Victory Lap Retirement: Book review & contest!!!

After my article Tawcan’s 7 Phase of Retirement got published, a reader called Mike Drak approached me asking if I wanted to do a book review. At first I was slightly hesitant but I was very intrigued by the book title, Victory Lap Retirement. Therefore, I agreed to do a book review and a testimonial.

Mike Drak and Jonathan Chevreau co-authored Victory Lap Retirement. Mike has worked in the financial sector for over 30 years and Jon is a well known & very reputable Canadian personal finance writer.

On this blog I have refrained from using the word “early retirement.” Instead, I use the word financial independence. To me, early retirement does not mean sitting on the beach drinking piña colada all day long. Rather, early retirement simply means that we can quit our jobs without having to worry about money. We can decide our own schedules and have the freedom and options to decide what we want to do. Early retirement does not mean that we will never work again. We are working because we are enjoying it and because we are fulfilling our life purpose. To get there, we need to be financial independent, meaning that our passive income exceeds our expenses.

My ideal early retirement scenario

When I started reading Victory Lap Retirement, I quickly realized that Mike and Jon had created the perfect term to describe my ideal early retirement. They refer to the stage after reach financial independence and before full leisure retirement as victory lap retirement.  In sports, a victory lap is the slow victorious circuit taken by an athlete after winning a race or other sporting content. The athlete continues to run, bike, or skate to enjoy and soak in the sweet victory. Similarly, once you become financial independent, you may not ready to engage in leisurely activities full time. Instead, you may decide to work part time and travel for the rest of the time, pursuit the business idea that you had for years, or you may decide to go back to school and gain more knowledge. Essentially you have all the choices and freedom to decide what you want to do with your time in victory lap retirement.

Victory Lap Retirement is not Financial Independence

Unlike many early retirement books, Victory Lap Retirement does not focus on how to become financial independent (Jon has written another book on this topic). Rather, the book focuses on life after financial independence and strategies that can be implemented for individual to cater post-FI life to fully enjoy his/her life. Even if you are not financial independent just yet, the book gets you thinking and planning about creating a lifestyle that you will enjoy once you are financial independent.

 Victory Lap Retirement: Pursuit of happiness

What I enjoyed most about Victory Lap Retirement is the fact that Mike and Jon put so much emphasis on the pursuit of happiness and the idea of creating a life from which you don’t have to retire. Why retire when you enjoy things you do and they generate income? Creating your own happiness and maintaining a healthy, satisfying, and self-fulfilling lifestyle becomes extremely important when you are in victory lap retirement. After all, having all the money in the world doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t happy and healthy.

Victory Lap Retirement is a must read for everyone with FI in their mind. Given that the average life expectancy is 80+ now, we need to make sure we develop a healthy and active lifestyle post financial independent. I certainly can’t imagine sitting on the beach or playing golf every single day for 20 or 30 years straight. I will get bored after a week!!!

You can pick up your copy of the book from Amazon.ca.

Victory Lab Retirement: Book Contest for Readers!

Do you want to win a copy of Victory Lap Retirement?

Jon and Mike have graciously agreed to give out copies of Victory Lap Retirement to two lucky readers! Unfortunately, because shipping is a bit expensive, the contest is only for Canadian and US readers. Want to a copy of Victory Lap Retirement? Please leave a comment below and I will randomly draw two winners on November 4th.

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35 thoughts on “Victory Lap Retirement: Book review & contest!!!”

  1. We are at the stage of my life where we are slowing down our work life. This book seems like it would be a great help as we navigate this transition period.

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  2. Does it cover medical insurance? What do people do? Obamacare is now very expensive and the options for me in Houston area are very limited doctors.

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  3. Thanks for the mention! I just finished the book too and it’s exactly my philosophy. Good read for someone near FI who doesn’t enjoy their work anymore. I already have the book so don’t put me in the raffle. 🙂

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  4. Life after FI sounds like a great topic. We all need to know the ‘why’ to keep us motivated for the ‘what’ and ‘how’ . Thanks for the preview.

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  5. Long time reader, first time poster — always appreciate your mix of positive outlook interleaved with investment-themed discussions.

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  6. Pursuing happiness and creating a life you want to have in this world give life extra fun and challenging. It also makes you feel more blessed each day to make things right and to live life with more meanings, Taw. Glad you enjoyed the book. And, I’d definitely grab a copy of this book.

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  7. Officially adding the book to my queue. It sounds like you were able to get a lot out of it and it would obviously be a topic that interests me! Plus, I freaking love contests haha Looking forward to reading. Thanks Tawcan!

    Bert

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  8. This sounds like the perfect book to add to my to read list. It would be a refreshing perspective on a topic I never tire off. As well, I always enjoy books with a Canadian connection.

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  9. This sounds like a very interesting book and I love the title of the book. I am a lot like you… i have no plans of retirement anytime soon… my pursuit is to simply own my time and spend it doing the things that I want to do. Nice article. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Am working with a FO planner right now to assess whether I can take the Findependance plunge and only work for playcheques! This would be an awesome read to help me make the decision when the time comes.

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  11. I’m a long time reader, but my first time commenting. Thank you for your inspiring posts. Your blog has struck the perfect balance between personal finance and the pursuit of a joyful life. I would love to win a copy of Victory Lap Retirement as my husband and I are about to embark on our post-FI life.

    Reply

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