Ready, set…retire?

A capable do-it-yourself investor near 50 has built a solid nest egg and now faces a different kind of problem: turning that pile into a paycheque. Allan uses the case to mark the shift from building wealth to spending it down, a transition that asks for new habits and a clear-eyed look at whether the numbers actually support retiring now. He weighs how to generate income, comparing a dividend approach with simply selling pieces of the portfolio over time, and touches on the order of withdrawals and how a mortgage fits into the picture. He is encouraging about the investor's track record while underlining that drawing down a portfolio takes its own discipline, especially when markets fall and the temptation is to stop selling. The discussion is for self-directed savers asking whether they are truly ready to make the leap.