Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have been following this forum for quite some time and now I'm motivated to share my life story.

I worked in the finance industry for the past 25 years. Now I am a SAHD (stay at home dad). Over the past 20 years, I have bought and sold countless number of shares and 8 properties and I earned lots from my job. While my household income was very high, by Spore's standards, we we're not happy. I was practically an absent father due to the long hours. My kids didn't do well in school and were ill disciplined.

One day I realized that life is not all about money and so sat down with my wife to discuss. We had a long talk and we both cried after that. It was the first time in my life that I cried. We decided that since I have made so much money from my investments and made gains in the million range, it would be good for me to stop working and focus on my family. So I took the bold move to stop working. I now have two fully paid properties and a portfolio of other investments, which gives me a passive income of $40k pa. I started to coach my kids and become a great father. Their grades improved significantly and they are now better behaved. My wife still works and earn $100k pa. Since we have no debt, our household expenses are quite low at $80k pa. We save $60k pa. We have also built up education funds for my kids to see them through university education.

Some people say I'm crazy to give up a high paying job but to me, it was worth it. Indeed to give up my corporate life at 45 is tough. My family is much more happier and we cherish each other. But the greatest joy I get is when my kids say "I love you dad", something which they would not say for a long time.