Epic FU money stories

[arebelspy]

Could have been epic...

There's been a ton of work drama.  I've been doing my supervisor's job for years.  But I enjoy the job, and moves were made to keep the supervisor out of my hair.  He left for medical reasons last September.  I spend the next 4 months doing all of the things.  They finally open his job once the FMLA runs out.  I have to apply for it just like everyone else.

Here's the thing.  I refuse to train a new supervisor.  If I don't get the position, I'm leaving.  I have a year's worth of expenses sitting around.  I can make more freelancing in 4 months than I can in a year at this job.  AND I have another side gig that would easily translate to a full time thing.  I tell this to the boss.  He tells his boss.  .... I get the job, at the highest pay step they can give me.

But I was prepared to clean out my office the day of the interview.  It was a good feeling.

Nice!

We want it to ship in 15 working days, so I need you to start right away.

Your next few weeks sound like hell, but congrats!  Having that FU money to be able to say "nah, I'll take a sabbatical if you won't show me the money" is so awesome.  :D

Just one more year!

[Guesl982374]

Could have been epic...

There's been a ton of work drama.  I've been doing my supervisor's job for years.  But I enjoy the job, and moves were made to keep the supervisor out of my hair.  He left for medical reasons last September.  I spend the next 4 months doing all of the things.  They finally open his job once the FMLA runs out.  I have to apply for it just like everyone else.

Here's the thing.  I refuse to train a new supervisor.  If I don't get the position, I'm leaving.  I have a year's worth of expenses sitting around.  I can make more freelancing in 4 months than I can in a year at this job.  AND I have another side gig that would easily translate to a full time thing.  I tell this to the boss.  He tells his boss.  .... I get the job, at the highest pay step they can give me.

But I was prepared to clean out my office the day of the interview.  It was a good feeling.

Perfect use of leverage. I love it.

[AnswerIs42]

There's a good one on TheDailyWTF today:

http://thedailywtf.com/articles/it-s-no-big-deal

One or two complainypants in the comments section ("How could you possibly save enough to retire after 30 years in tech?"), but mostly supportive :)

[RyanAtTanagra]

There's a good one on TheDailyWTF today:

http://thedailywtf.com/articles/it-s-no-big-deal

One or two complainypants in the comments section ("How could you possibly save enough to retire after 30 years in tech?"), but mostly supportive :)

Good story, and I'm really impressed with the comments.  Just one guy really, telling the author he's an impossible outlier and his story is a slap in the face to normal people.  Then everyone else defending the author and basically saying if after 30 years in IT you're not financially secure you done f'd up.

[PaulMaxime]

I'm a former Googler. Worked there 8 years. Pretty much FI at this point but I am still working for another couple years I think.

You said you used to work there.. Did you achieve FI, but then left to do something else just because you wanted to? Details please :)

Yeah. I was basically FI, but I still had some things I wanted to do as far as working. I had never done a startup. My team spun off from Google to become an independent company in Sept of 2015. Lots of my co-workers couldn't or wouldn't take the risk and stayed behind.

9 months later Niantic Labs launched Pokemon Go. It was a risk worth taking, I think.

Paul

[Metric Mouse]

There's a good one on TheDailyWTF today:

http://thedailywtf.com/articles/it-s-no-big-deal

One or two complainypants in the comments section ("How could you possibly save enough to retire after 30 years in tech?"), but mostly supportive :)

Nice. Always a complainy pants, in every bunch.

[jordanread]

I'm a former Googler. Worked there 8 years. Pretty much FI at this point but I am still working for another couple years I think.

You said you used to work there.. Did you achieve FI, but then left to do something else just because you wanted to? Details please :)

Yeah. I was basically FI, but I still had some things I wanted to do as far as working. I had never done a startup. My team spun off from Google to become an independent company in Sept of 2015. Lots of my co-workers couldn't or wouldn't take the risk and stayed behind.

9 months later Niantic Labs launched Pokemon Go. It was a risk worth taking, I think.

Paul

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

[Livingthedream55]

But I was prepared to clean out my office the day of the interview.  It was a good feeling.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this is certainly epic in my book.

This!! OMG   Fantastic to read these!!! 

[RyanAtTanagra]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Come back, your team needs you!

[Jessamine]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Come back, your team needs you!

No they don't.  Come back and join the Resistance!

[jordanread]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Come back, your team needs you!

Players still hit me up for backup when there be creepy people following as they farm the park by my house, but I don't even have phone service anymore. And yes, when I stopped playing, I dropped all of my inventory throughout a week, meeting people and making sure my stuff was useful (including ADA's and Jarvis's). Even turned my guardian over to someone who would take care of it. I really liked being involved in anomalies, and some of the global stuff (like Operation Green Marble) is super fun, but just got too much of a time suck.

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Come back, your team needs you!

No they don't.  Come back and join the Resistance!

That ain't happening :). Frog is still a term of endearment for me, and Smurf is a tongue in cheek insult.

[PaulMaxime]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Yeah, been at Niantic since 2012. I think I'll be here for at least another year or two. It's been pretty intense in the last year - I feel like I've earned every dollar. We have a 4 year vest for our options but I'm not sure I'll make it all the way to 2019. It's hard when you don't really need the extra money, though the work environment is good and I like my coworkers for the most part.

Glad to see we have some Ingress players on here. Personally, I'm resistance all the way, but we do have a good mix of both here at HQ.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Glad to see we have some Ingress players on here. Personally, I'm resistance all the way, but we do have a good mix of both here at HQ.

Are you active?  I'm curious if we know each other by agent name.

[mtn]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Yeah, been at Niantic since 2012. I think I'll be here for at least another year or two. It's been pretty intense in the last year - I feel like I've earned every dollar. We have a 4 year vest for our options but I'm not sure I'll make it all the way to 2019. It's hard when you don't really need the extra money, though the work environment is good and I like my coworkers for the most part.

Vesting is, IMHO, one of the most reasonable excuses for "One More Year". Depending on the amount that is at stake, of course, but it could end up being "Two more years salary for one more year of work".

[Cannot Wait!]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Yeah, been at Niantic since 2012. I think I'll be here for at least another year or two. It's been pretty intense in the last year - I feel like I've earned every dollar. We have a 4 year vest for our options but I'm not sure I'll make it all the way to 2019. It's hard when you don't really need the extra money, though the work environment is good and I like my coworkers for the most part.

Vesting is, IMHO, one of the most reasonable excuses for "One More Year". Depending on the amount that is at stake, of course, but it could end up being "Two more years salary for one more year of work".

Yeah but you are on an EARLY retirement forum where it is also reasonable to leave a job early if there are better things to do with your time!  😉

[prognastat]

You are at Niantic? That's freaking awesome (never played PG, but I was a loyal ENL for a while)

Yeah, been at Niantic since 2012. I think I'll be here for at least another year or two. It's been pretty intense in the last year - I feel like I've earned every dollar. We have a 4 year vest for our options but I'm not sure I'll make it all the way to 2019. It's hard when you don't really need the extra money, though the work environment is good and I like my coworkers for the most part.

Glad to see we have some Ingress players on here. Personally, I'm resistance all the way, but we do have a good mix of both here at HQ.

Cool, my wife loved ingress and we both play Pokemon Go(she is a little more active than I am XD)

As for your situation it is definitely understandable to feel like you should stay for the vesting and not miss out on the money and this will likely be completely up to yourself. If you have more than enough to comfortably FIRE with your current level of spending and current stache then you don't need the extra money and the only reason to stay is because you enjoy it or feel some kind of responsibility to stay till a certain point. If however it gets to the point where you don't enjoy the work then don't let golden handcuffs hold you back.

[Nangirl17]

Posting to follow!

[AlanStache]

All in good jest :-)

[PaulMaxime]

Glad to see we have some Ingress players on here. Personally, I'm resistance all the way, but we do have a good mix of both here at HQ.

Are you active?  I'm curious if we know each other by agent name.

Haven't been playing too much lately because of work, but I'm NumberSix, Lvl 15 Resistance.

[PaulMaxime]

Cool, my wife loved ingress and we both play Pokemon Go(she is a little more active than I am XD)

As for your situation it is definitely understandable to feel like you should stay for the vesting and not miss out on the money and this will likely be completely up to yourself. If you have more than enough to comfortably FIRE with your current level of spending and current stache then you don't need the extra money and the only reason to stay is because you enjoy it or feel some kind of responsibility to stay till a certain point. If however it gets to the point where you don't enjoy the work then don't let golden handcuffs hold you back.

Trust me, I'm only here because it's still fun. If that ends I'm gone.

One thing that gives me pause is the Republicans' promise to repeal the ACA. I have a pre-existing condition which will make insurance either really expensive or impossible to get if they get their way. So I can use the extra money as a buffer in case health care becomes an issue.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Haven't been playing too much lately because of work, but I'm NumberSix, Lvl 15 Resistance.

Doesn't sound familiar, probably different areas of the city, but Linkovich, Lvl 14 ENL if you see me.

[GreenSheep]

Yesterday I overheard a conversation between a coworker (C) and one of the housekeeping staff (H). H mentioned that he has 3 working days until retirement, at which point I stuck my nose into the conversation to congratulate him. I had never seen him smile before, but he sure was smiling when we talked about his retirement! I wouldn't call him young, but he looks like he might be a few years younger than "normal" retirement age.

The FU money part of it is that after he walked away, C told me that H had several properties around town and had decided to retire after our company cut the housekeepers' hourly rate almost in half. I would like to think that he is a closet Mustachian. And I love the fact that just because someone empties trash cans for a living doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing with their money!

[mm1970]

Yesterday I overheard a conversation between a coworker (C) and one of the housekeeping staff (H). H mentioned that he has 3 working days until retirement, at which point I stuck my nose into the conversation to congratulate him. I had never seen him smile before, but he sure was smiling when we talked about his retirement! I wouldn't call him young, but he looks like he might be a few years younger than "normal" retirement age.

The FU money part of it is that after he walked away, C told me that H had several properties around town and had decided to retire after our company cut the housekeepers' hourly rate almost in half. I would like to think that he is a closet Mustachian. And I love the fact that just because someone empties trash cans for a living doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing with their money!

I still remember the 2-3 conversations I had with an aide at the hospital when my first son was born.  I can't remember if she was housekeeping or Food service (so long ago).  She and her husband had raised 3 kids, worked hard in their manual labor jobs, and at that point, owned 3 homes in Santa Barbara - free and clear.  Buy a fixer, fix it up, rent it out.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

[BTDretire]

  Buy a fixer, fix it up, rent it out.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

 "Lather, rinse, repeat".
 I always thought that 'repeat' part was just a way for Head and Shoulders to double their sales. :-)

[RetirementInvestingToday]

"Lather, rinse, repeat".
 I always thought that 'repeat' part was just a way for Head and Shoulders to double their sales. :-)

A bit like the increase the diameter of the toothpaste nozzle story...

[erae]

I work in corporate training and have hit a couple walls/ceilings when hiring or promotion committees decide they want "someone who knows the business and has good training instincts" over "someone who can mine the expertise of people who know the business to design strong learning experiences." I was hired into my current department by Old Manager, who was in the latter camp and was laid off almost a year ago in an org-wide restructuring. New Manager (new to me, new to management, and new to our department) was brought in shortly after and - after getting his bearings for six months - decided that there wasn't room in this town for two of us who didn't come up through the ranks in our department.

So I've been in the job for two years with strong performance reviews (including my most recent review from New Manager himself) and New Manager decides to give me a hiring exercise to prove that I have the knowledge of our business to keep my job for a third year. Who will judge this exercise? Not him, because he's more of a noob than I am. This exercise will be judged by a peer of his who knows our department's business inside and out and will not know the circumstances of their judgment (namely, that my job is on the line). Having worked in this department for two years, I am confident I can do the exercise. My first move after getting written confirmation about the conditions of this asinine assignment is to reach out to HR and ask if this qualifies as a restructuring of my role. I was hired to do X - I've done X. It sounds like New Manager wants Y. HR encourages me to work with New Manager to reframe this exercise as a development opportunity rather than a high-stakes test. New Manager balks at any questioning of his exercise. He says he spent a lot of time dreaming up this assignment and was thoughtful in its development, messaging, and roll-out to me.  I now have all the information I need to know that this job I'm in - under New Manager - will not end successfully for me, regardless of how well I jump through this hoop he's "thoughtfully" constructed.

Thankfully, I've got a healthy 'stache (around 6x annual expenses) and a supportive partner whose job is secure, so I give notice and....here's the epic bit....one week later HR comes back and reclassifies my transition as a role restructuring. I'm leaving next month, will get paid out for 5-6 weeks of PTO in my last check, and am likely looking at 3 months severance pay given my tenure with the organization. I've got a clean narrative for my departure and am essentially pulling a paycheck through July/August. While my ego doesn't like the circumstances behind this transition, my 'stache is telling her to get over herself.

[Patches]

After graduating college, my wife and I moved to Seattle with the intent of working until we had enough to travel for a year.  She's an RN and I was a lumber trader.  After 4 years, we had our student loans paid off and found ourselves with $200,000 in the bank and feeling good financially.  My wife applied for a sabbatical and got it easily.  Having that secured, we felt confident to that we'd have work upon return so we purchased our one-way tickets to Buenos Aires.  Since trading lumber is a remarkably cut-throat and competitive industry, I figured I'd just quit my job the week before we flew out and they'd divvy up my accounts among the other traders.

So the week came and I asked to take the CEO out for coffee.  We have always had a good rapport and he could tell something was up...  I told him I needed to quit and he was like, "Why?, You moving to another trading house?"  And I explained the situation and he was like, "Whoa whoa, don't do anything drastic here! We can work out out sabbatical.  Shit man, I thought you getting divorced and moving away or had cancer or something..."  I must have been on edge I guess.

They ended up assigning my accounts to other traders on a temporary basis and upon return my accounts would be given back to me.  On top of that I was given a middling salary ($65,000) until I got my numbers back up.

After spending the South American summer months hiking, camping, and hitchhiking around Patagonia and the Andes, we shipped our camping gear to my parents' house and continued to travel North.  My wife found a great volunteering opportunity in Bolivia with an NGO hospital for a month (I joined the grounds crew) and then we continued on through Colombia.  From there we met my brother in Vietnam and continued around SE Asia for 6 weeks.  All told we were gone for 9 months... and spent an additional several weeks on either end seeing family.  We tracked every nickel and spent just over $24k including flights.

Once back trading lumber I discovered this lovely blog (2012) and we have been angling our finances toward FI ever since.  My career has continued to angle upward... we've got a couple kids now and my wife is happily working part time.  We'll probably ER here in Seattle in the next year or two... and take our girls on the road... at least in the summers.

I just thought it was an interesting story (it's about me after all...) but I also thought it could be inspiring for anyone else in a sales-type job.  "The power of quitting," as they say, even in a cut-throat industry can result in favorable outcomes.

[afuera]

After spending the South American summer months hiking, camping, and hitchhiking around Patagonia and the Andes, we shipped our camping gear to my parents' house and continued to travel North.  My wife found a great volunteering opportunity in Bolivia with an NGO hospital for a month (I joined the grounds crew) and then we continued on through Colombia.  From there we met my brother in Vietnam and continued around SE Asia for 6 weeks.  All told we were gone for 9 months... and spent an additional several weeks on either end seeing family.  We tracked every nickel and spent just over $24k including flights.

Great story!  I literally daydream about this type of sabbatical constantly.  It sounds perfect.

[Bicycle_B]

Yesterday I overheard a conversation between a coworker (C) and one of the housekeeping staff (H). H mentioned that he has 3 working days until retirement, at which point I stuck my nose into the conversation to congratulate him. I had never seen him smile before, but he sure was smiling when we talked about his retirement! I wouldn't call him young, but he looks like he might be a few years younger than "normal" retirement age.

The FU money part of it is that after he walked away, C told me that H had several properties around town and had decided to retire after our company cut the housekeepers' hourly rate almost in half. I would like to think that he is a closet Mustachian. And I love the fact that just because someone empties trash cans for a living doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing with their money!

So awesome!

To support your point - In my hometown, a guy who did repairs at the university started buying and fixing up rent houses that catered to students.  Over time, he got dozens of them and became quite wealthy.  Didn't quit as far as I know, but became the director of maintenance at his day job too according to my dad.  Anyway, even if someone empties trash cans or hammers a nail, they might have more money than all of the other people in the office.

[firelight]

Got handed a shit sandwich at work today. Even though we have FU money, I'm hanging on since we are expecting our second soon and now isn't the best time to quit. I think I might have something to contribute soon but I hope not atleast for some more time.

[Dicey]

  Buy a fixer, fix it up, rent it out.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

 "Lather, rinse, repeat".
 I always thought that 'repeat' part was just a way for Head and Shoulders to double their sales. :-)

BRRR is a Thing now: Buy, Renovate, Rent, Repeat. Or Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. It's another way for mustachians to double their net worths. :-)

[Icecreamarsenal]

  Buy a fixer, fix it up, rent it out.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

 "Lather, rinse, repeat".
 I always thought that 'repeat' part was just a way for Head and Shoulders to double their sales. :-)

BRRR is a Thing now: Buy, Renovate, Rent, Repeat. Or Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. It's another way for mustachians to double their net worths. :-)

Another Bigger Pockets fan I see!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Livingthedream55]

Got handed a shit sandwich at work today. Even though we have FU money, I'm hanging on since we are expecting our second soon and now isn't the best time to quit. I think I might have something to contribute soon but I hope not atleast for some more time.

Sorry to hear Firelight - stay strong and keep your eye on the prize. Someday you will have your FU stache!!

[GreenSheep]

Yesterday I overheard a conversation between a coworker (C) and one of the housekeeping staff (H). H mentioned that he has 3 working days until retirement, at which point I stuck my nose into the conversation to congratulate him. I had never seen him smile before, but he sure was smiling when we talked about his retirement! I wouldn't call him young, but he looks like he might be a few years younger than "normal" retirement age.

The FU money part of it is that after he walked away, C told me that H had several properties around town and had decided to retire after our company cut the housekeepers' hourly rate almost in half. I would like to think that he is a closet Mustachian. And I love the fact that just because someone empties trash cans for a living doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing with their money!

Update: It gets even better! Turns out his first day of retirement is his birthday. He's using a vacation day for it. That's one hell of a birthday present!

As for how to make the transition, he says his friends and family already have a growing to do list for him, since they all know he'll soon have a lot of time on his hands. I guess that's one way to do it for those who are concerned about feeling a bit lost when they no longer have to get up and go to work.

[Dicey]

  Buy a fixer, fix it up, rent it out.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

 "Lather, rinse, repeat".
 I always thought that 'repeat' part was just a way for Head and Shoulders to double their sales. :-)

BRRR is a Thing now: Buy, Renovate, Rent, Repeat. Or Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. It's another way for mustachians to double their net worths. :-)

Another Bigger Pockets fan I see!

Lolz, I can't say that's true. I learned the term elsewhere, in a link I followed to an article that was cited on this wonderful forum. Truth is, we were doing it on our own without realizing it was a Thing. We're real estate weirdos and love doing projects. We can't travel right now, so flipping and BRRR-ing help us focus on what we CAN do. We are not hard core on the financial side. For example, we don't re-fi. We pay cash or we get a good loan in the first place. We also flex on the 1% rule, which is BP heresy. Ergo, I don't think Bigger Pockets would completely approve of our ways. We are otherwise FI, so we are not as strict with the numbers as they advocate.

[Dicey]

Yesterday I overheard a conversation between a coworker (C) and one of the housekeeping staff (H). H mentioned that he has 3 working days until retirement, at which point I stuck my nose into the conversation to congratulate him. I had never seen him smile before, but he sure was smiling when we talked about his retirement! I wouldn't call him young, but he looks like he might be a few years younger than "normal" retirement age.

The FU money part of it is that after he walked away, C told me that H had several properties around town and had decided to retire after our company cut the housekeepers' hourly rate almost in half. I would like to think that he is a closet Mustachian. And I love the fact that just because someone empties trash cans for a living doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing with their money!

Update: It gets even better! Turns out his first day of retirement is his birthday. He's using a vacation day for it. That's one hell of a birthday present!

As for how to make the transition, he says his friends and family already have a growing to do list for him, since they all know he'll soon have a lot of time on his hands. I guess that's one way to do it for those who are concerned about feeling a bit lost when they no longer have to get up and go to work.

Both of my parents have passed away in the last two years. In fact, today is the first anniversary of my Dad's death. This tale sparks a memory... Dad drove an old Toyota Corolla with a license plate frame that read "Retired, Now I Work at Honey-Do Construction". He actually did retire at fifty, badass that he was. RIP, "Pops".

[BlueHouse]

Got handed a shit sandwich at work today. Even though we have FU money, I'm hanging on since we are expecting our second soon and now isn't the best time to quit. I think I might have something to contribute soon but I hope not atleast for some more time.

Hang in there firelight!  As I was reminded when I recently had a shit sandwich, the fact that you have FU money gives you choices and you're choosing to hang in there a little longer.  Knowing that you're accepting it because something else is more important, helped me swallow the first bite.  I've also decided to not put up with so much shit, to just say "that's not okay" more often when I get the sandwich.  Good luck! 

And congratulations on your baby!

[FIREby35]

I have not read everyone's stories yet, but I do have my own epic FU money story.

I worked at a law firm with 13 attorneys, straight out of law school at 26. I had lots of options because I went to a regionally respected law school and finished near the top of my law class. I rejected many offers for salary positions and chose this firm because it allowed me to create my own practice. We split fees based on various percentages. There was no cap on my earnings.

Fast forward 3.5 years. I was 29 years old. My practice had exploded. There were basically two problems. First, by the time of the FU incident I was making more money than anyone in the firm and I was the youngest person there.  Second, the managing partner and the office administrator were incompetent, bitter and creating a toxic work environment.

A key part of the story is that 6 weeks prior to the FU incident, the managing partner used $10,000 of my money, without permission, to pay all the partners salaries because they had "cash flow issues." They money was paid back a week later. This signaled financial shenanigans on top of being totally, totally toxic.

One day, the managing partner approached me and said she wanted to renegotiate my deal AND audit every case for the appropriate percentage from the prior two years. The renegotiation was ridiculous. The audit was a major, totally unwarranted affront to my integrity - from a person who had just taken $10,000 of my money!

So, I went home with my wife - coincidentally an auditor and accountant. We performed the audit ourselves and ran all the numbers. I discovered that for the prior two years, less than 1% of my income had come from their referrals. I was a major profit center for the firm - generating over $250,000 for the firm over the prior 24 months. And, in fact, the toxic office administrator had intentionally mis-categorized my referrals thereby underpaying me.

Fortunately, I had been on the MMM train since the beginning and had an FU money war-chest of a couple hundred thousand dollars. Interestingly, the MMM choices had been the object of much curiosity since everyone knew I was making a lot but spending very little. Why are you riding your bike to work? Why did you buy such a "modest" house for your income. Why don't you get a new car? Those are actual comments.

So, the FU moment arrived when I delivered a renegotiated contract proposal to the partners. I proposed to pay them a flat monthly fee that amounted to 35% of what they were currently getting. I proposed that if they ever held any of my money without legal authority or permission they pay $1,000 per day for the privilege. Egg on the face of managing partner who had not advised anyone of the $10,000 "cash flow" issue or her proposed audit and renegotiation.

A comment this board will particularly appreciate in response, "We can't take this deal, we'd have to reduce our salaries and our budgets are set to our salaries." Facepalm.

During the wind up phase, the toxic, money stealing office administrator - who had been around long enough to have a way, way over-inflated sense of importance - spoke up during a tense conversation about splitting remaining funds. I looked at her and said, "You have no ownership in this firm, I have never been in business with you and don't want to hear anything you have to say." Hahahahaha. Her jaw dropped. Her upper lip trembled with rage. She didn't say a freaking word. It was the best moment of the entire thing, even better than the contract proposal.

Long story short, I opened my own law firm one week later. I now pay 20% less in overhead. I work dramatically reduced hours because I have actual, dedicated staff for just me - which they would never give me. Also, my gross receipts are up about 10% in the first 12 months. Life is good.

As a post script - the incompetent managing partner hired a guy to fill my office. Remember, that office was earning over $250,000 for the firm in the proceeding 24 months. The guy was paid a salary for six months - rather than have his pay tied to his productivity. Eventually it came out he was a total fraud who lied about being licensed in our state (he did have a different, faraway state). He even filed court documents without the appropriate license. He was fired immediately and the office remains vacant, producing zero profits. Schadenfreude? Yes.

Also as a disclaimer, there are many, many attorneys who are great at servicing their clients but not so good at business. In the event I needed legal help, I would immediately hire any of these attorneys - except the managing partner. They really are competent, professional people - but bad business and money managers. In the end, I maintained great relationships with everyone except the managing partner and the office administrator.

I have an update to this story. Recently, one of the partners of this law firm left and decided to open his law firm, right across the hallway from me. I got a little inside info that had remained hidden for two years.

It turns out the Managing Partner and the toxic office administrator were totally in cahoots to oust me from the firm. After I delivered my proposal, described above, there was a meeting where the partners were going to respond. Apparently, it had been the topic of conversation that it would not make sense for me to continue to pay larger and larger sums of money and they would eventually have to change my deal - which is what I was asking for.  So, my proposal was not a surprise and they were willing to work with me.

Enter the managing partner and administrator: the administrator entered the partner meeting and tendered her immediate resignation if she had to continue to work with me. She then walked out. This would have created a temporary chaos and she was the paralegal for the firms' founder who no one would override. So, they didn't make me a counter offer and instead asked, "If we don't keep him, will Administrator come back." To which managing partner replied immediately, "I'll talk to her about that." Moments later, the resignation was withdrawn and my fate was sealed. The partner who just left the firm - because the same managing partner and toxic administrator were costing him lots and lots of money and stress, said he was in shock at how the whole group had been so masterfully manipulated.

If you recall the story from above, I told her off AFTER she had done all this. It only makes it sweeter.

As they say, living well is the best revenge. I've had my own practice for two years now. I've doubled my net worth. I work 20-30 hours less per week and make more money. Life is good. They really did me a huge favor.

P.S. My leading theory on why the office administrator wanted me gone is that if I had stayed I would have been forced to address her purposely mis-coding my cases and, thereby, underpaying me. This would have been very bad for her as a major breach of trust. So, I think she knew that if I stayed her shenanigans would become a mini-office scandal and potentially she could lose her job. She went for the jugular when she had the chance. Why the Managing Partner was so upset? I think it had to do with calling her out on the $10,000 in front of everyone. But why did they turn their eyes to me prior to the $10,000 blow up and coding discovery? I'll never really know.

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

[frugal rph]

Wow Fireby35, that's great!  She's finally getting what she deserved. 

[Laura33]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

Now THAT is epic.  So happy for you!

[Dicey]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

I respectfully beg to differ with you, Fb35. Who doesn't  love a good story with a happy ending? Thanks for the update!

[shelivesthedream]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

I respectfully beg to differ with you, Fb35. Who doesn't  love a good story with a happy ending? Thanks for the update!

+1 I love updates!

[Sydneystache]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

I respectfully beg to differ with you, Fb35. Who doesn't  love a good story with a happy ending? Thanks for the update!

+1 I love updates!

+2 What happened to the toxic administrator? Is she still there causing chaos?

[aperture]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

I respectfully beg to differ with you, Fb35. Who doesn't  love a good story with a happy ending? Thanks for the update!

+1 I love updates!

+2 What happened to the toxic administrator? Is she still there causing chaos?

+3 This story just gets better with time.

[LeRainDrop]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

From one attorney who worked for a toxic partner lady (me) to another (you), HELL YEAH!!!  All around fabulous news!

[Cannot Wait!]

It's all good.  I especially love the beach!

[FIREby35]

I know most of you probably couldn't care less, but I wanted to say it somewhere: toxic Managing Partner of this law firm is being forced out of the firm she founded.

Me? Almost FI and just got back from two month sabbatical in Mexico where I settled the biggest case of my life from the beach (literally).

So, so sweet.

I respectfully beg to differ with you, Fb35. Who doesn't  love a good story with a happy ending? Thanks for the update!

+1 I love updates!

+2 What happened to the toxic administrator? Is she still there causing chaos?

Thanks everyone!

As far as I know Toxic Administrator is still around. I'm sure she will be taking on a friendlier attitude towards all without her #1 ally around.

[Mother Fussbudget]

FIREby35... Office karma's a bitch, ain't it?  ;-)  [Thanks a million for the update - yes, we're interested.  And congrats on running your own practice - here's hoping you'll give mustachian rates if any of us ever needs your services.  All the best!  MF.]

[Evgenia]

Thankfully, I've got a healthy 'stache (around 6x annual expenses) and a supportive partner whose job is secure, so I give notice and....here's the epic bit....one week later HR comes back and reclassifies my transition as a role restructuring. I'm leaving next month, will get paid out for 5-6 weeks of PTO in my last check, and am likely looking at 3 months severance pay given my tenure with the organization. I've got a clean narrative for my departure and am essentially pulling a paycheck through July/August. While my ego doesn't like the circumstances behind this transition, my 'stache is telling her to get over herself.

I love that you gave notice. Congratulations. You'll be more than fine. Enjoy a multiple month vacation during what I hope is good weather for you.

I've lost count of how many managers tried things like you've described here. They have a motive, and rather than just state what they want or do the deed (fire you, or whatever), they engage in this more roundabout stuff: "Oh, it's an exercise, it's a test." When did people get so gutless? Make your decisions and own them, already, without all the unnecessary drama and emotion. Oy!

[nouveauRiche]

Another Bigger Pockets fan I see!

We got to MMM via Bigger Pockets...