By the Numbers - Keeping it Simple

It's been a long time since I've talked about those all important NUMBERS: number of days until summer holidays when we can go east again, number of days until I retire and of course - the financial numbers - how much I'm saving and how much I need to pay off. 

Down the side of my blog....WAY down....are my two counters - and I am happy to report that there are only 124 days until summer begins with the annual trek to PEI and only 491 days until RETIREMENT!!  YOWZER!! Getting below 500 days is so exciting!

Below my two counters are the financials. I just updated them and this is where I'm KEEPING IT SIMPLE! There are only two financial bars now plus the one that I've completed which was the repayment of my Line of Credit last year. I could delete it, I suppose, but it was such a HUGE moment I'm not ready to let go of the reminder of one of the most significant financial accomplishments of my life! Oh yes, and the Line of Credit account is officially CLOSED!

It was either April or May of last year that I emptied every savings account I had (with the exception of RSPs) and paid off the remainder of my Line of Credit. It felt a little scary, no a LOT scary but I felt I could replenish my savings accounts pretty quick since I'd no longer be making payments on the Line of Credit.  Here it is 9 or 10 months later and I've resaved $15,000 plus I made a $2400 RSP contribution today. I am still on track to save $100,000 by the time I retire plus I am steadily reducing my PEI mortgage month by month. I've reduced the amortization period by 8 years over the past 2.5 years by paying an extra $42.00 twice a month and when I renew in August at a lower interest rate the amortization will be reduced even more.

Eventually I'll sell my condo and add that to my little nest egg of savings. People tell me I'm lucky because as a teacher I have a defined benefits pension tied to the rate of inflation. Believe me, luck had nothing to do with it. I've had hefty deductions taken off the top of my paycheques for over twenty years now. That's why my RSP room each year is only around $2400. I've put the maximum into my RSP that I'm allowed annually plus 12% of each paycheque goes into my pension plan.

I won't be living high off the hog. Retiring two years early means a smaller monthly pension.  Happily, my needs are few and my wants fewer.  I have no consumer debt and hope to have my PEI mortgage paid off within the next few years. I'll manage quite nicely on my monthly income and can look forward to getting more pension monies as I age - CPP (can begin to collect at age 60 or higher) and OAS at age 65.

 With low monthly costs I'll still be able to save each month to pay for home and vehicle maintenance as well as travel. I plan to have a barn built on my land and renovate my kitchen.

Best of all I plan to watch the sun rise every morning from my front porch - free of charge!