The following is an update I posted on LinkedIn in September 2021, a few months after I left corporate life.
At the end of May 2021 I left my corporate job, resigning from my role with TD after nearly 10 years with the company and over 23 years in financial services. TD is in many ways a great organization. I feel fortunate to have been there for my final years of corporate life. I enjoyed the vast majority of those years (hey, who can truthfully say they enjoy every hour of every day at work?), and I’m grateful to the many wonderful people I encountered along the way.
I’m especially thankful for those who shared with me their knowledge and wisdom about business, leadership, integrity, and the importance of building strong relationships. I’ve tried to pay back and pay forward for these gifts along the way and hope that I was successful on at least some occasions.
Overall, these experiences helped me to grow and I feel like I needed to be there in order to become the person I am today.
Why did I walk away from corporate life?
Well, it turns out that achieving financial independence at a relatively young age (ok, I’m 52…but that’s still “young”, right?) is very doable. All it takes is a plan followed by consistent action…over 25+ years in the case of myself and my wife. And we’re not 100% there yet. My wife is continuing to work (which she prefers at the moment), but she’ll have the option to resign in a couple of years.
Finding your path to Financial Independence
There are many paths to FI. If you follow the route taken by some of the more hard-core members of the FIRE community (Financial Independence Retire Early) it can be achieved much faster, but with additional sacrifices. Which path you take is up to you, but as I’ve learned over the years, you do have to be intentional about this. You have to make it a priority in your life, it won’t just happen on its own.
What’s life like once you achieve FI?
I’m just finishing up month 4 of this new freedom, so I’m still figuring this part out. But so far, I like it quite a bit 🙂 People often see themselves travelling the world once they retire but given that my wife is still working and we have two children in school, not to mention this pandemic thing, that part will have to wait.
For now, I’m enjoying the significant reduction in work stress that comes with FI and the ability to spend much more time with family, especially my children and my 84-year-old mother. This time is priceless.
That’s all for now, but I will share more updates as this journey continues. Cheers.
Everything is very open with a precise description of the issues. It was really informative. Your website is very helpful. Many thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your comment! I wish you all the best in your journey to Financial Independence!