Author Topic: Epic FU money stories  (Read 2798296 times)

NorthernMonkey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3550 on: January 02, 2021, 12:52:02 PM »
I used to work for a Dutch multi-national shipping firm.    One of the megacorporation companies had a business deal where they prepared a report, then went thru a manual ritual to confirm that their printed report matched their business partner's printed report.   It gets better.   The business partner company was purchased by the megacorporation and then they were migrated to work off the exact same database.

And, you guessed it, they still met to manually confirm that their printed reports matched!   Took them years before someone figured it out!

My first job in IT was in 1999, working on getting rid of anything without a 'year 2000 ok' sticker.
In the server room was this huge wardrobe sized machine with two dinner place sized tape reels, which every day recorded some critical production data, was then put in a big box, and overnight couriered to the largest customer. This data was Critical, with a capital C. This machine must be kept running.

We phoned up the IT team of the customer, and asked them about it. It turned out they had a similar machine, that was kept just because we kept sending them these tapes, but it would be much easier for them if we could email it over instead.


rpr

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3551 on: January 02, 2021, 02:55:59 PM »
@NorthernMonkey -- that was funny. Thanks.

DrinkCoffeeStackMoney

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3552 on: January 04, 2021, 10:42:38 AM »
A couple years ago my current employer tried to force me to cancel a vacation that I had planned ten months earlier so I could attend training in Denver. They stated that this shouldn't be an issue since they gave me five weeks notice. I told them it wasn't about the notice, it was about their request interfered with a vacation I had planned almost a year in advance. When they tried to push me harder to cancel I told them that I would not be cancelling my plans regardless of consequence, and if it was that big of an issue they could just have my last check ready the day I left for vacation. Needless to say they not only backed down and rescheduled the training, but I got a huge promotion a year later. That was the first time I realized the power of FU money.


Uturn

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3553 on: January 04, 2021, 11:30:32 AM »
My company transferred me from TX to NC to be a Sr Security Engineer in our SOC.  I also agreed to be an escalation point for the NOC since I also have a ton of networking experience and years of experience in an older technology that the company makes a ton of money supporting. I was soon doing only NOC things and not security, and I let it go on far too long.  I finally had enough and last February, I set a meeting with my boss.  I told him that I was not transferred here to be a network engineer, I agreed to be a security engineer.  It's not like I am asking to do something the company does not need, nor am I asking to be moved to a position that I am not qualified for. He started to give me the needs of the company speech.  I replied with "I've been with this company for 5 years in 3 roles across two states, I have a lot of institutional knowledge about our company and our customers.  I also will do security engineering, you just need to decide if I do it for this company or another one." 

Suddenly, the needs of the company changed and I have been extremely happy in my security role.

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3554 on: January 04, 2021, 01:00:25 PM »
My company transferred me from TX to NC to be a Sr Security Engineer in our SOC.  I also agreed to be an escalation point for the NOC since I also have a ton of networking experience and years of experience in an older technology that the company makes a ton of money supporting. I was soon doing only NOC things and not security, and I let it go on far too long.  I finally had enough and last February, I set a meeting with my boss.  I told him that I was not transferred here to be a network engineer, I agreed to be a security engineer.  It's not like I am asking to do something the company does not need, nor am I asking to be moved to a position that I am not qualified for. He started to give me the needs of the company speech.  I replied with "I've been with this company for 5 years in 3 roles across two states, I have a lot of institutional knowledge about our company and our customers.  I also will do security engineering, you just need to decide if I do it for this company or another one." 

Suddenly, the needs of the company changed and I have been extremely happy in my security role.

Perfectly done.  I bow to your expertise in explaining your FU Money position.

BicycleB

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3555 on: January 04, 2021, 02:04:14 PM »
My company transferred me from TX to NC to be a Sr Security Engineer in our SOC.  I also agreed to be an escalation point for the NOC since I also have a ton of networking experience and years of experience in an older technology that the company makes a ton of money supporting. I was soon doing only NOC things and not security, and I let it go on far too long.  I finally had enough and last February, I set a meeting with my boss.  I told him that I was not transferred here to be a network engineer, I agreed to be a security engineer.  It's not like I am asking to do something the company does not need, nor am I asking to be moved to a position that I am not qualified for. He started to give me the needs of the company speech.  I replied with "I've been with this company for 5 years in 3 roles across two states, I have a lot of institutional knowledge about our company and our customers.  I also will do security engineering, you just need to decide if I do it for this company or another one." 

Suddenly, the needs of the company changed and I have been extremely happy in my security role.

@Uturn made them do a Uturn!

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3556 on: January 04, 2021, 04:07:38 PM »
"you just need to decide if I do it for this company or another one." 
Wow, that's putting it rather pleasingly bluntly.  Did you say it in those words? :D

Ladychips

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3557 on: January 04, 2021, 06:25:09 PM »
My company transferred me from TX to NC to be a Sr Security Engineer in our SOC.  I also agreed to be an escalation point for the NOC since I also have a ton of networking experience and years of experience in an older technology that the company makes a ton of money supporting. I was soon doing only NOC things and not security, and I let it go on far too long.  I finally had enough and last February, I set a meeting with my boss.  I told him that I was not transferred here to be a network engineer, I agreed to be a security engineer.  It's not like I am asking to do something the company does not need, nor am I asking to be moved to a position that I am not qualified for. He started to give me the needs of the company speech.  I replied with "I've been with this company for 5 years in 3 roles across two states, I have a lot of institutional knowledge about our company and our customers.  I also will do security engineering, you just need to decide if I do it for this company or another one." 

Suddenly, the needs of the company changed and I have been extremely happy in my security role.

Bravo!

Bloop Bloop Reloaded

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3558 on: January 04, 2021, 08:54:32 PM »
then eventually the side gig became profitable enough that they quit their day jobs.

That might be the reason right there!

Holding someone back to force loyalty. Not really the person I would want to work for.

I used to think of this as salaried employees should be giving all their brain CPU cycles to the company.  Now that I have a life outside of my job, I no longer feel that way (for me), but I've seen enough people abuse their positions and "double dip" by doing outside work on company time that it still makes me leery.  And for a salaried employee, what exactly is "company time" vs. non-company time?  Most of my great ideas come to me at 4:30 am or in the shower in the morning. 

Then again, I just came to the conclusion that I've spent my entire life anxious about work --- even when I'm completely prepared and ready for anything, I'm still stressed and anxious. 

Anyway, FU money means I no longer care about this and people can do whatever they want.

I think it is enough if I give my 40 hours per week as average of my brainpower  to the company. That is what they pay me. Some weeks it is less and some weeks it is more. My brain is unfortunately sometimes unable to shut off and steals a bit more brainpower. Because I have flexible workhours I don’t see it as as problem to do personal things during a workday, but I would not double dip.

I have never felt that I can’t express my opinion at a workplace but I also realize I care less about company bs the more money I have.

When I was an employee I was only paid about 1/8 of what I billed so I figured it was only fair that I put in about 50% effort to the company (in fact, it should have been 12.5% effort but that low amount of effort would have gotten me fired). Otherwise I would take sick days, moonlight, do contract work for other clients (as long as there was no conflict) without telling my employer, etc

I wasn't paid enough to care. And the advantage of having, even at that time, a decent stash was that I wasn't afraid to be mercenary.

I still liked my work and my colleagues, for it wasn't their fault, but I was just indifferent to my employer as an entity.

I wouldn't expect any employee to care much, unless that employee was paid miraculously well, or was actually rather incompetent and therefore the job represented a bit of a charity drive.

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3559 on: January 06, 2021, 10:19:43 AM »
then eventually the side gig became profitable enough that they quit their day jobs.

That might be the reason right there!

Holding someone back to force loyalty. Not really the person I would want to work for.

I used to think of this as salaried employees should be giving all their brain CPU cycles to the company.  Now that I have a life outside of my job, I no longer feel that way (for me), but I've seen enough people abuse their positions and "double dip" by doing outside work on company time that it still makes me leery.  And for a salaried employee, what exactly is "company time" vs. non-company time?  Most of my great ideas come to me at 4:30 am or in the shower in the morning. 

Then again, I just came to the conclusion that I've spent my entire life anxious about work --- even when I'm completely prepared and ready for anything, I'm still stressed and anxious. 

Anyway, FU money means I no longer care about this and people can do whatever they want.

I think it is enough if I give my 40 hours per week as average of my brainpower  to the company. That is what they pay me. Some weeks it is less and some weeks it is more. My brain is unfortunately sometimes unable to shut off and steals a bit more brainpower. Because I have flexible workhours I don’t see it as as problem to do personal things during a workday, but I would not double dip.

I have never felt that I can’t express my opinion at a workplace but I also realize I care less about company bs the more money I have.

When I was an employee I was only paid about 1/8 of what I billed so I figured it was only fair that I put in about 50% effort to the company (in fact, it should have been 12.5% effort but that low amount of effort would have gotten me fired). Otherwise I would take sick days, moonlight, do contract work for other clients (as long as there was no conflict) without telling my employer, etc

I wasn't paid enough to care. And the advantage of having, even at that time, a decent stash was that I wasn't afraid to be mercenary.

I still liked my work and my colleagues, for it wasn't their fault, but I was just indifferent to my employer as an entity.

I wouldn't expect any employee to care much, unless that employee was paid miraculously well, or was actually rather incompetent and therefore the job represented a bit of a charity drive.
The difference between billing rate and salary should be understood well before acting out something like this.  There are people in the office whose work supports your efforts, but are considered indirect costs.  Your charge rate must cover their salaries.  It also has to cover the cost of equipment, facilities, fringe for all workers, etc. 
If you truly respected your colleagues, you wouldn't approach this as a transaction that can be understood unless you know the overhead rates of your company. 

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3560 on: January 06, 2021, 10:42:13 AM »
The difference between billing rate and salary should be understood well before acting out something like this.  There are people in the office whose work supports your efforts, but are considered indirect costs.  Your charge rate must cover their salaries.  It also has to cover the cost of equipment, facilities, fringe for all workers, etc. 
If you truly respected your colleagues, you wouldn't approach this as a transaction that can be understood unless you know the overhead rates of your company.

This.  I hear people often who see the top line and think that's the bottom line.  'They charge X but it only costs Y to make', and don't realize how many other things there are in between.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3561 on: January 06, 2021, 01:28:57 PM »
The difference between billing rate and salary should be understood well before acting out something like this.  There are people in the office whose work supports your efforts, but are considered indirect costs.  Your charge rate must cover their salaries.  It also has to cover the cost of equipment, facilities, fringe for all workers, etc. 
If you truly respected your colleagues, you wouldn't approach this as a transaction that can be understood unless you know the overhead rates of your company.

This.  I hear people often who see the top line and think that's the bottom line.  'They charge X but it only costs Y to make', and don't realize how many other things there are in between.

It does indicate what the market will bear.  My charge-out rate was a 4x what my gross salary was.  It was sort of irritating.   
I understand supporting needed people like admins/secretaries and the accountants, and to a lesser extent, salespersons* as I certainly don't want their jobs, and they make my work life far easier.   I've done some minor accounting stuff as a project manager and was forced to do admin stuff (time cards, word processing etc) and I didn't delight in those tasks.  I mostly objected to supporting upper management getting paid big for making my work life more difficult.

I've thought that a fair contractor charge rate was about 1/3 to 1/2 of my wage-earner chargeout rate.   I haven't been temped to verify this, as I'm happily FIRED

*However, hanging out with salespeople is hard on the liver due to excessive drinking.  Also I have a gift of telling the truth and not being believable, so I suck at sales.

Oh yeah, I forgot that even I was not billable some of the time, like when I was on the MMM forum at work :-).  My actual on-site work at the customers was basically about 2 months a year, with the rest of the year preparation for those two months.

Edit to note that I was sometimes "overhead" myself.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2021, 11:35:45 AM by markbike528CBX »

TomTX

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3562 on: January 07, 2021, 10:52:01 AM »
The difference between billing rate and salary should be understood well before acting out something like this.  There are people in the office whose work supports your efforts, but are considered indirect costs.  Your charge rate must cover their salaries.  It also has to cover the cost of equipment, facilities, fringe for all workers, etc. 
If you truly respected your colleagues, you wouldn't approach this as a transaction that can be understood unless you know the overhead rates of your company.

An 8x "overhead rate" is insane.

Some overhead? Sure.

8x? No Freaking Way - and I have spent years overseeing consultant contracts where I know exactly what the worker is paid and what the charge rate is.

grantmeaname

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3563 on: January 07, 2021, 11:08:46 AM »
100% of your time is client billable? In law and accounting firms it's more like 50%, and worse for more senior employees.

You take a 2.5-3.5x overhead rate and 50% billability, and 8x seems pretty reasonable.

Dreamer40

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3564 on: January 07, 2021, 11:38:22 AM »
Hello inspirational lovelies! I’m a longtime lurker and MMM article reader. I feel like my introduction belongs in the epic FU money story thread.

I’m 40 years old, female, married, no kids. I’m a federal attorney who has mostly hated being an attorney since I became one at 27. Parts of it are ok and I'm good at it, but I fell into a litigator role and going to court has always completely stressed me out. But I’ve been sticking it out because I was interested in the subject matter and I could get the job done in 40 hours a week. I’ve been slowly creeping toward FIRE but also spent a lot on travel adventures in my 30s (which I’m now glad I did while I could pre-covid!).

For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.” I’m now routinely up at night stressing about work with no improvements in sight. I started grumbling to my supervisors about burnout and retirement a few months ago. Yesterday I finally said I would consider not retiring soon if they would reassign my court appearances and give me more other work instead. A supervisor called my retirement comment “charming" and made no promises. So I put in my notice today. I’ll work another 2 months to finish up some pending assignments. My last day will be the day before a scheduled court appearance so they’ll have to find someone to cover it after all. My supervisor said she thought I was kidding about the retirement thing and all the big bosses asked if there was anything they could do to change my mind. Sounds like they'd now be happy to let me out of the court appearances. Nah, that's ok.

I was about 2 years away from the slightly-fat FIRE we wanted (not counting my deferred pension, which will just be bonus money when I can start collecting it in 22 years). But my husband is happy to work longer to get us there and he’s truly interested in his career. He'll probably work quite a bit longer even after we reach the FI level we have in mind. I’m excited to handle our cooking and do things to make his life easier. I love cooking. I even  enjoy cleaning my house since I like my house and keeping my stuff nice. There are all kinds of jobs I might like to try someday after I recover from burnout. I miss having different temporary jobs where I worked with people who weren't lawyers. But for now, I’m going to wait for a covid vaccine and fulfill my spring gardening dreams. I’m going to build a bamboo trellis and grow peas this year!!!

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3565 on: January 07, 2021, 11:50:59 AM »
Well played Dreamer40! Congratulations on your early retirement.

AMandM

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3566 on: January 07, 2021, 01:00:09 PM »
Congratulations Dreamer40!  Enjoy your garden and your house!

A supervisor called my retirement comment “charming" and made no promises.

In your shoes, that might have made me quit on the spot.

AO1FireTo

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3567 on: January 07, 2021, 01:22:18 PM »
Hello inspirational lovelies! I’m a longtime lurker and MMM article reader. I feel like my introduction belongs in the epic FU money story thread.

I’m 40 years old, female, married, no kids. I’m a federal attorney who has mostly hated being an attorney since I became one at 27. Parts of it are ok and I'm good at it, but I fell into a litigator role and going to court has always completely stressed me out. But I’ve been sticking it out because I was interested in the subject matter and I could get the job done in 40 hours a week. I’ve been slowly creeping toward FIRE but also spent a lot on travel adventures in my 30s (which I’m now glad I did while I could pre-covid!).

For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.” I’m now routinely up at night stressing about work with no improvements in sight. I started grumbling to my supervisors about burnout and retirement a few months ago. Yesterday I finally said I would consider not retiring soon if they would reassign my court appearances and give me more other work instead. A supervisor called my retirement comment “charming" and made no promises. So I put in my notice today. I’ll work another 2 months to finish up some pending assignments. My last day will be the day before a scheduled court appearance so they’ll have to find someone to cover it after all. My supervisor said she thought I was kidding about the retirement thing and all the big bosses asked if there was anything they could do to change my mind. Sounds like they'd now be happy to let me out of the court appearances. Nah, that's ok.

I was about 2 years away from the slightly-fat FIRE we wanted (not counting my deferred pension, which will just be bonus money when I can start collecting it in 22 years). But my husband is happy to work longer to get us there and he’s truly interested in his career. He'll probably work quite a bit longer even after we reach the FI level we have in mind. I’m excited to handle our cooking and do things to make his life easier. I love cooking. I even  enjoy cleaning my house since I like my house and keeping my stuff nice. There are all kinds of jobs I might like to try someday after I recover from burnout. I miss having different temporary jobs where I worked with people who weren't lawyers. But for now, I’m going to wait for a covid vaccine and fulfill my spring gardening dreams. I’m going to build a bamboo trellis and grow peas this year!!!

Being a lawyer, you certainly have a skill set that could lead to a variety of interesting careers if you wanted.  Take the parts of the law you enjoy and design a new job.

Abe Froman

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3568 on: January 07, 2021, 01:30:52 PM »
Well played Dreamer40! Congratulations on your early retirement.

Charming even.

goat_music_generator

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3569 on: January 07, 2021, 02:42:51 PM »
Hello inspirational lovelies! I’m a longtime lurker and MMM article reader. I feel like my introduction belongs in the epic FU money story thread.

I’m 40 years old, female, married, no kids. I’m a federal attorney who has mostly hated being an attorney since I became one at 27. Parts of it are ok and I'm good at it, but I fell into a litigator role and going to court has always completely stressed me out. But I’ve been sticking it out because I was interested in the subject matter and I could get the job done in 40 hours a week. I’ve been slowly creeping toward FIRE but also spent a lot on travel adventures in my 30s (which I’m now glad I did while I could pre-covid!).

For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.” I’m now routinely up at night stressing about work with no improvements in sight. I started grumbling to my supervisors about burnout and retirement a few months ago. Yesterday I finally said I would consider not retiring soon if they would reassign my court appearances and give me more other work instead. A supervisor called my retirement comment “charming" and made no promises. So I put in my notice today. I’ll work another 2 months to finish up some pending assignments. My last day will be the day before a scheduled court appearance so they’ll have to find someone to cover it after all. My supervisor said she thought I was kidding about the retirement thing and all the big bosses asked if there was anything they could do to change my mind. Sounds like they'd now be happy to let me out of the court appearances. Nah, that's ok.

I was about 2 years away from the slightly-fat FIRE we wanted (not counting my deferred pension, which will just be bonus money when I can start collecting it in 22 years). But my husband is happy to work longer to get us there and he’s truly interested in his career. He'll probably work quite a bit longer even after we reach the FI level we have in mind. I’m excited to handle our cooking and do things to make his life easier. I love cooking. I even  enjoy cleaning my house since I like my house and keeping my stuff nice. There are all kinds of jobs I might like to try someday after I recover from burnout. I miss having different temporary jobs where I worked with people who weren't lawyers. But for now, I’m going to wait for a covid vaccine and fulfill my spring gardening dreams. I’m going to build a bamboo trellis and grow peas this year!!!

Woot, congrats! Similar garden dreams here -- I'm planning on snow peas :-)

Trifle

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3570 on: January 07, 2021, 02:45:39 PM »
Congratulations Dreamer40!  Enjoy your garden and your house!

A supervisor called my retirement comment “charming" and made no promises.

In your shoes, that might have made me quit on the spot.

+1.   REing is the next sweetest revenge.  :)

@Dreamer40 have you checked out the 2021 FIRE Cohort?  Nice group.  https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/2021-fire-cohort/700/?topicseen

AlanStache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3571 on: January 07, 2021, 02:50:45 PM »
100% of your time is client billable? In law and accounting firms it's more like 50%, and worse for more senior employees.

I have spend the vast majority of my 15 years with my current employer on direct charge numbers; overall I would guess I am near 95%.  There have been many years that were effetely 100%.  #EngineerLife

Dreamer40

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3572 on: January 07, 2021, 02:51:52 PM »
Thanks, everyone! Boy was the supervisor who made the charming comment surprised... Worth it purely for the shock factor! She's also someone who has been retirement-eligible for awhile, was out for a long time after an injury, but came back and is still hanging onto the job. I don't think she can fathom anyone walking away.

Only 55 days till I officially separate. That's hardly enough time to plan what bottle of champagne I want to drink.

Yay for snow peas! My mother-in-law lives down the street from me and just sent over some beautiful landscaping books. She's excited, too.

I'll check out the 2021 cohort thread - thanks!

Mrs. Sloth

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3573 on: January 07, 2021, 07:51:20 PM »

For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.”

This has been my problem in my career. I am shit on with more work and more complex work because I have the capability to handle it but working for the government means I am only awarded with more work and stress w/o more in pay. Well, I am tired of it all and cant wait for FIRE myself!

Congrats on an EPIC exit to FIRE!!!

BuffaloStache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3574 on: January 08, 2021, 07:24:43 AM »
Echoing others- congrats and well done!


For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.”

This has been my problem in my career. I am shit on with more work and more complex work because I have the capability to handle it but working for the government means I am only awarded with more work and stress w/o more in pay. Well, I am tired of it all and cant wait for FIRE myself!

Congrats on an EPIC exit to FIRE!!!

I was in the same boat, but then left the company that was "rewarding" me. It's odd, but I've definitely tempered expectations at the new job, and I'm getting promotions and raises like I never did at the old company. I don't understand it, but it's working...

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3575 on: January 08, 2021, 08:07:05 AM »

For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.”

This has been my problem in my career. I am shit on with more work and more complex work because I have the capability to handle it but working for the government means I am only awarded with more work and stress w/o more in pay. Well, I am tired of it all and cant wait for FIRE myself!

Congrats on an EPIC exit to FIRE!!!

Those kinds of work expectations and lack of reward are typical with jobs on Hillbilly Mountain, which is why people have learned not to work hard or try to advance themselves. It's a sad situation.

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3576 on: January 08, 2021, 01:21:48 PM »
Most of these stories are understandably work related but another thread reminded me of a time frugality gave me the money to flip the bird to a nonwork problem.

I'd been working full time for just over a year and as I was still living like I had in college I'd stashed a bit of cash. My mother was an alcoholic and my brother and I learned that her house was being foreclosed because she'd been missing payments. After looking at the numbers my brother suggested we combine our savings an buy it from her. Turned out she was too far removed from reality to sign the paperwork, but her small town bank worked with us foreclosing the house and selling it to us the same day. She lived there for the rest of her life and honestly I'm still not sure she understood why her house wasn't foreclosed. Our sisters were not left homeless and when our mother died ~18 months later the sale of the house covered the cost of her funeral, helping them move, and even gave us all a small inheritance. None of that would have been possible if my brother and I hadn't been so frugal before hand.

Plina

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3577 on: January 08, 2021, 01:43:00 PM »

For the past few years, the work environment has been slowly going downhill, and the quantity of work skyrocketing. The faster I work to keep up, the more bonus work I’m assigned because I’m “efficient.”

This has been my problem in my career. I am shit on with more work and more complex work because I have the capability to handle it but working for the government means I am only awarded with more work and stress w/o more in pay. Well, I am tired of it all and cant wait for FIRE myself!

Congrats on an EPIC exit to FIRE!!!

Those kinds of work expectations and lack of reward are typical with jobs on Hillbilly Mountain, which is why people have learned not to work hard or try to advance themselves. It's a sad situation.

I would say it fairly typical in many companies and government. I worked in consultancy and business was always good except in april-may when it was time for the salary talks. The cost was up and the market unstable.

I set the expectations in my current position of what I was interested in and not interested in. I am happy to pitch in more than 40 hours sometimes, but 40 hours are my baseline. I told the owner of the lawfirm that I don’t want the job to become my life. I was offered to work parttime or fulltime based on my preference. As long as I deliver according to the agreed expectations I am having a lot of freedom. If you have to much, you have to say that and ask what the boss wants you to prioritize between. I have seen many colleagues burnout due to a bad combination of not saying no at work or in private life. I am not going to let that happen to me. No job is worth that.

achvfi

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3578 on: January 08, 2021, 02:17:56 PM »
Most of these stories are understandably work related but another thread reminded me of a time frugality gave me the money to flip the bird to a nonwork problem.

I'd been working full time for just over a year and as I was still living like I had in college I'd stashed a bit of cash. My mother was an alcoholic and my brother and I learned that her house was being foreclosed because she'd been missing payments. After looking at the numbers my brother suggested we combine our savings an buy it from her. Turned out she was too far removed from reality to sign the paperwork, but her small town bank worked with us foreclosing the house and selling it to us the same day. She lived there for the rest of her life and honestly I'm still not sure she understood why her house wasn't foreclosed. Our sisters were not left homeless and when our mother died ~18 months later the sale of the house covered the cost of her funeral, helping them move, and even gave us all a small inheritance. None of that would have been possible if my brother and I hadn't been so frugal before hand.

An Epic story indeed! peace of mind you gave to your family considering the circumstances is invaluable.

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3579 on: January 08, 2021, 04:14:17 PM »
Most of these stories are understandably work related but another thread reminded me of a time frugality gave me the money to flip the bird to a nonwork problem.

I'd been working full time for just over a year and as I was still living like I had in college I'd stashed a bit of cash. My mother was an alcoholic and my brother and I learned that her house was being foreclosed because she'd been missing payments. After looking at the numbers my brother suggested we combine our savings an buy it from her. Turned out she was too far removed from reality to sign the paperwork, but her small town bank worked with us foreclosing the house and selling it to us the same day. She lived there for the rest of her life and honestly I'm still not sure she understood why her house wasn't foreclosed. Our sisters were not left homeless and when our mother died ~18 months later the sale of the house covered the cost of her funeral, helping them move, and even gave us all a small inheritance. None of that would have been possible if my brother and I hadn't been so frugal before hand.

Yeah, you and your brother and the banker!   Well done!

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3580 on: January 08, 2021, 04:20:45 PM »
Most of these stories are understandably work related but another thread reminded me of a time frugality gave me the money to flip the bird to a nonwork problem.

I'd been working full time for just over a year and as I was still living like I had in college I'd stashed a bit of cash. My mother was an alcoholic and my brother and I learned that her house was being foreclosed because she'd been missing payments. After looking at the numbers my brother suggested we combine our savings an buy it from her. Turned out she was too far removed from reality to sign the paperwork, but her small town bank worked with us foreclosing the house and selling it to us the same day. She lived there for the rest of her life and honestly I'm still not sure she understood why her house wasn't foreclosed. Our sisters were not left homeless and when our mother died ~18 months later the sale of the house covered the cost of her funeral, helping them move, and even gave us all a small inheritance. None of that would have been possible if my brother and I hadn't been so frugal before hand.

Yeah, you and your brother and the banker!   Well done!

We never met the banker in person, we just talked with her on the phone because we were another state. I wish I'd looked her up the next time I went to visit. I hope she's doing well FIRE'd now too.

BicycleB

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3581 on: January 09, 2021, 01:11:21 PM »
Most of these stories are understandably work related but another thread reminded me of a time frugality gave me the money to flip the bird to a nonwork problem.

I'd been working full time for just over a year and as I was still living like I had in college I'd stashed a bit of cash. My mother was an alcoholic and my brother and I learned that her house was being foreclosed because she'd been missing payments. After looking at the numbers my brother suggested we combine our savings an buy it from her. Turned out she was too far removed from reality to sign the paperwork, but her small town bank worked with us foreclosing the house and selling it to us the same day. She lived there for the rest of her life and honestly I'm still not sure she understood why her house wasn't foreclosed. Our sisters were not left homeless and when our mother died ~18 months later the sale of the house covered the cost of her funeral, helping them move, and even gave us all a small inheritance. None of that would have been possible if my brother and I hadn't been so frugal before hand.

Wow! I think anybody in the world would respect that.

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3582 on: January 09, 2021, 07:08:56 PM »
Wow! I think anybody in the world would respect that.

Thanks! Looking back on it now that was probably the first time in my life I had money to buy options. By the time my mother died 18 months later I'd stashed enough additional money I could negotiate for 5 weeks off to deal all the troubles that came with that. I politely told them I needed the time off, unpaid was fine, and I could either work there when I finished or I'd work somewhere else. They asked me to come back :)  It was so much an FU as "I really need to take care of this more than I need this job". Fifteen years later, I'm quite certain that was the right choice. Both my sisters are doing well, my bother will be FI this year too, and we're all pretty close despite being scattered about the country at times. Things could have turned out so much worse if we didn't have or think we had any options.

AMandM

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3583 on: January 09, 2021, 11:06:01 PM »
Those are both epic stories, @Alternatepriorities, but, at the same time, I'm kind of scandalized that someone who doesn't have the cognitive capacity to sell her house can still be foreclosed on. In your case, you and your brother were clearly acting in the best interest of your relatives, but it's easy to imagine a similar scenario in which the sons buy the mother's foreclosed house, evict her, and flip it for a quick profit

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3584 on: January 10, 2021, 01:51:58 AM »
Those are both epic stories, @Alternatepriorities, but, at the same time, I'm kind of scandalized that someone who doesn't have the cognitive capacity to sell her house can still be foreclosed on. In your case, you and your brother were clearly acting in the best interest of your relatives, but it's easy to imagine a similar scenario in which the sons buy the mother's foreclosed house, evict her, and flip it for a quick profit

Well she hadn’t been paying the mortgage in months by that point and didn’t have any money to pay it with. I can’t really fault the bank for moving to foreclose. Though even at 25 I knew enough to tell her to pay the mortgage rather than any other debts she had. She wouldn’t listen though and it probably would have backfired anyway. Even without a mortgage she was in bankruptcy when she passed. The part I found most scandalous was the number of new credit applications she was receiving while in bankruptcy. A dozen or more arrived in the two weeks between her death and when we cancelled her mail. The bankruptcy was dismissed (not sure of the legal term) after i showed her public aid that she had less that $500 in assets when she died. I never did find out her total debt. Very thankful to live in a time and place where debts are not passed on the children.

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3585 on: January 14, 2021, 07:50:03 AM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know" 

rantk81

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3586 on: January 14, 2021, 07:58:58 AM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

Would highly recommend you don't do anything to get terminated for cause... You never know how it might impact you in the future.

alcon835

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3587 on: January 14, 2021, 08:03:00 AM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

Would highly recommend you don't do anything to get terminated for cause... You never know how it might impact you in the future.

I agree with the above. Just put in your notice and be done with it. You don't have to give a reason. Doing something that could get you blacklisted may be something you regret later.

Much Fishing to Do

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3588 on: January 14, 2021, 09:08:23 AM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

I wouldn't go there.  Within days you'd have coworkers who never talked to you before wanting to hang out with you....

jps

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3589 on: January 14, 2021, 09:13:59 AM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

Folks above me are probably rightly encouraging you not to do this, but I am saddened that none of them pointed out that this is freakin' hilarious. Thanks for giving me a big laugh as I start my day.

AMandM

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3590 on: January 14, 2021, 11:26:12 AM »
Those are both epic stories, @Alternatepriorities, but, at the same time, I'm kind of scandalized that someone who doesn't have the cognitive capacity to sell her house can still be foreclosed on. In your case, you and your brother were clearly acting in the best interest of your relatives, but it's easy to imagine a similar scenario in which the sons buy the mother's foreclosed house, evict her, and flip it for a quick profit

Well she hadn’t been paying the mortgage in months by that point and didn’t have any money to pay it with. I can’t really fault the bank for moving to foreclose.
I can see that. In a situation where the bank didn't know you and your brother and your mother, hopefully there would have been some mechanism to appoint someone independent to act on behalf of your mother.

Quote
Though even at 25 I knew enough to tell her to pay the mortgage rather than any other debts she had. She wouldn’t listen though and it probably would have backfired anyway. Even without a mortgage she was in bankruptcy when she passed. The part I found most scandalous was the number of new credit applications she was receiving while in bankruptcy. A dozen or more arrived in the two weeks between her death and when we cancelled her mail. The bankruptcy was dismissed (not sure of the legal term) after i showed her public aid that she had less that $500 in assets when she died. I never did find out her total debt. Very thankful to live in a time and place where debts are not passed on the children.
Scandalous indeed.  I hope it was predators like that who got stuck with your mother's debt.

mwulff

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3591 on: January 14, 2021, 12:59:15 PM »
I don't know if it's a FU story, but it certainly is epic.

I had a meeting with my boss today which isn't that unusual. We have a great working relationship and are quite casual with each other, it also helps that we both married a doctor so we have some common ground.

Anyway... We start discussing changes we could implement after covid loosens its grip on our lives. He gets that faraway look and says "You know I've been thinking that we should just shutdown the office and work from home permanently, then we just require everyone to fill out timesheets with a 5 minute resolution and that will be much better..." *pause for effect* "but then I remembered that if I did that you would give notice on the spot and find a new hobby..." *big smirk*

Not going to lie, he had me in the first half. But it still feels epic that he knows that I am FI and be completely chill about it, I never told him specifically but discussions about investments, property have been going around the office and I guess he picked up on it.

And I am willing to concede that he pulled an epic-troll on me today :). I was halfway expected to get rick-rolled as well.

PS. For the record I have decided long ago that timesheets are an instant reason to quit a job. I've actually turned down jobs that required me to track my time.

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3592 on: January 14, 2021, 01:09:30 PM »
Those are both epic stories, @Alternatepriorities, but, at the same time, I'm kind of scandalized that someone who doesn't have the cognitive capacity to sell her house can still be foreclosed on. In your case, you and your brother were clearly acting in the best interest of your relatives, but it's easy to imagine a similar scenario in which the sons buy the mother's foreclosed house, evict her, and flip it for a quick profit

Well she hadn’t been paying the mortgage in months by that point and didn’t have any money to pay it with. I can’t really fault the bank for moving to foreclose.
I can see that. In a situation where the bank didn't know you and your brother and your mother, hopefully there would have been some mechanism to appoint someone independent to act on behalf of your mother.
Quote

Yeah, I don't know what they would have done if we hadn't been involved. I assume the foreclosure would have gone ahead as scheduled and then police would have been called to evict her and my sisters from the property?



Quote
Though even at 25 I knew enough to tell her to pay the mortgage rather than any other debts she had. She wouldn’t listen though and it probably would have backfired anyway. Even without a mortgage she was in bankruptcy when she passed. The part I found most scandalous was the number of new credit applications she was receiving while in bankruptcy. A dozen or more arrived in the two weeks between her death and when we cancelled her mail. The bankruptcy was dismissed (not sure of the legal term) after i showed her public aid that she had less that $500 in assets when she died. I never did find out her total debt. Very thankful to live in a time and place where debts are not passed on the children.
Scandalous indeed.  I hope it was predators like that who got stuck with your mother's debt.
Same here. As it was mostly from major card companies I believe it is a safe bet.

CodingHare

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3593 on: January 14, 2021, 01:26:29 PM »
I don't know if it's a FU story, but it certainly is epic.

I had a meeting with my boss today which isn't that unusual. We have a great working relationship and are quite casual with each other, it also helps that we both married a doctor so we have some common ground.

Anyway... We start discussing changes we could implement after covid loosens its grip on our lives. He gets that faraway look and says "You know I've been thinking that we should just shutdown the office and work from home permanently, then we just require everyone to fill out timesheets with a 5 minute resolution and that will be much better..." *pause for effect* "but then I remembered that if I did that you would give notice on the spot and find a new hobby..." *big smirk*

Not going to lie, he had me in the first half. But it still feels epic that he knows that I am FI and be completely chill about it, I never told him specifically but discussions about investments, property have been going around the office and I guess he picked up on it.

And I am willing to concede that he pulled an epic-troll on me today :). I was halfway expected to get rick-rolled as well.

PS. For the record I have decided long ago that timesheets are an instant reason to quit a job. I've actually turned down jobs that required me to track my time.

Hah, that was a good one!  Glad you have a boss you can joke with like that.  And good on knowing you limits on what you will tolerate.

Ironically, I intentionally sought out a job with timesheets.  The 5 minutes a day I devote to caring about it means I actually get paid for my overtime now.

mwulff

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3594 on: January 14, 2021, 02:18:49 PM »
Ironically, I intentionally sought out a job with timesheets.  The 5 minutes a day I devote to caring about it means I actually get paid for my overtime now.

I just don't overtime :) Much easier and keeps me at a good work-life balance and keeps the boss happy. If the unthinkable should happen I do put in some overtime, all I have to do is leave earlier some other day.

It's pretty sweet if you value your freedom as much as I do.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3595 on: January 14, 2021, 03:23:50 PM »
PS. For the record I have decided long ago that timesheets are an instant reason to quit a job. I've actually turned down jobs that required me to track my time.

 I've had a few decent timesheet gigs... If you can fill out the timesheet a week or month ahead of time and someone from accounting/admin thanks you, it has seemed to correspond to places where you pay a little lip service to following the rules and they bother someone else.

dblaace

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3596 on: January 14, 2021, 03:33:39 PM »
PS. For the record I have decided long ago that timesheets are an instant reason to quit a job. I've actually turned down jobs that required me to track my time.
I am salary and have to fill out a time sheet online. Previously I would just put in  put in 8 for every day and any holidays or pto. They decided that the really didn't need the time worked since I was salary and just to record any time off but I still had to approve it weekly.

So now most of the time I approve a blank time sheet.

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3597 on: January 14, 2021, 04:48:46 PM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

Folks above me are probably rightly encouraging you not to do this, but I am saddened that none of them pointed out that this is freakin' hilarious. Thanks for giving me a big laugh as I start my day.

Thank you!  I found it hilarious mostly because I truly do not think they would do anything. I’m done. I’m not going back. I don’t care about burning bridges (although I don’t think it’s really burning bridges). Also, I’ve been so worried about what to tell them why I’m leaving (there will be questions and I don’t intend to tell them the truth) this oils be an easy way out. It’s not illegal so they can’t hold it against me and if I tell them in advance they must either act or accept.
I’m talking myself into it the more I think on it.

I’ve already told many people I work with that I intend to become a total stoner once I retire. I don’t think anyone actually believes me because I’m incredibly square.

NorCal

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3598 on: January 14, 2021, 05:21:00 PM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

Folks above me are probably rightly encouraging you not to do this, but I am saddened that none of them pointed out that this is freakin' hilarious. Thanks for giving me a big laugh as I start my day.

Thank you!  I found it hilarious mostly because I truly do not think they would do anything. I’m done. I’m not going back. I don’t care about burning bridges (although I don’t think it’s really burning bridges). Also, I’ve been so worried about what to tell them why I’m leaving (there will be questions and I don’t intend to tell them the truth) this oils be an easy way out. It’s not illegal so they can’t hold it against me and if I tell them in advance they must either act or accept.
I’m talking myself into it the more I think on it.

I’ve already told many people I work with that I intend to become a total stoner once I retire. I don’t think anyone actually believes me because I’m incredibly square.

As a former member of the military, I strongly encourage this approach on the condition that you retell the actual events here.

They always tell you that it's better to be completely honest about these things than have something to be blackmailed over, right?

Glenstache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3599 on: January 14, 2021, 06:49:39 PM »
I'm losing all interest in work and I'm almost to one year away from my RE planned date (was a stretch goal, but it's becoming clear that unless there's a major correction, I can do it quite comfortably). 
So I'm looking at moving my RE date earlier, but I'm hesitating and starting to think of all kinds of scenarios to walk away.  Most of them are to not say anything other than "need to focus on family". 

But today I started thinking that I'd like to tell the Security Officer (holds my clearance) that I plan to start consuming pot. 

That's it.  Just see what they do with the info.  HAHAHA  If I travel, I have to give them notice.  I really wonder what they would do if I called and said "I plan to start getting high on mm-dd-yyyy."  I wonder if they even have any procedure in place or if they would just be like "okay, thanks for letting us know"

Folks above me are probably rightly encouraging you not to do this, but I am saddened that none of them pointed out that this is freakin' hilarious. Thanks for giving me a big laugh as I start my day.

Thank you!  I found it hilarious mostly because I truly do not think they would do anything. I’m done. I’m not going back. I don’t care about burning bridges (although I don’t think it’s really burning bridges). Also, I’ve been so worried about what to tell them why I’m leaving (there will be questions and I don’t intend to tell them the truth) this oils be an easy way out. It’s not illegal so they can’t hold it against me and if I tell them in advance they must either act or accept.
I’m talking myself into it the more I think on it.

I’ve already told many people I work with that I intend to become a total stoner once I retire. I don’t think anyone actually believes me because I’m incredibly square.
I had applied for a DC job at one point that included a pretty intensive background check. There was a fun moment where I was on a polygraph with a crew-cut wearing DOD operator asking me to describe exactly how much pot I had smoked while in college in Santa Cruz, just for the record. We agreed on a rough estimate based on number of days as an acceptable answer.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!