May 30, 2024
In Tales from the Golden Age, retirees talk about their spending, savings and whether life after work is what they expected.
Stephen Mackisoc, 66, Fall River, N.S.
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I retired in 2019, at age 61, a few years after the Calgary-based oil and gas fabrication engineering company where I worked was bankrupted voluntarily by the owners. I did some management consulting work for a while, but the industry tanked, so there weren’t many roles available. I believe ageism also played a part in my inability to find work. Only in the past couple of years have I stopped looking for work to focus on my lifelong passion for writing.
Based on my decades of management experience, I initially thought I’d write a business book, but I quickly discovered I wanted to write action novels. I self-published five books under the pen name C.C. Chamberlane and was accepted into the graduate certificate program at the Humber School for Writers. There, thanks to my mentor, writer Donna Morrissey, I finished my latest novel, Storm on the Horizon , which was published last year.
In 2018, my wife and I decided to sell our home in Alberta and move to Nova Scotia, where she was born and raised. We planned to move there eventually but fast-tracked the decision when I chose to retire. My wife is still working at a job she enjoys.
Keeping busy and active in retirement isn’t an issue for me. I’ve always been handy, and my first project was to renovate our home here in Fall River, outside of Halifax, completely after we moved in. I do some woodworking and recently learned how to reupholster furniture.
I take care of most household chores during the week while my wife is at work. We have two energetic German shorthaired pointers that I walk about three to five kilometres a day. I also write about four to five hours daily, usually in the mornings. My wife and I have kids and grandkids here in Nova Scotia and British Columbia that we visit as often as possible.
Like most Canadians, I worry a bit about money in retirement. We’ve cut back our expenses a bit because of the increased cost of living, both from inflation and the impact of the carbon tax on what we consume regularly. Our major focus is on shopping wisely for food and minimizing purchases of depreciating assets.
I understand the stock markets, so the ups and downs don’t worry me. The downs present a great opportunity to pick up dividend-paying stocks, typically at great prices. I believe people should invest throughout their lives – and start as soon as possible. That’s what we taught our children; they’ve put that knowledge to good use.
My advice to others in retirement is to focus on what’s valuable to you – and I don’t mean your assets or what’s in your bank account. I mean your friends and family. My wife and I feel fortunate to be where we are and to be healthy and happy without too many worries.
As told to Brenda Bouw
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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