# I've finally reached 55 ... here's where I'm at on my goal



## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

I don't know how many of the original posters are still around from when I updated my old diary thread ... 'Trying for Freedom 55'. I started a Net Worth diary thread 10 years ago in anticipation of retiring at 55 (see link below if you're interested in seeing my progress). Back when I started this thread my Net Worth was $530,000. I also see that I stopped updating this thread 5 years ago. Well, I'm now 55 years old, and almost exactly 10 years has passed since I started this journey, so I thought I'd provide an update. 

A bit about our situation ... we are a 1 income family. My income has been around $170k for the last 5 years. So wealth accumulation has been difficult with only one income, but not impossible. 

Back in 2011(start of this thread) --> Net Worth was $530,000
5 Years ago (when I stopped updating this thread) --> Net Worth was $1,090,000
Current update --> Net Worth = $2,200,000

Although this amount provides my wife and I with financial freedom through our retirement, I consider it to be the bare minimum. I'd like to continue working for 3 more years to allow us some better spending money once retired. Plus, I enjoy my job .. which has been transitioned to a work-from-home arrangement. 

Things that I have learned ...
1) Investments are great, but a focus on saving money is the real wealth builder ... at least for us. I've had up and down luck investing in individual stocks and only really did well with some of the mutual funds I own.
2) Assuming a steady income, and a company pension is set up, wealth accumulation really starts to ramp up in the latter 5 years just before retirement ... also assuming you are dedicated to saving money.
3) Life throws huge curve balls at times, which can change your savings plan drastically. This year alone we've spent 6 figures on upgrading our home/property. Previous years also took a toll on savings through upgrades to mechanical equipment, etc. Home ownership, especially acreage ownership, is not for the faint-hearted 
4) Although I stopped updating my Net Worth diary thread 5 years ago, I never stopped tracking our Net Worth in my handy-dandy Excel Spreadsheet. I doubt we'd be where we are today if I didn't have a good handle on where we were at any given time vs our retirement goal.
5) I've learned to prepare for all the spare time I'll have in retirement by building out my dream wood working shop. I've also started to expand my hobbies and interests well ahead of retirement. 

That's all I've got. I know our Net Worth is pretty decent compared to some, but fairly small compared to others. In the end, you have to be comfortable with the life style you have, and to be able to continue funding it. My guess is that our Net Worth will be about $500K higher when I truly ready to retire in about 3 years.

Would love to hear other people's opinions, or similar stories on your journey to retirement. 

Link to old Diary Thread: Trying for Freedom 55 ... in 10 years


----------



## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

mind_business said:


> 5) I've learned to prepare for all the spare time I'll have in retirement by building out my dream wood working shop. I've also started to expand my hobbies and interests well ahead of retirement.


As I approach retirement in a handful of months myself, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the extra 40 hours a week. I'd like to travel more but the missus is going to continue to work for a few more years though she does have a lot of annual vacation time. I may be able to travel with some friends but otherwise I generally dislike traveling alone. However, I can't travel all the time so I'm trying to plan for other activities like more effort at a fun side business, working out more regularly, etc. The missus has a number of small home renos/chores she'd like me to tackle too. Unfortunately, I don't have any interesting hobbies like woodworking so it might be a bit of trial and error for me finding 1 or 2.


----------



## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

It will take some time to find the key things one likes to do. No need to rush it. It took me about a year or more to high grade what I liked doing most. Besides some annual travel, hiking (and snowshoeing) with a like minded group became one activity, and volunteering on non-profit Boards became another. 15 years later, my hiking days are gone due to health issues and I am wrapping up the last of my non-profit Board/Commission activities (a total of 4 over 15 years) at the end of this year. No more disciplined structure needed in my retirement. Wine, cheese, travel, hot tub, gardening will be enough.


----------



## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

milhouse said:


> As I approach retirement in a handful of months myself, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the extra 40 hours a week. I'd like to travel more but the missus is going to continue to work for a few more years though she does have a lot of annual vacation time. I may be able to travel with some friends but otherwise I generally dislike traveling alone. However, I can't travel all the time so I'm trying to plan for other activities like more effort at a fun side business, working out more regularly, etc. The missus has a number of small home renos/chores she'd like me to tackle too. Unfortunately, I don't have any interesting hobbies like woodworking so it might be a bit of trial and error for me finding 1 or 2.


I'm sure you'll figure out what you want to do in retirement. Things tend to fall into place on their own, but it helps to give it a bit of a push sometimes  I like your idea of working out regularly. I built out one of our basement rooms into a small exercise room (weights, bench, treadmill, bike trainer, etc). I really enjoy working out in this space. I've lost 60 lbs in the last couple of years, and haven't been this in-shape in a LONG time. Here's a photo of the space. Not fancy, but very useable.


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I was reading on another forum (Rational Reminder) about how working a professional job is habit-forming. You just get used to it over the years and kind of forget about the other things you enjoy doing in life.

But like everyone else, you will have other interests @milhouse . It just might take some self discovery or you might have to remember things you used to enjoy doing. All the things that you once might have said, I'd love to do this but I don't have the time.

A couple years ago I ramped down my work from 40 or 50+ hours a week, towards more like 20 hours on average. I have found plenty of fun things to fill the time and I am never bored. The very LAST thing I find myself saying is: "oh if I only had more office work to do instead of this"


----------



## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

Pleased to see what you have achieved to this point. I too am 55, and have agreed on most of your points 1-5.

We have resisted big renos and big property, but there is nothing wrong with them if they do not get in the way of saving, and you can carry them at the same time.

I have just started into working 22.5 hours a week in a move to ease myself out of work, but have not worried where the extra time will be spent yet.


----------



## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

mind_business said:


> Here's a photo of the space. Not fancy, but very useable.


Nothing fancy except two TVs and a mirror which covers almost an entire wall 

Just kidding, I find that aerobic workout + TV is a great way to get the most out of my time. It looks like a nice space. I'm nowhere near retirement but I definitely intend to spend more time working out then.


----------



## banjopete (Feb 4, 2014)

It's cool to see the update from where you were to where you thought you might be and despite the hurdles you did essentially end up where you had hoped. You're choosing to work a bit longer to pad the funds a little more as mentioned but you could potentially go any time if the cashflow can work for you. Good gained wisdom in there too about savings really being the main driver of the increases, and seeing in hindsight that the stock picking game may not have been the best approach. I'm curious with that gained wisdom are you still investing in a stock here and there or have you changed that approach?

I wonder for myself how things will shape up over a similar timeline. My lady and I are in our early 40s (42/41), we have two young kids 4 & 6, and are financially dealing with all the things you'd expect in what feel like the most expensive part of our lives at this point. If things go right we're hoping to also be done at 55 but those optimistic plans at 35 are looking a little different now with 2 kids and home ownership in our lives. We're currently sitting right around $550k for net worth roughly and we're both paying into db pensions which are on top of that. The net worth is split nearly 70/30 between investment/home & condo equity. I definitely think we're on our way but it still feels like an impossible goal.

We're mainly hoping that at 55 when my wife maxes out her pension benefit we have a real option to walk and enjoy our relative youth, health, and our young adult kids. 

Anyways thanks for the update and sharing so much, I love hearing all about this stuff with the ups and downs that life throws at them over time.


----------



## bigmoneytalks (Oct 3, 2014)

Ponderling said:


> Pleased to see what you have achieved to this point. I too am 55, and have agreed on most of your points 1-5.
> 
> We have resisted big renos and big property, but there is nothing wrong with them if they do not get in the way of saving, and you can carry them at the same time.
> 
> I have just started into working 22.5 hours a week in a move to ease myself out of work, but have not worried where the extra time will be spent yet.


Renos and the big property and job loss will definitely slow down your path for financial freedom. I too have resisted despite the pressures of peers and family. But I know that if you stay on course, you'd be happy that you did. I guess buy the dream home later when you have accumulated wealth. When your job and children no longer tie you down, lots of a great and beautiful homes out there that won't break the bank, if you relocate of course.

I might just buy a villa in Spain when I retire...with an outdoor pizza oven , infinity pool... oh a hammock, those are a must when retired!


----------



## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

Yes, from my travels lots of nice places a few blocks walk to the oceanfront along the costa del sol in the med side of Espania. 
Met a few couples on a Med cruise I was on that had sold up in the UK, bought a modest flats in Spain, and then with surplus from property move were travelling while still modestly young.


----------



## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

*Congrats mind_business* and I'm one of the "early members" of this forum - I do remember you starting your thread. It was around the same time, just after, I started my blog.

Some comments on your comments if you will....

1) Investments are great, but a focus on saving money is the real wealth builder ... 

(Me - yup, for many. A high, sustained savings rate is a key wealth-builder not finding the latest ETF or stock).

2) Assuming a steady income, and a company pension is set up, wealth accumulation really starts to ramp up in the latter 5 years just before retirement ... also assuming you are dedicated to saving money.

(Yes. The longer you stay invested, you can almost see the portfolio working before your eyes....)

3) Life throws huge curve balls at times, which can change your savings plan drastically. 

(The reality is, you have to live somewhere. Might as well enjoy it. Housing is an expense not an investment per se.)

4) Although I stopped updating my Net Worth diary thread 5 years ago, I never stopped tracking our Net Worth in my handy-dandy Excel Spreadsheet. 

(I've actually found that focusing on my cashflow is a great motivator. I don't really care too much about net worth. That's more vanity. If you have a high cashflow (income > expenses) you can realize financial independence rather easily and work on your own terms.)

5) I've learned to prepare for all the spare time I'll have in retirement by building out my dream wood working shop. I've also started to expand my hobbies and interests well ahead of retirement.

(What can I say....that's awesome.)

A big congratulations to you.

3-4 years to semi-retirement for me.


----------



## umkhulu (Apr 22, 2014)

Lots of good advice in the responses, unfortunately in Canada there are no workshops where you and your wife can learn about the pitfalls to avoid and how to structure a balanced life after retirement (plenty of financial advice but you seem to have that well under control). Somebody coined the phrase about retirement divided into the "Go-go, Go-slow and the No-go" years and that seems to me to be very true, so if you as a couple want to travel, do it while you are on the young side and health insurance is not that expensive. Something not yet mentioned is the value of friendships, so a good time to nurture them in retirement. Lastly, in retirement one's marital relationship changes and your wife will certainly in many cases expect you to share housework - it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you since you have been working from home.


----------



## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

For me, where I live, Peel Region, Ontario COVID lockdowns were in place for a long time. That kinda forced the training wheels onto could me wife and I coexist around the house for a long period of time.She was already retired, and I saw that there were ways to adapt to the time around the house. 

That was a part that played into going to the short work week model to easing out that I am on now. I have been going to the office for about a month now, after sick of being at home with work a different laptop away, even though company does not plan in person requirement until into 2022. 

My boss was in yesterday. Nice to have someone to talk to face to face versus Teams. He was on a call when I packed up and left at 3pm as is my current practice, and that felt kinda weird.to me as in the first in person situation of short hours sinking in. .


----------

