Share your story if retired before 53 in Australia

It just hit me in a last couple months that I could retire now, if I wish and I am not even 40 years old yet. :eek: but the problem is what to do in my retirement. I feel that I am too young...
 
Tillie
So how did this happen? You did not set goals..? Woke up one morning...BJesus I can now retire:p. Sorry could not help myself, so what is your story, interested:)
 
Combination of both smart investing, growing wealth via real estate deals and simultaneously hard work and climbing up the ladder in the corporate world. Also both hubby and I agreed, no kids policy.

Always had a goal to have enough for the retirement. Just did not expect that day to come so soon. :D But also I have to add that we are not big spenders.

Been thinking retirement a lot lately, but I have not yet found out what would I like to do... I quite like my current job and not sure what else I would be good at
 
Built a business from scratch during the past 10 years.
The business funded our property development and property accumulation costs.
Sale of the biz will offset almost all debt and will end this cycle.
Will be living off rent of a few hundred passive by rough calcs.

Till I get hungry again...

I have this funny feeling your appetite will not be sated for long.
 
We're transitioning now. Gave Hubby the green light a while ago, but he decided to continue working for a bit. Now he's changed his mind, so getting all the ducks in a row before he pulls the pin and it should be complete before the end of the financial year. He's 49.
 
I was 52.

I am 55 now.I stopped working when I was 52.
We owned a small business for 19 years that allowed us to buy shares and property.
We decided that the value of the business was a dangerously high percentage of our net worth, so with our accountant's encouragement we sold it.
This allowed us to pay down most of the debt that we had accumulated along the way, and it left us with a more diversified, less risky, portfolio of assets.
We have continued to invest in the share market since the GFC and this has contributed to increasing our net worth, even while not owning the high returning business.
The business was not held in the most tax-effective vehicle, and since selling we have always acted and invested with tax in mind.
Selling the business wasn't so much about retirement as it was about capital preservation.
 
Details.. please....I am sure everyone want to know how you guys have done it?:D

It just hit me in a last couple months that I could retire now, if I wish and I am not even 40 years old yet. :eek: but the problem is what to do in my retirement. I feel that I am too young...

We're transitioning now. Gave Hubby the green light a while ago, but he decided to continue working for a bit. Now he's changed his mind, so getting all the ducks in a row before he pulls the pin and it should be complete before the end of the financial year. He's 49.

I am 55 now.I stopped working when I was 52.
We owned a small business for 19 years that allowed us to buy shares and property.
We decided that the value of the business was a dangerously high percentage of our net worth, so with our accountant's encouragement we sold it.
This allowed us to pay down most of the debt that we had accumulated along the way, and it left us with a more diversified, less risky, portfolio of assets.
We have continued to invest in the share market since the GFC and this has contributed to increasing our net worth, even while not owning the high returning business.
The business was not held in the most tax-effective vehicle, and since selling we have always acted and invested with tax in mind.
Selling the business wasn't so much about retirement as it was about capital preservation.
 
Details.. please....I am sure everyone want to know how you guys have done it?:D

LOL! Exactly the same as you. Bought lots of property and held on tight. We're selling a few down, but not that many. The income will be less than what Hubby currently earns, but we don't spend it all anyway, so that's no biggie.

We COULD have done it sooner, but I wanted a better PPOR. We were looking at going again & getting a much better one, but decided to not be greedy, and be happy with what we have.
 
Details.. please....I am sure everyone want to know how you guys have done it?:D

Sash, i want to know more about your story (and im sure others do as well)
You may not be retired yet, but obviously you have a plan to do so in the very near future.

How did you get to where you are now?

And given your current situation, what are the options you are thinking of implementing to get to your retirement goal?
 
OK ...from my personal my perspective...I am not quite ready yet..though some will say I am...

My plan is to retire before 53 ...I am 48 now...some days I think I can retire.

My asset base in current project assuming not major hiccups and based on growth in places Brissie and Adelaide where 35% of my portfolio is.. will be somewhere between 9.5m-13m mark in the 1-3 years.

The plan is to have have 120k pa net for living and travel expenses. I am developing newer property to increase the depreciation credits. So in the end I might only pay 10-20k. The income generated will only be 1% of my portfolio and will try to keep gearing at a conservative 30-40%

I have am also aggressively building a super fund to where I hope to have $1m at 60 yrs of age. This will be icing on the cake.

I have gotten here by taking calculated risks, investing in the lower end, spreading my assets of real estate around the country. In the end I will have about 30 properties...I am up to low twenties now.

Enough about me...more about your stories...

Sash, i want to know more about your story (and im sure others do as well)
You may not be retired yet, but obviously you have a plan to do so in the very near future.

How did you get to where you are now?

And given your current situation, what are the options you are thinking of implementing to get to your retirement goal?

Details and numbers would be good Sash
 
My asset base in current project assuming not major hiccups and based on growth in places Brissie and Adelaide where 35% of my portfolio is.. will be somewhere between 9.5m-13m mark in the 1-3 years.

The plan is to have have 120k pa net for living and travel expenses. I am developing newer property to increase the depreciation credits. So in the end I might only pay 10-20k. The income generated will only be 1% of my portfolio and will try to keep gearing at a conservative 30-40%

.

With gearing of 30% and portfolio of 13m, does that mean your net worth is about 8-9 mil?

Me I am trying to generate 100k pa pre tax with a planned net worth of 5mil.
 
OK ...from my personal my perspective...I am not quite ready yet..though some will say I am...

My plan is to retire before 53 ...I am 48 now...some days I think I can retire.

My asset base in current project assuming not major hiccups and based on growth in places Brissie and Adelaide where 35% of my portfolio is.. will be somewhere between 9.5m-13m mark in the 1-3 years.

The plan is to have have 120k pa net for living and travel expenses. I am developing newer property to increase the depreciation credits. So in the end I might only pay 10-20k. The income generated will only be 1% of my portfolio and will try to keep gearing at a conservative 30-40%

I have am also aggressively building a super fund to where I hope to have $1m at 60 yrs of age. This will be icing on the cake.

I have gotten here by taking calculated risks, investing in the lower end, spreading my assets of real estate around the country. In the end I will have about 30 properties...I am up to low twenties now.

Enough about me...more about your stories...

Thanks Sash - net 120K - I'm going to eat my hat in a sec. How did/are you achieving that..through debt reduction via income or are you purchasing props with min extremely high yields from day 1? If latter, what types of props - std 3x1 houses in regional towns?
 
Not yet but target over next 1-3 yrs ....bit I believe I have hit your goal...though the incomes side might be erratic....that is why you need to target 20-30% higher at 120k-130k to continually bring 100k per annum. As a rule of thumb....multiply you income by 25 times...so you need 2.5m in investable assets to perpertually generate 100k indexed to inflation. This is based on the 4% rule (not my idea ;)). Note why it is erratic is my portfolio is still growing..the 10m-13m is about 1-3 to 5 years out...if my other part of portfolio outside of NSW takes off.;) NSW has been really good ....

See even someone on a lowly GP equivalent salary can be successfull. :)



With gearing of 30% and portfolio of 13m, does that mean your net worth is about 8-9 mil?

Me I am trying to generate 100k pa pre tax with a planned net worth of 5mil.

Great ...I will give you a Akubra with Crocodile Teeth to munch on for tea. :D I am achieving this via new builds which have grown by 100k-150k within 18 mths, old holdings which have typically grown by 100k-250k in the last 1-2 yrs (mostly NSW), and debt reduction via inverse compounding to the tune of 150-200k per annum..I have a large rent role which with recent interest cuts is about 100k CF+.

Only have 1 in regional area - Albury. The others are also regional but near large cities (10-20 klms) - Central Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle. All others are in the largest 5 cities. I don't like small regionals...capital growth is very restricted.

Thanks Sash - net 120K - I'm going to eat my hat in a sec. How did/are you achieving that..through debt reduction via income or are you purchasing props with min extremely high yields from day 1? If latter, what types of props - std 3x1 houses in regional towns?
 
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Thanks for that.

I was doing ok cashflow wise till I went on a buying binge in Brisbane. Love the city but those guys up north pay subsistence level rent :( It's great to be a tenant in Brisbane that's for sure. You could live in a nice 3 bedroom house in a prestigious suburb and pay < $600 pw. What up with that?
 
How many did you buy and where....

I will be looking there again shortly...

Thanks for that.

I was doing ok cashflow wise till I went on a buying binge in Brisbane. Love the city but those guys up north pay subsistence level rent :( It's great to be a tenant in Brisbane that's for sure. You could live in a nice 3 bedroom house in a prestigious suburb and pay < $600 pw. What up with that?
 
How many did you buy and where....

I will be looking there again shortly...

4 - Redcliffe, Wilston, Morningside and Carina. With the exception of Wilston, the rest were bargains and I'm convinced based upon pricefinder/RPD that I paid the lowest price for the location/property in that year (and since).

The yields on each aren't fantastic, though the Redcliffe one's ok. CG wise is where I scored with those purchases.
 
Are they all houses?

4 - Redcliffe, Wilston, Morningside and Carina. With the exception of Wilston, the rest were bargains and I'm convinced based upon pricefinder/RPD that I paid the lowest price for the location/property in that year (and since).

The yields on each aren't fantastic, though the Redcliffe one's ok. CG wise is where I scored with those purchases.
 
I do tend to put way to much boring stuff into my posts, so have shortened this... but hubby has not worked for five years.

We don't have a lot, but we have enough to put food on the table.

I would call us asset rich, cash poor, but not nearly as rich as others on this forum... but then life is not a competition.

If we were handed $1M today, we wouldn't change anything. So I do wonder if we should go ahead with our build (assuming the DA is approved), or sell the block and let someone else take the profit and take the risk of the build.

Plenty of time to ponder though. DA may take six to nine months apparently.
 
We are like Wylie and her husband and definitely do not have as much wealth than some others in the forum, but enough to retire now if we wish.

We both have always had a dream to move to the country when we retire. Have passive income from our investments and maybe some supplementary income from the land.

How did we do it? Both of us have had successful careers in major corporates with a good salaries without massive spending habits. No kids, no private school fees etc. At the same time we have bought houses needing reno and after renovation flip them for profit. Sell, move to the next one and repeat.

Also we have always purchased quite well. Profit is made when you buy the property :D Or maybe we just have been lucky. The latest PPOR looks like to be one of our best investments or at least providing fastest capital growth. Bought 9 months ago and according to valuations would provide $350k profit in a bad day. Tempting to sell and add funds to retirement savings pool.
 
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