Canada's Youngest Retirees - How They Did It: Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung

Today we have Kristy and Bryce on the show who are Canada's youngest retirees.

Kristy retired at 31 while Bryce was 32, and today I pick their brains on how they pulled it off, how they invest, and how they structured their investment portfolio to ensure that they never run out of money.

Kristy and Bryce also just launched a book on how they retired early, and in it they share a repeatable step-by-step plan on how anybody can retire early. It's a very practical book, ​I ​really enjoyed it, and wish it was around when I started my FIRE (financial independence, retire early) journey. 

The​ir​ book is called Quit like a Millionaire and I have some copies to give away to you as well.

If you want to sign up for free to be entered into the giveaway, just click here and enter your name and email so I know how to reach you if you win.

1. Tell us your story and how were you able to retire in your early 30s?
2. Tell us about your book. What's it about, who is it for, and how do we Canadians benefit from reading it? 
3. What analysis did you guys do to determine if you have enough to retire and won't run out of money?
   • Let's talk about the Trinity Study/4% rule. First, for anybody that hasn’t heard of it yet, can you explain what it is?
   • What was your thought process around the 4% rule right before you quit your jobs to give you the courage to do so? (i.e. There are certain caveats, objections, etc. How did you deal with them mentally?)
   • Now that you’ve been retired for several years, have your thoughts on the 4% rule changed in any way?
4. I recall you guys writing about how you also use the FireCalc or FireSim calculators (which I’m also a big fan of). Can you explain to the listeners what those are and how you used them?
   • These tools let you adjust certain variables. Are there any adjustments that you made that you think would be useful for Canadians to know about when they run their own calculations? (to get more realistic/accurate results)
5. In your retirement, you use what you call “The Yield Shield” strategy. Can you explain what that is to everyone?  
   • I got the impression that a lot of the others in the FIRE community who have pulled off an early retirement don’t focus on the yield the way that you guys do. The most common strategy seems to be to not focus on yield, and instead just withdraw 3.5-4% of their portfolio per year, by selling off investments when needed, as that’s what the Trinity Study proved to be sustainable (If I'm not mistaken, I believe Jim Collins, MMM and Justin do it this way for example).  What made you decide to create this Yield Shield strategy instead of just going for the simpler 3.5-4% withdraw rate and not worrying about the yield?
6. To pull off the Yield Shield, you guys chose to invest in a few ETFs that aren’t as commonly talked about in the FIRE community. I’d love to get your take on why you chose those specific ETF and their weights:
   • Let’s start with REITs. Why was your reasoning for adding these into your portfolio (5% weight)?
   • What made you choose the ETF: XRE to get this coverage?
7. What made you decide to add a Canadian Preferred Shares ETF into your portfolio (20% weight)? What made you choose the ETF: CPD to get this coverage?
8. What about choosing corporate bonds (10% weight) with XCB?
9. Lastly, what made you choose the Canadian Select Dividend (5% weight) with XDV?
10. How did you change your portfolio from pre-retirement to retirement (if at all)?
11. When did you start making that transition? (i.e. The day you retired, a year before, etc.) 
12. Let's say we had a 40% downturn, something like another 2008. What would you do in that situation?
13. Would you still withdraw some of your principal because the 4% rule factors that in? (Your yield would also likely decrease in this scenario so how would you address that?)
14. What changes would you make (if any) within your investments?
15. Your blog Millennial Revolution is easily one of my favorite blogs. How is your book different than the blog, where can everyone go to pick it up, and where can we all learn more from you guys?

Quit Like a Millionaire Book Link

Book Giveaway

Top ETF Guide for Canadians (sign up for free at buildwealthcanada.ca/eq and send any email from EQ to bonus@buildwealthcanada.ca)

Michael Kitces and Mad Fientist Podcast Episode on 4% Rule

Our Favourite Retirement Calculators:

FireCalc

FireSIM

Yield Shield Article