2023 FIRE cohort

[Bateaux]

Anyone starting to have the anxiety dreams about pulling the plug?

Yes!

Related - Those of you with young kids (especially if you have kids that are special needs or needs adjacent), is anyone else worried about having enough to get your kids to adulthood in a changing world?

We spent a ton on health stuff for my neurodiverse son last year because it turns out insurance doesn't actually cover any of the things that help him (including some of the recommended meds). I don't think we'll need to spend that every year - but what if we do?

And my intention is not at all to make this political, but recent political type things makes our college plans feel less feasible for our daughter.  She can go to college for free in our state because of my husband's job, but our state legislature has people that are seriously proposing ways to get rid of birth control, etc. If things continue this way for the next decade, it feels like we may need to save more to send her out of state- you know what I mean?

Those are just two examples- but those are things I'm thinking about as I roll into my final year.

I'd send your daughter to school where it's cheap.  Make sure to arm her with contraceptives and more so knowledge.
Make sure she knows your phone number is reachable 24/7 for anything and the conversation is between two adults.  It's going to be ok.

[RWTL]

Bringing to the top of the page...

Confirmed:
01/27/2023 watchmaker (39)
02/24/2023 shadesofgreen (46)
02/28/2023 Much Fishing to Do (51)

Plans to Fire:

01/1/2023 Northstar (33)
01/31/2023 detrimental12 (34)
02/2023 Thriftyc (49)
02/03/2023 NY Texan (55)
02/24/2023 stasherus-maximus (48)
03/2023 Retiring gaijin
03/2023 mtnrider
03/2023 Blissful Biker (50)
04/2023 PhrugalPhan (60)
04/03/2023 AccidentalMiser (55)
04/2023 SEAK
04/2023 FIREupDOOON
04/2023 Midwest_Handlebar (39)
04/28/2023 sheep_music_generator (30)
04/2023 BFGirl (55)
05/01/2023 stein07 (46)
05/12/2023 RWTL (51)
05/2023 Wanttobehome (55)
05/2023 dougules (44) - could vary a lot
05/2023 paideuma
05/2023 lutorm (52)
05/2023 MaybeBabyMustache(46)
05/2023 navyswim01 (44)
05/2023 MisterA (61)
05/2023 Beach_Bound (33)
05/31/2023 mistymoney (55)
06/2023 HuffDuf41 (41)
06/2023 Present Muse
06/2023 markus
06/1/2023 2Birds1Stone (36)
06/05/2023 ShadowRegent (36)
06/14/2023 RelaxedGal (45)
06/16/2023 scottish
07/15/2023 JGS1980
08/2023 Erutio (43)
08/2023 Fjord (50)
09/2023 FireGinslia (50)
09/29/2023 frizzywhiskers (51)
10/2023 Phryne
10/2023 Mathew675
11/2023 frugal rph
11/2023 garyjames8 (49)
12/2023 Bateaux
12/2023 beer-man
12/2023 CindyBS
12/2023 FI Curious
12/2023 Landlady
12/2023 NESailor
12/2023 RedHotLama
12/2023 SpeedReader
12/2023 Spiffsome
12/2023 Stache-O-Lantern (48)
12/2023 stupidiot8
12/2023 wannabe-stache
12/2023 bottlerocks
12/2023 lauren_knows (42)
12/2023 marblejane (40)
12/25/2023 moof (46)
12/31/2023 StarBright (41)
12/31/2023 Peony2019
12/31/2023 MamaMinou (52)


OLY:

12/2019 I'm Fred
??/2020 Mmm_Donuts
12/2021 Arbitrage
02/22/2022 friedmmj
?  Le Dérisoire
11/10/2022  Slow road to freedom

OMY:

02/2024 grantmeaname
07/2024 pdxvandal
09/2024 FrugalShrew
12/2024 OurTown
12/2027 FireryFIRE
Ardrum (39)
rpr

SWAMI:
TomTx 5LY
Locksmith

TBD:
fuzzy math
drumstache
moneytaichi

[moneytaichi]

Anyone starting to have the anxiety dreams about pulling the plug?  I dreamed my husband decided to quit his job (He plans on 8 more years).  We split expenses equally and while I could cover all our expenses for a short period of time, I couldn't do it indefinitely.

Meeting with retirement person at my job tomorrow and meeting with financial advisor to go over everything.  If all goes well, planning to give 2 months notice later this week or early next week.

Drop that crappy old job and quit worrying.  Make your life amazing.  Make hubby's life amazing when he's not at the crappy old job.

Yep...I need to quit worrying.  Hubby likes his crappy old job.  If that changes, I'm sure we will have the flexibility to allow him to do something different.

Haha, no dreams yet, but I do worry about my partner getting laid off. We also split expenses equally and our savings could float us for a few years, so it shouldn't be a real fear. The only way I would let it stop me from leaving my job was if it happened before I gave my notice at work, I could stick it out a few more months until he found something new. Even then, maybe it would be a good chance for us to spend more time together.

He has a lot more saving for retirement to do than me, and still enjoys his work, so he's happy to stay right now. I really shouldn't worry but I do with all the layoff talk right now.

For those that talk about how far aware FIRE is for them and how hard it is thus to keep motivated I try to push the many benefits on the way to FI.  To me a huge psychological one was when I had 3x annual spending available to you.  To me, any job loss, when you have 3x annual spending in the bank, can be viewed as a long vacation, and long vacations are good things, not something to fear.  Given all your financial needs are covered (and obviosuly you are gonna find a good job in 3 YEARS), the only downside to the vacation is you may get a little behind on your FIRE planning, but you're just using a little of that RE early when young and its likely most needed.

I like this thinking of treating 3x annual spending in the bank as a long vacation. For 2023 class, we are way more prepared than "regular" folks who are slaving in their jobs and spending most of their money. If situations get less than ideal, we can always go back to work. That's what I did when I retired at 2018 and then went back to work at 2021. I am currently thinking about pulling the plug soon or jumping the ship because current job ceases to be fun. Either way, I am going to Taiwan next week for a month for some much needed fun and adventures. Mixing some fun during RE journey is really important because we have WAY less ideas about our live lengths than the networth. If we are going to optimize money, we should also optimize life fulfillment :)

[RWTL]

If situations get less than ideal, we can always go back to work.

I've had so many job offers since I put in my notice.  The universe wants me employed!  I had two people call me yesterday with "interesting projects".

[stein07]

I am out as of March 1. The transition process is going well. I'll contract with the company a bit part-time for a year, and then we will see how things go.

[PhrugalPhan]

Its looking like I may go OMM and push my exit date back 1.5 months (to late May or 1st week of June).  This is just my OCD wanting me to fill my retirement plan (457) to the max for this year and now that I have seen how much is going into the plan each payday I have calculated it will take 'til about then.  That's ok, as of right now I should be able to take ~35 days off until then (out of 80 weekdays), so this shouldn't be too hard.
 
I have started in my pension plan however.  As of mid December the pension plan is paying (and banking for me) 60% of my current pay (I only get it once I truly retire).  So for these months I am getting a $0 paycheck as everything goes into the 457 plan and the pension payments are just going into a savings account.  I have enough of a stache to hold me over until June.

[RWTL]

@stein07 I updated your date on the list

@PhrugalPhan I'm doing that as well, but each day is a chore to get there.  Good to hear that you have so much time off between now and then.

[Much Fishing to Do]

If situations get less than ideal, we can always go back to work.

I've had so many job offers since I put in my notice.  The universe wants me employed!  I had two people call me yesterday with "interesting projects".

Yeah, I'm coming into the final stretch but it looks like something new is gonna get offered to me this week.  We'll see what happens.

[shadesofgreen]

@RWTL

Change my date to 2/24/23.

Work is painfully slow right now and so I was informed that my leave date has been moved up. I can deal but it was a surprise Friday afternoon when I was informed. There just is not enough work for 2 people to be doing my job. I am attempting to train the person taking over - it's happening but not at a fast enough pace to inform them of all the things. I might write it out but I am trying to leave them with options to improve things in the future. I have been doing this for 20 years so I figure someone else might have a better way to do things.

I am sure if I was killed by a bus they could manage to work it out so eh.

[RWTL]

@RWTL

Change my date to 2/24/23.

Work is painfully slow right now and so I was informed that my leave date has been moved up. I can deal but it was a surprise Friday afternoon when I was informed. There just is not enough work for 2 people to be doing my job. I am attempting to train the person taking over - it's happening but not at a fast enough pace to inform them of all the things. I might write it out but I am trying to leave them with options to improve things in the future. I have been doing this for 20 years so I figure someone else might have a better way to do things.

I am sure if I was killed by a bus they could manage to work it out so eh.

Got it!  Maybe a blessing in disguise?

[AlanStache]

@RWTL

Change my date to 2/24/23.

Work is painfully slow right now and so I was informed that my leave date has been moved up. I can deal but it was a surprise Friday afternoon when I was informed. There just is not enough work for 2 people to be doing my job. I am attempting to train the person taking over - it's happening but not at a fast enough pace to inform them of all the things. I might write it out but I am trying to leave them with options to improve things in the future. I have been doing this for 20 years so I figure someone else might have a better way to do things.

I am sure if I was killed by a bus they could manage to work it out so eh.

management: "We know your replacement is not as fully trained as would be optimal but can you retire earlier?" 

No one wants to leave a mess or things not in a better position but at some point, meh, management got what management asked for.   
But I am working to balance doing my job correctly and to my best abilities while caring about the product vs sliding towards malicious compliance or doing what I am told to do while having fun using FU money to speak my mind. 

me: "you just pulled that procedure out your ass and it contradicts all established best practices and will cause problems X, Y, Z" (not literal quote but translated from proper workplace communication.)
boss: "no, I think it will work well"
me: "ok, I will do it"

Actual quotes from me to boss:
"Maybe our hour long meetings should have an agenda, and key details should be communicated in writing and not just verbally in a rapid fire manner." (guy would spit out half dozen milestone dates in under 30 sec - apparently I needed to verbalize to him that this was not good.)
"Maybe important reference materials should be kept in a thought out common area and not scattered in numerous different locations under indecipherable folder tree naming's"

[mistymoney]

this is why Alison Green says - just give the standard 2 week notice in most every case!

 

[RWTL]

Bringing to the top of the page...

Confirmed:
01/27/2023 watchmaker (39)

Plans to Fire:

01/1/2023 Northstar (33)
01/31/2023 detrimental12 (34)
02/2023 Thriftyc (49)
02/03/2023 NY Texan (55)

Any updates from @Northstar @detrimental12 @thriftyc @NY Texan ?

[TomTX]

this is why Alison Green says - just give the standard 2 week notice in most every case!

You need to take note of company behavior. Do they fire people the instant they turn in their notice? Sounds like they want zero notice, and you should take the hint.

[AlanStache]

this is why Alison Green says - just give the standard 2 week notice in most every case!

You need to take note of company behavior. Do they fire people the instant they turn in their notice? Sounds like they want zero notice, and you should take the hint.

Its basic risk/reward, cost/benefit.  Is there anything one hopes to gain by giving more notice; financially or with maintaining work-friends or something else?  Has the employer shown the would be retireie curtesy and respect in similar matters?  In the wider picture for better or worst I am at a point in life of treating people the way they treat me, yes I start by treating everyone nicely and with respect but if someone has made a habit of treating me in one way then I have no issue doing that back to them.  I was talking with parent the other night after a few hard days and I remarked, 'why should I treat them better or care about them more than they care about me?'.

[Bateaux]

I'm just posting to say hello.  2023 would be my normal retirement year and provide benefits from my company.  I'd be 55 by then, currently 49.  We've accumulated a stash which could replace our current spending.   When i first joined MMM in 2014 I'd plan to FIRE in March 2018.  I'm pushing that out to at least 2019 now.  Most of my fears are about the uncertainty of health care coverage going forward.    The loss of the ACA would almost immediately push our FIRE date to 2023 so we'd be eligible for company health benefits in retirement. Good luck to you all.

Well here we are.  I'll be 55 when I retire.  My FIRE number is now twice what it was back in 2014.  We are at that new number now.  We won't be using the ACA, well be using my company medical benefits.  I won't be taking a cash balance payment from my company, I'll be taking the monthly pension.  We should have 6 figure spending power in retirement now as well.  We also have bought a Florida retirement home since then.  I think we could have easily survived retirement in 2019 or 2020.  But those extra years have possibly built regenerating wealth.

[Turtle]

Its looking like I may go OMM and push my exit date back 1.5 months (to late May or 1st week of June).  This is just my OCD wanting me to fill my retirement plan (457) to the max for this year and now that I have seen how much is going into the plan each payday I have calculated it will take 'til about then.  That's ok, as of right now I should be able to take ~35 days off until then (out of 80 weekdays), so this shouldn't be too hard.
 
I have started in my pension plan however.  As of mid December the pension plan is paying (and banking for me) 60% of my current pay (I only get it once I truly retire).  So for these months I am getting a $0 paycheck as everything goes into the 457 plan and the pension payments are just going into a savings account.  I have enough of a stache to hold me over until June.

And you'll still be totally free by summer.  Totally understand wanting to complete the check boxes for the year, especially with so much time off between now and then.

[RWTL]

I'm just posting to say hello.  2023 would be my normal retirement year and provide benefits from my company.  I'd be 55 by then, currently 49.  We've accumulated a stash which could replace our current spending.   When i first joined MMM in 2014 I'd plan to FIRE in March 2018.  I'm pushing that out to at least 2019 now.  Most of my fears are about the uncertainty of health care coverage going forward.    The loss of the ACA would almost immediately push our FIRE date to 2023 so we'd be eligible for company health benefits in retirement. Good luck to you all.

Well here we are.  I'll be 55 when I retire.  My FIRE number is now twice what it was back in 2014.  We are at that new number now.  We won't be using the ACA, well be using my company medical benefits.  I won't be taking a cash balance payment from my company, I'll be taking the monthly pension.  We should have 6 figure spending power in retirement now as well.  We also have bought a Florida retirement home since then.  I think we could have easily survived retirement in 2019 or 2020.  But those extra years have possibly built regenerating wealth.

Congrats on a job well done.

[moneytaichi]

I'm just posting to say hello.  2023 would be my normal retirement year and provide benefits from my company.  I'd be 55 by then, currently 49.  We've accumulated a stash which could replace our current spending.   When i first joined MMM in 2014 I'd plan to FIRE in March 2018.  I'm pushing that out to at least 2019 now.  Most of my fears are about the uncertainty of health care coverage going forward.    The loss of the ACA would almost immediately push our FIRE date to 2023 so we'd be eligible for company health benefits in retirement. Good luck to you all.

Well here we are.  I'll be 55 when I retire.  My FIRE number is now twice what it was back in 2014.  We are at that new number now.  We won't be using the ACA, well be using my company medical benefits.  I won't be taking a cash balance payment from my company, I'll be taking the monthly pension.  We should have 6 figure spending power in retirement now as well.  We also have bought a Florida retirement home since then.  I think we could have easily survived retirement in 2019 or 2020.  But those extra years have possibly built regenerating wealth.

Congratulations for your perseverance, planning and execution! It is inspiring to see someone who has planned so far back and followed through their plans. You are still way ahead of peers, but with assurance with double net worth.

How has your work experience been since 2014? A walk in the park or grind your teeth, or both? Do you have any big plans after FIRE? Congrats again!

[mistymoney]

this is why Alison Green says - just give the standard 2 week notice in most every case!

You need to take note of company behavior. Do they fire people the instant they turn in their notice? Sounds like they want zero notice, and you should take the hint.

Its basic risk/reward, cost/benefit.  Is there anything one hopes to gain by giving more notice; financially or with maintaining work-friends or something else?  Has the employer shown the would be retireie curtesy and respect in similar matters?  In the wider picture for better or worst I am at a point in life of treating people the way they treat me, yes I start by treating everyone nicely and with respect but if someone has made a habit of treating me in one way then I have no issue doing that back to them.  I was talking with parent the other night after a few hard days and I remarked, 'why should I treat them better or care about them more than they care about me?'.

I think that one should always be prepared to hit the door for no reason - and especially if you gave notice! And especially if you have bennies that depend on reaching a certain date - like a pension. Don't give notice until it vests!

Even if you like and trust people, you never know what hidden difficulties the company may be facing and your notice informing them you won't be there to help out in an-about-to-the-fan crisis and if they desperately need to save every penny in the moment and 2 months of salary and benefits seems way to much to pay for the long smooth transition you wanted to gift them on your way.

You just never know! When I give notice (whenever that vaulted may be) I plan to be prepared to be flexible and be ready to walk that instant or extend out a month or two if they feel in a bind (which I'm working right now so that they wont!).

Unfortunately, for me this is getting to be a much more academic discussion....

[shadesofgreen]

@RWTL

Change my date to 2/24/23.

Work is painfully slow right now and so I was informed that my leave date has been moved up. I can deal but it was a surprise Friday afternoon when I was informed. There just is not enough work for 2 people to be doing my job. I am attempting to train the person taking over - it's happening but not at a fast enough pace to inform them of all the things. I might write it out but I am trying to leave them with options to improve things in the future. I have been doing this for 20 years so I figure someone else might have a better way to do things.

I am sure if I was killed by a bus they could manage to work it out so eh.

Got it!  Maybe a blessing in disguise?

I am considering it a blessing in disguise. Been here 25 years and am tired. Almost ready for the next steps but first is just relaxing and puttering around the house and maybe doing some small 3 day trips to sightsee until my vacation at the end of April where I am soaking up the sun and sea.

I get no extra benefits or payouts so my exit was me wanting to go the same month that I started at the company but I can deal with not working for 3 extra days. I work at a sm/med company that is family owned so while OK at the job there was never going to be any upward mobility or anything. I was content with that though I realize after all this time I probably should have left after 10 years.

[scottish]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.     

[Bateaux]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

Now that is a retirement plan!  I'll be hiking the AT in 84 days.  Isn't it amazing we've been here about the same amount of time and retirement will be within weeks of each other.  I plan to enjoy the outdoors until it's no longer fun.

[RWTL]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

Now that is a retirement plan!  I'll be hiking the AT in 84 days.  Isn't it amazing we've been here about the same amount of time and retirement will be within weeks of each other.  I plan to enjoy the outdoors until it's no longer fun.

Are you starting at Springer?  I think we discussed this a while back, but don't recall the details.

[RWTL]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

I added you!

[bottlerocks]

In the past month I've waffled from OLY to OMY to now idk what.  I think it's a good sign I need to bust out the spreadsheet and get extreme about tracking and analysis for at least the rest of the calendar year.  Reverse budgeting is great for my mental but throw in a couple large-ish one off expenses over the past year (new house, vehicle replacement) and I really lost sight of variability/risk.  Not to say I haven't built up anti-fragility muscles over my FIRE journey, but they've definitely atrophied some since hitting FU numbers and getting married.

Inflation and family planning are wild ya'll.  Basically I've mentally transitioned to spending 55k-60k per year and my equities are just over 1MM now, so 2023 probably isn't in the cards for me without some of my speculation portfolio taking off.  I will regretfully request that I'm removed from the cohort list.

I downshifted to part time work (3 days - 25hrs/week) at the beginning of this year and don't think I'll change that up anytime in the immediate future.  Kind of a bummer from a FIRE dream standpoint but honestly this schedule is working great for my personal life right now.  My new goal is a hand-wavey 2028 (age 40) or 1.5M equities should it come first.

If I was single I would quit tomorrow but life happens. 

[AlanStache]

...
Inflation and family planning are wild ya'll.  Basically I've mentally transitioned to spending 55k-60k per year and my equities are just over 1MM now, so 2023 probably isn't in the cards for me without some of my speculation portfolio taking off.  I will regretfully request that I'm removed from the cohort list.

I downshifted to part time work (3 days - 25hrs/week) at the beginning of this year and don't think I'll change that up anytime in the immediate future.  Kind of a bummer from a FIRE dream standpoint but honestly this schedule is working great for my personal life right now.  My new goal is a hand-wavey 2028 (age 40) or 1.5M equities should it come first.

If I was single I would quit tomorrow but life happens.

the objective is to be happy in life, not to FIRE as early as possible. 

[Bateaux]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

Now that is a retirement plan!  I'll be hiking the AT in 84 days.  Isn't it amazing we've been here about the same amount of time and retirement will be within weeks of each other.  I plan to enjoy the outdoors until it's no longer fun.

Are you starting at Springer?  I think we discussed this a while back, but don't recall the details.

I plan to start near the TN/VA border.  A few days before Trail Days in Damascus Virginia.  I'll hike north for 6 weeks.  The last week I'll be in Shenandoah with my wife in a condo.  July I'll be headed home to file my retirement paperwork.  August 1 I'll fly to Maine and start my hike South.  I'll be bouncing around a bit. 

[Turtle]

In the past month I've waffled from OLY to OMY to now idk what.  I think it's a good sign I need to bust out the spreadsheet and get extreme about tracking and analysis for at least the rest of the calendar year.  Reverse budgeting is great for my mental but throw in a couple large-ish one off expenses over the past year (new house, vehicle replacement) and I really lost sight of variability/risk.  Not to say I haven't built up anti-fragility muscles over my FIRE journey, but they've definitely atrophied some since hitting FU numbers and getting married.

Inflation and family planning are wild ya'll.  Basically I've mentally transitioned to spending 55k-60k per year and my equities are just over 1MM now, so 2023 probably isn't in the cards for me without some of my speculation portfolio taking off.  I will regretfully request that I'm removed from the cohort list.

I downshifted to part time work (3 days - 25hrs/week) at the beginning of this year and don't think I'll change that up anytime in the immediate future.  Kind of a bummer from a FIRE dream standpoint but honestly this schedule is working great for my personal life right now.  My new goal is a hand-wavey 2028 (age 40) or 1.5M equities should it come first.

If I was single I would quit tomorrow but life happens.

Part time Coast FIRE is what that sounds like to me.  Work/life balance in a way that benefits you both now and in the future.  Nothing wrong with that.

[Much Fishing to Do]

In the past month I've waffled from OLY to OMY to now idk what.  I think it's a good sign I need to bust out the spreadsheet and get extreme about tracking and analysis for at least the rest of the calendar year.  Reverse budgeting is great for my mental but throw in a couple large-ish one off expenses over the past year (new house, vehicle replacement) and I really lost sight of variability/risk.  Not to say I haven't built up anti-fragility muscles over my FIRE journey, but they've definitely atrophied some since hitting FU numbers and getting married.

Inflation and family planning are wild ya'll.  Basically I've mentally transitioned to spending 55k-60k per year and my equities are just over 1MM now, so 2023 probably isn't in the cards for me without some of my speculation portfolio taking off.  I will regretfully request that I'm removed from the cohort list.

I downshifted to part time work (3 days - 25hrs/week) at the beginning of this year and don't think I'll change that up anytime in the immediate future.  Kind of a bummer from a FIRE dream standpoint but honestly this schedule is working great for my personal life right now.  My new goal is a hand-wavey 2028 (age 40) or 1.5M equities should it come first.

If I was single I would quit tomorrow but life happens.

working 3 days/week @ 35yo and nearing FI?  You sound like a winner to me.

[mtnrider]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

Now that is a retirement plan!  I'll be hiking the AT in 84 days.  Isn't it amazing we've been here about the same amount of time and retirement will be within weeks of each other.  I plan to enjoy the outdoors until it's no longer fun.

Are you starting at Springer?  I think we discussed this a while back, but don't recall the details.

I plan to start near the TN/VA border.  A few days before Trail Days in Damascus Virginia.  I'll hike north for 6 weeks.  The last week I'll be in Shenandoah with my wife in a condo.  July I'll be headed home to file my retirement paperwork.  August 1 I'll fly to Maine and start my hike South.  I'll be bouncing around a bit.

That's exciting!

I'm hoping to be in Maine hiking a section of the AT in August.  Might bump into you, depending on how fast you're hiking then.  Enjoy the trail!

[RWTL]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

Now that is a retirement plan!  I'll be hiking the AT in 84 days.  Isn't it amazing we've been here about the same amount of time and retirement will be within weeks of each other.  I plan to enjoy the outdoors until it's no longer fun.

Are you starting at Springer?  I think we discussed this a while back, but don't recall the details.

I plan to start near the TN/VA border.  A few days before Trail Days in Damascus Virginia.  I'll hike north for 6 weeks.  The last week I'll be in Shenandoah with my wife in a condo.  July I'll be headed home to file my retirement paperwork.  August 1 I'll fly to Maine and start my hike South.  I'll be bouncing around a bit.

That's exciting!

I'm hoping to be in Maine hiking a section of the AT in August.  Might bump into you, depending on how fast you're hiking then.  Enjoy the trail!

Same.  Starting in May in GA, and then bouncing up to Maine in Aug/Sept.

[Bateaux]

Awesome sauce.  Hope to see y'all on the trail.

[scottish]

I'm going do it.   My target date is 16 June 2023.   I've been putting it off for the last two years but it's time.

My primary objective is to spend time in the Canadian rockies instead of in a cubicle in an office building in Ottawa.    We're still working on the details of this one, though.

Secondary objectives are more exercise and exploring some of the awesome canoe routes in northern Ontario.   

I added you!

Thanks.   It's hard to believe I've been on the forum for almost 9 years now.

[shadesofgreen]

Today was my last day. I came in and I had balloons and crepe paper decorating my area.

I am still calm and excited about my next adventures. For now I will definitely be taking it easy for the next few weeks. Than think about my next steps.

Final day 2/24/23.

[TomTX]

Woo Hoo!

[PhrugalPhan]

Yellow alert, I repeat, YELLOW ALERT!.

Today we had a meeting for everyone related to my work (information technology).  We were informed that in the near future (weeks? months? who knows...) we are going to go away from the current system with everyone having their own cubicle.  Well we can't have that any more.  They are going to change to a Hoteling system where we still need to be in the office multiple days a week (still two? maybe more? Who knows....) but now we will have to reserve a cubicle to work in each time we show up.  (which cubicle? who knows...)  This isn't a start up company, but a very large local government.  As if this job couldn't get worse.....

I said I would retire this April.  Then I said end of May / early June.  Now I am going to play this day by day.  I don't know if I will last to April at this rate.   We are not at Red alert status yet, but its close.   <I'm looking over at my B.S. bucket and I don't know if it can hold any more...>

[RWTL]

Yellow alert, I repeat, YELLOW ALERT!.

Today we had a meeting for everyone related to my work (information technology).  We were informed that in the near future (weeks? months? who knows...) we are going to go away from the current system with everyone having their own cubicle.  Well we can't have that any more.  They are going to change to a Hoteling system where we still need to be in the office multiple days a week (still two? maybe more? Who knows....) but now we will have to reserve a cubicle to work in each time we show up.  (which cubicle? who knows...)  This isn't a start up company, but a very large local government.  As if this job couldn't get worse.....

I said I would retire this April.  Then I said end of May / early June.  Now I am going to play this day by day.  I don't know if I will last to April at this rate.   We are not at Red alert status yet, but its close.   <I'm looking over at my B.S. bucket and I don't know if it can hold any more...>

Yellow alert received and understood.  Cleared to engage.  Give ‘em hell

[RWTL]

Today was my last day. I came in and I had balloons and crepe paper decorating my area.

I am still calm and excited about my next adventures. For now I will definitely be taking it easy for the next few weeks. Than think about my next steps.

Final day 2/24/23.

Yay!  I’ll update the list.

[scottish]

Yellow alert, I repeat, YELLOW ALERT!.

Today we had a meeting for everyone related to my work (information technology).  We were informed that in the near future (weeks? months? who knows...) we are going to go away from the current system with everyone having their own cubicle.  Well we can't have that any more.  They are going to change to a Hoteling system where we still need to be in the office multiple days a week (still two? maybe more? Who knows....) but now we will have to reserve a cubicle to work in each time we show up.  (which cubicle? who knows...)  This isn't a start up company, but a very large local government.  As if this job couldn't get worse.....

I said I would retire this April.  Then I said end of May / early June.  Now I am going to play this day by day.  I don't know if I will last to April at this rate.   We are not at Red alert status yet, but its close.   <I'm looking over at my B.S. bucket and I don't know if it can hold any more...>

I'm with you on this one.    If someone told me I'd be hoteling, I'd wish them good luck with their new facilities approach.

[AlanStache]

Yellow alert, I repeat, YELLOW ALERT!.

Today we had a meeting for everyone related to my work (information technology).  We were informed that in the near future (weeks? months? who knows...) we are going to go away from the current system with everyone having their own cubicle.  Well we can't have that any more.  They are going to change to a Hoteling system where we still need to be in the office multiple days a week (still two? maybe more? Who knows....) but now we will have to reserve a cubicle to work in each time we show up.  (which cubicle? who knows...)  This isn't a start up company, but a very large local government.  As if this job couldn't get worse.....

I said I would retire this April.  Then I said end of May / early June.  Now I am going to play this day by day.  I don't know if I will last to April at this rate.   We are not at Red alert status yet, but its close.   <I'm looking over at my B.S. bucket and I don't know if it can hold any more...>

Any chance you would want to just say no, and keep your cube?  Put your name on one and keep some stuff in it.  What are they going to do?  I can see some meetings with HR that would look a lot like a kinder garden teacher trying to discipline a teamster.

[mistymoney]

Today was my last day. I came in and I had balloons and crepe paper decorating my area.

I am still calm and excited about my next adventures. For now I will definitely be taking it easy for the next few weeks. Than think about my next steps.

Final day 2/24/23.

Congrats!!!

[mistymoney]

Yellow alert, I repeat, YELLOW ALERT!.

Today we had a meeting for everyone related to my work (information technology).  We were informed that in the near future (weeks? months? who knows...) we are going to go away from the current system with everyone having their own cubicle.  Well we can't have that any more.  They are going to change to a Hoteling system where we still need to be in the office multiple days a week (still two? maybe more? Who knows....) but now we will have to reserve a cubicle to work in each time we show up.  (which cubicle? who knows...)  This isn't a start up company, but a very large local government.  As if this job couldn't get worse.....

I said I would retire this April.  Then I said end of May / early June.  Now I am going to play this day by day.  I don't know if I will last to April at this rate.   We are not at Red alert status yet, but its close.   <I'm looking over at my B.S. bucket and I don't know if it can hold any more...>

Did you get to your golden handcuff date already?

Great excuse to start carting home your stuff/purging your desk area without drawing attention to yourself!

[PhrugalPhan]

Thanks guys - here are some responses:

Yellow alert, I repeat, YELLOW ALERT!.

...

I said I would retire this April.  Then I said end of May / early June.  Now I am going to play this day by day.  I don't know if I will last to April at this rate.   We are not at Red alert status yet, but its close.   <I'm looking over at my B.S. bucket and I don't know if it can hold any more...>

Did you get to your golden handcuff date already?

Great excuse to start carting home your stuff/purging your desk area without drawing attention to yourself!

I am in the pension plan as of December '22, so the handcuffs are off.  I am sticking around only to fill up my 457 plan for 2023 (which will take until late May).  They know I am leaving before the end of June.  I have been taking a little home for the past few months so there isn't that much left.

Any chance you would want to just say no, and keep your cube?  Put your name on one and keep some stuff in it.  What are they going to do?  I can see some meetings with HR that would look a lot like a kinder garden teacher trying to discipline a teamster.

They're in the process of refurbishing another area, after which we hotel there and then my area likely gets refurbished as well, so that's not really practical.   The more likely scenario for me is this: I have 70 weekdays left, but I have a little over 30 days of leave to use.  I will continue to work as before but once we are hoteling I will refuse and use my days off for every day they expect me to come in.  If they try to stop that I will say either accept it or fire me.  At that point either option will work for me.

As part of the refurb we were told they expanded an existing small kitchenette to a larger one with a seating area and a dishwasher.  A dishwasher????  The building is large enough that it already has a very large cafeteria where you can buy a large variety of food.  And they'll wash the dishes!  So the point of this is what?????   Do they expect us to work there 24 hours a day? 

I'm with you on this one.    If someone told me I'd be hoteling, I'd wish them good luck with their new facilities approach.

During that meeting other items came up.  It was pointed out how there has been a large increase in retirees and that they have been unable to fill open positions (this has been common knowledge for years).  This year it was agreed we should have a cost of living increase of over 4%, but management nixed that and the best you can get is 1.5% you're SOL, and this isn't the first year this has happened.  And now they want to do hoteling at work.  And then there is the fact they have made the pension less valuable for new employees too (of course while paying under market salaries for good measure).   I can just imagine the stampede of highly qualified people asking to work here in the coming years. 

Once you're in the pension plan it has a guaranteed cost of living increase every year (though maxed at 4%).  Given this the pension keeps up better with inflation than sticking around working, so no wonder people are leaving ASAP.   I will not miss this place once I finally leave, it has gone downhill so bad.

[BFGirl]

Today was my last day. I came in and I had balloons and crepe paper decorating my area.

I am still calm and excited about my next adventures. For now I will definitely be taking it easy for the next few weeks. Than think about my next steps.

Final day 2/24/23.

Congrats!

[paideuma]

I have a yellow alert of my own.

I hadn't posted it here yet, but about two weeks ago I nailed down my final day of work to May 26, putting in my notice in mid May. So I had a plan, all the numbers added up, even with a nice buffer I wasn't expecting, and all I had to do was stick to it...

The past few months I'd been hearing rumors of more rounds of layoffs. I was filled in on the details of the reorg and layoff plan for my team last week, and while I would be keeping my job, they're placing me in one of the least desired roles - more responsibility, complex partnership with another org, likely more travel and sucking up. Essentially no upside unless my goal was to climb the ladder further. Probably no big raise either considering the layoffs. It's the busiest time of year... the downsides go on.

When our boss started laying out the details, after asking about timing + severance, I told him if I'm in this role I won't be in it long. If it makes his life easier, add me to the layoff list and put someone else in this role, I will do everything I can to help transition them. The alternative is them keeping me here and ending up in this same situation in three months, so this seems like a better plan all around. It was received better than I thought. I had been toying with the idea of engineering my layoff but I didn't really think it would work, and I have definitely been worried about putting all my cards on the table when I'm in the home stretch.

But, I figured this was my chance. I could either suck it up and either burn myself to a crisp these last three months (I was hoping to just keep coasting!), or risk it and potentially get paid the same amount to not work. TBD on if it works out. I have a follow up call to see what kind of offer he comes up with and the layoffs are scheduled for late next week. We'll see if I still have a job on Friday...

So, this was a risky move, but the worst case scenario is they say no, I'm in a shit role for 3 months and give them two weeks notice (my original plan). After I asked to be let go, they pretty much said I could have any job I want (funny how that works), so I could also get moved to a role that would make the next 3 months easier. Now that they are in on my plans to leave, there's the possibility they could make things difficult for me too. But after this massive layoff, I think they are going to have a lot of other problems on their plates and probably think I'll reconsider staying if I get moved to another role. To be continued!!!

[Much Fishing to Do]

I've put in about 7 hours of work this weekend...the most I ever did not mind working on a weekend.... as now I think I can probably finish and hand off my last project tomorrow COB.  Which means Tuesday (my last day) is just logging in, sending any final client billing info, saying goodbye, and dropping off my laptop....

I have a recent very low hour, virtual, flexible, & well paying job offer open right now I'm considering, but haven't been able to really think about it this past week.

[RWTL]

I have a yellow alert of my own.

I hadn't posted it here yet, but about two weeks ago I nailed down my final day of work to May 26, putting in my notice in mid May. So I had a plan, all the numbers added up, even with a nice buffer I wasn't expecting, and all I had to do was stick to it...

The past few months I'd been hearing rumors of more rounds of layoffs. I was filled in on the details of the reorg and layoff plan for my team last week, and while I would be keeping my job, they're placing me in one of the least desired roles - more responsibility, complex partnership with another org, likely more travel and sucking up. Essentially no upside unless my goal was to climb the ladder further. Probably no big raise either considering the layoffs. It's the busiest time of year... the downsides go on.

When our boss started laying out the details, after asking about timing + severance, I told him if I'm in this role I won't be in it long. If it makes his life easier, add me to the layoff list and put someone else in this role, I will do everything I can to help transition them. The alternative is them keeping me here and ending up in this same situation in three months, so this seems like a better plan all around. It was received better than I thought. I had been toying with the idea of engineering my layoff but I didn't really think it would work, and I have definitely been worried about putting all my cards on the table when I'm in the home stretch.

But, I figured this was my chance. I could either suck it up and either burn myself to a crisp these last three months (I was hoping to just keep coasting!), or risk it and potentially get paid the same amount to not work. TBD on if it works out. I have a follow up call to see what kind of offer he comes up with and the layoffs are scheduled for late next week. We'll see if I still have a job on Friday...

So, this was a risky move, but the worst case scenario is they say no, I'm in a shit role for 3 months and give them two weeks notice (my original plan). After I asked to be let go, they pretty much said I could have any job I want (funny how that works), so I could also get moved to a role that would make the next 3 months easier. Now that they are in on my plans to leave, there's the possibility they could make things difficult for me too. But after this massive layoff, I think they are going to have a lot of other problems on their plates and probably think I'll reconsider staying if I get moved to another role. To be continued!!!

Maybe it will work out for the best.  I'm sure you are already planning this, but if they do give you an offer, get it in writing.

[RWTL]

I've put in about 7 hours of work this weekend...the most I ever did not mind working on a weekend.... as now I think I can probably finish and hand off my last project tomorrow COB.  Which means Tuesday (my last day) is just logging in, sending any final client billing info, saying goodbye, and dropping off my laptop....

I have a recent very low hour, virtual, flexible, & well paying job offer open right now I'm considering, but haven't been able to really think about it this past week.

Congrats!  I'll update the list for tomorrow!

[NY Texan]

For many years I have enjoyed the informative and entertaining posts on this forum.  Now I am ready to post my early retirement date:  February 3, 2023.
Hello,

I am 55 years old, mechanical engineer, retiring from a corporate R&D position.

Future living expenses will be covered by a combination of the following:
-  Small, but not insignificant pension from previous employer
-  Wife continuing to work
-  Consulting side hustle (maybe)
-  Dividends from non-IRA account
-  Savings & investments

It has been harder than I thought it would be to shift from the ‘accumulation’ mindset to the ‘how to spend’ mindset.

Take Care,
NY Texan

Awesome!   I added you to the list and we'll confirm you next week once you check in.

@NY Texan  Did you retire on Friday?

@RWTL Yes, as planned, I retired on Feb 3.  It has been awesome.