After paying off our mortgage (while still working with good jobs) we came up with an idea that worked for us. One year before we wanted to retire we decided to live on the government pension exclusively to see what our life would be like on that pension income alone. We stuck with it, saved a pile of money while learning to live on our pension money. It really prepared us for retirement, but of course we learned very quickly this works best being debt-free.

Paying off a mortgage works if you don’t use debt.
I have 1.8 million in mortgages. And I wish I had billions.
This debt let me build a net worth over 3 million.
Passive cash flow of over 150k a year. And made work optional at 48.
I’m gaining appreciation on millions more than I invested. Tenants are paying off the debt.

Paying off a primary house can make sense. But that money could have been invested for a far greater return.

Average net worth of home owner in US is 221k
Average net worth of renter in US is 6k

Home ownership is impactful.

We teach having several mortgages in your retirement account. But we are not paying out, we are collecting in. We become the bank for retirement. Thanks for this video!

Best idea for everyone is to postpone taking your Federal welfare check. In America individuals should wait until they are 70.

I think the US median is low and makes me concerned for the next generation who have less ideal economic conditions to work with. Since bank deposits earn almost nothing, you have to own things these days to keep your net worth growing. We have pensions, moderate retirement accounts (401Ks etc) and bought a few houses in the years running up to retirement at age 56. Right now we've got four mortgages, which sounds horrific for a retired couple, but it's working for us. We went with 15 year loans on everything and bought before the recent spike in prices. Our net worth is higher than the US median and growing at the moment.

I'm knew to this channel. If your net worth is your home, it sounds to me like you have nothing to rely on except a government pension. Is that correct? If so it sounds like a pretty awful retirement.

Great discussion and a very important topic, particularly for those who are nearing retirement! Understanding this number will go a long way to determining what ones income levels will be based on a combination of retirement savings, work related pensions, government pensions and possible other income sources like part time work and rental income, for example. This is just one side of the equation, however. Equally, if not more important is the question of expected spending levels upon retirement. A good understanding of both income and spending levels will help determine whether one will be able to support the type of lifestyle one expects in their retirement years. While most folks will have a reasonable understanding of what their net worth is, determining their spending levels is often the most difficult of the two, as many people have very little clue where their money is going in a lot of cases. Thanks again for a great video.

Canadian dollars or US dollars?

Thanks so much! This was helpful. Apparently, thanks to owning my home for 22 years already, I have the average net worth of a typical retiree in the U.S.. It is all in my home, though I also have a pension at work. Still paying off student loans though so the pension will mostly go to that until I’m 67. I’m working to fix up my home this summer, so it’s ready to sell when I decide to retire. Lots of yard work to do. Thankful for all your videos.

Current net worth is about 1.3M. Debt free for years. Now at age 80. I've been doing a balance sheet tp present to my wife evrey year for more than 30 years. Easy for me as I'm a retired commercial banker.

I am really enjoying your videos and look forward to them every week now. You have given me a lot to think about and since we currently own a home, and with my husband retired and myself working from home, should we give up home ownership and think about renting instead? I am over 60 and now after hearing about your experience maybe we can start planning a different lifestyle and look at cheaper communities to live in. Most of our net worth is in our home therefore with the cost of upkeeping a home these days, maybe the better option is to find a smaller town to live in and rent.
I have not been able to watch all your videos yet but you have given us some great ideas about what to consider is most valuable in retirement. Selling off some of our assets to increase our net worth is something that we will need to do to change our lifestyle. Yes my husband has a few "big boy toys" that he will need to give up if we decided to move into an apartment. He also wants to live close to a lake therefore finding an apartment in a smaller community is going to be a challenge for me. He is not one to live in a small city apartment and needs green space nearby. Will be lots of research in the future for me and if anyone has ideas of great places to live please share.

Another awesome video!!
I love this idea, my husband and I will definitely be doing this..
We currently have our home for sale and have bought another home.. we will have a better picture when we are in the new place.
Moving to Niagara end of June, would you two to join us for a glass of wine😄

My wife and I are both upper 60s.
I am retired several years, my wife is retired less than 2 years.
We sold our house in northwest NJ 2 years ago, and bought a 55+ lot in Deleware, then built a house, 2400+ sq feet, ranch, no stairs.
What I find most remarkable about 55+ living is that everybody here is in the same boat, nobody has the world by the tail.
People are quite blunt about the disappointments in their lives, not a lot of BS here.
Kind of like high school, but instead of comparing all the teachers in the school, everybody here talks about their doctors. 🙂
I think 55+ is worth it if you can afford the few extra bucks.

Hi. A couple of points. I wonder what is the relevance of the “net worth” concept. Other than a feel good or bad one, I don’t see how it helps. I am assuming you own your own house, that is, unencumbered. Unless you rent it out when you are on holidays or you have a reverse mortgage, it really is not working for you. It’s an asset only. The real issue is the sum (beyond the value of your home) available for investment and the return you see on that investment. They are the key numbers, assuming you don’t have any substantial debt. If you include the family home as an asset you probably will enjoy yearly appreciation through inflation of property prices. So little wonder you could spend 100,000 of whatever currency and still be better off at the end of the year. Assuming your house is in a desirable location, that is.

Inflation is always a worry. It is easy to save for the 1st and 2nd year of your retirement. It is hard to save for the 19th and 20th year. Who would have thought in 2002 that an average "nice" car would run $40,000?

the average net worth of Americans seems shockingly low

I'm doing the list of assets and liabilities, and there are some judgement calls. I mean, my wife clearly goes in the liability column, right?

"We only include assets we can dispose of easily." For those not familiar with Canadian culture, that means "children."

Spoiler: They're worth $32M.

Thank you for this common sense episode

The wife and I are in mid to late 60’s. We’ve been retired 12 -14 yrs. No house or car payment and no credit card debt. We have a pretty good pension plus 3 months of pension monies in checking and 3 yrs worth of pension in savings. Then there is monies in CD’s, 401K’s, 403b’s. (Not Millions I am sorry to say). We own 2 houses and a 200 acre farm. So, we seem to be in a good place financially. Certainly better than a lot of people I know who are still having to work at 70yrs of age…..

I’m 71 and don’t understand why there are people who are so unprepared for retirement. It’s not like we can’t see the day coming. If you ask me I would guess a very large percentage of retirees below your mean level are victims of their own spending habit and life choices. Now unfortunately it time to pay the piper. Sorry if that sounds cold but I feel no sympathy for people who are poor as a result of their own actions. I’m not a college graduate, been married 3 times and lost a child. I had difficulty getting a good job until about age 30. I even had to go on welfare at one time. I had multiple set backs as I grew older. I never inherited any significant amounts of money from my parents. But I also never stopped trying.
I’m now sitting very well. My net worth at45 was above 250,000. I own my home and have significant funds in the bank. I also have a nice IRA which I started in 1980 and now have to start drawing on. I only get Social Security checks each month. The reason in my opinion that I’m financially stable isn’t because I had super jobs. Many people worked right beside me making the same money. The difference is I watched my spending. I didn’t get a new car every 3-4 yrs. I got one every 20 yrs. I’m driving my 2002 Silverado still today and it is still a great and reliable truck. I am thinking about selling it because I want a Lexus GX460 . I would be buying a new one however an$ probably won’t buy one till our economy gets back on track.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s video: The REAL Reason Nooohm and Teen Fled England!!! Shocking Secrets Revealed!

All govt stats and figures are fake. Never trust their bs !!!

Thanks for sharing! One question: How did you calculate your annual income from pensions and social security benefits, as well as rental income, it you do have it? Are they your assets? I think they should be counted, and that would explain that your assets are increasing, while you are spending in traveling, etc.

The encouragement to do a net worth statement around tax time is a good one. Discussing how to figure out your net worth is great because very few of us have learned to do this. Discussing that retirees are retiring with debt (incl. mortgages) is very good. People need to hear this information.

To be honest, asking people where they are vis-a-vis their net worth and the average net worth in their country (and by extension other commenters on this YouTube), can bring pain and jealousy. Some people are doing very very well….and they seem happy with their efforts, opportunities and luck. Others are struggling, and I feel their pain.

I'm not sure it is wise to invite people to write about their personal wealth and essentially compare it with others. Not my YouTube channel. What you put out is your decision. I'm concerned with retirees or pre-retirees comparing themselves to others, leading them to be depressed and worried.

N/e Ohio 62 years old,debt free net worth $700,000 and going down. let’s go Brandon

BTW, unlike our acquaintances (not friends) who stopped working, retired, and now complaining about inflation, I don’t even think about inflation because I still work.

I am 74 years and live in the San Francisco Bay Area (East Bay). Our primary residence is in a very affluent town and our second home (we bought for our kid) is also in a very affluent town. Both houses paid off (no mortgage). I work for the largest health insurance company in California as a medical director. Income was $680,000.00 in 2021. Our net worth (liabilities minus assets) is in 8 figures putting us in the top 1% financially in California and well above the top .5% financially in the USA (this based on median USA net worth figures). We have 3 cars (Prius, Acura, Mercedes), our primary residence is listed on Zillow for $2.5 million dollars, our other home is listed for $1.6 million dollars, and I have a gun collection worth easily $25,000.00. Our biggest expenses are F..KING TAXES!!! Otherwise life is good!!! BTW, I don’t need to work, but I do because we travel first class on our annual vacation. Nearly all the money I generate from working goes into a trust for our kid 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!!! The little shit earned his MBA, has a good job and still lives with us even though we bought him a house!!!! I forgot to mention our household income will be going up in 2022. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

If you out of debt COMPLETELY (including home) and can cook without eating out constantly, you'll probably be ok.

My IRA as of today lost 104K in the last six months. Before that my expectation was on of reasonable growth. Now I am quite concerned.