By Michael Drak

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Today there are a number of early-retirement bloggers out there doing great work, teaching people how important it is to adopt a frugal lifestyle so they can quickly regain their freedom.

They continue to preach the merits of “early retirement” but as far as I can tell none of the ones I follow are really retired. They continue to earn money from some activity but the key difference is that they earn that money on their own terms doing something they enjoy. They have earned the option to take a traditional full-stop retirement but for some reason have chosen not to. The question we all need to ask yourselves is why?

The other day I read an article in the Toronto Star about “Canada’s Youngest Retiree” and his book that outlines the strategy that enabled him to retire at the early age of 34. The article went on to say he authored six national best-selling books after retiring and became a millionaire through investing.

Why not retire at 14 and make millions revealing how you did it?

I found the article interesting and said to my son Austin (who still lives at home): “Why don’t you pack in school, and retire? Being 14 years of age we could probably get you into the Guinness Book of Records as the earliest retiree on record. Then all you have to do is write some best-selling books about how you were able to retire at such an early age, go out on the seminar circuit and preach to everyone about how you were able to do it. Continue Reading…

By Michael Drak

Special to the Financial Independence Hub  

Recently the book Jonathan and I co-authored — Victory Lap Retirement  — was discussed on BNN.  Since I’ve described this with tongue in cheek as a “retirement book about not retiring,” one of the first questions asked by the show’s announcer was “will a person earn less money during their Victory Lap?”

I was not surprised by the question, as it comes up in almost every seminar we give on VLR but every time I hear it I tend to feel a little sad about what we have become.

Why are we always so fixated on making more money so we can buy more stuff in order to prove to others that we are worthy? Wouldn’t it be better if we focused our attention on making a more meaningful life? Or as Jonathan’s Hub slogan puts it, “While You’re Still Young Enough to Enjoy It.”

We believe most people need to keep working but we need to do work for reasons other than for just more money. The opportunity to help somebody, the opportunity to make a difference and the opportunity to create a legacy. We need to stop defining the importance of our work in terms of how much money we make or by how much stuff we can buy because of it. We need to start thinking and living differently.

For most of our lives we have been told what to do. We are taught by our schools and parents how important it is to work hard and get good grades so we can get a good job that pays lots of money. Money was and still is the focal point for most people and that way of thinking needs to change.

The deal with the “Corp”

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By Michael Drak

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

My family and I just love Halloween. It’s one of our favorite times of the year, second only to Christmas.

I love it for all the smiling kid’s faces that show up at your door, dressed up in their costumes anticipating the goodies that are coming their way.

Really, if you think about it Halloween is the original “Block” party. Most people in our neighbourhood participate:  either you stay at home handing out treats to the visiting neighbour kids or you take your kids out visiting the neighbours for treats. These days with all of us being so busy, it’s nice to be able to take a night off and pay some attention to all the people living close to us, share a few laughs as well as a few boos or beers! On Halloween night everyone seems happy, everyone feels safe and life for a brief moment is as it should be.

An added bonus is when Austin gets back from trick or treating with his friends. The Contessa goes through his loot checking for anything funny and I go through it soon after searching for my favorite candies when the Contessa is not looking. It’s amazing how creative some of the neighbors are in dressing up their houses for the kids. I always enjoy walking around the neighbourhood and seeing some of the shows that people put on and each year they seem only to get better. Someone is sure making a lot of money on this deal!

Would You Read A Retirement Book About NOT retiring?

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My Michael Drak

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Jonathan and I finally finished our manuscript for the new book we have been writing and sent it off to the editor this week.

He mentioned to me that the above phrase (having a reason to get out of bed in the morning) was repeated at least five or six times in the book, which got me to thinking about why we felt it was so important that unknowingly we ended up repeating it over and over.

For me it’s all about knowing and understanding my “why.” Why bail on a successful corporate career and attempt something new? Why attempt to co-author a book, never having written before? Why after so many years of being afraid to speak in public did I decide to join Toastmasters?

Wouldn’t it have been so much easier to just stay in my warm, safe, comfortable bed and just pull the covers up over my head whenever a problem occurred, whenever the world got just a little bit too crazy?

The world is in a difficult place and because the problems it is facing are so big I used to think there was nothing I could do to help, but I was wrong. Through working on the book I came to believe that I could make a difference but had to get involved now, not tomorrow and find ways to help others.

The benefits of working longer

Both Jonathan and I are big believers in the benefits attached to working longer but the key is to find meaningful work that gives you purpose that gives you your “why.” As George Halas said “Nothing is work unless you’d rather be doing something else.” Continue Reading…