I am in Ontario, Canada as stated in previous posts. I am 23 and have $20 000 in investments after working at my first job for 10 months. My job pays me $42 000/year before taxes ($33 000/year after taxes). Although my living expenses as low as possible ($9 000/year), I have some serious concerns about how realistic my estimates are. Simple math suggests I save $24 000/year, all after tax.
Let me be a little more clear, I am an interpreter by trade (for the Cantonese language). But, the people I serve are immigrants to the United States and Canada. Based on the severe population aging occuring in China, it is very likely that, in 20 years, the number of immigrants from China to these English-speaking countries will experience a steep decline simply due to the reduced number of working-age adults in China (22-60 years old). The old people (Baby Boomers) will mostly be dead by 2040 or so, which means demand for my services will plummet simply due to demographics.
If this is not bad enough, AI and other forms of automation will probably cause the supply of interpretation/translation services to surge. When demand for your field plummets while supply surges, then unless you can get to C-level, your job is probably gone for good. I definitely do not have what it takes to be the CEO or even a middle manager of any company.
All of this inevitably means I will be out of work by 40 or so. If I did the math correctly, assuming a 2% real rate of return after taxes per year, and wages are flat, by 40, my retirement portfolio will be worth $542 000 in 2018 dollars, which creates $10 840 of income per year assuming 2% return, with no tax implications (since it is low enough for taxes to not be payable).
Now, on its face, since $10 840 > $9 000 (my annual spending right now), my retirement is sound. But, since 50% of my expenses are housing costs while 25% is food, with the remaining 25% for everything else (cell phone bill, internet, durable consumer goods, and some limited entertainment), I am highly sensitive to inflation, stock market crash or medical conditions that force me to spend a lot more money than I normally would spend.
Due to being "severely disabled" (in quotes, because I appear to be much more disabled than I actually am so that most employers do not take me seriously), I really cannot get a traditional job. The only reason why I have a job is because the hiring process of my current employer does not involve a job interview and instead relies on a test, I got a job because I passed the test and the company was in a rush to hire at the time. I am guaranteed to flunk any and every interview. I work at home, and my employer does not even know what I look like.
I am open to working a part time job on the weekends, since my full time (40 hours/week) job is limited to Monday-Friday. If I can find another work-at-home job, and can convince the employer to let me work only weekends, I can probably work another 16-20 hours. But, I have been reading a lot of research stating how unhealthy it is to overwork, and if overwork leads to actual severe disability that causes me to lose income, and out-of-control medical expenses, then the additional $14 000/year after tax is definitely not worth it.
P.S. Do not tell me to cut spending, my transportation cost is $0, and housing costs are substantially lower due to living with multiple family members and a landlord willing to charge 20% below market for us being good tenants over the long term. I eat out once every other week, and when I do, it does not cost more than $16 (my after-tax hourly wage).
