Is anyone here actually living off their investments with no other incomes?

[boilermaker75]

7 hours ago, james22 said:

Retired two years now, I withdraw ~2.5%/year from equity (my only income source).

 

I've three years in STT I'd withdraw from only if equity down 15% or so.

 

Should last forever (or until marry).

 

"She's so fine, there's no tellin' where the money went," Robert Palmer.

[RichardGibbons]

15 hours ago, scorpioncapital said:

If so, how did you do it? I see that if you withdraw funds from margin you risk a margin call while waiting for your investments to 'mature'. Could take years.

Or do you get dividends enough to cover living costs? 

Do you have a part-time gig that tops it up while waiting for investments to mature?

Do you go for some bold risk taking and make a fortune on some security each year?

Seems to me if you make some mistakes or the equity does not compound fast enough your withdrawal rate has to be very small in the first decade or two of this activity?

 

 

I retired about seven years ago when I was 43. I did it by having a job that would pay for my living expenses, while repeatedly doing Taleb's black swan strategy (though I was doing it about a decade before The Black Swan explained what I was doing.) The strategy is to look for asymmetric bets, moonshot investments that you can buy for small amounts, and could amount to nothing or to a very large amount. I kept doing this until I had three winners, and that was enough to retire with a 2.5% annual withdrawal rate.

 

I have a wide variety of investments, both high and low risk, but have some fairly conservative preferreds and dividend-producing stocks to stabilize things and provide a bit of income, though only a fraction of our expenses. We have a friend as a tenant who pays rent. We also have the ability to cut back expenses should that be required, and a house that could be liquidated if necessary. The combination of these things gives me some confidence that we can recover from most disasters.

 

I do continue to try for low-cost positive black swans, and I've identified one since retirement.

For withdrawals, I tend to convert large chunks of the portfolio to cash, like enough for a year or two of expenses. I do this when it's convenient in the market, convenient for my portfolio, or convenient from a USD/CAD exchange rate perspective.

 

I agree that the sequence of returns for your portfolio matters a great deal--if you get nuked in the first decade or so, you can run into trouble.

[bizaro86]

4 hours ago, RichardGibbons said:

 

I retired about seven years ago when I was 43. I did it by having a job that would pay for my living expenses, while repeatedly doing Taleb's black swan strategy (though I was doing it about a decade before The Black Swan explained what I was doing.) The strategy is to look for asymmetric bets, moonshot investments that you can buy for small amounts, and could amount to nothing or to a very large amount. I kept doing this until I had three winners, and that was enough to retire with a 2.5% annual withdrawal rate.

 

I have a wide variety of investments, both high and low risk, but have some fairly conservative preferreds and dividend-producing stocks to stabilize things and provide a bit of income, though only a fraction of our expenses. We have a friend as a tenant who pays rent. We also have the ability to cut back expenses should that be required, and a house that could be liquidated if necessary. The combination of these things gives me some confidence that we can recover from most disasters.

 

I do continue to try for low-cost positive black swans, and I've identified one since retirement.

For withdrawals, I tend to convert large chunks of the portfolio to cash, like enough for a year or two of expenses. I do this when it's convenient in the market, convenient for my portfolio, or convenient from a USD/CAD exchange rate perspective.

 

I agree that the sequence of returns for your portfolio matters a great deal--if you get nuked in the first decade or so, you can run into trouble.

 

I'd be very interested in how you sized these. I've had two ten bagger investments that probably fit that mold, and both were actually my largest positions at the time I bought them. But selling down as they rose (mistake!) and a pretty diversified portfolio means that the gains from that plus 1 more wouldn't be a reasonable retirement income. (In fairness the first was when I had just started investing in 2008/2009 in my early twenties, so the $2.5k ten bagger maybe doesn't count...)

 

Was the majority of your portfolio in this strategy, or only when you found good/great choices?

[fareastwarriors]

13 hours ago, Castanza said:

Not going to lie, some days I miss the ol Brown UPS truck....Cruising around the country side with the doors open on a sunny day doing physical work...LOL 

 

I quit my cushy office job and after a year or so off, it was just too boring being at home. 

I was doing DoorDash/Amazon deliveries for a bit, and now I'm a cook and getting paid $18/hr base, 3-4 days week . Cooking at a restaurant is hard and tiring af but the work feels "real." I like grinding it out along with my fellow cooks. 

 

For money, I self-manage my rentals and invest my stocks . Sure, I am wealthier than ever now but it just felt like I have too much free time. 

 

I'm mid-30s now. 

Edited August 17, 2022 by fareastwarriors

[Parsad]

5 minutes ago, fareastwarriors said:

 

I quit my cushy office job and after a year or so off, it was just too boring being at home. 

I was doing DoorDash/Amazon deliveries for a bit, and now I'm a cook and getting paid $17/hr base. Cooking at a restaurant is hard and tiring af but the work feels "real." I like grinding it out along with my fellow cooks. 

 

For money, I self-manage my rentals and invest my stocks . Sure, I am wealthier than ever now but it just felt like I have too much free time. 

 

I'm mid-30s now. 

 

I miss running a grocery store...over 25 years ago before I even started investing in stocks.  Loved the grocery business! 

 

I read Buffett's Letter to Shareholders in 1998 and that was it.  I found something more exciting than groceries!  Been 25 years now investing and still love it like I did back then.  

 

Cheers!

[mattee2264]

3-4% is based on the historical record. These days 60/40 would not work because real bond yields are deeply negative. So you would want a higher equity percentage with 80/20 quite popular these days and then you have a much higher sequence of return risk. 

 

So I think there is a lot to be said for having a bit of flexibility. For example having a part time gig that you can ramp up in a bad year for markets so you don't have to sell in weak markets. Also good idea to own your own property so that your living costs will be lower (i.e. no rent) and also less inflation risk (no rising rents). 

 

 

[scorpioncapital]

so if 3-4% withdrawal is needed then could you just buy any asset with at least a 3-4% dividend yield and call it a day? Also this 3-4% rule assumes a minimum capital amount like 1 million? 

 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, RichardGibbons said:

 

I do continue to try for low-cost positive black swans, and I've identified one since retirement.
 

 

Do tell, do tell. 

[Dinar]

13 hours ago, RichardGibbons said:

 

I retired about seven years ago when I was 43. I did it by having a job that would pay for my living expenses, while repeatedly doing Taleb's black swan strategy (though I was doing it about a decade before The Black Swan explained what I was doing.) The strategy is to look for asymmetric bets, moonshot investments that you can buy for small amounts, and could amount to nothing or to a very large amount. I kept doing this until I had three winners, and that was enough to retire with a 2.5% annual withdrawal rate.

 

I have a wide variety of investments, both high and low risk, but have some fairly conservative preferreds and dividend-producing stocks to stabilize things and provide a bit of income, though only a fraction of our expenses. We have a friend as a tenant who pays rent. We also have the ability to cut back expenses should that be required, and a house that could be liquidated if necessary. The combination of these things gives me some confidence that we can recover from most disasters.

 

I do continue to try for low-cost positive black swans, and I've identified one since retirement.

For withdrawals, I tend to convert large chunks of the portfolio to cash, like enough for a year or two of expenses. I do this when it's convenient in the market, convenient for my portfolio, or convenient from a USD/CAD exchange rate perspective.

 

I agree that the sequence of returns for your portfolio matters a great deal--if you get nuked in the first decade or so, you can run into trouble.

What do you do about health insurance?  I am in your situation, but wife still has to work to provide the family with health insurance.  Thank you for any tips/advice re acquiring health insurance.

[RichardGibbons]

11 hours ago, bizaro86 said:

 

I'd be very interested in how you sized these. I've had two ten bagger investments that probably fit that mold, and both were actually my largest positions at the time I bought them. But selling down as they rose (mistake!) and a pretty diversified portfolio means that the gains from that plus 1 more wouldn't be a reasonable retirement income. (In fairness the first was when I had just started investing in 2008/2009 in my early twenties, so the $2.5k ten bagger maybe doesn't count...)

 

Was the majority of your portfolio in this strategy, or only when you found good/great choices?

 

Well, the Black Swan idea is that they're small positions that can go to zero without affecting your portfolio in a big negative way, but have potentially big upside. So, basically every position size was small when put on, and either ended up as a zero (or close to it), or ended up being a lot of money relative to the typical salary. Think of them as lottery tickets, but with a bit higher upfront investment and a bigger chance of winning.

 

So, it was never close to the majority of my portfolio--actually never more than about 2%--except when the Black Swan paid off and became a large amount of the portfolio.

Examples of things that offer this skewed risk/reward include exchange-traded options, options and restricted shares from work compensation, and entrepreneurial ventures with a low upfront cost. Often, it's expending sweat-equity (but not much cash) in a venture until there's evidence whether it will pay off or not.

 

Also, it's noteworthy to say that I've lost on probably 75% of the times I've tried stuff like this. That's just intrinsic to the strategy.

[Gregmal]

That UAN trade was probably the best trade ever posted in an actionable way on this site. Not the "I bought it at 5 and now its at 100" stuff you see from people. Done in real time and seemed to payoff massively in a way others could have followed. 

[RichardGibbons]

4 hours ago, stahleyp said:

 

Do tell, do tell. 

 

I actually posted about the one post-retirement success here on the "What are you buying today?" thread. It was call options on UAN that, when the unit price was low, I kept rolling up and out.

 

It's hard to figure out exactly how much I made because I've also bought a few shares, and, when it went over $80, I started converting some of the options to shares. Plus, it pays pretty massive dividends (e.g. my initial options were purchased a year and a half ago when the stock was at $22. The Q2 dividend we just got was just over $10, and that's only one of four dividends, albeit for the best quarter.)

 

However, I think the initial options of $10K probably has grown into something close to seven digits, though this month is a bad expiry for me.

[RichardGibbons]

2 hours ago, Dinar said:

What do you do about health insurance?  I am in your situation, but wife still has to work to provide the family with health insurance.  Thank you for any tips/advice re acquiring health insurance.

 

I live in Canada. I don't know much about health insurance in the USA, but I think if I were there, I certainly would've worked until my kids were off my health insurance. And, I probably would've waited until my net worth was twice as high before retiring.  (Which seems like a lot, but if you get 10% returns, it's only an extra seven years. It's likely the kids requiring health insurance would've been the gating factor, not the net worth.)

Edited August 17, 2022 by RichardGibbons
Missing word

[Red Lion]

4 minutes ago, RichardGibbons said:

 

I live in Canada. I don't know much about health insurance in the USA, but I think if I were there, I certainly would've worked until my kids were off my health insurance. And, I probably would've waited until my net worth was twice as high before retiring.  (Which seems like a lot, but if you get 10% returns, it's only an extra years. It's likely the kids requiring health insurance would've been the gating factor, not the net worth.)

 

Health insurance is a huge cost here. I'm at the point where I could probably retire with a 3% withdrawal rate if I didn't have to worry about health insurance. My wife and child are Canadian citizens, so this is something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. With that said, I'm in my late 30s and still have some gas in the tank, and I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. I'm trying to transition to a new stage where I start scaling down to find time for other business/investment endeavors.  

 

Another option in the US is to buy a bunch of rental properties where you can obtain positive cash flow but little to no taxable income, and then qualify for an Affordable Care Act subsidy by having low enough taxable income to qualify. As my wife and I are both professionals, even if we scale back, we're not going to able to pull something like that unless we both completely withdrew from our businesses/ the workforce

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, RichardGibbons said:

 

I actually posted about the one post-retirement success here on the "What are you buying today?" thread. It was call options on UAN that, when the unit price was low, I kept rolling up and out.

 

It's hard to figure out exactly how much I made because I've also bought a few shares, and, when it went over $80, I started converting some of the options to shares. Plus, it pays pretty massive dividends (e.g. my initial options were purchased a year and a half ago when the stock was at $22. The Q2 dividend we just got was just over $10, and that's only one of four dividends, albeit for the best quarter.)

 

However, I think the initial options of $10K probably has grown into something close to seven digits, though this month is a bad expiry for me.

 

 

Dannnng. Congrats man!

[throw123]

Not retired yet, as i am under 40, with two young kids. I am at about 2.8% if i consider all assets and 3.5% if i consider just cash and shares held in taxable accounts. Thinking to retire in about 5-7 years where cash and shares in the taxable accounts would give a withdrawal of 2pct or less 

[bizaro86]

11 hours ago, RichardGibbons said:

 

Well, the Black Swan idea is that they're small positions that can go to zero without affecting your portfolio in a big negative way, but have potentially big upside. So, basically every position size was small when put on, and either ended up as a zero (or close to it), or ended up being a lot of money relative to the typical salary. Think of them as lottery tickets, but with a bit higher upfront investment and a bigger chance of winning.

 

So, it was never close to the majority of my portfolio--actually never more than about 2%--except when the Black Swan paid off and became a large amount of the portfolio.

Examples of things that offer this skewed risk/reward include exchange-traded options, options and restricted shares from work compensation, and entrepreneurial ventures with a low upfront cost. Often, it's expending sweat-equity (but not much cash) in a venture until there's evidence whether it will pay off or not.

 

Also, it's noteworthy to say that I've lost on probably 75% of the times I've tried stuff like this. That's just intrinsic to the strategy.

 

Thanks! I've done a few similar type things without really having a formalized idea/strategy around it, and this is definitely food for thought. 

 

I knew you were referring to UAN (and congrats on that!)- I dug into it slightly when you posted it, realized it was a good idea, and discarded it because I wasn't sure how MLPs were taxed in the hands of Canadians. I hadn't realized you were also Canadian - I should have asked at the time! Although I almost certainly wouldn't have rolled that up and out multiple times - that was very impressive. 

[Viking]

It is great to see so many board members doing so well with their investments. Well done! The other super interesting take away is how different each of the many strategies have been. Holy shit. And i love it. 
 

i (my family) have been living solely off our investments since i was 40 (since about 2006). I walked away from my senior management job at Saputo. My wife and i and our three kids under 6 moved back to our home town in rural BC. I needed to recharge may batteries and we wanted the kids to get to know grandparents and the rest of the family better. We didn’t have enough to retire but we had enough to pay cash for a beautiful house, no debts and enough in the bank to last a few years. My plan was to take couple of years off and then figure out what my next day job would be. I always have managed our investments and done reasonably well. But being able to focus on investing full time resulted in returns that greatly exceeded our expenses (which were about C$45,000/year… not an lie - and we lived a great life). By 2010 we had a big enough nest egg we were able to move back to Vancouver and live the same lifestyle (and we realized rural BC was a great place to raise young kids but Vancouver was likely a better place to raise teenagers). For about 10 years our investment gains roughly equalled our expenses (which had ballooned to about $120,000/year). But we owned a house in Vancouver (we had a small mortgage) so we had won the real estate lottery. Last year we sold our house. 2021 was also the best year for our investment portfolio (+60%). Bottom line, my wife and i can now officially say we are retired  

Keys: i never viewed myself as ‘retired’. I never put pressure on myself to earn a big return (my target has ALWAYS been 6 or 8% per year). I always expected i would likely need to get a real job one day (i.e. my investments could run out). Investing has always been a blue job - not a pink job (my wife’s jobs) - and definitely not a purple job (what a disaster that would have been). Bottom line, my wife completely stays out of my gig and she likes that arrangement (she actually gets super stressed if i talk to her about what i am doing). Before we sold our house, all of our investments were in tax free accounts (LIRA’s, RRSP’’s, TFSA’s, RESP); not having to think about taxes was a big, big tailwind for returns. I also am happy to trade in a pretty narrow range of stocks - companies i have followed over the past 20 or so years (i keep adding a few new ones every year).

 

How did you do it? My investment returns > my expenses (and by a lot some years). We also won the real estate lottery.

 

I have never traded any derivatives. The closest i got was then Ericopoly was explaining what he was doing with Fairfax when they were sitting on all their CDS gains in 2007 or 2008. He made millions (i think). I still hit a home run holding only Fairfax shares and a very concentrated position. I also have never bought a stock for a dividend yield… i only look at total return. 
 

Do you have a part-time gig that tops it up while waiting for investments to mature? No

 

Do you go for some bold risk taking and make a fortune on some security each year? When i see a low risk high return opportunity i like to concentrate. I probably make one or perhaps two very big bet every year or two. And watch it like a hawk (i know, my posting on one topic likely drives some people nuts at times). My big bets often carry over for more than one year. As an example: in 2013 i was 100% Apple. We went on a family vacation to Hawaii and right before we left i put the last of our savings into Apple. Getting that concentrated did weigh on my mind; however, my conviction/logic won out. The investment ended up being one of my best ever. Go check out Apple June/July 2013 and you probably will find a bunch of posts from me

 

Seems to me if you make some mistakes or the equity does not compound fast enough your withdrawal rate has to be very small in the first decade or two of this activity? ‘Don’t lose what you got’ has been a key part of my investment decision making process for 20 years. I am quick to move to cash when i don’t like risk/reward situation. It works for me. Not having to think about taxes is a big benefit.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Viking

[scorpioncapital]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the tailwind of the country's system they are in. I remember Buffett said if he was born in something like Siberia there would be no chance anything would work out. Or what if you put it in a stock market in  country where it got expropriated or the stock market shut down?

I wonder if the great investing nations will have the same tailwind going forward. That may be a different experience for millenial generation.

[Castanza]

On 8/17/2022 at 1:41 AM, fareastwarriors said:

 

I quit my cushy office job and after a year or so off, it was just too boring being at home. 

I was doing DoorDash/Amazon deliveries for a bit, and now I'm a cook and getting paid $18/hr base, 3-4 days week . Cooking at a restaurant is hard and tiring af but the work feels "real." I like grinding it out along with my fellow cooks. 

 

For money, I self-manage my rentals and invest my stocks . Sure, I am wealthier than ever now but it just felt like I have too much free time. 

 

I'm mid-30s now. 

 

Nice, a co-worker of mine quit this year and took went all in with his wife on a food truck. He did catering on the side prior. Says he loves it and wouldn't ever go back. I think they focused more on catering events/for hire by breweries etc. 

 

On 8/17/2022 at 1:51 AM, Parsad said:

 

I miss running a grocery store...over 25 years ago before I even started investing in stocks.  Loved the grocery business! 

 

I read Buffett's Letter to Shareholders in 1998 and that was it.  I found something more exciting than groceries!  Been 25 years now investing and still love it like I did back then.  

 

Cheers!

 

Respectable job right there! Ought to pitch that as a movie. "Grocery store manager finds a copy Grants Interest Rate Observer on lunch break...makes millions"

 

I imagine we all have rose colored glasses for the past lol The more I think about it, I don't miss walking in the rain, snow, and sleet and getting attacked by dogs 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Castanza

[lnofeisone]

Surprised nobody said flat out no. I got a late start in investing due to working for a start-up that went belly up and then going to grad school for 5 years. While we certainly beat the average assets/401k/income size by age that you will see in publications, but our asset income||expenses would be horribly mismatched. We have 1 child whose day care pulls down $36k/year with another one likely in a year. Can't wait for private school bills because DC life is so expensive and our schools are, on average, absolute garbage. Can't really move because of where I work. So I'll be working for a while - at least 10-15 years - unless I hit something like UAN trade that @RichardGibbons uncovered.

 

The big reprieve for me is that the firm I work for has an insanely generous retirement defined annual benefit of average of 3 highest earning years. This benefit gets activated once you reach a certain level and stay at that level for at least 10 years. Then have to make it to 62. 

 

As far as market investments, I generally track to slightly underperform averages with occasional big years that more than make up for it. This year it's VET/CVE but I also have a bunch of losers (e.g., weed...maybe I should buy some product and help the companies). Last year I was also heavy energy (something like 40%) and crypto and those holdings went bonkers.  If I pay off the mortgage and go 3% withdrawal for the remaining assets it will cover our most basic needs. I'll probably have to keep my teaching gig (or my wife keeps working) to keep the health insurance going because it is that expensive in the US.

[SharperDingaan]

Been semi-retired for a while now  ....

 

Most people will have 3 retirements; the go-go, the slow-go, and the no-go. Canadian actuarial tables, imply that a healthy non-smoking male, aged 67 - will live for another 19 years (Age 86); and that selecting for healthy/clean living, will extend your life. Most professionals will be packaged out in their late 50's, with each retirement being roughly a decade, and having its own requirements. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310011401

 

Typically, retirement was feared. Often the forced retirement meant a loss of identity, inability to change, nothing else to do - and a resultant self induced grave < 12 months. Quite a bit different today, provided you have learnt how to do ongoing re-invention. Today's package will often pay off the mortgage/car loan, lock in benefits for life, give you some re-training dollars, put some money in your bank account, and a year plus of employment insurance payouts. When letting someone go, it has become increasingly common for the recipient to give you a hug ....

 

Most people will defer pensions, and contract out part of the year/work part-time to fund their go-go retirement; as with no significant debt outstanding, there is little need for that big income. This is when you travel (differently, and often for months at a time), start new ventures, enjoy your 2nd youth, and do all those things you have long wanted to try. You have already made your stash, it has roughly a decade to compound, and it's more about family/you versus the size of your bank account. Zero draw unless it's part of some life-time tax minimizing strategy. 

 

Comes your 70's most people will have grandkids, and your life will become theirs; another round of reinvention! Comes your 80's life will change again as grandkids no longer want to know you, spouse die off, and widows/widowers hook up again for a last kick at the can! The antidote to an increasingly sedentary life, being ongoing community engagement (work/volunteer) and travel. Eventually disease/old age will catch up to you, and your quality of life decisions will decide the outcome.

 

Draws at 3-4% in your second retirement, and 6-10% in your third retirement depending upon health and the home you go to. Depending on the source, continuing to work may no longer make financial sense after tax. If you live in Canada, this will typically be when RRSP's have to convert into annuities and begin paying out.

 

Happy retirement.

 

SD

 

 

     

[james22]

Reading this encouraged me to retire at 56 when I realized working to 60 would cost me ~25% of my remaining "active" life.

 

I'm an ortho doc who takes care of 100+ people a week x 12 years = 60,000 patient encounters. Here is my observations about the human capabilities (in general, yes there are exceptions):

50 year olds - go like 20 year olds....This is the ideal time to go after it and have fun, Very few health issues that slow you down

Low to mid 60s - "if" you have stayed in shape, can still go pretty hard charging. Have all your motor skills (i.e. will still be a good navigator, boat driver, not fall into the water and die, not slip at Dennys and break a hip). Like to be around young people.

Upper 60s to low 70s - start to get "tired". These people can still be active and in shape but seem to enjoy just chillin'. They seem to have as much fun watching their grandkids t-ball game as watching a bikini contest. This group still hates the cold and likes to bug out in the winter. They also like to be around others their age. They are kinda done with the younger crowd.

Mid to high 70s - not much happening here. Most spend 40 days a year at the doctor. Can't move well. Have some decreased motor skills (wobbly on their feet, rotator cuffs wore out, backs wore out, knees wore out). Somewhat of a ticking time bomb. My active 77 year olds with money take a lot of cruises. I would say less than 5% of them could walk to the marina, prepare the boat, safely operate the boat, dock the boat, tie up the boat and be able to get out of the boat onto the dock.

Over 80....well....They enjoy going to the doctor because it's the only time they get out of the house. When they fall, they break stuff and we have to fix them. So the wealthy ones always winter where there is good medical care (i.e. not Mexico or the Bahamas). Most hang out in Texas, AZ, and FL. Oftentimes it's about this age when they stop going away for the winter because their health doesn't allow.
 

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-boating-discussion/337352-best-places-retire-w-your-boat-3.html

[SharperDingaan]

How did you do it?

I used to be utter sh1te at investing, and lost 2-3 fortunes before finally seeing the light. Today there have been quite a few changes, and I approach it with both a professionals credentials, and a professional risk managers mindset. Almost since day-1, I have long arbitraged country and FX differences, and an inception to date compound return of 12%+ is commonplace - inclusive of every one of all those early losses!

 

Do you have a part-time gig that tops it up while waiting for investments to mature? 

2-3!  but primarily for the diversity, mental stimulation, and as a risk management tool. New ventures typically have partners, teaching is always an adventure, and a craft-brewery brings its own operating/financial challenges. No correlation with investment maturities.

 

Do you go for some bold risk taking and make a fortune on some security each year?

Yes, but we do it as a succession of vintages with a 6 yr time horizon. Sometimes more than one vintage/year, sometimes just one every two/three years, timing depending upon the market opportunity. Risk controlled by staying within our competencies, and systematically permanently pulling $ off the table. We have a optimum size, and stay within 5-10% of it - when times are good it forces sales, when times are bad it encourages reinvestment.

 

Biggest take-away's?

Be yourself. You call the shots for what is important to you, not somebody else; the resultant gain/loss is your scorecard.

Process versus once/done. Investing is a life-time thing, that you get better at the more you practice.

Humility. Wealth is a privilege that can be taken away from you at any time, while you have it, use it wisely.

 

SD

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by SharperDingaan

[NoCalledStrikes]

2 hours ago, james22 said:

Reading this encouraged me to retire at 56 when I realized working to 60 would cost me ~25% of my remaining "active" life.

 

 

I left a year before an almost certain opportunity to pick up 9 months severance upon departure in a huge downsizing.  Not waiting around was one of the best decisions that I ever made. 

 

a) My kids were in  5th/7th grade and we got to spend several weeks in Europe with an ex-pat family from Norway with similar age kids that used to live next door to us in Houston. Now that the kids are in college with busy lives, there is no way we could have  ever coordinated such an adventure. In fact the whole summer was full of good activities. Live in the now.

 

b) Working around people who have high probabilities of getting laid off and who still need to work to pay current bills is miserable for everyone, especially if they are in a specialized field in a cyclical downturn - (it might be different in today's job market). Had this same opportunity presented itself a few years earlier perhaps the severance would have been the magic windfall that I would have needed to retire, but it wasn't so I left on my schedule.

 

c) Do not take good health for granted.  I live an infinitely healthier lifestyle than WEB or CM, but 4 years after I retired, I picked up an unwanted medical condition and while all is fine now, I will not be living into my upper 90's like BRK senior management.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by NoCalledStrikes