Subj : Sigh To : AUGUST ABOLINS From : Rob Mccart Date : Mon May 26 2025 01:55:00 Hello August! RM> I haven't worked for anyone else since I was 32. I planned to retire RM> fairly comfortably by age 55 but things happen. AA>This guy almost sounds like he's using your approach. But he >seems to have more money to work with than several of us put >together: It's funny, it didn't feel like it at the time but putting my wages back then into today's money, I was doing fairly well. The job I left would be about $66,000 a year now and the job I was offered later was 50% higher, and I had already bought a just built premium quality 3 bedroom house and was driving a new Thunderbird and had my cottage and a fairly new motorcycle, so I was doing okay. My mistake was taking a break from work and seeing I could maybe get by without the hassles of working for others. AA>https://archive.ph/5a9Kv AA>This is what this guy is working with: AA>The Person: Preston, 39. AA>The Problem: Is he saving too much or too little to retire at age 58? AA>The Plan: Keep saving. Consider paying off his mortgage before >he retires and deferring government benefits. Update his >forecast as he nears retirement age. That's tricky.. Many would suggest paying off the mortgage but I never did that because I could usually make higher interest on my investments than I was paying on the mortgage, and you can always use investment money to pay the bills if you lose your job but a house that's paid off still costs money to keep going.. AA>The Payoff: A look at the alternatives that might be available >to him when he retires two decades from now. AA>Monthly net income: $10,440 ($7,275 from salary plus $3,165 on >average from self-employment). AA>Assets: Bank account $17,800; TFSA $92,185; RRSP $282,600; >residence $586,000. Total: $978,585. He's obviously doing fairly well and the protected money is available in a pinch (TFSA and RRSP). Unless he just recently started with a TFSA, I'm surprised he doesn't have more in that. I much prefer that to RRSP since you pay tax later when you take money from the RRSP and you are forced to take it at a certain age whether you want to or not. The Tax Free Savings Account, you can do whatever you want with it, and any money you pull from it in a bad year, you can put back later. That's why I have about double that amount in mine, although much of that is accrued interest which is why someone new to a TFSA may not have as much in it. I believe the total you can deposit there at the moment is $102,000 so about half of mine is money that just grew in there.. tax free forever.. AA>Monthly outlays: Mortgage $2,205; condo fees $400; property tax >$260; water, sewer and garbage $85; home insurance $75; >electricity $70; heating $165; transportation $240; groceries >$350; clothing $50; dining, drinks and entertainment $600; >subscriptions $30; phones, TV and internet $125; RRSP $2,400; >TFSA $585; pension plan contribution $760. Total: $8,400. >Surplus goes to discretionary spending, including travel, and >saving. That reminds me of the old joke, Most of my money goes to booze and hookers and, whatever is left over, I spend foolishly.. B) AA>Liabilities: Mortgage of $368,600 at 5.14 per cent. He's doing well, but that outlay is quite high. Some of it is well spent and some of it I would consider splurge. The trick to retiring early is becomeing incredibly wealthy early or finding ways to keep your expenses low. For years I had bankers telling me I didn't have enough money to do what I was doing, but I have managed it for the past 38 years. Obviously it became much easier once I got old enough to get my full gov't pension. That's not to say that many would have chosen/been content to live the way I lived though.. Most friends thought I was nuts.. B) --- * SLMR Rob * Gross Ignorance: 144 times worse than Standard Ignorance. * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1) .