Decumulate & Downsize

Most of your investing life you and your adviser (if you have one) are focused on wealth accumulation. But, we tend to forget, eventually the whole idea of this long process of delayed gratification is to actually spend this money! That’s decumulation as opposed to wealth accumulation. This stage may also involve downsizing from larger homes to smaller ones or condos, moving to the country or otherwise simplifying your life and jettisoning possessions that may tie you down.

At age 62, couple celebrating 25 years of Financial Independence

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billy-akaisha-puerto-escondido
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli,

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

At the age of 62, we are beginning our 25th year of financial independence. That is quite a feat!

From the beaches on Nevis, West Indies, to the shores of Phuket, Thailand we have travelled extensively through these decades, and what a ride it’s been!

Young and strong in those early years, we were willing and able to tackle just about anything. Now we tend to be a bit more cautious but we’re not letting up. We still climb into the backs of pickup trucks, ride the chicken buses and soak in volcanic hot pools. The time has passed quickly from when we were the youngest, grayless couple in a group of retirees, to now where we blend in with the retiree crowd.

Still, no one can take away the dance we danced and we are filled with gratitude for all the miles and smiles. Continue Reading…

Is your Findependence action plan truly game-ready?

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Adrian
Adrian Mastracci

By Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth Management Inc.

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

No doubt, investors want to be ready for retirement or what this site calls Financial Independence/Findependence.

The bigger question is whether the Retirement/Findependence plan of action is truly game ready for them.

Investors face a multitude of decisions in mapping their roadway to retirement. Preferably, a roadmap that withstands the tests of time. Especially for those who are at the retirement doorstep. Planning retirement is about setting the long-haul course of action to achieve a specific personal return. The course is more than selecting stocks and funds. Some cases may require a total financial makeover.

Start the process at least 15 to 20 years prior to actual Retirement/Findependence. Longer is desirable. Investors need to find that delicate balance between spending for today and saving enough for tomorrow. At age 60, the plan can easily span 25 to 30 years, possibly more. It’s also likely that few if any savings will be added to the portfolio after retirement begins. The nest egg has to sustain income draws for the lifetimes of two spouses.

At KCM, we have assembled five fundamental steps to improve your game plan readiness prospects: Continue Reading…

Twice as many retirees now rely on home equity: Fidelity survey

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By Jonathan Chevreau

House made of money in handSeniors are now twice as likely  to rely on their home equity to fund their retirement than before the financial crisis, says a Fidelity retirement survey. They’re also more likely to work in retirement, provided they can find employment.

Since 2005, the number of Canadian retirees relying on home equity to fund retirement has more than doubled from 14% to 36%, says the survey, commissioned by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC.

Conducted by The Strategic Counsel, the 10th Fidelity Canadian Retirement Survey of retirees or workers 45 or older also finds:

•  Since the financial crisis, the number of retirees saying it has been more difficult than expected to retire has dropped from 28% in 2009 to 20% in 2014

• More pre-retirees expect to work full or part-time in retirement (62% in 2014 compared with 55% in 2005) Continue Reading…

Book Excerpt from The Wills Lawyers: The Knife in Dad’s Heart

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I will be one of four speakers tonight at The Financial Show in downtown Toronto. Three books will be distributed, including Findependence Day and The Wills Lawyers. The authors/wills & estates lawyers provided the Hub with a sample excerpt of their book below, a sad little tale that starkly reveals the need to have a will in place before the inevitable occurs. As it has already been published, we have not altered the text.  — JC

Les&BarryBy Les Kotzer and Barry Fish, The Wills Lawyers

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

It’s not as if Kayla and her three brothers had always gotten along with each other; but when Dad’s health started to go downhill, all four siblings agreed amongst themselves that in Dad’s presence, they would never argue and would never speak of sickness or death. All they agreed to speak of in his presence was the upbeat, the comical, only those special warm subjects that make people happy. Continue Reading…

Worried about money in Retirement? The best parts are free!

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happy mature couple relaxing baltic sea dunes
Walking by the lake? Priceless!

 

By Jonathan Chevreau

Here’s my latest MoneySense blog, entitled The Cost of Leisure Activities in Retirement. Given the media fuss today over Sun Life’s latest “Unretirement” survey — see Barry Critchley’s piece at the FP and my subsequent blog here at the Hub — you may find some solace in the MoneySense blog, which suggests that many common activities in retirement just don’t cost that much.

As for the prospect of more of us working until age 66, I don’t think that’s all that tragic: this web site focuses on longevity and the concurrent idea that the longer we stay active and productive the better — both for our financial situations and our sanity, or that of our significant other!

By the way, I expressed my views about the Sun Life survey and “Unretirement” Wednesday evening on CTV TV, which you can find here.

Here’s the blog: Continue Reading…