April 24, 2024 • 7 mins
What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money for retirement? Meet Dalene Higgins, a former government employee who turned her meticulous budgeting into a retirement plan so successful, it enabled her to retire early and pursue a new passion as a financial coach. Dalene shares her journey of transforming her relationship with money and mastering the art of living well—both before and after retirement. Tune in to Search and Replace and discover how you can also craft a life that transcends the typical financial worries and truly enjoy your golden years.
To view full transcript and expanded show notes: https://bit.ly/3W2O97R
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Support for the following podcast is providedby the user experience specialists at Johnson Taylor.
More information follows this episode. Whatif you no longer had to worry
about the money you need to retire, You just have to think about what
you're going to do with your time. I'm Joe Taylor Junior. This is
Search and Replace. Dayleen Higgins likesto plan ahead. I worked in the
(00:27):
government sector, changed agencies, andI was like, okay, I did
seventeen years. There I can do. And the light bulb went off.
I only had to do thirteen moreyears to be able to access my pension,
and I realized, if I wantedto retire in that quote thirteen years,
I had to be prepared. SoI'm the kind of person who's not
(00:50):
sure what I'm going to be doingin thirteen weeks, let alone thirteen years.
Maybe you were the same way,But Dayleen's got the kind of brain
that's optimized to think about out longterm planning. And the folks over at
Motley Fool reviewed some consumer surveys amongAmericans, who are already notorious for not
saving very much money very well.Most studies and surveys show that most of
(01:15):
us don't get serious about saving forretirement until we're in our thirties and forties.
So when did Dayleen get this burstof inspiration. I was about thirty
five. That was my AHA moment. I better get my button gear if
I wanted to retire that early.So I really got focused on budgeting.
And I know everybody hates spend budgeting, but it was the driving force of
(01:38):
my entire fifteen year journey. Ireally started focusing and really getting into the
meat and bones of all my numbers, so making sure we're spending correctly,
that we're saving in all of theaccounts we need to and to support us
also supporting what we were doing inthe moment, so enjoying life. We
were both working full time, Wehad our daughter things she wanted to do.
(02:00):
I just got really focused on differentareas, how can I be better?
Like on my groceries. I'm alwaysbeen a mail planner, but you
know, was there anything more Icould learn? Anything more I could do
and explore all of the different things, and it might have given me,
you know, five dollars ten dollarsa month or a pay check, but
that slowly added up as I continuedthe journey, I think the hardest thing
(02:23):
was us really pausing on a lotof our expenses. It was really do
we need it or can we pausefor another month? So that was probably
the bumpiest where we were second guessingsome of those expenses that were never second
guests before, you know, goingthat extra layer deep. And for Daileen
and her family, a lot ofthat second layer involved the ways they spent
(02:46):
their leisure time. Even though Iknow a lot of people are like you
probably did absolutely nothing, and Ilike to share with them like we did
as a family. We had thispiece of property, we enjoyed it.
We had vehicles, we had acamp trailer. As my daughter got busier,
we sold the camp trailer, soldthe motorcycles. So with the selling
of that we were able to putquite a bit down on our home.
(03:07):
So as we're approaching this this timeline, like our home was paid off,
so that also helped being able tocome into retirement without a mortgage. Now
we do have an investment property thatmy daughter lives in up for school,
and so we do have still alittle bit, but we were able to
(03:28):
get everything paid off, really juststay the course, build up her emergency
funds, be able to support.I was like, Okay, this is
real. So Dalen perfectly executed herplan, which meant she could officially retire
from her government job at her targetage. And then what what do you
do with your time when most folksin your age group are still grinding away?
(03:53):
As I was retiring, I thought, well, I'm still too young
to just you know, sit arounddo nothing. So I was trying to
find something to fell part of myday, and I came across financial coaching
and I'm like, oh my,heck, I could help others using this
momentum I have and this excitement tobe able to help fuel them and understanding
(04:15):
of all the little steps that tookme to get there, as well as
figuring out what life on the otherside looks like. Because I think a
lot of people only worry about themoney, but yet they don't realize that
the lifestyle and impairing those two togetheris so important. You know. It's
really just that scarce mentality and justthinking about, well, how can you
(04:36):
be more abundant, how can youtake those steps to help yourself enjoy the
quality of life you want without worryingso much about money. I found it.
It just connected. It I loveworking with numbers. I love helping
bring those numbers to the people andlet them believe in what they see.
And most clients of mine that Iwork with then after one session they're like,
(04:59):
oh god, uh, it's notthat bad bringing that excitement to people
and rather within them being scared oreven just hiding from their numbers and the
reality of it, to help themembrace what they thought was a closed door
is an open door, and thatthere's multiple open doors, and just to
be able to pursue whatever it isthey feel that they truly want from now.
(05:21):
So we asked, Dalen, ifyou're still working, is it really
retirement. So I have become anentrepreneur after retirement and my husband he actually
goes to part time work. Youcan still be retired and still working in
a certain form, and just realizingthat can be an option and that can
(05:41):
be part of your retirement plan aswell. Look at savings and paying off
debt, because the closer you areto retirement, if you can get rid
of as much debt as possible,that's less income you're going to have to
come in from your savings. Alsoknowing that even if you are doing an
equivalency of your payoff and your saving. The day you are able to retire,
(06:03):
that savings will still grow. You'renot going to take the entire lung
sum with you. It's still goingto have a portion to grow, but
you can let it continue to doits things. So really, I would
just focus on maybe managing the debtif you've got a lot, and if
not, then just save what youcan and start building your lifestyle that will
(06:24):
be similar to retirement. That's financialcoach Dalene Higgins. We've got links to
her work in our show notes andon our website at Search and Replace Dot
Show. Also in our show notesfor this episode, Rachel Hartman's got a
list of ten costs you should includingyour retirement plan. Most of them might
sound obvious, but don't forget unexpectedhome modifications and a surprise battle or two
(06:46):
with inflation. Plus Jenna from theblog tidy Mollism has an overview of intentional
spending. That's the art of gettingmore mindful about your money without denying yourself
the fun stuff and let all thatand more over on our website at Search
and Replace Dot Show. This hasbeen a podcast taxi radio production support for
(07:10):
Search and replace is provided by JohnsonTaylor user experience specialists serving media and technology
companies that want their websites to work. Learn more about how top performing businesses
eliminate barriers between customers and their goalsat www. Dot Make the website work
for me dot com
Support for the following podcast is providedby the user experience specialists at Johnson Taylor.
More information follows this episode. Whatif you no longer had to worry
about the money you need to retire, You just have to think about what
you're going to do with your time. I'm Joe Taylor Junior. This is
Search and Replace. Dayleen Higgins likesto plan ahead. I worked in the
(00:27):
government sector, changed agencies, andI was like, okay, I did
seventeen years. There I can do. And the light bulb went off.
I only had to do thirteen moreyears to be able to access my pension,
and I realized, if I wantedto retire in that quote thirteen years,
I had to be prepared. SoI'm the kind of person who's not
(00:50):
sure what I'm going to be doingin thirteen weeks, let alone thirteen years.
Maybe you were the same way,But Dayleen's got the kind of brain
that's optimized to think about out longterm planning. And the folks over at
Motley Fool reviewed some consumer surveys amongAmericans, who are already notorious for not
saving very much money very well.Most studies and surveys show that most of
(01:15):
us don't get serious about saving forretirement until we're in our thirties and forties.
So when did Dayleen get this burstof inspiration. I was about thirty
five. That was my AHA moment. I better get my button gear if
I wanted to retire that early.So I really got focused on budgeting.
And I know everybody hates spend budgeting, but it was the driving force of
(01:38):
my entire fifteen year journey. Ireally started focusing and really getting into the
meat and bones of all my numbers, so making sure we're spending correctly,
that we're saving in all of theaccounts we need to and to support us
also supporting what we were doing inthe moment, so enjoying life. We
were both working full time, Wehad our daughter things she wanted to do.
(02:00):
I just got really focused on differentareas, how can I be better?
Like on my groceries. I'm alwaysbeen a mail planner, but you
know, was there anything more Icould learn? Anything more I could do
and explore all of the different things, and it might have given me,
you know, five dollars ten dollarsa month or a pay check, but
that slowly added up as I continuedthe journey, I think the hardest thing
(02:23):
was us really pausing on a lotof our expenses. It was really do
we need it or can we pausefor another month? So that was probably
the bumpiest where we were second guessingsome of those expenses that were never second
guests before, you know, goingthat extra layer deep. And for Daileen
and her family, a lot ofthat second layer involved the ways they spent
(02:46):
their leisure time. Even though Iknow a lot of people are like you
probably did absolutely nothing, and Ilike to share with them like we did
as a family. We had thispiece of property, we enjoyed it.
We had vehicles, we had acamp trailer. As my daughter got busier,
we sold the camp trailer, soldthe motorcycles. So with the selling
of that we were able to putquite a bit down on our home.
(03:07):
So as we're approaching this this timeline, like our home was paid off,
so that also helped being able tocome into retirement without a mortgage. Now
we do have an investment property thatmy daughter lives in up for school,
and so we do have still alittle bit, but we were able to
(03:28):
get everything paid off, really juststay the course, build up her emergency
funds, be able to support.I was like, Okay, this is
real. So Dalen perfectly executed herplan, which meant she could officially retire
from her government job at her targetage. And then what what do you
do with your time when most folksin your age group are still grinding away?
(03:53):
As I was retiring, I thought, well, I'm still too young
to just you know, sit arounddo nothing. So I was trying to
find something to fell part of myday, and I came across financial coaching
and I'm like, oh my,heck, I could help others using this
momentum I have and this excitement tobe able to help fuel them and understanding
(04:15):
of all the little steps that tookme to get there, as well as
figuring out what life on the otherside looks like. Because I think a
lot of people only worry about themoney, but yet they don't realize that
the lifestyle and impairing those two togetheris so important. You know. It's
really just that scarce mentality and justthinking about, well, how can you
(04:36):
be more abundant, how can youtake those steps to help yourself enjoy the
quality of life you want without worryingso much about money. I found it.
It just connected. It I loveworking with numbers. I love helping
bring those numbers to the people andlet them believe in what they see.
And most clients of mine that Iwork with then after one session they're like,
(04:59):
oh god, uh, it's notthat bad bringing that excitement to people
and rather within them being scared oreven just hiding from their numbers and the
reality of it, to help themembrace what they thought was a closed door
is an open door, and thatthere's multiple open doors, and just to
be able to pursue whatever it isthey feel that they truly want from now.
(05:21):
So we asked, Dalen, ifyou're still working, is it really
retirement. So I have become anentrepreneur after retirement and my husband he actually
goes to part time work. Youcan still be retired and still working in
a certain form, and just realizingthat can be an option and that can
(05:41):
be part of your retirement plan aswell. Look at savings and paying off
debt, because the closer you areto retirement, if you can get rid
of as much debt as possible,that's less income you're going to have to
come in from your savings. Alsoknowing that even if you are doing an
equivalency of your payoff and your saving. The day you are able to retire,
(06:03):
that savings will still grow. You'renot going to take the entire lung
sum with you. It's still goingto have a portion to grow, but
you can let it continue to doits things. So really, I would
just focus on maybe managing the debtif you've got a lot, and if
not, then just save what youcan and start building your lifestyle that will
(06:24):
be similar to retirement. That's financialcoach Dalene Higgins. We've got links to
her work in our show notes andon our website at Search and Replace Dot
Show. Also in our show notesfor this episode, Rachel Hartman's got a
list of ten costs you should includingyour retirement plan. Most of them might
sound obvious, but don't forget unexpectedhome modifications and a surprise battle or two
(06:46):
with inflation. Plus Jenna from theblog tidy Mollism has an overview of intentional
spending. That's the art of gettingmore mindful about your money without denying yourself
the fun stuff and let all thatand more over on our website at Search
and Replace Dot Show. This hasbeen a podcast taxi radio production support for
(07:10):
Search and replace is provided by JohnsonTaylor user experience specialists serving media and technology
companies that want their websites to work. Learn more about how top performing businesses
eliminate barriers between customers and their goalsat www. Dot Make the website work
for me dot com
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