start an online business to pursue income that I have some control over. I actually enjoy working, as long as I still have the freedom to live my life in the way I choose. I joined a Mastermind Group and am studying how to launch an online business. I have a lot of work to do to get my new products and my website in order, but I love this type of work. Working for myself is way more rewarding than working for The Man.
What would you do with your life if you knew it was impossible to fail?
My New Purpose
I didn’t retire early just to sit around and live a life of leisure. I have a number of big goals remaining that I want to accomplish and they will take effort and resources. I also want to travel more and that costs a lot of money. I don’t want to just scrape by in retirement and worry about how much money I have left. I want to exceed the income and resources I created in my working years, so I can live an awesome life.
Another important purpose for my life is helping others. I have had a goal for over a decade of giving away 10% of my net income, but I’ve been pushing the start date back for years now. My current goals consume all of my income and don’t provide enough left over for me to help others. I’m hoping my new business will provide enough for me and to contribute to society in some meaningful way. I have a great idea for a non-profit I would love to start.
What would you give to the world if you had more than enough for yourself?
The Bottom Line
You can shape your own future if you have the courage and the resources to do so. Once you break the cycle of dependency to your employer, you open up a whole new world of amazing possibilities.
“The goal isn’t more money. The goal is living life on your terms.” – Chris Brogan
Congratulations Bret.
You have always been a coolheaded person with realistic goals.
You have worked very hard all your life for the time I have known you.
Always going after the things, you wanted in life like when you kept after your first job ever, where they kept telling you “You are not old enough.” You persisted and got the job the first day you were old enough.
You had new dreams of working at better places, got more education and better jobs, your live and dreams got bigger and better.
You succeeded and here you are, once again planning your retirement for the next stop on your lives’ journey.
I believe you will once again, be great at it. Congratulations! You will make it happen!
I love the pictures of the Alaska shirts, and most of all I’m glad you joined a group.
WHEN I HAD MY TABS ON TIME BUSINESS, I WENT TO MARK’S IN SAN DIEGO AND
SPENT THE NIGHT IN HIS HOUSE, AND THEN TOOK A CLASS IN LEARNING A CLASS ON
QUICK BOOKS. FROM THEN I BECAME THE “QUEEN OF QUICK BOOKS”
WE HAD BREAKFAST TOGETHER EVERY FRIDAY, AND EACH OF US TOOK TURNS GIVING A LITTLE SPEACH ABOUT HOW WE COULD
HELP EACH OTHER AND WHAT WE OFFERED. THAT PUT MY BUSINESS IN THE BLACK INSTEAD THE RED.
GOOD LUCK !