“So, I don’t make any money! » This is what François Groulx always ended up saying to himself when looking at his quarterly investment statements. He didn’t understand much, he asked questions to his financial advisors and didn’t have a satisfactory answer. He’s had enough. He began to educate himself and eventually manage his finances himself. Result ? Fifteen years later, at 55, he is almost retired!
“You are never better served than by yourself,” François proudly asserts. After my children, taking charge of my finances has been my greatest achievement. »
So much so that last year, at age 54, François resigned from his employer. “To my great surprise, he offered me a three-day-a-week contract,” he says. I accepted. The term ends soon and then I’m going to work for fun by taking jobs that I always wanted to do, but which didn’t pay enough. »
How is all this possible? For years, when he was married, François earned a good salary, as did his partner, but the two did not have the same relationship with money.
We had no financial cushion, we were always tight and I didn’t think it made sense. I wanted to invest.
Francois Groulx
“That’s how we ended up going to investment advisors and started investing money every month in mutual funds. »
When he received his first quarterly reports, he didn’t understand anything. “I was trying to see what fees I was paying, how much money I had made and it really wasn’t clear,” he recalls. Then, I started reading books on the field of investment and economic news. Better equipped, I asked more specific questions to the advisors and I found their answers very vague. »
Dissatisfied, François told himself that it was time to take management of his assets into his own hands.
Invest alone and make a plan
The first step was therefore to take your money out of the mutual funds. “I took it all out at once,” he says. There were exit fees to pay, but that didn’t stop me, because I no longer had confidence. I deposited everything in a brokerage account and started buying securities of mature companies, often with dividends, which I always reinvested to benefit from compound interest. »
It’s still a big leap into the void! “Yes, and in one sense I was afraid, but in another, no,” he remembers. Before, I didn’t really know what I was investing in or if I was making money. Now I make all my decisions and if I lose money, I’m the one responsible. Then, quickly, I started making money, so that gave me confidence. And now I’m getting older, so I’m starting to buy index funds, which are less risky. »
To ensure that he was heading in the right direction, François also made a retirement plan. “To get there, I read a lot,” he says. I have a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) that will give me a certain amount at age 65, then I have a tax-free savings account and my brokerage account.
Initially, I told myself that I was going to retire around 60 or 65, but as the years went by, I realized that things were going well and that I could retire earlier.
Francois Groulx
It should also be said that he recently sold his house because he was tired of the maintenance. He is now a tenant, but he invested the amount obtained for the house. “It definitely made a big difference in my plan! »
In addition, he plans to wait until age 70 before applying for his pension from the Régie des rentes du Québec and his Old Age Security pension, so that they can be enhanced. He does not plan to roll in gold, but all the same, to be able to live well.
“I will always take out from the stock market the money necessary to live on for four years and I will invest it securely,” he explains. That way I won’t be stressed if there’s a crash. For the rest, it is certain that everything will depend on returns. There is always nervousness: I wonder if my plan is good. But, at some point, you have to trust yourself. Worst case scenario, I’ll go back to work. One thing is certain, I want to enjoy the next few years. I don’t want to be the richest person in the cemetery! »