Well into transition

Here it is, already July. I looked back at the pre-termination post, realized that things have turned out pretty much like I hoped with the transition. Not that it wasn't stressful, mind you. Leaving early and coming home late papered over a whole raft of deferred maintenance on relationships and exposed some character traits in me and my family that we hadn't experienced from one another before.

So, how is this transition going from the standpoint of ultimately planning for retirement?

Well, I am about to open my laser scar practice; grand opening in about a month. I found the space in April, and starting a solo practice has a lot of details in it; fortunately former coworkers have come alongside to help, in whom I have a great deal of trust, so that's a feel good thing. My oldest and bestest friend agreed (he must be as foolish as I am) to uproot himself from a comfortable existence in the bay area and become my partner in a start-up maker design/prototype business. He gets a modest stipend, free lodging, equity stake and space for his own engine shop. I get a ton of help, motivation, enjoyment and the ability to leave town and earn money, knowing that he's minding the store. This summer we have 5 young employees; 3 alumni from student projects and two new students. They're humming along making stuff, a sight to behold. The ground floor remodel is about to begin. A 20ft yurt has been erected under the trees on my property. A studio/cottage/tiny-house on a  double-axle trailer is under construction. Money is flowing like water. I am now actively working remotely, a week or two at a time, at fine wages, the only drawback being that I can't be at home where all the excitement is ongoing. I'll do this about half-time until local businesses require my full time attention. Hopefully they will supplant the income I produce on the road as well.

I'm thinking that another 9 years is my working horizon, many less. By then, my boy Alex should be approximately through with college. By then, hopefully we'll have completed a renovation of the entire place, and we'll have the main residence, ADU, garage-over studio and the tiny-house, plus the yurt. My wife and I can move into smaller digs and let someone else utilize the larger dwelling space. We may be able to garner enough income to cover the entire cost of the mortgage, or I may cash out some assets and pay it way down. Life happens while you make plans, so it's all speculation.

With no new money flowing into my retirement accounts, I have been sitting on my hands. I am thinking about increasing the "quality" of my portfolio. It's pretty wide, could possibly be a bit deeper. I have a large-cap bent in the bigger accounts, a small-cap dividend-paying value bent in the smaller accounts. cash flow is growing moderately. in all of those accounts, I may have as many as 75 different holdings. They are distributed between Roth and traditional IRA accounts, with one little qualified plan ticking along with TIAA CREF for nearly 25 years now. My wife has a qualified plan and two supplemental plans that we have not converted, purely due to the inconvenience of having to figure out how to do it. Valuations have eased, meaning the portfolio's value is being driven by dividend reinvestment primarily. I'm going to keep my eye on that number; growth in cash flow, as the primary indication that I can reach the amount of income I need by the time I'm really done with working for wages. I'm a total return investor with a dividend focus; I want my holdings to pay me now and I will decide what to do with my cash. Right now,  I'm happy to turn each company's payments back into a larger stake. Later, some of it will pay the bills.

As the pain of a deteriorating experience in hospital-based surgery begins to fade into the background, I can say that all the work of discernment was worth it. I made it out alive, through the valley of the shadow of death and back up to a place where I can see the horizon again.  I'm still mourning the loss of a few relationships, but those that matter most are either intact or dormant and will emerge at some point down the line.

I think that's about enough summation for now. The shadows are getting longer and I need to get on the bike and ride a bit.