I Spoke to an Ex-Librarian and a Millionaire Retiree. His Life Journey Touched Me.

Humble beginnings + low income + simple focus = A retirement we seek

I first met Uncle Lim when he was 76. He is my varsity mate’s father.

Uncle Lim is a happy man with simple life pleasures. I know because I stayed over many times, and each time I did, my ears were never spared from his laughter bombs.

Uncle would laugh at the American politics, sitcoms, and weird shows on Netflix. He would watch and wonder out loud, like nah, this is unbelievable.

In truth, his journey to retirement IS unbelievable.

No one, absolutely no one, expected him to make it.

And he did.

“I am Just Another Librarian at the National University of Singapore.”

I spoke to Uncle Lim a lot.

It wasn’t deliberate. I worked on endless projects with my friend at his place, and Uncle Lim would join us for dinner.

He was more curious about us than we were about him.

Then, in 2007,

• We were 24/25.
• Uncle was 76.

I clearly remember his age at that time. He broadcasted it.

“I don’t know why young fellas no longer believe in physical fitness. I am 76, and I walk faster than some younger tortoises I see in the lift lobby!”

It was a jovial comment, a dig, a curiosity statement, and daily observations packed into 1 punch. I didn’t have the same observations he did.

Of course. I am one of those tortoises.

My peers walk pretty fast… I thought.

And this is one of the challenges when it comes to retirement and intergenerational friction in the workplace. Perspectives are highly individual. And we project them onto others.

“What a stupid boss who cannot strategize.”

“This must be a fake story. No one retires successfully from full-time work.”

“What sort of silly internal conflict is that? Why would anyone be bothered by it?”

We are entitled to our own opinions, of course. The problem? We are drowned in it. The problem with that? We make premature judgments without listening.

I must admit. I made plenty of misguided judgments about Uncle Lim when he recounted his journey to retirement.

And that is because I didn’t have the length and breadth of life experience to appreciate what he was sharing.

I did not believe that a university librarian for 45 years managed to retire with enough money to do what he wanted in his Golden Years.

“He must be lying and pretending to be happy. It is impossible to retire a millionaire as a librarian.”

Uncle Lim’s reality [in the strangest ways possible] buried my amplified doubts.

“My Dad Belonged to the Pension Generation, Fool.”

It was one of those lightbulb moments.

I completely forgot about the pension generation. My Dad [age 72 today] does not have a pension. Uncle Lim was 76 in 2007. So yes, he had one.

My premature self-doubt disintegrated a little.

I met my university for bowling this afternoon. It was a slow Sunday afternoon, and Taylor Swift had finally departed Singapore after The Eras Tour, bringing her fans along with her.

We had the entire bowling center to ourselves.

And this time, I pricked about retirement to a retiree’s son instead of the retiree. My friend’s insights are as good as Uncle Lim’s.

“You told me your father retired as a millionaire. Come on. You are kidding. It is not possible. He said he earned only $4,800 a month!”

DS, my friend, looked [rather] bemused.

“It is not how much we earn, you know. It is about how much we KEEP. My Dad earns $4,800 in net income, not gross. He passes $2,000 to my mum for household expenses and saves $2,800 monthly.”

I froze.

There and then.

Wow.

“And just in case you think that is impossible, my Dad is a boring old fart. He does not drink, smoke, or go out for entertainment. He loves to read, does that for free as a librarian, and eats at home. Think about that, fool.”

I thought about Uncle Lim and how he carried himself 20 years ago. He is indeed a boring man. He makes laughter comments on television and has a book under his arm wherever he goes.

Uncle Lim doesn’t have a spending problem.

My mind went into mathematical hyperspace. The abacus at the back of my head started beating. If my friend is right, Uncle Lim took slightly less than 30 years to become a millionaire.

Hmm.

“Does he invest? I mean… I am sure he has read finance books and learned a little about compounding money.”

DS laughed.

“My father only invests with his annual bonus money, after paying taxes. That $2,800 per month is socked away, untouched. AND~ he only invests in utility companies. They are flushed with cash and pay bi-annual dividends.”

Slow and steady.

Money prudence.

I’m touched. We don’t need a degree in finance to get rich. We intuitively understand money.

My friend continued.

“Father’s 92 this year. He is still climbing stairs and playing chess. He has monthly pension payouts, dividends, and a cash savings cushion. Look at him. Look at us. I live on credit cards. Who are the stupid ones with big mouths?”

This time, I laughed.

How true is that?

The Close

The problem is not a slow start.

It is not finishing the race.

Retirement is a life-long race. Uncle Lim reminded me of that. He took 30 years to sock a million dollars and 45 years [in total] to retire from the workplace.

Years and decades matter. Not days, weeks, or months.

Boring is beautiful. That is, if we accept that… it [really] works.

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