Jan Keeps His Retirement Dream Alive with Simple Reasoning. Here’s What He Does.

Did I mention that he is a millionaire today?

Jan is a German working in Singapore.

He has been here for 15 years. At 47, he is ready to retire. Jan is choosing to stay here for good, go to Melbourne to join his sister, or return home to Munich.

“I am a global citizen.”

Of course. This guy is already a millionaire. He has options.

I mentioned that to him before.

And it was not well received.

Haha!

“Hey! It took me 25 years to get here. I must preserve what I have. I am not dumb, you know.”

Of course, of course.

Knocking on the Doors of Retirement — How He Got There

His journey to retirement can be distilled into 1 word.

“Boring”.

But that word should not be interpreted with negativity. Boring is beautiful, that is, if it works. For Jan, it does.

Here’s what he does for retirement investing.

• Stocks & Index Funds — Roughly 40% of his portfolio.
• Cash savings — 50%. His bank account makes him happy.
• Trading account — 10%. This is speculation money. If he wins, good. When he blows, so be it.

Jan did not share his [exact] net worth, so the percentages are raw. That is enough for me. I can see that he will retire without discourse… so long as he does not do dumb things.

In truth, he won’t.

He has a cautious personality.

There is, however, one thing that caught my attention.

Cash. His level of savings is [really] high. And I say this in good faith.

Many people fail to save. Having cash in the bank to pay utilities bills is already a blessing. This guy is off the charts.

“Why do you hold so much cash, Jan? Are you not worried about inflation? Or you are storing dry powder, waiting for the stock market to crash, and then rushing in for great discounts?”

He looked at me with unbelievable seriousness on his face. I sounded stupid… I think.

“I am not worried about inflation for now. Cash gives me the confidence to hold on when the World goes to hell. I don’t want to sell my investment holdings when they tank from a temporary bear market lasting 2 months.”

He reminds me of Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. This index fund pioneer had 50% of his net worth in index funds and 50% in cash.

I am starting to think this is a good retirement portfolio mix.

Of course, that is the conservative side of me speaking.

Back to Jan.

Jan Has the Most Meticulous Retirement Planning I Have Ever Seen

His forward-thinking is impressive.

At least, to me, it is.

Jan asks himself 3 simple questions. And then, he adjusts his retirement planning accordingly based on his answers.

• Am I going to stop working after workplace retirement? No work or less work?
• Am I going to sleep on my investment portfolio? Or am I going to pile on?
• Am I going to spend more on my needs and wants? Or less?

Don’t let these 3 straightforward questions fool you.

These are Mensa-level questions in the chapter on Life Lessons.

I made that up, of course. I doubt there is such a chapter. But I guess Mensa should consider having some. Street smart(s) is a form of intelligence.

“I don’t think I will stop working completely. What am I going to do with 17 waking hours? No. I am going to take on less stressful work on half-days. It took me 3 years to find a job for my retirement.”

That job is counseling.

Jan is working to become a counselor. And this is not any form of generic counseling where extensive social involvement hours are required.

He is signing up to become a counselor, one that distressed folks would make 30, 45, or 60-minute appointments to speak to him.

Jan’s job? Keeping quiet. Shut up. Listen. Take notes.

His mandate is to ensure the client feels listened to.

I am fascinated. Like, really. I never knew such jobs existed.

People pay you to listen so they can talk freely and without judgment?

Wow.

“Do you have to prepare for it? Do you need any qualifications, requirements, or anything else? It sounds too good to be true, Jan.”

He returned a light chuckle.

“Of course, it is not easy. I need a Masters Qualification before applying. I figured that I should since I am still on a payroll. My salary can pay for it. And I am on track to finish it before I quit my work in 2 years.”

You can see his plan.

Everything falls in place.

And may I add, neatly.

“I get to work less, continue to earn to pay my bills without touching my investment portfolio, travel, and do many other good things. Also, I will not detached from society. I get to talk to many people.”

It’s a good plan.

I hope it takes off.

The Close

Retirement is not easy.

We spend our entire lives planning for it, and for many of us, it may not happen.

There, I said it. Heartbreaking? Yup.

But that is the point.

Retirement will not be handed over to us on a silver platter. We got to earn it.

And in the case of Jan?

I think he stands a good chance.

I wish him all the best.

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