Tag Archives: Financial Independence

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…

Taking a long-term view of your finances

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Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo

By Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

I like to keep tabs on my finances for both the short and long term. A monthly spending summary is great for keeping track of where your paycheque goes, and an annual forecast works well for spotting trends and opportunities for your money.

 

But it’s also nice to gaze into the future. I want to know what my finances will look like in 20+ years so I use a spreadsheet to take a 50,000-foot view of my long-term finances.

Long-term financial outlook Continue Reading…

Longevity changes everything — why you should think twice about Early Retirement

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Here’s my latest MoneySense blog, entitled Why you should re-think Early Retirement. This is a topic I’ve been researching for several months, going back to some blogs I wrote on Mark Venning’s ChangeRangers.com, which challenges readers to “envision the promise of longevity.” He also sensibly counsels that we should “plan for Longevity, not for Retirement.”

As you can see by clicking through to the blog (also reproduced below), some of this message was articulated in a speech delivered Wednesday evening at the Financial Show, and which I also gave Monday night at the Port Credit chapter of Toastmasters.

By Jonathan Chevreau

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I recently delivered a talk about how longevity changes everything. I began by showing the front cover of the latest Bloomberg Business magazine, which shows a woman celebrating her 173rd birthday. Continue Reading…

Weekly wrap: Retirement is fun — who knew? And a plea to seniors to “unretire”

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Cheerful old man having a great timeSheryl Smolkin’s Retirement Redux site passes on recent financial institution surveys that show The Majority of Retirees Enjoy Their Lifestyle. Well I should hope so, after spending decades slaving and saving for this pivotal life event!

But in this weekend’s lead editorial, on behalf of the Canadian economy, the Globe & Mail begs the nation’s seniors  to “please don’t retire yet.”  It invokes Sun Life’s Unretirement index survey reprised in Friday’s blog here at the Hub. Well, actually, Mr. Economy, there’s a lot of age prejudice in the workplace and people don’t always choose to retire.

For those just starting on their journey to financial independence, take heart from Punch Debt’s declaration that saving up The first $100,000 is the hardest. I dare say your first million is no walk in the park either!

Via Sliced Investing, The Chicago Financial Planner (aka @rwohlner) provides this primer on hedge funds.

This may not be as recent but I found an entry at Investopedia.com to be eternally relevant: it’s entitled Two Roads: Debt or Financial Independence. I choose door number 2! Continue Reading…

Reflections From The Early Days of Spending In Retirement, Part 2

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By Patricia Gass,

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

sunset-landing

As we return to reality from our 3-week vacation “high,” I’m hoping to make the happy feelings last as long as possible.

After all, that’s what a great vacation is all about!

So, better late than never, I’m diving in to review the state of our spending for 2014. Scary task (especially given our recent travels) but someone’s got to do it.

Yes, we really did have a “spending plan” last year and will do so again religiously this year. How else do you think one achieves financial independence? Do you know that few people realize what they’ve spent in their first year (or even few years) of retirement?

Beware overspending in the early days

Nothing can derail a happy retirement more quickly than overspending in the early days. While looking ahead is certainly important (tough to fix what you’ve already spent!), you can really learn a lot by sizing up what happened each year. To supplement my “quick and dirty” monthly reviews, an annual review will give me a better perspective of our overall, longer term habits. Continue Reading…