Would he understand that if he could purchase equivalent insurance for less than $100k, he should take $100k after-tax over the insurance offer? Not to mention some companies can and have reduced insurance coverage for retirees on a whim, legally. I am a charterholder, but I think his local CFP could handle this question.
Exactly. Sales tax where I live is 8%. Back at home in Canada, its 14%. Not to mention virtually everything you want for day to day life costs more to begin with up there. I’m more than happy paying for my health insurance because it provides me with services that I can actually use, vs. having to wait weeks or months for appointments. One time I called to get an appointment for a non-urgent, routine test with a specialty clinic. Of course there was only one in the city, so the next available appointment was 4 months out. Same thing here, for only $15 paid by me, I had an appointment the same week I called. The US system definitely has its flaws, but lets not pretend Canada’s is perfect either.
You may be the minority or not, but you are not the only one! 
I retired at 42. It’s great. Hard to understand why any intelligent successful finance person would be working after 40 unless they felt like doing so…
Reading the rest of this thread, I see a lot of people parroting the same slave-mentality stuff.
The reasons Amercians think they have to work forever is because they assume their over-priced environment is the only option. But you can change environments, since you already made your money and don’t have to live in an environment with a financial center.
Christ I could live 30 years in the Philippines off my final year salary alone. How about Brazil? Get out of your box…
For me retiring early is just a sign that you did not like your job and just went along with it to provide income for your familiy. If I’d ever hit 2 million in investable cash I would try to build a company on my own (not necessarily finance-related). I could never retire with 50 and spend the rest of my days hanging out at the country club or with the in-laws. I know some people who retired in their early 50, because generous European state enterprises thought they deserved it and their lives are miserable although they have the best medical insurance in the country and enough disposable income to meet the needs of a median income household. The problems are a) they are frowned upon by their neighbors and b) they feel useless compared to the poor people having to work until 65 to receive the minimum pension. Most of them would not re-enter the work force, but they agree on the fact that they are wasting a considerable period of their live doing nothing.
You could do that in the US, too, so long as you pick a place to live that sucks.
Canada and the US are big places and regional differences exist. Sales tax where I’m at is only 5%, and my income tax is lower than almost all states. And yes, the Canadian health care system is garbage, but for someone retired on $50k/year income, its probably a better solution than the American system. At our levels of income, life is probably better in the States. But this thread is about someone on a $50k payout. And just a note: prices have become much closer between the countries on many goods despite an exchange difference of about 8%. The Nissian 370Z mentioned above is $38,300 in the US and $38,428 in Canada equally equipped… Not that our $50k/yr retiree will be driving one.
Double post.
i would gladly retire early, however 50k/yr is not enough to enjoy your life at all especially with kids, so the number needs to be higher, likely double. But the first day I can do it, I am walking out the door.
Someone once asked John Rockefeller, “How much money is enough money.” He replied “As always, just a little bit more.”
Keep on counting that lettuce peeps. You’ll amass $10 mm and die in the best hospital money can buy. Retirement is for pu$$ies anyway.
The OP is also saying ‘after tax’ $50k. Assuming your home is paid for, that’s about $4k a month in expenditures. WTF are you going to spend $4k a month on?
Good food - $1k
Nice car payment - $1k
Other ish - $2k
Not sure about the rest of your princesses, but I’d have a hard time blowing $1k a week on consumption goods.
^ Property taxes + heat + electricity is about $700/mn for me. Insurance $150 Phone $100 Cable $100 Gas $250 Maintenance for your house should be budgeted at about 1% per year, so that’s another $400-500/mn. So now your “other-ish” is down to $200. I think it could be done for a single meagrely, but not with kids.
Did they drop GST to 5%? My lovely home province increased its PST by 1% last year or year before.
Yes, GST is 5% since 2008 or 09. Some provinces just gobbled up the difference so some didn’t see a cut.
There is a fiscal imbalance in Canada and this will be the hot topic for the rest of the decade. The federal government is receiving way too many tax dollars for the responsibilities it has. Provinces are scared to increase their share of tax dollars as the taxpayers are up to their neck. The fed cuts costs by shovelling them to the provinces, which already have the bulk of the big expenses (healthcare, education).
Paul Martin prided himself for finding ways of having $10 billion in surplus and Jim Flaherty was patting himself on the back for expecting a balanced budget by 2015. It’s not that challenging when you are overtaxing people vs the expenditures you have.
And putting EI funds in general revenue. But yes, I completely agree. The solution though is tax room to the provinces. Unfortunately provinces and cities would rather get a transfer so they aren’t perceived as tax increasers. And if you’re a Quebecois or Maritimer its best that an Albertan or Saskatchewaner pays for your lavish social welfare.
Double post.