I retired earlier this year. I worked at UPS for 40 years. I’ve had a lot of people say you are lucky to be able to retire so young. Well, yes and no. I know of quite a few people who have retired at earlier ages and many who haven’t been able to do so. When I was promoted to full-time at UPS, part of my total compensation was in stock. I was told I wasn’t allowed to sell it unless I spoke to a District Manager and asked for permission, and based on what you told him he would allow you to or not – but basically the answer was a hard “NO.” When I saw the statement after the first year, it was like 1 or 2 thousand dollars. They said this will be worth a fortune someday, just let your money grow through compounding interest.

I graduated high school at Cherry. Graduated college from the University of Wisconsin. I didn’t know what compounding interest meant. All that schooling and, well, no one talked about retirement or how to prepare. But I worked for UPS, the stock grew at 15% a year back then and that means it doubled every five years. I understood ‘doubled every five years’ so I just acted like it wasn’t available. Then in 1997 we went public and the stock doubled in one year. I believe it got as high as $72 per share. I thought back then, this is great. Then in 2008 it was still around $70 per share –- it didn’t grow at all in eight years.

In the early 2000s, I met a financial advisor. He sat down with me and told me I wasn’t investing in the company 401k plan that had a 3% match. He said until you maximize the 401k he didn’t have any better investments for me. I started putting 3% in the 401k. Each year I increased another 2-3 percent until I maxed out the amount I could contribute. I thought this was a good diversification to my UPS stock. In 2008 I met with another advisor who said we should sell UPS and invest in some better investments since my UPS was just giving me a 2% return. We sold it all and he invested in a whole bunch of stocks. Over the next 15 years he has averaged an 8% return after expenses. Not phenomenal, but not bad. He also has advised me on my 401k.

What I learned is that I had no idea on how to plan for retirement, but this guy did. In the process I’ve fired two planners because they didn’t get me the returns I wanted or didn’t return my calls. I learned they work for me. Then a few years ago I told my advisor I wanted to retire. She pointed out that if I hadn’t gotten divorced that I could be retired right now. I knew it – didn’t need to hear it. She said divorce is about the worst thing you can do from a financial standpoint.

She ran the numbers and projected out where I’d be each year until 100 years of age with three sets of numbers. One highly likely to occur, one scenario possible, one scenario not likely but could happen if the stars align. Based on the highly likely, we set this year as the retirement year. I then started calling her every week asking questions about all of my holdings. For instance, there was one stock I owned that has given me a 4% return every year – I asked why do we own it? Why don’t you buy XYZ instead? It has returned 15% every year for 10 years? Sometimes we changed holdings based on those conversations, sometimes we didn’t.

I learned that my advisor doesn’t look at my account that often – typically only when they get a memo that says sell or buy this stock. I learned I need to be vocal and question them constantly. I’m now getting some of the highest returns ever.

I started reviewing retirement with 20-year-olds at UPS and told them my story. I’ve had countless people thank me and tell me no one has ever spoken to them about preparing for retirement. My advice: plan for retirement in your 20s, you will be 60 in a minute. Maximize your 401k if you have one. Invest with a planner. Hold everyone accountable who is managing your money. If they don’t get you double digit returns, find someone else.