Did anyone get nervous?

[vespito]

I'll admit, but this is a weird post / question.  It's oddly personal too, but no more so than most of the posts here.

If it belongs in the journals section, would a moderator kindly move?

Ok, here goes - I'm in my early 40's.  I've been at my current job 12 years.  It stresses me out a little, but I've learned to deal.  However, now that I realize I really can achieve financial independence (my goal is 10 years), I've gotten really nervous about getting fired. 

I feel like I have been given this gift of validation that it's ok not to spend one's entire life working and I'll waste the wisdom by getting canned.  It's weird, but I think I'd be nervous about getting fired from any job now; my present job has lots of perks - a decent salary, 4 weeks off, and a pension and great benefits. 

I never really worried much about losing my job before.  Maybe it's that I never had a goal that I so desperately wanted to reach.  Maybe its because that I feel like I owe it to my future (and past) self, as well as to my wife, not to screw this up.  I owe it my past self because as bad as I used to be with money - at one time I owed $30k in credit card debt - I still managed to save for retirement and now have 200k saved in mostly my 401k fund, and I don't make a 6 figure salary.  I owe it to my future self so I can be happy, healthy and a better partner to my wife.

Anyway...did anyone else go through the same thing?  I'm both really, really excited and scared to death of screwing up.  I know, not very bad-ass to be scared, but I'm working on it.

[matchewed]

Funny I get less nervous. I've built up a decent stache and the bigger it gets the more confident I am that I can weather any storm. If I lose my cushy job I'm sure I can find another. I have the resources and funds to take care of life's curveballs.

[Posthumane]

Interestingly enough, I kind of have similar feelings now from time to time. I got hired on as a term, and knew that I may have to find another job once my term was up if my employer decided not to renew/extend my term. It didn't bother me much before as I realized I didn't need that much money to live and if I ended up at a lower paying job, that was okay. Now I sometimes go through my financial planning exercise and calculate how much I need to save to reach an FI goal, and I realize that having to change jobs could derail that goal, and that's kind of frustrating.

[vespito]

I'm hoping I'll reach a critical mass of 'stash in the near future where I won't care so much.  My definition of financial security has changed from lasting a year or two without working to achieving a 'work optional' existence. 

Of course, my issue may just be that I want instant gratification.  I'll put in the work, but man, I can almost taste success.

[Frankies Girl]

I've had many moments during my working career feeling like I was going to be fired... for no reason other than a personality conflict. I work in a creative/arts industry and we tend to be a flaky, flighty bunch, and at many places there was a "mean girl" type of bullying/clique thing going on, so it hasn't been fun feeling like that when it hits.

I'm at the point now where I'm FI, so I'm not nervous any more. Very freeing.


So one of the things to really ask yourself is is there any REAL reason to be worrying? If your boss is happy with you and you do your job well and your company as a whole is stable, you can weather the hiccups of self-doubt about your job that much easier.

It can be scary, the realization that you just have to keep going for X amount of years and then you're done - but what happens if you don't make it to X? But don't let it take up too much space in your head. You are getting to the point of FI because you've been willing to think outside the consumer culture box, so i the event of a job loss or other life changing scenario, you'll adapt.

[jrhampt]

I do feel like I have a lot more to lose now than I ever did.  I have a sweet job, good pay, loads of vacation time, flex hours, telecommuting...in my twenties, if I lost a job, it was a crappy job anyway and could be easily replaced.  Now I feel a bit of anxiety because I feel like at some point someone will realize how much they're paying me and realize they're insane.  So I have a bit of that anxiety around...can I last another 2 or 3 years before they figure it out?  5 or 6?

[chardog]

I used to get nervous because I worked for a sociopath that did fire people.

But then I got another job and made it through to retirement.  :)

[brewer12345]

If your employer is offering you all of this it is not out of the goodness of their hearts, it is because you would likely get that or better elsewhere.  In the pursuit of your goal, don't undervalue yourself as a person as you trade your time and life energy for money.  You have a finite supply of time and energy: you owe it to yourself to demand the most you can get when selling those valuable commodities.  Giving into fear starts you down the path to being willing to take less and take crap.  Don't go there.  If you lose this job, you will get another (and probably better) one.

You have already done the most important things, namely focus on your budget, pay down the stoopid debt, and built a nest egg.  Everything you do going forward will help and speed your escape, but to a certain extent it has a momentum of its own.  You also have enough to have "FU money."  If things become intolerable at an employer, you can walk and preserve yourself.  This is powerful and you should internalize it and own it.

The path to FIRE is rarely straight or smooth.  I was heading for it in my mid/late 30s and the recession and crash happened.  I lost lots of money and my lucrative job.  I found another job, doubled down on my investments, kept saving and at the age of 40 I am about to quit and go enjoy life as a semi-retiree.  Keep plugging and stay determined and you will get there.

[vespito]

I appreciate all the responses!  I'm just sticking with the plan and trying to appreciate what I have now.  If things change, I'll have to roll with it.

[2527]

Sounds like the only thing that has changed is your internal feelings.  Same job, same employer, same job performance.