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It’s been eight months since I started the Retiring With Enough blog and podcast and it’s time to revisit the basic concept of both the blog and podcast, which is Retiring With Enough.
Retiring With Enough speaks to the basic concept of having enough money, having worked enough, and having enough to do in retirement. (See: FOUNDATIONS OF RETIREMENT: THE THREE-LEGGED STOOL.)
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But, What Exactly Does This Mean?
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Can someone have more than enough money and yet continue to work?
Does someone have to automatically quit working when reaching a certain date on the calendar?
Is retirement prohibited if someone doesn’t have a firm handle on what will occupy each day in retirement?
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Making it About Me!
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Without trying to make this blog and podcast about me, I think that my story will be relevant to the discussion of all phases of Enough.
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Having Enough Money
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I’ve always had an interest in finance and began my financial journey in my 20s. This is also the period that I attended and graduated from dental school. I attended dental school as a full-time student, and my wife taught at a small local parochial elementary school. As an elementary school teacher, her income was less than spectacular.
There were many months that our checking account ended the month in single digits. This was subsistence living, with no provisions for future retirement planning. My wife’s school did not provide any type of retirement plan.
So, our strategy, while I was in dental school, was to dig in and survive, and hope for abundance after I graduated from dental school.
Was this a sound philosophy? It may not have been the soundest philosophy but was an economic necessity.
Shortly after I graduated from dental school, I decided that I would open my own dental practice. This was followed shortly by an offer to associate with an established dental practice in the same city. I ultimately accepted the offer of an associateship and sold the building that I was going to renovate for use as a dental office and made a small profit.
Our early thought process was that shortly after graduation as a full-fledged DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) that someone would show up with a wheelbarrow full of money! This was not the case! Being a full-time associate, with limited practice experience meant that my compensation level was minimal. It took several years for both my experience level and efficiency in treating patients to create a comfortable profit margin.
After two years as an associate, I decided that now was the appropriate time to establish my own independent practice. So, at age 27 I established my own dental practice. There was also no wheelbarrow full of money at the doorstep of my office the first day I opened my practice!
My wife periodically evaluated my practice success by the level of soiled laundry the office generated. She equated an increase in the soiled laundry with an increase in patient treatment and more practice income. When the level of soiled laundry increased to her mental profit point, she became comfortable that the practice was both growing and profitable.
The point of the above stories is that contrary to what most people think, receiving a professional degree does not also confer immediate success. These early years, both as an associate and as a young independent practice owner were lean financially.
But, even during these lean times, my wife and I set aside a certain portion of our income to save for our future retirement needs. We took advantage of a brand new savings vehicle called an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to fund tax-deferred retirement accounts while decreasing current taxable income.
In 1985, at approximately age 34, I started a company-based retirement plan for myself and my employees. This allowed me to shelter greater amounts of money in a tax-deferred account. As my income increased, my wife and I were no longer able to save in our traditional IRA accounts. At this point, we opened up non-deductible IRA accounts, which allowed income to grow tax deferred using after-tax dollars (Contributions in non-deductible IRAs are made with after-tax dollars.) I continued to contribute tax-deferred dollars to my official retirement plan, and after the establishment of a Roth IRA account, my wife and I began doing Roth conversions from both the deductible and nondeductible IRA accounts.
The two main takeaways from this story:
- My wife and I learned at an early age to live very conservatively, and to live within our means. As our income grew, we maintained the same philosophy. This allowed us to save and invest more on a regular basis, both through my business, and personally. The research will reveal that this strategy is not exclusive to my wife and me, but is a common theme among people who achieve financial independence. (Before someone uses the excuse of me being a rich dentist, it’s important to understand that my savings program started while establishing my own practice, securing a loan to establish my independent practice, securing a home loan to buy a house, and starting our family. There was not a lot of free cash floating around!) It’s not about the amount of money one is making, but is more about the ability to carve out small amounts, each month to save for retirement!
- Starting early and using every tax-advantaged strategy available to save for retirement means that dollars have a much longer period to grow and compound. (See: COMPOUNDING MAGIC: HARNESSING THE EIGHTH WONDER IN YOUR FINANCES.) Early dollar amounts saved were small but had a long time to grow. As our income increased, we were able to invest larger amounts.
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Using the strategies outlined above my wife and I became financially independent in our early 50s. I was on “FIRE” before FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) was a thing. So, I could say that in my early 50s, I had reached the point where I had enough money. My only exception to FIRE was that I continued to work.
Was this because I wanted more than enough?
That’s an interesting question, because, even though I knew that I was Financially Independent I continued to work.
I continued to work because working made me happy. Work became less about making money and more about doing what made me happy. My wife and I had enough money at this point to sustain our lifestyle indefinitely. But, I enjoyed the interaction with staff and patients and didn’t want to stop working or lose skills gained over a lifetime of practicing dentistry.
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Having Worked Enough
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At this point in my early 50s, I continued working full-time. Even though I gradually quit working on Fridays, I still practiced 40+ hours per week. In my early 60s, I accepted an associate who eventually asked me to purchase my practice. Even though I was only 62 at the time, it seemed like the proper time to transfer the practice to a younger practitioner, and that’s exactly what I did!
So now, at age 62 I am financially independent and released from the burden of having a full-time practice to manage. It would have been very easy for me to quit working, and fully retire at this point.
But, had I “had enough of work?” The short answer was- NO!
Not having a physical practice or staff afforded me the opportunity to begin working in other practices on a part-time basis as an independent dental contractor. It was difficult to treat patients in an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar staff and equipment. This new approach to dental practice definitely took me out of my comfort zone.
But, dental contracting also stretched me in unexpected ways. I became more flexible and open to new work environments and staff personalities. Over the last nine years, I have worked in sixteen different dental practices and along the way I’ve developed new relationships and gained new professional perspectives.
By contracting in dental offices where staff, patients, and facilities are provided, I am able to provide the quality care that 45 years of practice experience provide while not having to manage a full-time practice. Along the way, I’ve gained a new joy in practicing dentistry by providing a needed service to both patients and dental practices in need of temporary assistance.
At age 70 I continue to practice on a limited basis. So, I guess it could be said that I haven’t had enough work yet! And, that’s OK because I’m helping both patients and providers.
Currently, I provide care while the practice owner is out of the office on Dental mission trips. He is very involved in providing dental care to the underserved in southern Mexico. Through my ability to manage his practice while he is away, he is afforded the opportunity to continue providing missionary care. I will continue to provide care on a limited basis as long as both of us are happy with our work arrangement.
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Having Enough to Do in Retirement
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I can truly state that over the last 8 1/2 years that there have only been a handful of days that I have felt at a loss for something to do. On those limited occasions, I simply picked up my current book and enjoy the moment.
I love hunting and fishing and still engage in these pastimes at every opportunity. Hunting and fishing have allowed me to continue doing something I have been passionate about for over 50 years with many long-term friends.
I have always recognized the benefit of physical activity and still do physical workouts 4 to 5 times a week. I love to read. My wife and I love to dance and spend time with our children and grandchildren, and travel is a big part of our current calendar and future planning.
In the past year, I have melded my love of finance with the freedom that Retirement provides by studying and passing the coursework necessary to become a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC™.) This designation has prompted me to host both a website and a podcast about having ENOUGH.
So, I have enough to do in retirement! Creating the blog and podcast has definitely been a challenging experience, but I look at the Retiring With Enough blog and podcast as part of my purpose in retirement. Having to learn the new skills required to master both website and podcast technology has again stretched my brain. I’m learning new skills while providing educational aids and helping with retirement planning.
But, do I have too much to do in retirement? I feel like I am exactly where I need to be present, and functioning at the correct pace.
The great thing about retirement is there is no pressure to do or not do anything. If I find that my calendar is too busy, then I pump the brakes and slow down. If I feel like I am not busy enough then I hit the accelerator and speed up a bit. Doing something that I am passionate about makes me happy and it’s something that I can do at a leisurely pace.
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But, Does More Than Enough Trump Enough?
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In the final analysis, I think it’s less about having more than enough or having enough, and much more about what creates sustained happiness and satisfaction.
Unless you are the richest man in the world, someone is always going to have more money than you! Using money primarily as a measuring tool is a fool’s errand. Having enough money creates happiness in that it provides for things that you need and want. But having more money in and of itself does not create more happiness. Happiness is a state of mind and does not have a dollar sign attached.
The same, basic principle applies to working enough and having enough to do in retirement. It’s not about the length of your career, but more about whether working makes you happy or unhappy.
Each person must decide what is enough to do in retirement. What one person feels is an adequate purpose in retirement may in turn feel overwhelming to a second person, or boring and unfulfilling to a third person.
I am finding that I now have the ability to set my own pace and concentrate on things that are personally fulfilling. Creating joy and happiness has become the focus of my present and future planning. For me, that’s enough!
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Final Thoughts
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- No one can tell anyone what will bring present and future happiness.
- For some people, happiness comes with having enough. Other people may feel they need more than enough to be happy. Neither approach is incorrect!
- If you are happy with your present status and enjoy what your doing (it creates happiness), then why stop?
- I’ve presented my story as an example. Obviously, everyone’s personal story is unique. Happiness is personal.
- A friend told me once: Life is short, eat dessert first. Don’t delay experiencing the things that are truly important, and don’t forgo fun things (eat dessert first.)
- Instead of stressing about having “Enough” or More than Enough”, focus on what makes you Happy!
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