Chapter 9 – The Forties

Winter is officially here. We received our first snow of the season this week. As much as I dislike the thought of winter, a fresh clean white covering is pretty, especially when you live in the country as we do. Fortunately, our mechanic was able to get our snow tires on over the weekend, so we can now safely hit the roads. Even so, most of our Christmas shopping was completed online a few days ago. My wife enjoys beating around the stores looking for treasures, but I prefer a hot coffee and the peace and quiet of my home to perform this task. I do try to support local eleven months of the year but, as I age, I dislike crowded stores more and more. Now that I am retired, I was able to dedicate most of the day to this stress free.

I had an opportunity to listen to a presentation by a financial specialist the other day. She was speaking to a group on good financial management, saving for the future and retirement. I found it validating. Most of what she recommended is what we have done. In fact, I think we have exceeded her recommendations in terms of staying on top of our current situation. Personally, I feel it is important to regularly monitor our accounts, so we always know where we are. It helps me sleep better at night, especially now that I no longer have a regular income.

I finished last week saying we were headed for a new era. We were entering our forties and had both recently moved into new jobs. This was a significant change for us. These were career positions with full benefits and pensions. The newly obtained university degree helped my wife to land a local government job in a field she was very familiar with. I had been working for several years in an industry that I was very passionate about but recognized that, for our future, I would soon have to make a move. A couple of things led to this. I was working in small business where pensions were nonexistent. I knew the growth potential with this particular business simply wasn’t there. I remember a conversation with the business owner one day over coffee. He was not one to pull punches. By his estimation, I had pretty much reached the top of the ladder in terms of compensation. That was the day I knew I would have to move on. Not long after that conversation, I received an offer from a national corporation to work in the same field I was currently in, but on a much larger scale. For some reason, my gut told me this would not be a good move, so I stayed put. The stars were soon going to align for me. I was out of the office one day speaking with a prospective customer when they turned the tables on me and asked if I would be interested in a position with a global company who had only a few years earlier opened an operation in our area. We sat down to discuss the opportunity and compensation package. An interview was arranged and within a few weeks an offer was on the table. Truth be told, I was scared to death! I was about to enter a world I knew absolutely nothing about. It turned out to be a good move. We didn’t know it then, but I would go on to work for this organization for the next twenty-two years, until retirement. As far as listening to my gut, it was right on the money. The national enterprise who made the first offer was working with a skeleton crew within five years and eventually shut down operations in our area.

For the next decade, our focus was on growing our careers and doing volunteer work in our community. This was a passion for both of us and something I plan to write about in the future. This was also the first time in our lives that we had experienced a steady and consistent income. I’m not going to lie. It was pretty awesome. We could spend money without thinking about it. And spend we did. Outside of our employer sponsored pensions, we really didn’t save. Looking back, we should have been putting a little money away, but no regrets. After years of living pay cheque to pay cheque and worrying about putting food on the table, I think we’d earned this. We were in the prime of our lives and empty nesters. By this time our kids had left home for school and work. Things were going well, although we still would have a couple of challenges to overcome in the years ahead.

Next week I will get into our first retirement discussions with our personal bankers. See you then.