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I WAS 48 years old when the judgement was final and the papers were signed. My former wife and I split our net worth 50/50. There were no arguments over household items like furniture; I didn’t care about that stuff. Pam gladly accepted my proposal that she keep the house, and all its equity, in exchange for me keeping an offsetting amount of the IRAs and my 401(k), a very good move for my future self. By giving up the house, I also escaped the mortgage, which was the only loan obligation I had. Had there been consumer debt (there was none), I would have eliminated that as quickly as possible, beginning with the highest interest loans. I was ordered to pay spousal support to age 65, or my retirement if I worked beyond 65. I would be lying if I told you that I liked paying alimony. Still, it wasn’t unfair considering our age at divorce, Pam’s depression, and the fact that she mostly stayed at home to raise our kids.
Long before the divorce was ever final, I knew I’d have to make up for lost time if I ever wanted to retire in the manner to which I wanted to had become accustomed. The divorce wasn’t going to be the only obstacle I would have to overcome. Thirty years of delivering beverages resulted in osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis; my days on the beer truck were rapidly coming to an end.
I needed a plan.
Where Was I?
I had to understand exactly where I was, and what my options were.
Where did I want to be?
Making it All Work
Finally, preparation collided with opportunity. In other words, I got lucky. Remember when I told you I didn’t picture myself as ever being a bean-counter? Two established financial services guys set me up with free office space and began funneling tax prep clients to me. What began with me preparing taxes for about three dozen of my union brothers, instantly turned into over 100 clients. There I was, a bean counter of sorts.
I kept that truck driving job for several more years. And remember that duplex I bought after the rent spiked at my apartment? Well, there was this girl living next door. Enter Chrissy. We became best friends. She is no longer my neighbor. She is now my spouse. Of course, at the time we met, aside from being a nice guy, I wasn’t much of a catch. Man, she took a chance on me.
As my client count went up, my days driving the big-rig went down. When the client count got to about 400, I retired forever from driving. No more trips to Chicago, Des Moines, Snow Shoe PA, or Jersey City. Chrissy and I began pounding 40% of our gross pay into savings. It would take until I was 70, but working together, we got to a place each of us only dreamed we would be. By living within our means, and keeping lifestyle creep to a minimum, we surpassed our goals.
Chris retired at 64 and helped me during my final three years as a tax preparer. Lucky for me, Federal Wage and Hour never found out that I violated the minimum wage laws by never paying her in the first place. I sold the practice at age 70. I prepared 650 tax returns in my final year.
It’s important to note that during our journey, we did not starve ourselves of food nor fun. We counted 27 trips during our first ten years together. Chris was great at finding great deals to various destinations in the Caribbean, and we turned several of her business trips into mini vacations as well. It’s important to prepare for the future, but have some fun along the way as well.
I hope this piece inspires someone who is still on the road, dealing with similar obstacles, and wondering if there was a way around them.
For 30 years, Dan Smith was a driver-salesman and local union representative, before building a successful income-tax practice in Toledo, Ohio. He retired in 2022. Dan has two beautiful daughters, two loving sons-in-law and seven grandchildren. He and Chris, the love of his life, have been together for two great decades and counting. Check out Dan’s earlier articles.
Thanks for all the great comments and kind words. The questions that I considered to navigate around my divorce, health and occupational issues are the same, or very similar to other of life’s obstacles.
Education. Marriage. Work. Children. Retirement. Where am I? Where do I want to be? How do I get there from here?
Thank you Dan for sharing your inspiring story. It’s amazing how our journeys go in directions we could never plan but end up in destinations that make sense when looking back.
thanks Dan for sharing your story!
Thanks for sharing, Dan. It is a great story of being resilient, adaptable, and hardworking.
Inspiring article. It’s good to know that SSDI is there for us over the age of 55 who don’t have the people skills as Dan seems to have.
I was grateful to be able to pay 12.4% of my self-employed income in order to not only accumulate additional SS credits for myself, but also to help support those who relied on SSDI after sickness or disability prevented them from working.
Dan – thanks for threading this all together. You’ve mentioned many parts of this in previous posts, but this connects all the dots. Congrats on your success on many levels!
Dan, thanks for sharing your story. So glad your perseverance and discipline paid off for you. You and Chrissy did it right.
Andrew
Great story Dan. Transitioning from a beer truck driver to a tax preparer is an amazing story. You obviously had good people skills to make that change.
Nice article Dan. I’m truly impressed by your career transitions. That takes some serious intestinal fortitude. Parts of your story reminded me of my father-in-law. He drove a truck from the age of 16 until he retired at 65. The long hours, time away from home, and physical grind he endured were quite inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
Rick, you were one of the first commenters on my very first HD article. Thanks for your kind words.
Off topic. I wonder how Marjorie Kondrack is doing?
Dan, what a yarn. Your experiences bring that old saying roaring to life: when the going gets tough, the tough get going — and, my goodness, you got going. I’ll confess to being more than a tiny bit envious of people like you who can actually step back, think calmly, and form a coherent plan. It makes my own seat-of-the-pants approach look less like a lifestyle choice and more like a cry for help.
Mark, I believe you wrote that you presented a business plan to your banker. Just to be clear, it’s not like I actually put pencil to paper in order to blueprint my way through the hard times, but I did have every thought that I described in the article. My tax practice was as “seat of the pants” as anything I’ve ever done. Even naming the business was happenstance; someone asked me the name of my business, and the words Dan’s Tax Prep just sort of tumbled from my mouth. I had little inkling that I would make a living preparing taxes. When the opportunity presented itself, I just ran with it, and things worked out.
Perfect, I feel much better now 😂
Congrats on making Lemonade. My son has done a similar thing. I believe you will inspire many. You needed to change and you found a wonderful solution. Keep building a fabulous life. Your writing and plan will help many.
Thanks for the story Dan. Glad it has a happy ending. Some would say lucked out, but that was hard work. Someone once said “the harder I work, the luckier I get”
I love your late-in-life reinvention from truck driver to tax preparer! That’s amazing and inspiring. You should be in the AARP magazine!
I’ve joked about working at Trader Joe’s (so I get first crack at the products), but I’m sure I never will. I’ve also noted that over the years I’ve served on the boards of four nonprofits: a professional association, a church, a parents booster group for a high school choir, and now an HOA board. I’ve been president/vice president/chair in all of them, too. I’d actually have a decent resume to work for a nonprofit if I wanted a job. But I don’t think I will.
Dana, many non-profits would sure love to have you.
Dan,
Great life story! Very inspiring to readers trying to climb over hurdles or see through challenging times.
Your positive attitude, humility and gratitude shines through in your (excellent) writing – it’s so genuine. You’re lucky to have found Chris, but it’s also true she’s lucky to have found you.
Cheers to you two 🍻
What a great story well told! I shared many of your experiences including driving beer trucks, an amicable divorce, a chance meeting with a wonderful woman and the blessing of a happy life ever after.
Dan, I think the honesty that makes your writing so appealing is also the key to your financial success story. The honest appraisal you took of your post-divorce position and prospects set the stage for a roaring comeback.
Thanks, Edmund. As I replied to Mark, it didn’t feel that deliberate at the time I was passing through it all. It was looking through the rear view mirror, that I realized I sort of put myself in the right frame of mind. So many times I have come across people who, even years after a bad divorce or job experience, were stuck in the past, still blaming everyone else, not owning their role in a situation. What was the name of that Eagles song? Get Over It!
There is always more than one way to get to your destination. Thanks for the reminder and for sharing your story
I was reading the part where you’re trying to figure out what kind of work to do and thought, the guy’s a d*mn good writer, why not do that? I spent my career mostly as a software tech writer, after starting out as a technology journalist. Can’t say I enjoyed the work, but it paid decent money, and relatively easy on the vertebrae!
Dan, this is a wonderful, honest and heartfelt article. It’s a shame we live on different continents, it would be great to catch up for a beer (I’m sure you know where we could get one!).
Thanks much, Greg. Perhaps we could meet near the middle. Christmas Island🍻?
Great article Dan
That’s an awesome and inspiring story. Glad you’re living your best life.
Love this story, Dan. Hard work, relentless optimism and just the right partner to make it all come together under the heading of Life. Well done.
… relentless optimism…
That deserves a paragraph or two, Mike. That was hard to do in the midst of both divorce and health issues. I had a framed ‘parrothead poster’ on the wall that said, “yesterday is over my shoulder, so I can’t look back for too long”. I think that kitschy piece of art helped me through some tough days.
I’ve always felt optimism is a natural gift, Dan. My divorce was pure betrayal, and my health issues were supposed to end my life, yet somehow I never got really down or discouraged. I can’t take any credit for that. I think I was just born with the bone in my head that makes me think everything‘s gonna turn out OK in the end. Sounds like you have it too.
Dan, what a great story. Lucky me to be the first to post a comment! 😊. It’s a beautiful one of surviving the loss of your first marriage, but finding the love of your life with whom you have survived and thrived.
Thanks, Linda. At the end of the day, finding the right person to share your life with was, for me, the most important thing. Of course, I have single friends who feel the same way about their solitude, and that’s okay too.