Congratulations!

First to quote from the wonderful “Sunscreen” by Baz Luhrmann:

Be careful whose advice you buy but be patient with those who supply it

Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past

From the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts

And recycling it for more than it's worth

Second, my own personal experience of a trial at retirement was not a happy one. I had not realised how much self worth was wrapped up in my role, and how much I valued daily interaction with people whose company I enjoy and whose professional qualities I respect. I learnt much from this to inform my next attempt, hopefully in a few years time.

Third, and it seems like you have this covered, be mindful of the valuation of all assets in this very unusual period in history. It would not be hard to construct several scenarios where both values and returns from most asset classes are going to be considerably worse than any time in our recent history.

Lastly, have fun! And let us know how you got on!

best wishes

C

Beware of the decades ahead . Working with others gives social contact which lockdowns showed us we all need. Have you thought about major illness for you or your family derailing your plans. Try cancer, or brain tumour just for starters. How much do you have in Superannuation for you and your wife?

Property in Sydney has appreciated six times in thirty years. Can your current savings last you for the next forty years with similar appreciation of prices?

Try a side hustle before you ditch your present employment. Everyone needs a strong safety net. Build up your income producing investments, then reduce your hours of paid work gradually when other income is secure.

When I was a young 47, I did not know that the next thirty years were going to give me personally two cancer episodes, terminal cancer for my spouse and two adult children with ongoing unemployment due to ill health.

Congratulations Bill.

I can relate given I'm currently serving out my notice and by Xmas I will be effectively full time investing. I'm a similar age to you (well...I'm slightly younger but who is counting ;-)). I've taken a couple of sabbaticals in the past ten years and returned to the workforce both times. I went back the first time because I definitely didn't have enough capital, was getting married and hadn't ticked off everything I wanted to do in my career. More recently I went back this year because a project came up that suited my skillset. However, I reckon I knew at the time it was half hearted and but for that project I wouldn't have gone back. The past six months have confirmed to me that life is too short not to be doing what you are passionate about and so I resigned a couple of weeks ago.

We had a sea change back in 2012 but I'm not far from Melbourne so if you wanted to leave your email I'd be happy to catch up with you. I wouldn't venture to give you advice (other than don't listen to my advice) but happy to swap war stories.

Cheers

Nick

Hi Nick would love to catch up in person or on email and happy totravel . My email is wtsimis@gmail.com

Really appreciate everyone's feedback to date .

Bill

Hey Bill,

You might need more of a plan. Learn and invest is insufficient. My example might put it into perspective as our journeys seem to be similar.

While I am a long term share investor, I also invest in property and some other non traditional assets. This has been good to me and I decided to do the same as you but relatively plan-less.

It seems my attempt was generally similar to Chagsy, possibly not in the specifics.

I already read a lot. First month I read more than 10 books in the stack I had lined up. Second month I volume traded crypto. Like a madman. It was the most profitable month I have had doing anything, but it is so isolationist.

Month three I was looking for my next role and I am back in a corporate gig.

Fire sounds great in theory. I am into the "fi" part, getting to FU money is a great place to be. Now I need to figure out the "re" component. For me at least, it will be a while away.

Hi Bill

I think the post-covid environment and strong investment markets over recent years has led to a lot of people pondering their next steps (and the great resignation). I'm 46 and in a similar boat. I've spent 27 years in the property development industry and have ridden out multiple cycles and interest rate environments. I've taken a couple of short career breaks and pursued side hustles (my own developments) whilst doing my undergrad, masters etc. and it's really refreshing to take a breather every now and then.

I'm at a stage where I'm again considering stepping back from the pressure of a corporate role where I'm managing larger teams and re-centering. I've spent a lot of time investing during the work from home period also and have grown our investment portfolio significantly. It would be great to have more time to focus on it and fornulate a robust future strategy, particularly in light of the changes with inflation /higher interest rates, China situation etc. brewing.

I'd love to be brave enough to exit Sydney, given the way property is heading here and affordability for our kids, but don't know that I'm there yet (or will be as I like everything this city has to offer apart from the traffic!) so falling short of that I'm trying to invest smart to future-proof to the greatest extent possible for them and for hubs and I to have a comfortable-enough retirement at a reasonable-enough age. In short, I think having career breaks and focusing on investing or other interests is a great idea. Being debt free is such an amazing achievement also -its really liberating!

All the best with your decision!