Got a reminder why I want FIRE before 50

[Bearded Man]

FIRE by 50 is late for a lot of people here and my plan is before 50 but I got a reminder yesterday why I need ready by 50 at the latest.

There were layoffs yesterday. Though still have a job there were a lot of nervous people, especially my older coworkers who have kids around college age. Also, another coworker who was "let go" and in his mid-50s was really worried about finding a job at his age. He has a friend at the same age who's been having only partial success find work for the last five years.

Barring extremely bad luck I will not be in that position by 50 which is only a few year away. Good reminder why I'm here.

Jeeze, am I the only one here who isn't a programmer, developer, or engineer?

Yes. :-P

[El Gringo]

I got the news from a director in another division, and I'm sure he was expecting anger or waterworks, not smiles.  I explained that with no mortgage, no car payment, vacation payout and a severance package, I'd be fine.  This certainly was not what he expected.  I wasn't FI at that point, but I certainly wasn't panicked because I was laying the groundwork and I know from that experience that if it happens again I will be fine, and depending if/when it might happen again I might even be ready to FIRE for good.  Taking steps toward FI gives you options, even in the earlier stages.

My dad's story is similar. When he was laid off in 2012 at the age of 61, he got called into the office, walked in, and started making jokes. His bosses laughed and were relieved because obviously most of their interactions with people that day were not pretty. Having been a programmer his whole life, my dad was pretty excited about being free to pursue something else. He was thinking about just finding a new fun job, like being a park ranger, or something. He ended up going back to programming, but he felt freedom because of his financial situation.