Trial run at being Post FIRE

[Asgard01]

Hi all,

I have currently started a 2 week holiday from work. I am not going anywhere but simply wanted the time off. I am using these 2 weeks as like a sample of what post FI life would be like as I am going to try do just live the, completely free of thought of work or returning to work!(not entirely possible I know). I think that doing such a thing can give you a small sample of what post FI will be like however with it being so short and not being completely true to the real thing it will probably be more of the honeymoon period after FIRE anyway. Still... I am going to see how I find it. It will likely bring a huge motivation boost.

Has anyone done similar things? Been able to sample post FIRE for other reasons, or maybe you just took off 1 month, or had 6 months off as a break from working life. I intend to work out every day, read, go for walks, do some more of my hobbies and visit people. I will also go to some free locations and events such as my new locals library and also a free museum just a bus visit away. I have no work commitments, my work phone is switched off, my work laptop is hidden away :).

Chris

[GoCubsGo]

I did it once.  I purposely took 3 months off after finishing a lucrative work contract.  It was kind of hit or miss.  I went to some baseball games and did a lot of home improvement projects (which ended up saving close to $5k if I hired them out).  That was enjoyable.  After those were done, I honestly got a little bored and I was planning on taking more of the summer off but chose to go back to work instead. 

It was good in that it cemented the fact that I don't like to sit around much and a retirement of travel and reading books wouldn't work for me.  I was also 30 at the time and it felt a little weird hanging around my neighborhood when the only people out were housewives and their little kids.  I might have a little different take the next time as I will be older and have developed a couple hobbies since then and I won't be living in the suburbs.  All in all it wasn't as great as I would have thought but prepared me for the real thing.

[EarlyQuit]

Last year I did this for a week, and plan to use a week of vacation this year to do the same. Learned that I neither get bored, nor run out of things to do, most of which I enjoy doing. A week is not a long time, but it was awesome :) I wish I could do a trial run for a couple of months, but don't have the option right now.

[Jon_Snow]

I treated a vacation earlier this summer as a FIRE preview of sorts. Lots of kayaking, hiking, beach combing, splitting firewood, reading, fishing, whale watching, crabbing... with very little stressing or thinking about my job. It was wonderful, as I knew it would be. I will never be bored without a job.  I've known this for a long time.

This recent break from work was the final affirmation that I needed in order to FIRE once and for all. Returned from vacation and gave my employer my letter of resignation the next day.

[limeandpepper]

I just quit my job and will be embarking on a sabbatical of about 5 months with my partner. Won't be thinking about going back to work until early next year at least. We plan to spend our time in about 5 countries during this whole time, visiting family and travelling. We're not doing it as a trial run or anything, just something we want to do, but I can imagine it will give us a glimpse of what one version of retired life might be like.

[Dr. Doom]

It's a good experiment to run -- I've done it myself, and blogged about the most recent attempt. 
Although of course 3 weeks is not the same as 30+ years, I still think most of what you learn about yourself is valuable and will be applicable to your post-work life.

For me personally, any time I've had chunks of time away from the office, my experiences always affirm my core belief which is that my life is better and I'm much, much happier without the ties of employment.  I do understand the 'honeymoon' theory of time off (the idea being that after a short number of weeks, you'll get tired of your freedom and want to go back into your cube-cage) but I just have a difficult time believing this will apply to me.  Having lots of friends, family, interests, and hobbies keeps life varied and fun.

[Dicey]

What shocked me when I retired was just how long it took to leech all the bad stuff from working out of my system. Particularly if you are doing something that you don't especially like. I was absolutely flummoxed at how long it took. I had more marginal days where I did little else but sleep than I care to remember. What helped was that I had a number of post-retirement activities to throw myself into. I've been a library volunteer for so long that I can literally go there and help out any time they are open. I serve on a couple of boards and was able hop onto several committees that required more time that I could manage while working. There are enough people in my social network who are retired that I always had someone to talk to or play with while "everyone else" was at work.

Taking a short break is an outstanding thing to do and I laud your awareness. I once took a whole month off and went to AUS and NZ. It was awesome, but it didn't feel anything like actual retirement. I'm here to tell you from experience, a break and retirement are horses and zebras. My suggestion  for you and anyone who's planning to RE is to find something that pays well, has reasonably decent working conditions and then save like hell so you can get out asap to be the director of your own life. While doing this, lay the groundwork for your future life, so that you'll be moving toward something. It will make your transition a lot smoother. Heck, by retiring early, you will have a lot more time to change your mind and even more things.

These days my goal is to feel just like my friends who say "I'm so busy, I don't know how I ever found time to work." Or better still, be like my former colleague Vinnie, who missed a big Monday Night Football game because he forgot it was Monday.

[Thegoblinchief]

There is never, ever enough time in the day.

Not quite the same, but 5 days a week my schedule is (mostly) under my control. Sure, it's my job to run the house, teach my kids, etc but the schedule and goals are completely self-set. I love it. I'd never be bored, even without the kids, since even now I'm constantly tinkering with bikes, gardening, etc and have other hobbies I don't have time or mental energy for at all.

Currently I work weekends to generate extra income, but we hope to stop this within 1-2 years so that it's easier to do activities with the whole family.

[Mustache Fatty]

Teacher here...  I took my first Summer off in 15 years.  It was involuntary, but that is a long story.  Anyway,  it has been absolutely fantastic.  I will never teach another Summer again, even though that will delay FIRE for a bit, maybe even a year or so.  I will say that as it draws to an end I find myself wanting to prep for my Fall classes so that I can make it as much like the Summer as possible.  I am struggling to determine if my desire to work right now is due to wanting to continue my lazy ways of the Summer or if it is just boredom and represents my desire to get back to work. 

I am definitely not like most of you Mustachians though.  I spent the Summer watching old Gunsmoke videos and floating in the pool.

It was excellent though.  It really was.  I could certainly do this for a few more months, at least.

[Asgard01]

Part of being in this Post FI trial of sorts is that I appear to be posting more on this forum hehe.

[Prairie Gal]

I did this last summer, but only for one week. Sadly, I didn't love it. It was good because I realized I need to develop more hobbies and volunteering for my retirement. This year I have decided to take five Fridays off throughout the summer, and this is working out fantastically. I love my long weekends.

It also made me realize that instead of full retirement, I might transition to part time once I am FI.

[Asgard01]

I did this last summer, but only for one week. Sadly, I didn't love it. It was good because I realized I need to develop more hobbies and volunteering for my retirement. This year I have decided to take five Fridays off throughout the summer, and this is working out fantastically. I love my long weekends.

It also made me realize that instead of full retirement, I might transition to part time once I am FI.

I am of the thinking that I also will prefer part time work perhaps at first or after an initial complete break with no work.

[DoubleDown]

<snip>

Great post Diane C.

I had an unplanned trial run for three weeks just before my FIRE last year (federal government shutdown). It was everything I thought it would be, and more -- definitely cemented the decision to make FIRE a reality.

Like Diane says, though, they're pretty different in some important respects. For one, with a break, you always have that nagging thought in your head that you have to go back to work. It took me several weeks after FIREing to get that out of my system. I still felt like I "had to be somewhere, doing something." And, there's not necessarily enough time to take on any major endeavors or projects, since you know you will soon be back to work and have limited time. So at least in my case, breaks are great, but FIRE is even better. 9 months in, I have not been bored even once.

[escolegrove]

I was unemployed for 13 months and just recently went back to work. It was such an eye opener. It wasn't till the last 4 months that I found I didn't need the job any more just missed the money. So now I am working extra hard on getting our real estate rentals up and running so that I can quit in 2 years.

[Dicey]

Thanks, Double Down! Your words made a memory float to the surface. I worked for an East Coast company and live in CA. Since they closed at 5:00 est, every day at 1:30pst I had to make sure I took care of anything that needed to be for the day. It took months for that internal alarm clock battery to die. To this day, occasionally at 1:30 I'll get a twinge. When it happens, I can luxuriate in the fact that I don't have to do anything.

Pre-RE, whenever I was on vacation, the calendar in my head was always turning in reverse. Only six days left, only five days left, only four days etc. Happy to report that the backwards calendar seems to have been lost in the retirement shuffle as well.

[arebelspy]

How was the two weeks Asgard?  What did you learn?

How is your first week back?

[Asgard01]

How was the two weeks Asgard?  What did you learn?

How is your first week back?

Hey Arebelspy,

I learned a lot during those two weeks and moved forward a lot in my opinion. I actually really managed to convince myself that this was not a normal vacation (getting away from something I don't like with leisure/pleasure being the main pursuit).

I regularly helped my dad up his yard twice a week which really made me feel like working part time for perhaps 2 days a week in a field I like or to help others/be with others is something I want to do after FI. I definitely don't want to stop paid work completely, I like the idea of supplementing my income and having some extra fun money. I might decide to start a small business though instead that does not take up too much time and is not something too stressful although I think a lot of that stress will be taken away given the circumstance I should be in.

I did things that I intellectual know and can tell others about and firmly believe myself but just never really fully did before. For example, not sure if anyone has noticed but I have not posted at all during the last few weeks. I have completely let go of any obsession about becoming FI. I have not gone over my spreadsheets other than filling in my manually tracked expenses, I have lessened my grip on thoughts such as 'I MUST save exactly $1750 a month', ,I need to get exactly this return', 'I must reach FI in 5 years and not any longer'. I still have those aims but I am no where near as attached to it. I must say I feel a lot better now.

I have put my effort into what I'm doing now, tomorrow etc and have stopped delaying living the life I want which I have been doing for a long time. Money and finances have taken the back seat and haven't troubled my mind, I have setup everything. Already done my research, changed my habits, put a plan in place that's flexible so I simply don't need to think about it.

On my weeks off, I have been preparing for two weddings, cleaned and tidied my house, seen many friends, treated people to gifts, read more books, watched video learning from the great courses and done some writing. I have looked into going on a counselling course at college to possible start a new career. To sum it up, it's been about doing rather than just leisure/pleasure but it's been great. Of course 2 weeks is far too short to know how things will be after 3 months, 1 year etc but it's been a nice sampler and has had great benefits for me.

It's funny, August has been a very expensive 5 week month (monthly wage has to last 5 weeks), with 2 weddings, 2 stag doos, $1000 body repair on my car and yet I still have managed to save $100, not being so attached and being completely willing/enjoying spending money on what I feel brings value has been great.

My first week back - I was a lot more calm and relaxed at work. I have a lot more appreciation and gratitude for my situation. Knowing that even now, I probably have 10 years of expenses in my stash gives that security to really push money concerns out of my mind from both ends, worrying about not having enough for the essentials (average person) or not having enough compared to your idealised/FI target amount.

Chris

[limeandpepper]

Thanks for the update! When I first read this thread I thought 2 weeks was a tad short, but it looks like you managed to get a lot out of it, especially that shift to a more relaxed outlook, which I think is really awesome.

[arebelspy]

Sounds quite rejuvenating and transformative.  Awesome!  :D

[goodlife]

Cool, seems like you had a very effective two weeks. I just took 6 months off...I quit my job in March and went traveling, which has been great. I have been working for 5 years and would have been FI in 2-3 years, but I just needed that break, didn't like my job in investment banking anymore and also I really wanted to see how I would feel about the RE part. The first few months were a blast...obviously...since I was traveling to a lot of cool places and every second of every day was an adventure. Of course that's not what RE would look like, I mean, I would have to live somewhere and keep myself entertained without constant traveling. So for the last month while I have stopped traveling and have been looking for a new job (well, I have multiple job offers, just can't decide which one I want, so I am dragging out this process), I have been trying to replicate what it would be like in RE. To my surprise, I do find myself bored quite a bit. I am actually looking forward to going back to work (gasp! let's see how long that lasts once I start work again, haha) and having somewhere to be and something to do. Of course my stache has shrunk a bit over the last 6 months as well...and even though I knew that in advance, I haven't spent more than I planned and I will earn that money back in a few months once I start work again...it's still eating on me psychologically that for once there is no money coming in. I think once I reach FI, I would definitely not work in the type of career that I have right now, but I am also starting to see that I will still need to find myself some form of fulfilling occupation that just maybe pays a little bit of money, I think I will need that.

[NYCMiniBee133]

I love that this thread shows a hint of how unique everyone's experience of breaks/FIRE have been and how you need to tweak to fit your own needs. I just did a week off trial (I wish I could have done longer but that's not an option for me) and it was amazing. I learned it takes me until day 3 to really decompress and not think of time as this thing that is constantly running out. This was huge for me, as it explains why I don't fully enjoy the weekends in the same way as some other folks describe their weekends. I found that walking everywhere (i.e. 3+ miles round trip) to run an errand was not objectionable and in fact pleasurable. I found that I was much more open to exploring and pursuing hobbies. It was fantastic.

[Asgard01]

Sounds quite rejuvenating and transformative.  Awesome!  :D

It really has, I think it was more having time off to really reflect, I said to myself I would stop browsing financial stuff online, checking spreadsheets and concentrate on what I'm doing day to day, that was the best decision I made. I had 2 full weeks doing that and the effects have not left me. I haven't checked my portfolio figure either. I will just browse this forum now and then as I really enjoy the community but that's about it. No more obsession :).

I think once I reach FI, I would definitely not work in the type of career that I have right now, but I am also starting to see that I will still need to find myself some form of fulfilling occupation that just maybe pays a little bit of money, I think I will need that.

That seems to be the case for me, at least perhaps initially for sure. Be like a gradual step down but I think contributing something that happens to also gives pay will be what I do. Will see what happens though. I think by doing that it will enable me to have a family in the next few years and still become FI in under 8 years. Working part time would help pay towards my family whilst still having a lot more time to be with them.

I love that this thread shows a hint of how unique everyone's experience of breaks/FIRE have been and how you need to tweak to fit your own needs. I just did a week off trial (I wish I could have done longer but that's not an option for me) and it was amazing. I learned it takes me until day 3 to really decompress and not think of time as this thing that is constantly running out. This was huge for me, as it explains why I don't fully enjoy the weekends in the same way as some other folks describe their weekends. I found that walking everywhere (i.e. 3+ miles round trip) to run an errand was not objectionable and in fact pleasurable. I found that I was much more open to exploring and pursuing hobbies. It was fantastic.

I am glad you are liking the thread. It's interesting it took you 3 days to decompress, I imagine that that's common for many and perhaps it takes others even longer. Great to hear you enjoyed it.

Chris

[Thegoblinchief]

Awesome perspective, though glad to have you back. You have generated a few nice, thought provoking threads, which is great :)

I'm also starting to get to "auto pilot" frugality myself. I don't need to obsess over anything. I could probably get very close to my hard budget numbers even without manual tracking, but actually weirdly enjoy updating my sheets.

[Dicey]

Good for you. That's a lot to accomplish in two short weeks. I agree that taking a break from all the financial reading and tracking can be refreshing. Plus, once you have established good habits, it's safe to remove the training wheels, but you don't know when that point is until you actually do it. Now you know. Kudos!

[Nords]

I was pretty tight with the purse strings when I retired, and after a year or two of that I should have lightened up.  Instead I stayed tight-fisted until our daughter was nearly finished with high school.  Affluenza concerns or just rationalization?  I'll never know. 

For those who are bored:
I think boredom is a symptom of the syndrome of "I need someone else to take responsibility for my entertainment".  If you're seeking corporate employment then do you really need to subject yourself to a boss, to the HR department, and to everything else that goes with the corporate life that you thought you'd left behind?  Ouch.  I'd rather try part-time labor or starting my own business.  At least those would solve the boredom problem.  But to escape from the Parable of the Cave, only to squint in the glaring sunlight and then scamper back into the darkness... do you want to spend the rest of your life that way?

For those who are still working, here's the advantage of a trial run at FIRE:
http://the-military-guide.com/2011/01/06/the-fog-of-work/
There are more personal stories in the book about that situation, so check your local library or buy your copy.

[Asgard01]

Awesome perspective, though glad to have you back. You have generated a few nice, thought provoking threads, which is great :)

I'm also starting to get to "auto pilot" frugality myself. I don't need to obsess over anything. I could probably get very close to my hard budget numbers even without manual tracking, but actually weirdly enjoy updating my sheets.

Thanks for that. I think a lot of what I am doing has just become automatic now and all I do is track my expenses manually which I also enjoy doing like you. It's strange liking getting those receipts and when the machine says no paper for receipts, I am annoyed hehe.