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Being in Spain at the moment, I took the opportunity to use the excellent train network to travel and see my father-in-law, who has lived in the country full-time since retiring ten years ago.
He lives comfortably, if humbly, within his means. A UK state pension and a small personal retirement account to bolster it are all he requires. I don’t think I could live on his retirement income, and I don’t think he could have managed without the geoarbitrage he undertook to make it work.
A messy late-life divorce a few years before retiring, and significant personal debt in the aftermath, left him in a very precarious position at such a crucial time in his life. It was a bleak outlook indeed, as he confided to me at the time.
His saving grace was being able to hold onto his Spanish property and completely transform his outlook toward money and debt. By being diligent and making tough choices, he managed to climb out of the swamp of debt during his final five years of working life.
I always think of my father-in-law’s journey as a shining example of the human ability to overcome major hurdles. His ability to find a pathway to a modest but content and fulfilling retirement is humbling.
Sometimes I feel that on Humble Dollar, the subtle underlying narrative contrasts this more basic type of retirement with a taint of failure. Maybe for some, by their personal yardstick, it would be. To me, that’s not the case.
Personal contentment and happiness, combined with peace of mind and a social circle of friends, are in my opinion more often than not a better measure of someone’s retirement situation than the size and performance of their portfolio.
To target a humble, modest retirement—by choice or by necessity—is just as valid as striving for one of plenty, and it’s something we should be mindful of. The old adage that money isn’t everything certainly rings true with my father-in-law. Success has many flavours.
Very true, but you do need at least adequate economic resources to help support that peace of mind
Limited resources make hurdles higher, but not impossible. A humble life with humble dollars is contentment enough for many.
what a great comment.
Here’s one innovative approach.
Thanks Kathy, great story.
That’s wonderful. “You’ve unintentionally created an intentional community.”
Some aspects of that remind me of a piece David Brooks wrote for The Atlantic back in 2020, “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake”:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-nuclear-family-was-a-mistake/605536/
Reminds me of a story by Asimov. People were so accustomed to living by themselves with remote contact they could barely stand to be in same room with another person. Not that I can talk, I live alone, a long way from family. But now I do have a community.
Your father-in-law sounds like a remarkable person. Thank you for sharing his story.
You bring up some important points for us to think about in those last three paragraphs. Especially the idea that the size of our portfolio is not the always (or ever?) the best measure of retirement ‘success’.
” Personal contentment and happiness, combined with peace of mind and a social circle of friends, are in my opinion more often than not a better measure of someone’s retirement situation than the size and performance of their portfolio.”
This so true. And I would rate contentment above happiness. Happiness is fleeting, but contentment can last. A Buddhist would say that attachment is the root of discontent, but attachment to people is worth it, while attachment to things, no.
I like this post. It humanizes the point that many people will retire with far less than what is required to replace their final salaries. They still have to make it work, and your father in law did just that.
In one of my first HD efforts, I eulogized my good friend Ken, who went from rags to riches and back to rags again. He still managed to find happiness: https://humbledollar.com/2024/01/he-sold-staples/
(As I was reading my old article, I couldn’t help but notice the small edits made by Jonathan that made me look like a real writer. Brought some tears to my eyes)
Dan. That was the very idea behind sharing the story. A true life picture of an ordinary successful retirement without big numbers involved. I feel we sometimes overlook that retirement is achievable without all the faffing about over different retirement ideologies.
Nice story – and a lesson that people with enough human capital usually make it through even as financial capital waxes and wanes.
All power to him. “Enough” is all. More in a sunset or sunrise or a quiet sit listening to birdsong than a hundred fancy dinners or overblown “events”.
So true. One of my cherished memories is sitting on a boulder on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, basking in the sun while reading a book and enjoying the view, with no one else around.
It’s an expensive place to live now, but Reno is just down the hill, and much more affordable 🙂
I love this. Reading your comment brought to mind Philip Larkin’s poem, Vers de Société, and the lines:
“Just think of all the spare time that has flown
Straight into nothingness by being filled
With forks and faces, rather than repaid
Under a lamp, hearing the noise of wind,
And looking out to see the moon thinned
To an air-sharpened blade.”
Your second to last paragraph says it all. I think striving for enough is wiser than striving for plenty.
I totally agree Jack! That paragraph aligns more with what HD should be about.
There is no linear path to fulfillment. More power to you and your father-in-law.