Retirement plan to support my "habit"

[Dogbowl]

Some interesting thoughts in this thread.

Start early is the best advice, but may not work for some who have waited too long already.

"Live within your means" has served me well.

One thing no one has mentioned is alternate investment opportunities. Early in my working life I learned that my boss owned part of a fast food franchise. This made me realize there is more than stocks bonds and mutual funds.

I’m all about real estate myself, especially where I live. I’ve been told by 2 now older gentlemen that real estate was the way to go. And obviously, they did very well for themselves.

 

[KeithG]

I’m all about real estate myself, especially where I live. I’ve been told by 2 now older gentlemen that real estate was the way to go. And obviously, they did very well for themselves.

My intent was not just about buying the tight home or second property. It is not just about sole owner real estate. Think about infrastructure. This link provides some examples:
CC&L Infrastructure Investments | Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure

 

[Dogbowl]

My intent was not just about buying the tight home or second property. It is not just about sole owner real estate. Think about infrastructure. This link provides some examples:
CC&L Infrastructure Investments | Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure

I see. Not for me. I’m in a profession that has my hands tied with respect to any company that is or might become a client. It’s complicated...Rental property will never be off-side.

 

[KeithG]

I see. Not for me. I’m in a profession that has my hands tied with respect to any company that is or might become a client. It’s complicated...

Not so complicated. It is fairly common. My wife worked for a consulting firm who had a huge list of don'ts. That job did not last long.

 

[Dogbowl]

Not so complicated. It is fairly common. My wife worked for a consulting firm who had a huge list of don'ts. That job did not last long.

Hahaha. Well, I’m actually hoping to stay at this job for a very long time! And if not this particular company, it’ll probably be another one that has the same rules! Unless I switch professions, which is highly unlikely at this age.

 

[Dan]

Three things... I am on the cusp of retirement so this topic is near and dear to my heart..

(1) My second wife (and I am in Canada, which is likely relevant) is a school Principal. With an awesome pension. You may want to reconsider your choice of spouse. Screw love, marry for money.

(2) The people who told you to start saving decades ago, weren't wrong. You should have listened. My pension earned three times what my job paid last year. It's like having a tribe of peons shovelling money into my bank account, so yay me.

(3) The serious one... Mrs. Stoo and I talk about this a LOT. Retiring in a place where we can dive our faces off every day, mostly requires "cohones". You just have to do your research and then "do it"...

A few years ago, my son was travelling and ended up in Bali. He doesn't dive, but he emailed and he said "Dad, you would LOVE it here... amazing diving, fantastic food, friendly people... and dirt cheap". So that got me Googling...

I came across a blog, kept by a couple from the Chicago area. Their life seemed similar to mine... solidly middle class, a house, a cottage, some pension etc. They had gone to Bali on vacation and loved the place. Like all of us, they decided that they would move there one day. Only they meant it...

So in a nutshell, they sold their cottage and put their house up for rent. They took the cottage money and bought a small tract of waterfront property in Bali, hired some locals and built a modest home, and three even more modest guest homes that they intended to rent. Because they were going to be operating a business, and hiring some locals to work there, they easily qualified for residency.

They moved there and their little business provided enough income that they didn't need to tap into savings. They dove often and made lots of "local" dive trips to the places we North Americans dream of.

They intended to stay there as long as (a) it was still fun, (b) they didn't require significant health care. When they were ready to come back, they'd simply email the tenants in their home and then move back. They'd simply pick up where they left off.

That was maybe three years ago I read that. Since then, I have tried to find the flaw in the plan, and I haven't found it yet.

See... just balls to do it, and some careful planning.

@billt4sf do you know this Chicago couple? You sound like doing what they do.

As for me, I took an early retirement after 30 years working in a petrochemical company. Work for another petrochemical company with 25% bumped from the previous salary. I let my pension from the previous company grows at 6% /year (set by US government) while working with the new company. I put maximum contribution to 401K ($18,500/yr) + $6000 catch-up contribution from the current salary (pretty much doing this ever since I turned 50 years old). Let the pension and 401K grow until I'm ready to retire

 

[Stoo]

@billt4sf Let the pension and 401K grow until I'm ready to retire

Time is a great healer of bad luck and bad decisions when it comes to investments. I was fortunate to lock my stuff in to a programme before the big crash a few years ago. The good news is that my $$ survived and has done well since... 13% last year... The bad news is, it was a long term commitment, so I can't get at it until September '19. That's not that far away though!

 

[abnfrog]

some one posted about diving and dive mastering as I told dogbowl on the phone the other nite if you become an instructor with a good resume and the dive shop wants you . You could make a "good " living and diving in warmer climes . Any one who has been in the dive business for long knows its not a profession financially suited for the "building up of monies for retirement ...BUT as a retirement plan to augment your nest egg its a great idea,,,,,,its what I do , no mortgage limited bills , and a company that's all mine and paid off ......but it is in the cold so not perfect but for now it works ...........

 

[billt4sf]

The secret to real estate is that you get to deduct everything and pay far fewer taxes.

The second secret to real estate is that it keeps appreciating. Don't sell it - rent it out. And don't get too attached to any tenant - tenants come, and tenants go.

- Bill

 

[TMHeimer]

I am no expert, but I think that not all real estate keeps appreciating. Area, economic downturn can cause values to drop. If it's in a mining town and the mine closes, I've seen the price of houses drop by like maybe 80%. One thing for sure about real estate is you have to know a whole lot more than I do to earn money at it.