My name is John Millar. I live with my wife of 53 years, Colleen, about halfway between Brisbane and Gold Coast in sunny Queensland, Australia. I’m 71 and Colleen is 70.We have 8 children, 23 grand-children, and 2 great-grand-children. Such a blessing! But life was hard, as you’d imagine, with the cost of raising a large family.
With careful planning we have been able to self-fund our retirement. We do OK, but we do need to be careful of our spending. Since travel is a major “bucket list” item for us, we’ve found many creative ways to travel in style on a shoestring budget. In the last few years we’ve been all over Australia, South East Asia, the US and Canada. We’ve driven from Brisbane to Cairns (a 1,678 km journey), done a driving holiday across the US, and taken an Alaskan cruise. We’re about to do the Indian Pacific train journey from Sydney to Perth.
So why do I tell you all of this? It’s not to impress you. It’s to tell you that we’ve done all of this with Colleen in a wheelchair, due to a health incident 25 years ago. But we don’t let that stop us! No matter where you are in your life anything is possible for you. (Now while travel may not be your thing, it’s about having the choice to spend your time however you want.)
One of the highlights in the last few years was volunteering at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018. I was so proud of Colleen as she made her way (on her own and on her motorised scooter) to the stadium each day. We got to meet so many wonderful athletes and made life-long friends.
And of course we have hobbies. We still travel to speak and do mission work around Australia. As an ex-manual arts teacher I have my “man cave” with workbench and tools where I make gifts for friends and family, and do small repairs around the house.
Every week we go out to lunch and a movie. And I’m even becoming “a bit of a chef” thanks to the delivery service Hello Fresh.
Why do I tell you all this?
It’s to let you know that ANYONE can have the lifestyle you want in retirement…regardless of your age, your health, or your financial situation. Colleen and I have done it, and now I want to show you how to do the same.
Not only that, but I believe it’s not optional – it’s critical that you get out and start living with purpose. Because the alternative is a slow (or maybe not so slow!) decline to the grave.