Work longer to be able to spend more?

[spartana]

I think most of us revise our “number” many times and especially as we get closer to what we once thought of as ‘our number’.  I doubt that many would find themselves specifically at ‘their number’ and decide to add FIVE years to it for no other reason than adding money.  Not unless they had new information that they lacked when forming the other number. 

I think there might be lots of us that add ONE.   And then we add ANOTHER ONE.  And then maybe ANOTHER ONE after that.  But I doubt many would make a conscious decision to add FIVE as a block at one decision point. 

The ubiquity of OMY syndrome is because we all get nervous when it comes to the decision point. We worry that we have overlooked something or underestimated something or, maybe we get scared that we won’t even like being retired after all.  That sort of thing happens all the time and causes us to default to working longer.  Inertia wins out over making a change. 

But just looking at the money and thinking “sure, I have enough now for all of my plans, but I could have much more if I just work five more years… “.  Well that’s pretty much always true financially.

In my case I was worried about my life ending or getting sick or injured before I could pull the plug on my job and having more money was never an issue. I quit working 2 years earlier then planned because I was seriously chomping at the bit to go and do ALL the things. I found even waiting an extra day to be pretty intolerable let alone OMY... or 5. That might have killed me ;-). And I liked my job!

You are my poster person for Just Do It!

Lol! Im Not quite as cavalier as it appears as I did have a lot of back up plans that I could have used if SHTF on my lean fire. A paid off house in a HCOL area that I could have sold. A 3 bedroom house I lived alone in and could have gotten roommates. A small future pension I could get at 50. Free/low cost medical thru the VA. Tax deferred accounts, like a 457 and tIRA, I was saving for my future "old lady" years but could have tapped if needed. Etc. Biggest help though, especially when the great recession hit shortly after I FIREd, was have very low expenses and no debt,  coupled with really enjoying my low expense lifestyle.

[Much Fishing to Do]

I was building a business that eventually took off and I blew past my planned 'stache before I knew what had happened.  I was overworked/overstressed but it took me a few more years to figure out how to responsibly pull the plug on the business for all involved (esp my employees). 

I was going to retire but was offered a job by a prior colleague.  After I said I wasn't interested they asked me what was a job situation I would accept, after laying it all out they offered it to me, and so I took it to try it out.  I was confident we could already buy whatever we wanted for the years I probably have left, but I think the 15 hrs/wk I currently do are "good for me" (very interesting, intellectually challenging) and the pay is making my kids and charities wealthier I guess....The day I decide to leave (if I don't get let go first) it'll have nothing to do with the size of my portfolio or what I want to buy next.

As others have said, 5 years is a long time. I think when I was hovering around my number there would have been a lot of OMYs that could have added up to 5 I guess....

[FINate]

We make enough to add another million to our net worth in 2-3 years. We are both quitting our jobs in June. Getting a cancer diagnosis and knowing that work-related stress increase the risk of recurrence really put things into perspective. I would not spend another 5 years working to support a higher level of spending when I already have enough...because I might not have another 5 years. Now, if you really love your job and you would do it for free, and working your job is your definition of living your ideal dream life, then by all means, keep working.

Sorry about your diagnosis, though happy you seem to be in remission. Hope you make it to cured. I'm in a similar boat, though got my diagnosis after being FIREd 8 years. Cancer really does put things into perspective. My initial prognosis was that I had 4-6 months, though things improved and I'm in remission now with much better odds of making it. This put life into very sharp focus, I kept thinking "I'm sure glad I didn't waste the past 8 years climbing the corporate ladder." Being retired allowed me to spend tons of time with my kids when they were younger, long family trips, time with my wife, meaningful volunteering, and deep relationships with people I wouldn't have had time for otherwise. These where the things, people and relationships, that I cared about when it appeared the end was near.

For some death will come suddenly and without warning, but most will get some warning. Regardless, none of us are getting out alive. Not to be morbid about it, but I now encourage people to spend some time imaging they're at the end of life -- when the doctor comes into your room with a box of tissues it isn't good news. How will you make sense of your life, what was the purpose, what was really meaningful? I suppose for some this could be spending as much money as possible, though I personally find this a little weird (but I'm also weird, so...). Again, the point isn't to be morbid or fixated on death, I just think it make sense to have clarity on what's actually important and live accordingly.

[YHD]

@Freedomin5 —lurked on your journal.  Have the same diagnosis with likely a worse but still “good” stage that I will likely die from something else.

As someone who couldn’t wait to retire, after my diagnosis, I wanted to wait until I was grandfathered into our health plan when I retired.  When that happened, I retired only to take another job more intense job in a VHCOL area.  Realized I loved this new life style.  My apt my building all the impromptu travel that I can underwrite and share with my nieces.  Also, apparently I still have things I want to accomplish especially after my diagnosis. 

Last week my retires SO had an MI.  This has me thinking more seriously about cutting back to spend more time with him.  OTOH, I won’t be a good partner if I retired with him and give up my job.  So need more introspection.

Yes, I am working more because I love earning money to spend on a life that I hadn’t imagined having when I first started the journey.  Giving up this life would feel like I’m settling just to stop working.  I’m not ready for that decision. 

[Freedomin5]

@Freedomin5 —lurked on your journal.  Have the same diagnosis with likely a worse but still “good” stage that I will likely die from something else.

As someone who couldn’t wait to retire, after my diagnosis, I wanted to wait until I was grandfathered into our health plan when I retired.  When that happened, I retired only to take another job more intense job in a VHCOL area.  Realized I loved this new life style.  My apt my building all the impromptu travel that I can underwrite and share with my nieces.  Also, apparently I still have things I want to accomplish especially after my diagnosis. 

Last week my retires SO had an MI.  This has me thinking more seriously about cutting back to spend more time with him.  OTOH, I won’t be a good partner if I retired with him and give up my job.  So need more introspection.

Yes, I am working more because I love earning money to spend on a life that I hadn’t imagined having when I first started the journey.  Giving up this life would feel like I’m settling just to stop working.  I’m not ready for that decision.

Yeah, I think a diagnosis makes you really sit down and evaluate what's really important to you...and that may look different for each person. I'm looking forward to getting to do what brings me even more joy and meaning, and I definitely am not settling. I'm really hoping I get to die from something else and not cancer. :)

Best wishes for health for your SO.

[Metalcat]

@Freedomin5 —lurked on your journal.  Have the same diagnosis with likely a worse but still “good” stage that I will likely die from something else.

As someone who couldn’t wait to retire, after my diagnosis, I wanted to wait until I was grandfathered into our health plan when I retired.  When that happened, I retired only to take another job more intense job in a VHCOL area.  Realized I loved this new life style.  My apt my building all the impromptu travel that I can underwrite and share with my nieces.  Also, apparently I still have things I want to accomplish especially after my diagnosis. 

Last week my retires SO had an MI.  This has me thinking more seriously about cutting back to spend more time with him.  OTOH, I won’t be a good partner if I retired with him and give up my job.  So need more introspection.

Yes, I am working more because I love earning money to spend on a life that I hadn’t imagined having when I first started the journey.  Giving up this life would feel like I’m settling just to stop working.  I’m not ready for that decision.

Yeah, I think a diagnosis makes you really sit down and evaluate what's really important to you...and that may look different for each person. I'm looking forward to getting to do what brings me even more joy and meaning, and I definitely am not settling. I'm really hoping I get to die from something else and not cancer. :)

Best wishes for health for your SO.

It's very, very important to factor in health, the challenge is that healthy people have an extremely difficult time understanding what not being healthy is like, so it's incredibly difficult for them to plan.

Also, for some, having health issues pushes them to leave work sooner, for others it pushes them to work more, or it can even do both.

In my case it was both. Serious illness forced me to retire from my first career very early, then a new serious illness prompted me to retrain for another career, because I've lost so much function that I can't do a lot of the really satisfying non-work activities as much, so my new work gives me really interesting, gratifying things to invest my time and energy into.

About a year into my new career, I developed yet another very serious condition and have lost even more important non-work function, reducing the things I can enjoy much, much further.

It's been 6 straight years of adjusting to new health realities and radically changing prognoses, and it's taught me that plans truly are meaningless, but the adage is true that planning is priceless. But most importantly, it's hammered into me with a 50lb rocket-assisted sledge hammer, that flexibility and adaptability are paramount in optimizing quality of life in response to changing circumstances.