Nadine Brown at her home in Ajax, Ont.Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
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In Tales from the Golden Age, retirees talk about their spending, savings and whether life after work is what they expected.
Nadine Brown, 65, Ajax, Ont.
I retired in February, 2018, just shy of my 60th birthday. The last decade of my career was spent working in project management in the banking industry. I was commuting three hours a day, and one day, I said to my husband, “I will be 60 in one month. I’ve worked for 40 years. I think I’ve had enough.” I retired a few weeks later.
Retirement was boring at first because I didn’t have a plan. My husband, who is six years younger, is still working. In my early retirement, two of my children – who were living at home while attending university – told me I should get another job because I was getting too involved in their lives. I got a part-time job as a transcriptionist for condo boards, which I did up until April, 2021.
I was financially prepared for retirement. I was a single parent to one child for 13 years before getting married, so I knew how to budget, save and manage money. My husband and I learned to live within our means. He has two children from a previous marriage, and we have two children together. When buying our home, we determined that the mortgage would be paid by one salary while we saved and invested. We paid off that mortgage two years after I retired.
While the cost of living has gone up, I don’t worry too much about money. When I came to Canada as an immigrant in 1970 at age 12, my parents got divorced, and we had to live with a lot less than I had growing up in Jamaica. I learned long ago that money doesn’t buy happiness.
For me, the hardest part about retirement is keeping busy. When you’re working, your days are scheduled for you. In retirement, you need to create your own routine. These days, mine includes housework, cooking and running errands. Sometimes, I wonder how I used to do all these things while managing a family and working full-time.
I’ve also joined a book club and learned how to garden. Before I retired, my plants used to die, but now they’re healthy and growing. I have also started travelling more. I’ve been using travel coupons to book boutique hotels in interesting places around Ontario such as Prince Edward County and Niagara Falls. My husband and I have also travelled to Florida and Jamaica this year, and, as much as possible, we try to visit our adult children and grandchildren in Ottawa and Vancouver.
Volunteering is also a big part of my life, and I’ve kept that up in retirement for a few different organizations. As a Canadian immigrant, I especially enjoy mentoring newcomers to Canada and watching them succeed.
My advice to other people is to retire when you’re ready. Don’t let anyone tell you when it’s time. It’s your decision.
I knew I wanted to retire around age 60. My mother died at age 55, and her mother passed away at 103, so I knew we had little control over life. I wanted to enjoy the rest of my time doing what I wanted and making memories with family and friends.
As told to Brenda Bouw
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Are you a Canadian retiree interested in discussing what life is like now that you’ve stopped working? The Globe is looking for people to participate in its Tales from the Golden Age feature, which examines the personal and financial realities of retirement. If you’re interested in being interviewed for this feature and agree to use your full name and have a photo taken, please e-mail us at: goldenageglobe@gmail.com Please include a few details about how you saved and invested for retirement and what your life is like now.
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