Beginning to Blog

In 2021, I began a YouTube channel to share some of the lessons I have learned in six-plus years of forced early retirement. There are a lot of voices who share plans for Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE), and other voices who plan their well-executed traditional retirement plans. But there are very few who can share what happens for the majority of retirees who find they have entered retirement sooner than they expected. In my case, I began retirement years ahead of my schedule with a sudden job loss one month before turning 59.

If everything had gone according to my original plan, I would have retired at 65 at the end of 2021. I would have had substantially more in my retirement portfolio. I would have had a healthier pension. I also would have endured six more years of corporate office politics, stress, and more recently about two years of Zoom calls. I shutter at the thought!

Instead, someone else made a decision to start my retirement early. And as I have said, it was the best decision I never made. I've had time to travel, time to treasure with my family, and I've found time to learn what I need to know about managing the finances for a successful retirement.

It will never be a retirement on a yacht in the South of France. But it will suffice for me. And besides, I get sea-sick.

I've learned many new skills about managing investments in this D.I.Y. retirement. It was of necessity. I could never afford a 1% Assets Under Management fee for my modest retirement. I've built my own spreadsheet and I have seen how expenses add up!

This blog will be another way that I help share what I've learned with others who may be facing similar circumstances.

If you are interested, please follow along.

Jim