Why I downshifted

The second in a three part series by Rob England - a consumate downshifter, Dad and model train enthusiast!

Part Two

Paid by the hour you have a good idea how much you will be making in ten years’ time. One catalyst for my downshift was a report from a financial planner who said I only had another eleven years to go before I would have enough saved to downshift to a lower-income job and still have a secure retirement. Eleven years at that job was not an attractive option. About the same time my father dropped dead. So did a neighbour younger than me. That was it! If I was to get any lifestyle other than grinding away for a third decade as a salary-slave, I had to take a gamble.

The gamble is to become an entrepreneur. Never mind the details (get your own ideas), by chasing business ideas and opportunities my future income is less determinate but potentially much higher.


I can make enough money from occasional odd-jobbing contracts to keep us alive and still have many months a year to spare to work on various projects. So I give myself five years to make two million dollars. If I succeed I retire; if I fail, I start my eleven year grind five years late. Not attractive but hardly the end of the world.

To do this you must be ready to fail, or to make a loss. This is may not sound like downshifting, and for many it isn’t. If not, stop at step 4 (in part one). For some of us, the ability to accommodate calculated risk gives us the flexibility, freedom and creative excitement that our previous lives lacked.

Downshifting is a leap of faith. It takes courage, preparation and a belief in yourself. The rewards are worth it.

After about seven years out on my own,

·         I still work awful hard, but only sometimes, and mostly when I choose to (clients still dictate my life a bit)

·         I have two or three times as much time off as I had as a salary slave

·         I work mostly from home, at odd hours. I get up later, I see my wife and son more, I relax in the daytime

·         My income is now in the upper decile, and back to two thirds of my previous enormous salary. Some years. In bad years we still make about the national average. One year, 2008, it got ugly. We lived.

·         As a consequence of rising income our expectations are rising too. It is hard to keep them down when funds are available. We don't save enough.

·         I make the decisions about my life

·         I often think downshifting is the best thing I ever did.

Check out part three of the How I downshifted series later int he week.