Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Everything says that I can retire in about 5 years' time on an income of about 40k per year. 

I don't want to retire then because: 

1) I want intellectual stimulation and career recognition. And I really don't want to be a second-class citizen like most consultants are / I don't think I've gotten to a level of seniority, relationships and personal renown that I can comfortably rest on my laurels. 

2) I don't think being a full-time parent is something I really want to do, although some additional vacation time would be nice. 

3) I want a lifestyle where I work most of the time in a job that's not too stressful but has some level of impact, a title, health insurance, etc. Which is pretty close, I guess, to what I have now. I need to manage stress and burnout and get back to enjoying the job. 

If this means we are exhausted all the time so be it, this is the configuration, and we just need to bring in more help. 


Anyways, 5 years seems like it's quite close but it's also extremely far away. There is no need to try and talk about theoretical things then. Right now we can only plan about 6 months ahead at a time. 

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Check in: net worth 1.317M (820k CHF)

This is a political post, kind of. At first I thought I would just be able to handle the change of political climate and I didn’t realize that I had to physically and emotionally process the election, physically by getting pneumonia and staying at home, emotionally by crying over every small thing like women’s rights being trampled and having a harder road ahead, and by not being able to travel to North Korea (looks like that one is still possible).

Anyways I am / my family is doing well financially right now at least. 

Liquid net worth (investment accounts, retirement accounts, investment real estate) is worth 630k CHF, with my income the highest it's ever been at 182,000 CHF post tax. (higher before the exchange rate calculations I guess). Overall things are going great. In 5 years I'll have probably 1M in retirement accounts which will be enough to live. 

At home things are also going well with family - two kids are thriving, husband is doing well at work, I'm surviving (barely). But trying to stay positive and realizing that being positive is the only way to keep going. 

Two possibilities at this point are: 1) trying to shift into pharma; or 2) doubling down and trying to keep going in my sinking industry and get to the point of having a steady income and steady retirement. I don't really know what would make more sense at this point. One or two more years in my current job at least, as long as I am able to do so. 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Check in: Net worth 1.18 M (around 760K CHF)

Interesting, how my values have changed. 

In my 20's, I thought all I needed was to have a net worth around 1.2M and I would be able to retire probably by 40. 

In my 30's, I knew I also needed a paid-off house, but thought I could still get there by saving 100k per year, and retire probably by 40. 

Now close to 40, I realize not only do I need investment accounts around 1.2M and a paid-off house; but I also won't be able to save 100k per year anymore because childcare expenses don't stop once your kid stops going to daycare (and in fact are almost equally expensive as daycare, by the hour - we pay around $1450 per month for after school care after E's kindergarten), and I now have 2 kids, which means the broader part of childcare expenses are still going to continue for about 5 years. 

At this rate, even if my investments grow, I will probably still have significant expenses (greater than retirement expenses) for the next 10 or close to 20 years, and probably need to work to make this happen. 

So now I understand why people are unable to retire until they are 55+. 

But I won't be able to survive 10 or 20 years in a job that I don't like, without a sense of purpose. 

How do I get that sense of purpose back? 

How do I stop looking at the numbers and start looking at having a wholesome life again? 


I would definitely counsel friends to work 4 days a week rather than 5 if possible, even if it means delaying retirement. 

So why is it so difficult for me to do it myself? 


Sunday, January 28, 2024

Check in: net worth $1.15 M (740K CHF)

Now that I realize that net worth is relatively meaningless as a measure. I find it less necessary to keep up with these updates. 

But since the last update 3 months ago my net worth has increased by about 70k which I find incredible, which is considering that I have done nothing except just keep my money in the market, and work I guess. 

Why is net worth meaningless though? 

It doesn’t tell you about your relationship to the money. More important is where you have your money and what income you can generate. I can have it all tied up in a house and have a great deal of debt and be in a world of pain… or I can have a healthy and predictable cash flow and be happy. 

What I really need is to: 

Buy more income generating investments like stocks 

Do not buy unnecessary debt - eg buying less house 

Stay frugal or become more frugal except when it comes to education for kids 

Not much else. I have a downpayment already for a house. 


I need to adjust my measures in order not to include my primary residence in my calculations anymore. Or, just to calculate : 1) total net worth; and 2) investment portfolio which are two different things. 

My investment portfolio is currently about 540k, not counting my pension pot nor my downpayment for the primary residence. So... that's pretty good? This means I can retire, spending 40k per year, in 2031-2032 if I keep putting 40k a year into the retirement portfolio (above my spending and mortgage expenses). 

But is very early retirement what I want? Turning into a vegetable isn't really living my best life. I think I just really want a break, but I know work is extremely important for two things: 1) intellectual/social stimulation, and 2) having dental insurance for the kids!!... so I think that's something to consider. If I can hold out another 12 years or so there's also the advantage to pay for Emilia's university education, if she needs it. 

Looks like I'm in it for another decade, then. 

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Dopamine and buying things

Most people get a dopamine hit when they buy something. It feels comforting to acquire something. 


I think we also get a dopamine hit when we think about something to buy. Usually my thought process goes like this: 

Think of something I am missing eg I am feeling tired and a coffee would help me feel better, or my ears are cold and I think I should buy ear muffs, or my breath is stinky and I think I should get some mints. 

Each time I think of the solution I get a little dopamine hit. But each of these things costs a lot of money and are more likely behaviourally-trained. 

But there are better, less convenience based ways of solving that problem that don’t involve the transfer of funds from me to other people to pay for the convenience. 

I have a hat at home. 

I can buy mints in bulk / I have lozenges at home. 

I can make a coffee at home or bring one with me. 

Same as financial independence. I think of the problem (financial pressure or work pressure), then I think of the solution (having a ton of money), then I feel better. 

But it doesn’t solve the convenience problem - I “pay” in lost productivity when I think about things along these lines. 

Being in control of your life involves recognising these circuits and stopping them when they are not useful, like when you are trying to save money, or when you need to be more productive and not distracted by social media. 

Money plans over next 6 months

 I am glad that our monthly childcare expenses won’t increase dramatically when I go back to work full time, because baby won’t be under 1 anymore so the daily cost goes down. So instead of $2201 for 4 days a week, per 4 weeks we will be only spending $2240, which is only a 1.2% increase. 

And for kid, there’s a chance we will stick to the current childcare plan of 1 full afternoon and three half afternoons, as I will take her to piano class (and maybe swim?), and she has a language teacher / babysitter one afternoon a week. So those costs will still run about $1000-1200 per month. 

So total fixed monthly expenses right now on childcare: 

$2500 baby care (adjusting for most months having slightly more than 4 weeks) 

$1200 after school care 

=$3700 on childcare (which we get 40% back, so cost is 2220). This is fixed for at least the next 4 years until baby is in school. But even then it will only go down by 15%. And kid’s expenses will not go down. If we get an au pair,  expenses would run about $1000/month also but we would be potentially more flexible. 

$1570 rent 

$500 transport 

$500-$1000 groceries 

=5290 total. Our take home income is around 15000 so this runs at 30% of that. It doesn’t feel like it but I guess this is the reality.


My reasons for a move would be: 

- trying to do work that is more interesting 

- potentially having more compensation 


I’m currently in a hybrid job where I can work 3-4 days a week remote and commute to the office the other 1-2 days. The workload is fine. It used to be very interesting but they brought on someone who is slightly more senior who has positioned himself between me and my former skip level and taken all the interesting work for himself. I am therefore left with pretty much the secretarial tasks (note taking) and shitty tasks (mediating between colleagues who are arguing). 

While this has reduced my workload substantially and that is great with 2 kids under 7 (I probably only work 15-20hrs per week really but get paid full time) I am worried about flatlining on my career. We also could use more money, who can’t. 

So I guess - job with no responsibilities and an annoying manager, or something where I could potentially make more but would probably have to work more. 

I guess the answer is clear - stay as long as the role stays like this, and get a certification/skill/degree in the meantime, or just spend time with the kids, and keep and develop good health habits like exercise and diet, for the majority of the next decade. I guess both should be fine and if I stay in this type of position it will at least be a wonderful financing of another programme. 

When I am 45 I guess I want to have raised 2 well adjusted kids and have a job that I can do for at least a decade longer. Maybe at that time I will do a PhD or some other degree. Pharma stuff is interesting to me and I guess I can try and position myself to go forward in this area. I guess you can never spend enough time with your family, nor spend enough time exercising. 

Can I stay in this position for another 2-4 years? Only time will tell… 


Friday, October 13, 2023

check in: net worth $1,050K ($698K)

I guess most of the growth in my income comes not from actual savings or anything important but from EXCHANGE RATE ISSUES - the growth of the Swiss franc in relation to the Canadian dollar. But it happens on both fronts between Canada and the US. 

It's crazy the differences and a little disheartening that over the last year and a half I've just barely managed to increase my Swiss net worth by 48k CHF. If you look at it in Canadian terms, though, it looks completely different - over this timeframe my net worth has increased by a pretty decent $168k CAD, and I've reached "millionaire status"; this happened back in April already, but you know my life has been pretty baby-dominated for the last 8 months. 

In terms of insights? Well, it looks like I can do better on savings, actually, although my numbers look good because of the exchange rate and because I'm measuring in Canadian dollars. I should probably keep moving cash into Canada given the current situation (which I expect to improve, given what I believe is the continued strong state of the Canadian and American economies).  

I will keep making updates. It's good to know that by end year I will have just over 700k Swiss francs almost regardless of whatever else happens.