4 examples of how-to ER, in Canada

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

For y'all up here in Iceworld, here are four countrymen who bailed early and will tell you how:

Retire before 40 - Yahoo! Finance

More examples of how it can be done.

Cheers,

Gypsy
in Cowtown, AB

[Meadbh]

Hmmm, the article is from August 2006.
I've heard that Derek Foster chickened out and went all cash AFTER the meltdown. An update on his ER status is required!

See today's Globe and Mail for the beginning of a weeklong series on The Lost Retirement. It includes one math example of a WR of 6% (!!!)

[haha]

I would see these people more as entrepreuners. Not everyone can or would want to write books, and try to exemplify an "ER" lifestyle.

I think it might a nice way to go, but more a story of writing success than of retirement success.

Also, I wouldn't trust what they say any more than I trust what a medical researcher who gets a grant from Pfizer to study Lipitor says about Lipitor. There really has to be a slant.

Ha

[kumquat]

Writing and selling books is a j*b. These folks have changed careers but have not retired.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Check out the current MoneySense (Barnes&Noble--or your library, where I found it).

They go back to several of their self-made millionaires (not the same group as above) from a few years back and get updates from them on how they have been doing lately. They did not interview all of them, I notice.

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kumquat Writing and selling books is a j*b. These folks have changed careers but have not retired.

Exactly right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Hmmm, the article is from August 2006. I've heard that Derek Foster chickened out and went all cash AFTER the meltdown. An update on his ER status is required!

Here you go: (1) "Fooled ya! I was only kidding!"; (2) The Derek Foster story.

[ikubak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I've heard that Derek Foster chickened out and went all cash AFTER the meltdown.

I wonder how many of those folks that went all cash after the meltdown (and I know a few that SAY they went all cash prior to the meltdown...yeah, right) are still sitting on cash today?

[Grizz]

The Derek Foster debate aside, the folks in the examples are IMO existing on the thin edge of what can be considered a comfortable retired life in Canada.

I would expect that given a choice, the vast majority of us don't want to take public transit and rent cars for the rest of our lives. The option of owning an ancient junker of a car in Canada isn't always a financially wise move either because old things bust when it gets cold, towing isn't cheap, and when given an estimate for $900.00 for a relatively minor fix on a $1500.00 car, you've gotta wonder about the wisdom that lead to the purchase of the rusty '95 Taurus with 210,000km.

On to entertainment...as long as you're OK with limiting your on line time to text based stuff like this forum, then dial up internet is a fine way to save a buck, but no cable TV? (OK, for that I expect a backlash from the more extreme LBYM's out there) C'mon we're in Canada, where, apart from the lucky few on the left coast we have optimistically 4.5 months per yr when you'd not cringe at the thought of going outside.

And the ultimate sacrifice...I don't know many Canucks who, while shoveling their driveway for the 3rd freakin' time this week, don't entertain the thought of one day snowbirding for those 6 months that our health care system allows. That doesn't need to be a really pricey item, but when that dream becomes an impossibility replaced by the stark reality of 6 months per year wrapped in a blanket stoking the fireplace out of financial necessity instead of dialing up the furnace, then perhaps I've retired too early.

[Trek]

Must admit I'm tempted to write the book: Retire Early in Eastern Europe on $7500 a year. Writing it wouldn't feel like work, but the whole trying to get published thing sounds like a lot of effort.

Really though, I could condense the whole thing into just a few pages, just list my monthly expenses with some humorous stories about the locals thrown in. Maybe I could write it as a 5 page .pdf file and sell it online for $5 a pop.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Grizz, I worked in Sarnia, Fort MacMurray, Edmonton and Calgary for years without owning a car. It can be done. And you can save a ton of money, too, which is the point.

Agreed, most folks wouldn't go for it...if they could afford the luxury of a personal vehicle.

In the end, a retiree's expenses cannot exceed their income, no matter what they spend it on.

Hey, Trek! How's the family?

[Trek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy Hey, Trek! How's the family?

Doing just fine thanks. Come meet everyone. We'll leave the light on for ya!

[superdave]

The Dereck Foster strategy was discussed at length on the Canadian Business discussion forum. His approach was just to invest in divident paying stocks and LBYM. He did go all cash during the downturn. Who really knows why.

Public health care makes it easier to 'pull the plug' on work, and is one less thing that keeps you dependent on an employer. The flip side is the tax rates. But once you reach FI and can manage your income, you just keep taxable income low.

I kinda think it is easier to become FI in Canada if you want to. However, I expect that the percentage of Canadian early retirees is the same as in the US. Its something that if you want to do it bad enough, you will find a way. You don't fall into it.

[Milton]

I for one don't have cable television (or any television reception). But I certainly agree with your point Grizz that most people aiming at FIRE (including me) are aiming for a reasonably comfortable lifestyle, which will require more than a subsistence income.

Quote:

Originally Posted by superdave The Dereck Foster strategy was discussed at length on the Canadian Business discussion forum. His approach was just to invest in divident paying stocks and LBYM.

Actually he had relatively few stocks, since the dividends didn't pay enough; he needed to juice a higher income from modest capital so he invested largely in income trusts. Leaving aside the subsequent (November 23, 2005) tax announcement, income trusts are mature businesses with limited growth potential: Derek was significantly exposed to long-term inflation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by superdave I expect that the percentage of Canadian early retirees is the same as in the US. Its something that if you want to do it bad enough, you will find a way. You don't fall into it.

Right on!

[traineeinvestor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trek Must admit I'm tempted to write the book: Retire Early in Eastern Europe on $7500 a year. Writing it wouldn't feel like work, but the whole trying to get published thing sounds like a lot of effort.

Maybe the Kazakhstan tourism board will pay your on-site research expenses?

[Trek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by traineeinvestor Maybe the Kazakhstan tourism board will pay your on-site research expenses?

Well, Kazakhstan is a distant Eurasian country I'm not very familiar with, but judging from it's low per capita GDP ($8,719), you could live on far less than I do in Estonia (a European Union member) with a per capita of $20,560. Be an interesting place to visit though I'm sure.

[Milton]

Thanks to Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, I'm not in any great rush to visit.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I got a buddy in K-country. If you are a foreigner, you are a target. Per capita GDP aside, it is NOT an inexpensive place to live for a Westerner. It is another kleptocracy. If you work for an oil company, they can take care of you. If you don't mind living like they do, it will be inexpensive.

It is a country run by a strongman, though. They do deal with radical Islamists severely.

From surfing the web, it could be OK. Baku is a coastal town with great views if you find the right place.

I looked into work there but without success. It is just as well.

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy If you are a foreigner, you are a target.

I am not a radical Islamist (or an oil company employee), but the above was pretty much all I needed to know.

Seriously: Borat is just a silly movie, and I'm sure that there are some positive points about the country. But with finite time and so many more appealing places to visit, it is unlikely that I'll ever get to Kazakhstan.