Addicted to picking up over time

[inline five]

I cannot stop myself from picking up over time. This month I started off with 18 days off. I am looking at picking up three days of over time. This would earn around $3k including my wage and 401k contribution match, bringing me down to 15 days off.

For the entire year I've been doing this, starting in January. We don't need the money. At all. But I'm finding it hard to pass up.

How do I draw the line and just stop? This is so hard for me to do. I mean, it feels like bad karma to turn down that money.

[chasesfish]

We all have to decide when is enough, just a personal decision

[Moustachienne]

Well, you're choosing money over time.  For many people here that might be worth it as a means of speeding up FIRE to get big time off but from your question it sounds like making this choice is bothering you.  So why are you trading time for money right now?  It could be worth thinking about what things you are giving up to work more.  And if you don't have something fun or worthwhile enough to do instead of work, that might be a question worth exploring.

[LearnTo]

I had no idea what this was about - you might get more replies if you call it "overtime".
I wondered what you were picking up, over time.

[May2030]

I was a overtime addict for years doing 100 hours a month. I used to enjoy my job so I never saw it as true work and regarded it as lost money if I didn’t do it.

Now I just do it when it’s required to help out and if it becomes a burden I say no. There is a sweet spot for me of two shifts where the extra money is a nice bonus and can be used for non-mustachian things without being a hassle. It’s ok to work if that’s what you want to do with your time. I would find it hard to pass up $3k for three days with so much time off per month.

To stop doing mega hours I just stopped went cold turkey and made plans to do great things on my days off,cycling walking, swimming etc. Think the phrase is “I got a life”. The rewards from that became more important than the money.

[sparkytheop]

I've been at my current job 2 1/2 years.  I've got a few big things I'm saving money for (helping son with college and want to build a house on my property) so I take almost all the overtime I can get.  Almost.

I've yet to turn down OT if it is put on the schedule (because if we do, the OT hours count as "Refused" and get added to your total for your "position in line".  Overtime is given to the person with the least OT hours if they have the shift off.)  However, if I got a call saying "can you work tonight/Monday/x day" I may or may not call back.  If no one else takes it, they will call back, so I'll go ahead and take the shift.  If they want me to work a Monday, I won't call back (I have planned stuff every Monday and hate to miss it for work).  Not calling back does not count as "refused" so your numbers stay the same.  I love night shift OT though!  Usually some pretty easy money.

So, I'm a mix.  I hate to turn it down, but I will if it interferes with what I want to do, and does not count against me number-wise.  Most of us like getting OT, so if I don't want it there is usually someone else who does.  If that is your situation, consider it good karma to allow someone else to pick up that overtime instead.

I can live off my base income, but overtime money is a welcome way to achieve my goals faster.  And maybe set aside a little for fun stuff.

[dcheesi]

I had no idea what this was about - you might get more replies if you call it "overtime".
I wondered what you were picking up, over time.

This. Although I have to admit, I clicked on the thread just to find out WTH the title actually meant. Not sure I would have clicked if I'd known it was about overtime (which I don't get in my job).

[dollarchaser]

I'm doing factory work where over time is a daily routine.

I usually feel my time is more valuable than money. Others here are constantly working like an addiction.

No good advice but can relate. Knowing the price per hour on OT can make people do strange things.

[chasesfish]

I'll even add on to my original response...

I haven't been in an hourly job since I was 21.  I was in a salaried sales job for the first ten years of my career.  In that job, "overtime" was when I got a high quality deal in (high probability of us doing it and high probability of the customer selecting us), I would work non-stop until it was done.  My ability to get the deal done faster than anyone else increased the odds of winning.

I then could get paid my "overtime" twice for it, once in an annual bonus and secondly from having a higher base salary as I progressed in the career.

I now make 3-4 times what I made back then and I've decided "enough is enough".   I'm okay being middle of the pack because I'm within a year of early retirement and don't want the next rung on the corporate ladder.

[Sibley]

You're choosing money over something else. Depends on what that something else is.

Your spouse?
Kids?
Family?
Friends?
Health?

Are any of those suffering? Not by YOUR definition, because your view is not to be trusted right now - by other's definition. Is your spouse angry with you? Kids distant or disappointed? When was the last time you spent time with friends? Got a checkup from your doctor?

If those are suffering, then you have a problem that HAS to be addressed. Because the alternative is one day you're going to look up and realize that you don't have a spouse, or kids, or family, or friends, or health left. And the money is not going to be worth it then.

How to address it? Set a rule for yourself. Only X hours overtime. No overtime. Whatever makes sense, and make sure its less than you're doing now. Then stick to it. See how things go.

[the_fixer]

At my last place of employment we had a few people that would take all of the overtime they could get to the point where I had to refuse them the OT from time to time as it was becoming dangerous due to the lack of sleep and amount of driving involved.

When new people would join the team and would start doing a bunch of OT I would always caution them to not get used to living off the OT wages and put away any extra money or they would be stuck always having to work the OT just to maintain their new normal.

A few of the people addicted to OT almost doubled their incomes but from the outside looking in I could see the toll it took on their health and home lives.

At my new job I could work all of the OT I want and it is double time, it is tempting looking at that huge $ amount per hour...  and every once in a while I will do and extra 10 - 15 hours in a pay period but I always take that extra and put it in investments or paydown on the house.

I know I could do the extra 10 - 15 every pay period and accelerate my date to fire but balance is important to me so I do it selectively.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[mak1277]

can't relate...I'm trying to figure out how to convince my company that I can do the same amount of work in less time and would be happy to take less money to do it.

[sparkytheop]

I think a balance is key, just like everything else.  I'll block off two weeks (using 16 hours of vacation) and not go to work at all for 16 days, and then take the overtime when it would be wasted at home anyway.

I'm single though, and my son is 20, so it's not like it's taking something away from my family.  I also work long shifts (7 shifts in a two week period), so it's no big deal to work an extra day and make twice my regular wage.  On top of only working 50% of the days/nights in a year, I get a few holidays off and use every one of my 208 hours of vacation time (which, if I only used it on my 8 hour days, would mean I only work 6 days/nights of 14.)

If you don't "need" the money, and it interferes with your life or plans, cut back or stop.  I can usually trade days or block off time whenever I have plans (might have to use some vacation time if I can't trade), so my schedule works very well with my life.

[jlcnuke]

I'm kinda surprised by the responses so far. With the large number of discussions on "side hustles" (which are pretty much just second jobs), I'd anticipated more people saying "if it gets you to FI faster, enjoy it".

Personally, I like OT. I'll work it during a normal week (at the office) but I practically require it when traveling. When at home, I try to get OT balanced so that I can still have time for myself to do the things I want (chores, relaxing, activities, friends/family time, etc). On the road, I'd much rather earn more 1.5x pay than sit in the hotel for an extra hour or four. 

BUT, my OT serves a purpose. Every hour of OT is extra money going to my FIRE goal and speeding up my timeline to get me there. Having 100% free-time so I can do the things I'd rather be doing (which can't be done in my extra free time in the evening during the week) is worth not catching another TV show or movie during the week (which is what I'd likely spend the time doing instead of working OT). So the goal is what it's working towards for me. If it's not doing anything for you, then I can't imagine why you'd rather work than do things you'd enjoy.

[Sibley]

I'm kinda surprised by the responses so far. With the large number of discussions on "side hustles" (which are pretty much just second jobs), I'd anticipated more people saying "if it gets you to FI faster, enjoy it".

Personally, I like OT. I'll work it during a normal week (at the office) but I practically require it when traveling. When at home, I try to get OT balanced so that I can still have time for myself to do the things I want (chores, relaxing, activities, friends/family time, etc). On the road, I'd much rather earn more 1.5x pay than sit in the hotel for an extra hour or four. 

BUT, my OT serves a purpose. Every hour of OT is extra money going to my FIRE goal and speeding up my timeline to get me there. Having 100% free-time so I can do the things I'd rather be doing (which can't be done in my extra free time in the evening during the week) is worth not catching another TV show or movie during the week (which is what I'd likely spend the time doing instead of working OT). So the goal is what it's working towards for me. If it's not doing anything for you, then I can't imagine why you'd rather work than do things you'd enjoy.

It's one thing to do a side hustle, but the OP sounds like a candidate for a workaholic to me. Life needs balance, and if you don't have that balance it's not going to end well.

[the_fixer]

I hear ya jlcnuke, my friends are doing side hustling and I often feel like I should be doing more because they are making a miniscule amount for the effort when compared to the ludicrous amount I make on OT.

For me it is give and take and at some point the more I work the more money I waste by being too tired to cook, plan meals and do not pay as much attention to optimization of my life and $$.

If were further out from my fire date or in debt (other than my house) I would probably do more OT like my hair was on fire but I only get so many hours in this life so they are precious.

So I pickup a few hours here and there when the spirit moves me to do so.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[inline five]

It's one thing to do a side hustle, but the OP sounds like a candidate for a workaholic to me. Life needs balance, and if you don't have that balance it's not going to end well.

How many workaholics have 18 days off a month?

I'm not so addicted to working just the money. I mean, I do like my job which is fun and challenging but if I could make the same money staying at home I would.

I also tend to spend a lot less while working because I'm not at home working on projects!

It's a good question about what else I would do with my time. The sad thing is not much. We are in the process of figuring out where we want to move to so we are sorta in a time of not having much direction.

Typically when at home my typical day is wake up around 8am, walk the dog, exercise, come back home around noon and cook breakfast/lunch, then lounge around on the internet until dinner. My wife works from home but is on a lot of phone calls. So it makes my normal 7-9 day stretch of days off a month less valuable, although last week we went to Florida for a few days.

[Sibley]

It's one thing to do a side hustle, but the OP sounds like a candidate for a workaholic to me. Life needs balance, and if you don't have that balance it's not going to end well.

How many workaholics have 18 days off a month?

I'm not so addicted to working just the money. I mean, I do like my job which is fun and challenging but if I could make the same money staying at home I would.

I also tend to spend a lot less while working because I'm not at home working on projects!

It's a good question about what else I would do with my time. The sad thing is not much. We are in the process of figuring out where we want to move to so we are sorta in a time of not having much direction.

Typically when at home my typical day is wake up around 8am, walk the dog, exercise, come back home around noon and cook breakfast/lunch, then lounge around on the internet until dinner. My wife works from home but is on a lot of phone calls. So it makes my normal 7-9 day stretch of days off a month less valuable, although last week we went to Florida for a few days.
[/quote]

Ok, that's different. If you're in a line of work that gives you a week+ off at a time, then overtime makes more sense. (what do you do?!?) I'd still keep an eye on things, because of how you're talking about it - "I cannot stop myself from picking up over time."  That phrasing is what indicates a possible issue, if it's accurate. If you're going to do overtime because otherwise you feel like you've got nothing to do, that's one thing. But make sure you're pulling your weight at home, etc FIRST.

[inline five]

@Sibley

That's a good question. We don't have any kids. Just a dog and my wife works from home so taking care of it isn't really a burden. Ultimately I wanted to convert $ to additional income. I'll be honest I am afraid of taking the plunge on more actively managed investments such as real estate. I do have my 401k in the market but wished to diversify. Something I would enjoy doing is some sort of AirBnB or VRBO in the Caribbean islands or vacation destination in the US. I enjoy fixing up our home and think I would like running properties for short term rentals vs long term. I would also like my wife to be able to quit her job and manage the rentals full time as that comes with tax benefits that aren't available to us right now. We absolutely hate the cold so actually moving to a warmer climate is priority #1, but were disillusioned with our visit to FL. Very expensive homes in crappy neighborhoods. Our current house is about $220k, in FL you can't touch anything worthwhile for under $400k or so. And that comes with a huge tax burden.

We really are at a loss of what to do, so I continue working...

[partdopy]

That's a good question. We don't have any kids. Just a dog and my wife works from home so taking care of it isn't really a burden. Ultimately I wanted to convert $ to additional income. I'll be honest I am afraid of taking the plunge on more actively managed investments such as real estate. I do have my 401k in the market but wished to diversify. Something I would enjoy doing is some sort of AirBnB or VRBO in the Caribbean islands or vacation destination in the US. I enjoy fixing up our home and think I would like running properties for short term rentals vs long term. I would also like my wife to be able to quit her job and manage the rentals full time as that comes with tax benefits that aren't available to us right now. We absolutely hate the cold so actually moving to a warmer climate is priority #1, but were disillusioned with our visit to FL. Very expensive homes in crappy neighborhoods. Our current house is about $220k, in FL you can't touch anything worthwhile for under $400k or so. And that comes with a huge tax burden.

We really are at a loss of what to do, so I continue working...

Where in Florida did you visit?  I can't think of too many markets where you can't touch anything worthwhile for under 400k.

You can get this for 282k in my city, which has a population of ~130,000 and a university rated #10 among public unis

[Sibley]

@Sibley

That's a good question. We don't have any kids. Just a dog and my wife works from home so taking care of it isn't really a burden. Ultimately I wanted to convert $ to additional income. I'll be honest I am afraid of taking the plunge on more actively managed investments such as real estate. I do have my 401k in the market but wished to diversify. Something I would enjoy doing is some sort of AirBnB or VRBO in the Caribbean islands or vacation destination in the US. I enjoy fixing up our home and think I would like running properties for short term rentals vs long term. I would also like my wife to be able to quit her job and manage the rentals full time as that comes with tax benefits that aren't available to us right now. We absolutely hate the cold so actually moving to a warmer climate is priority #1, but were disillusioned with our visit to FL. Very expensive homes in crappy neighborhoods. Our current house is about $220k, in FL you can't touch anything worthwhile for under $400k or so. And that comes with a huge tax burden.

We really are at a loss of what to do, so I continue working...

You don't have to do rentals if you don't want to, and honestly if you don't want to, you really shouldn't. It's a LOT of work. Plenty of people on here only have passive investments and do just fine. There are also people who only have RE and do just fine. What does your wife want to do? If she's not interested in managing rentals (and that's it's own slice of hell, btw), that plan is out.

It sounds like you don't really know what you want to do, you have extra time on your hands, and you fill it by working overtime. Which is fine.

[inline five]

Where in Florida did you visit?  I can't think of too many markets where you can't touch anything worthwhile for under 400k.

You can get this for 282k in my city, which has a population of ~130,000 and a university rated #10 among public unis

I would work out of MIA so would need to be a few hour at most drive from the airport. We looked all up the coast and it only got better when we got to Merritt Island area where my wife is from. I did like it there but that is a 3+ hour drive.

[inline five]

@Sibley

That's a good question. We don't have any kids. Just a dog and my wife works from home so taking care of it isn't really a burden. Ultimately I wanted to convert $ to additional income. I'll be honest I am afraid of taking the plunge on more actively managed investments such as real estate. I do have my 401k in the market but wished to diversify. Something I would enjoy doing is some sort of AirBnB or VRBO in the Caribbean islands or vacation destination in the US. I enjoy fixing up our home and think I would like running properties for short term rentals vs long term. I would also like my wife to be able to quit her job and manage the rentals full time as that comes with tax benefits that aren't available to us right now. We absolutely hate the cold so actually moving to a warmer climate is priority #1, but were disillusioned with our visit to FL. Very expensive homes in crappy neighborhoods. Our current house is about $220k, in FL you can't touch anything worthwhile for under $400k or so. And that comes with a huge tax burden.

We really are at a loss of what to do, so I continue working...

You don't have to do rentals if you don't want to, and honestly if you don't want to, you really shouldn't. It's a LOT of work. Plenty of people on here only have passive investments and do just fine. There are also people who only have RE and do just fine. What does your wife want to do? If she's not interested in managing rentals (and that's it's own slice of hell, btw), that plan is out.

It sounds like you don't really know what you want to do, you have extra time on your hands, and you fill it by working overtime. Which is fine.

She's not sure what she wants to do either. We have talked about doing the VRBO thing and specializing in places that accept dogs because not many do. She things it would be fun. But we've never done it. She works in marketing now.

I would not quit my job. I think I have to get to 50 before I can retire with travel benefits so that is 14 years away.

[JLee]

If I had more days off than I had at work and could make $1k/day working OT, I'd work a LOT.

[DreamFIRE]

I worked several hours of overtime most every week for about 16 years but finally cut way back about a year ago.  It was a nice extra chunk of money, which I just added to my savings/investments.  I'm really liking the extra free time now.  I think I'll be ready to FIRE when the time comes.

[Seadog]

I cannot stop myself from picking up over time. This month I started off with 18 days off. I am looking at picking up three days of over time. This would earn around $3k including my wage and 401k contribution match, bringing me down to 15 days off.

For the entire year I've been doing this, starting in January. We don't need the money. At all. But I'm finding it hard to pass up.

How do I draw the line and just stop? This is so hard for me to do. I mean, it feels like bad karma to turn down that money.

I had a similar problem, not as much willingly picking up ot, but staying in a very well paying job that I hated that frequently had 48 hour 'days' and literally no set schedule. It boiled down to efficiency and 'making hay while the sun shined' Even with a lifestyle that had room to get more mustachian, I was still putting away another year of expenses every 6-8 weeks.

My thinking was along the lines that if I was ever unemployed and decrepit, what would $10k mean at that point? Would I wish to be able to go back in time and bang out another few weeks of work? Obviously I wouldn't be able to do that at that point, but I can now.

So I see what you mean about karma. There are ppl out there that would kill for $40k/year, let alone 40k/quarter, and here we are casually tossing it aside. 

[Rosy]

Sibley already addressed all the pertinent questions, so it appears that:
You're in limbo, don't quite know which direction to take and here are thousands of dollars in trade for your time - so go ahead and enjoy!
It is rare to be able to get paid for OT and still have plenty of time for vacation and even off days.
None of us have a crystal ball, but I'd say make hay while the sun is shining on you:) You are indeed in an enviable position.

Agreed, Florida is tricky as far as location and real estate. Consider renting for a while, before you settle on the right house and right neighborhood for you - there is plenty to choose from, but it takes time and at present, it is more of a buyers market in the hot areas.

[partdopy]

Where in Florida did you visit?  I can't think of too many markets where you can't touch anything worthwhile for under 400k.

You can get this for 282k in my city, which has a population of ~130,000 and a university rated #10 among public unis

I would work out of MIA so would need to be a few hour at most drive from the airport. We looked all up the coast and it only got better when we got to Merritt Island area where my wife is from. I did like it there but that is a 3+ hour drive.

Makes sense then.  I wouldn't live in Miami for long regardless of what I was being paid.  It's dirty, traffic is insane, not bike friendly, etc... although the winters are very nice.

Assuming you're a pilot for a major airline since you'd be working out of MIA and have 18 days off in a month, that's pretty limiting in Florida as we don't have a ton of cities large enough for an international airport, the state is pretty large and spread out, and the large cities we do have aren't all that great.  I do like the Vero Beach/Sebastian/Melbourne area though, COL is fairly low, and it's a ~2.5 hours from Miami.

[Prairie Stash]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

[AnswerIs42]

or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Don't have any of those. No sir. *cough*

[inline five]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

That's a really good point.

[inline five]

Where in Florida did you visit?  I can't think of too many markets where you can't touch anything worthwhile for under 400k.

You can get this for 282k in my city, which has a population of ~130,000 and a university rated #10 among public unis

I would work out of MIA so would need to be a few hour at most drive from the airport. We looked all up the coast and it only got better when we got to Merritt Island area where my wife is from. I did like it there but that is a 3+ hour drive.

Makes sense then.  I wouldn't live in Miami for long regardless of what I was being paid.  It's dirty, traffic is insane, not bike friendly, etc... although the winters are very nice.

Assuming you're a pilot for a major airline since you'd be working out of MIA and have 18 days off in a month, that's pretty limiting in Florida as we don't have a ton of cities large enough for an international airport, the state is pretty large and spread out, and the large cities we do have aren't all that great.  I do like the Vero Beach/Sebastian/Melbourne area though, COL is fairly low, and it's a ~2.5 hours from Miami.

Yeah we hated the Miami area. She actually grew up in Cape Canaveral. I like the sleepy beach towns. My company base is MIA down there. Some people live in Orlando and drive or fly down. I just don't want to commit myself to 30 years of that drive.

I really don't know what to do. We are so lost. We make good incomes but do not want to spend it all on a house in an inflated cost of living area. Ugh.

[use2betrix]

In the last 20 weeks I’ve had approximately 700 hrs of overtime. That’s an extra $63k in overtime over 4.5 months. In 2016, I had 900 hrs of overtime by November 15th, and then I took the next 4.5 months off work.

Last year, I only worked about 4.5 months at mostly 50 hr weeks, but still saved enough to grow my NW quite a bit.

I do contract work, so I work myself out of a job. Some jobs are 1.5 years, others are 3-4 months. We travel all over the country doing projects. My wife doesn’t work and travels with me. She takes care of EVERYTHING else so I can just focus my time on work, and enjoying our downtime together. We go to the gym together 3x a week and a date night every weekend. She keeps pretty busy with exercise, teaching a spin class, dog training/walks, errands, etc.

It’s a different lifestyle. Sometimes I think of trading it for a 40 hr/wk salary job in a permanent place with no travel - just haven’t found the tradeoff to be worth it (yet). Our time off we’ve been taking once in a lifetime trips, so that’s been worthwhile so far.

[use2betrix]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

How would that money not mean you could FIRE faster? Sure, your free time may be worth more, which is acceptable, but don’t act like $1800 adds NOTHING. If so - I’ll gladly send you my address to mail me your spare $1800’s.

[inline five]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

How would that money not mean you could FIRE faster? Sure, your free time may be worth more, which is acceptable, but don’t act like $1800 adds NOTHING. If so - I’ll gladly send you my address to mail me your spare $1800’s.

I just turned down $1,500 for four hours away from home today in OT. It's not nothing $$ wise. However it feels like it doesn't make a dent in our net worth any more. You don't even notice it.

[Prairie Stash]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

How would that money not mean you could FIRE faster? Sure, your free time may be worth more, which is acceptable, but don’t act like $1800 adds NOTHING. If so - I’ll gladly send you my address to mail me your spare $1800’s.

For some, they already have enough to FIRE. In that case, its just more money in a pot that does nothing more for you. OP is likely getting into that category.

For myself I can either earn that money this weekend or next year. There is not much compound growth in a years time, sometimes its a loss. Work will always be here to earn $1000, whats the rush?

My benefits also only apply to base salary, its wonky math. For example my CPP (CDN Social  Security) is only applied to base salary, the longer I work the more I get, so FIRE early (by doing OT) means I lose that income stream for future self. My Pension (about 7.5%) only applies to base salary; I lose that when I do OT. My Health Benefits ($200/month value) are also lost if I do OT and FIRE early. I also get vacation acrual at 6% on my base salary, not on my OT.

Put another way, on my regular time theres 30% added on for benefits plus some fixed price benefits (ask your HR, they have the number). On OT I get paid 50% more, no benefits. I'm also on the cusp of a higher tax bracket, so the marginal tax rate on my OT today is far higher than the tax rate from working an extra month prior to retirement. If I work 160 hours of OT this year, I can probably retire 170 hours sooner....the point being is I don't really FIRE 50% faster, not after accounting for parts I lose. Its more like I trade a day now for a day in the future. Don't even get into the territory of annual bouses; I think my optimal time to retire is June, so if I push my FIRE too early I lose the equivalent of 100 hours of pay! So if I get 160 hours of OT, I could lose 100 hours of pay, wouldn't I be better off skipping the OT and working an extra 3 weeks (120 hours) next year? Or I can work longer and overshoot my FIRE target, in that case why not just work longer anyways, which is where we started from, is OT really necessary?

However, there is a loophole, Time in Lieu, meaning I can turn my OT into time off (instead of extra pay) at a rate of 150%, but I'm currently not allowed this loophole.

I agree its convoluted math, feel free to poke holes. These thoughts come up when you approach the FIRE date.

[use2betrix]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

How would that money not mean you could FIRE faster? Sure, your free time may be worth more, which is acceptable, but don’t act like $1800 adds NOTHING. If so - I’ll gladly send you my address to mail me your spare $1800’s.

I just turned down $1,500 for four hours away from home today in OT. It's not nothing $$ wise. However it feels like it doesn't make a dent in our net worth any more. You don't even notice it.

So if you worked an extra 8 hours per week, at $3000/wk, that’d be an extra $150k/yr. maybe you make and have so much that doesn’t make a difference, but to most people, working 48 hrs vs wk instead of 40, for an extra 150k, will make a pretty big dent in their Fire.

If you don’t have this option and your OT was a one-off opportunity, it wouldn’t really apply the same.

Granted - I’m just so used to working a ton and anymore taking months off, that I have a hard time comprehending working 40 hrs a week or less lol.

[inline five]

At some point a person realizes that although the made $1000 that day, they worked for free. If you never spend the cash, its useless. Its like buying extra food that goes bad before you eat it, or a DVD you never get around to watching.

Once you have enough money, whatever the amount, would you work the OT for free? I've started hitting this point, I turned down OT recently (app. $1800) because the money wouldn't change my life at all, now or in the future. You have to ask yourself, will you be able to spend the cash at some point? However, if you love what you do then by all means enjoy the OT.

How would that money not mean you could FIRE faster? Sure, your free time may be worth more, which is acceptable, but don’t act like $1800 adds NOTHING. If so - I’ll gladly send you my address to mail me your spare $1800’s.

I just turned down $1,500 for four hours away from home today in OT. It's not nothing $$ wise. However it feels like it doesn't make a dent in our net worth any more. You don't even notice it.

So if you worked an extra 8 hours per week, at $3000/wk, that’d be an extra $150k/yr. maybe you make and have so much that doesn’t make a difference, but to most people, working 48 hrs vs wk instead of 40, for an extra 150k, will make a pretty big dent in their Fire.

If you don’t have this option and your OT was a one-off opportunity, it wouldn’t really apply the same.

Granted - I’m just so used to working a ton and anymore taking months off, that I have a hard time comprehending working 40 hrs a week or less lol.

The most I can work is around 90 paid hours a month. That is roughly 15-16 days of work though, but keep in mind I'm gone from home 300 hours and that doesn't include the 72 hours or more I lose by commuting by plane each week, which will change soon hopefully.

Presently in the month I am around 75 hours of pay which equates to 12 days of working. At best I could pick up three extra days a month.

If I could work as much as you said I would probably do it for a little bit but then you get burned out. But, my industry is extremely fickle and this could change on a dime.

[beattie228]

I'm in the same boat as you. I generally pick up 8-20 hours of OT a week. I work a 12 hour gig, 3 days a week at a set hourly rate in healthcare. Anything over that is 1.5X. To me, it seems no-brainer. I'm able to make way more picking up OT than I would doing a side hustle and my work hours allow for a lot of time away from the practice. That said, I'm sure I wouldn't be picking up those hours if I had little ones at home. My partner is also in medicine and she knows my FI goals so she's been on board with it as long as I keep a healthy balance.

As others mentioned, it's important to not get used to the newfound additional income. I make sure that the difference is always set aside into investments/savings and that my spreadsheets are always budgeted for my take home pay so that I don't get accustomed to viewing that extra income as my new norm.

[JetBlast]

Has your spouse been complaining or hinting that you’re gone too much?  Are there hobbies to keep busy at home? 

If not, then what’s wrong with picking up some trips at premium pay (or whatever your airline calls it)?  You mentioned that a move to a crew domicile is likely soon, so some extra cash won’t hurt. It can cover dropped trips after the move so you can have time off set up your new home, or increase your down payment if you buy a home, etc...  The extra cash gives you options.

If you enjoy your job and aren’t neglecting your home life then I don’t see a problem with picking up extra hours.

[alex753]

I'm opposite.  I could make 60$-80$ hr. picking up over time up to a strict 20 hours per week.

But the last place I want to spend my free time is at work.  Even though I'd really like an extra 50K or so more for a CA real estate down payment. 

[use2betrix]

I feel like some may be dependent on age as well. $50k in overtime that’s invested for a 30 year old will go a lot further than an extra $50k for a 50 year old.

For a 30 year old, that $50k at 8% will be worth $233k by the time they hit 50...

[jlcnuke]

I'm opposite.  I could make 60$-80$ hr. picking up over time up to a strict 20 hours per week.

But the last place I want to spend my free time is at work.  Even though I'd really like an extra 50K or so more for a CA real estate down payment.

My desire for OT varies based on what else I'd be doing with that time. I'm living in a hotel, ~1k miles from home, and over an hour away from anything I consider something I'd like to be doing on my time off. As such, I'd rather work and get paid OT than sit at the hotel in the evening. Similarly, with no wife/kids/etc at home, I'd much rather work 10 hours days during the week at home than spend an extra 2 hours each day lounging around the house. I'd still prefer to spend SOME time lounging around the house, so I'd prefer not to work 7 days a week when at home, but a couple extra hours each weekday to get me to FIRE that much faster is worth it to me. On the road, I'll take all the hours I can get (this week will have more OT than regular pay on my check for instance).

[TheWifeHalf]

When we had kids, we planned on me going back to work when they were all in school. When our youngest was 4 TheHusbandHalf got a better job and we discussed it. We decided I would never get a job that would pay as much as his did for overtime, so we decided I would continue to stay home and that would allow him to take some calls, and not miss any.

At the time he was lower on the list, and had to take some calls, plus with a family, it was hard to turn down the $ (he was in his 30's).

Now, he's going to retire in January, he's on the first page of the list (called 'death row') so he can be more selective which calls he chooses.  Anything over the scheduled hours of any week (some are 36, some 40 hour weeks) is time and a half. By law, he cannot work more than 16 hours at a time, and they are on 12 hour shifts, so he can't double like he did when they were on 8 hour shifts. Once in awhile they make a deal with him that he goes in because it's just too good a deal.