Author Topic: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?  (Read 15403 times)

Olde Stache

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Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« on: May 10, 2015, 05:41:28 PM »
Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
 
I have been a MMM reader for about a year now and it, along with other resources I have found through this forum and elsewhere on the Internet, have changed the way I see my financial situation.  It seems many people here are quite a bit younger than my young age of 62. I wish I had found this information long ago before I squandered my money. I am naturally frugal so my waste is probably not a bad as it could have been.
 
I have been a single dad for quite a while, with a daughter who will be a senior in college next year (living at home) and a son who is autistic, not living at home, but still needing my input.
 
My current income is 120k.  I am maxing out my 401k for the year.
 
My current expenses are $3800/mo not including taxes. I own my home with no mortgage.  No car payments or other debt.
 
I have been on a budget for about the last 20 years, a plan that started after I ​found I was spending about $400 per month more than I was earning.  I cut back ​on my expenses and made a priority of paying off the house by the time I was 50.
BTW, I paid off the house in time to meet my goal!  To my way of thinking back then, this was extremely aggressive financially.  Not so much now, having found MMM.
 
The only outrageous expense I have is cable TV which I am cutting next month and charitable giving which will stay the same.
 
Assets: Net Worth  1.1 million not including house. 
Vanguard investments are 900k with with a 60/40 stock bond allocation. I am still working on getting my money in all the right funds for diversification following the Paul Merriman recommendations.
 
I also have a 100k CD ladder at Ally Bank and 40k in their savings account.
I have a pension that will be worth about 24k/yr if I take it starting next year.
 
I have an opportunity at work next year to accomplish a goal that I has eluded me so far in my career. It would mean a higher income, but much more travel and a commitment to the employer for another year of work.  Therefore my question. Can I Retire??
 
Thanks for reading!
 

G-dog

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2015, 06:03:06 PM »
24K in pension + about 40k at your safe withdrawal rate suggests you can retire. You've also got SS in the near future.
But what expenses will likely change after retirement? Health insurance?  What about for your son? I am assuming your daughter will successfully launch and not need help from you.

To me, the job opportunity should be evaluated separately. The great thing is, you don't need the money or job. That may make this opportunity even more fun if you are interested.

MDM

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2015, 06:16:14 PM »
At 62, I think most people here would declare you FIRE-able.

Kind of depends on how important to you the career goal is in the grand scheme of things. I would ask myself two things:

1)  What would I do if I was not afraid (this is the question I have been asking myself about most big life choices the last couple of years, and it has served me well)

2)  If you suddenly got a diagnosis of a terminal illness and knew you only had 12 more months to live, would you keep working or quit?
+1.  Summarizes it well.

You could sharpen your pencil a bit and recalculate depending on where (traditional or Roth tax-advantaged or taxable) your investments are located and the tax consequences of withdrawing from them to pay your expenses.  Worst case for you is if everything is in a traditional (either 401k or IRA) account because you'll be paying tax at ordinary rates. 

E.g., if you withdraw $54K from a traditional account you will pay ~$6,700 in federal income tax.  If you state/local tax is $1,700 that would give you the $45,600/yr listed for expenses.

You'll also want to know what happens to your pension if you defer it (might be worthwhile to do so), and your social security options (again, might be worth deferring).

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2015, 08:15:19 PM »
Thanks for your responses Ihamo, G-Dog and MDM. This my first new post, so I hope I am replying correctly!

Ihamo, I appreciate your points on thinking about how short life may be.  G-Dog I am confident that my daughter will do fine when she gets out of college, she is bright and capable!  One of the reasons about asking about the retirement is my son. The care he is getting in his present situation is not the best and I have promised him to get him to a better spot.  That means a leave of absence for me this summer to get him situated or to just retire to better things.

MDM. I am about evenly split between taxable investments and 401k in my Vanguard account so $450k in tax deferred with a very small slice in Roth.  My Ally bank is all taxable with the original idea being to use the laddered CD's to fund the gap between the pension and living expenses until social security kicks in.   My pension maxes out at age 65 giving me about $26k per year and does not index for inflation.  Social security would be $30k at age 66.   
Thanks again for chiming in.  Lots of good information here!



MDM

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2015, 08:51:56 PM »
...my young age of 62.
I have a pension that will be worth about 24k/yr if I take it starting next year.
My pension maxes out at age 65 giving me about $26k per year and does not index for inflation.
An extra $2K/yr for waiting two years?  Not worth it - take the $24K/yr starting next year.

Quote
Social security would be $30k at age 66.
So maybe ~$37.6K at age 70?  The age to start SS is a closer call, but you have a few years to decide.  Actually you could start now, but if you don't need it immediately there are benefits to waiting.  E.g., the SS increase itself and the lower marginal rate if you want to convert traditional money to Roth.


In rough terms, it seems that in a few years SS and the pension will be covering your annual expenses while you still have $1MM in reserve.  Unless I'm missing something you have put yourself in a pretty good situation - enjoy!

G-dog

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2015, 05:44:33 AM »
If your son needs more help - retire. I think it is a no-brainer in this scenario (but only you can answer that!)

If you can, change your payment schedule to max out your 401K this year, as well as any other employer benefits you can. For example, find out when your company pays for your health insurance, pick your retirement date a day after that to get another month of employee health benefits.

Could your son get SS disability? Any chance he can go to college? If so, check out 529 plans. For future tax considerations, you may want to create a Roth ladder.

After you retire, your expense may go down, no more commuting to work, no more work clothes or other work associated expenses.

Good to here about your daughter. Good luck - you'll make the right decision so just trust yourself.

kpd905

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2015, 06:12:23 AM »
Looks like you are good to go.  If you are nervous about it, see if you can drop your hours for this last year, just work half-time or something.

nereo

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2015, 06:14:13 AM »
Welcome OldeStache, it's good to have you here.

You are completely FInancially Independent (FI).  Congratulations.  With your investments and pension you can have a WR of 3%.
Remember, retirement is just a step and not the end-goal.  Evaluate whether you really want to fully retire and what you want to do with your time - maybe you really want to be done with it, or maybe you'd like to propose to management that you stay on in a part time/consultant mode.  Up to you at this point.

Best

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2015, 10:34:06 AM »
Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement!  It is nice to have objective thoughts from others with different points of view. Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees.

My plan at my young age of 62, still having some vim and vigor left (62 is the new 42), is to do some contract work in my field. Hopefully enough to cover the gap between the pension and expenses.

My son has been on disability benefits since he was 18 and now is 30. My concern for him is that the services he receives in our present location are not up to the level we have had in the past and want to relocate him back to the old area where he will be better served and be happier

Thanks for all the feedback!

Bob W

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2015, 11:21:14 AM »
Consider a special needs trust fund for your son.  See Midwest Special Needs trust fund.    You could put some funds in there for him to be used for luxery stuff the rest of his life (plan tickets, nice clothes, cars,  houses etc.. )   I know a little about people with special needs and some of the options as it is my current field.   PM me if you want.

Yes, you can retire but why?  Take the pay raise and the offered duties and have fun with it.   Your expenses appear very, very high to the average MMMer.  $3,800 with no house payment?  Did I miss something?   

A post retire expense budget could be this simple -

Health - 1500
Home - 300
Car - 200
Food - 200
Fun -300
Misc - 300

Total =2,800

Exflyboy

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2015, 11:44:31 AM »
Just a thought, but if you could find a way to cut your expenses you could almost guarantee of never running out of money.. I know that sounds obvious but stay with me.

Lets say you rolled all your money into a stock ETF (Vanguard VTAX).. now you have $900k in stocks. Currently the S&P500 dividend pays about 2%.. or about $18,000 annually.

So your absolute safe number is $30k (18+24)... I.e you physically could not earn less money than this.. i.e even if stock prices halved you'd still make the same dividend income (usually more as companies increased dividend payments during the last great recession).

If you really had to, could you get your spend down to $30k?.. Might be worth seeing if that is possible for you.. heck if its easy (saving money is a skill like anything else.. you get much better at it with practice), then I'd be tempted to move a bigger percentage into stocks.

Either way on paper your FI..

Congratulations.


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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2015, 11:51:17 AM »
Looks like you have prepared well!   By my math, you have nearly 2x your current spending available to you. (Pension-$24k, SS-23k, Stocks-900k at 4%+).  You may feel young and vigorous at 62, but don't wait until something goes wrong to start enjoying what you have worked for all these years.  Personally, I would go ahead and draw SS vs holding out for more.  As you reallocate, be careful not to trigger any large capital gains taxes while you are still working.   
« Last Edit: May 11, 2015, 12:05:35 PM by So Close »

nereo

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2015, 11:54:53 AM »
Lets say you rolled all your money into a stock ETF (Vanguard VTAX).. now you have $900k in stocks. Currently the S&P500 dividend pays about 2%.. or about $18,000 annually.

So your absolute safe number is $30k (18+24)... I.e you physically could not earn less money than this.. i.e even if stock prices halved you'd still make the same dividend income (usually more as companies increased dividend payments during the last great recession).
Oh stop it, please!  There's absolutely nothing magical or sacred or more 'safe' about dividends.  The increased 'safety' you speak about comes not from only spending the dividends, but on having a ~2% WR. That's it.  That's the "magic".
In order for a company's stock to beat out inflation it has to do one of two things; either its share price needs to increase or its dividend needs to be increased. 

Remaining flexible and reducing (or at least being able reduce) expenses is enormously helpful should the SHTF.  But currently you have an investment and pension (not to mention pending SS I assume) which results in 0 failures on firecalc and firesim.  That's pretty damn good by any measure. 


libertarian4321

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2015, 11:57:39 AM »
Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
 

Retire.  You'll probably find that your yearly spending drops significantly when you retire, unless you plan to do a ton of world travel.

My expenses dropped big time when I retired.  Work is expensive.


skunkfunk

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2015, 12:01:39 PM »
Slam dunk, retire. You can likely fund everything you want to do and handle anything else that comes up with that nest egg. If the worst happens (say, a huge market crash and your family suddenly costs you $100k) you could probably still make with a few lifestyle adjustments.

One of the easiest retire/don't-retire discussions I've seen around here.

jzb11

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2015, 01:08:55 PM »
You can take SS at 62 no? What would you receive from SS if you started taking it now? You potentially have enough just based on SS and your pension.

Also, even though your SS benefit would be higher at 70, how long would it take to collect the full benefit before you broke even on not collecting the reduced benefit every year for 8 years (from 62-70)?

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #16 on: May 12, 2015, 09:19:34 AM »
More comments!!  This is cool!
I really appreciate all the points of view.  Bob W. mentioned about a special needs trust for my son.  I have had one of these set up for quite a while already, but nice to hear from someone who is familiar with the situation.  I also appreciate your comments about expenses.  My giving to my church is the reason the they are so high as I tithe from my full income, which would go down in retirement.  I also want to downsize housing as my daughter finishes college.

I would still like to do contract work (on my own terms) at least until I am FRA for SS purposes.  I like what I do and see no reason that I should cut off that income stream at this point.  Kind of MMM like retirement.

Thanks again for your responses and encouragement.

nereo

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #17 on: May 12, 2015, 09:43:33 AM »

I would still like to do contract work (on my own terms) at least until I am FRA for SS purposes.  I like what I do and see no reason that I should cut off that income stream at this point.  Kind of MMM like retirement.

As I've said, you are already FI with a conceivable WR around 3%. Your willingness to do contract work is one of the biggest layers of security that you have - earning as little as $5k/year in your case will do wonders for increasing your portfolio and protecting against really awful market conditions.  Sifting through historical simulations you'll notice that whenever a simulation fails it was evident that it was in trouble within the first 6 years.  If you retire and your 'stach keeps slowly growing, you know you are golden.  If you retire and the SHTF, consider a bit more contract work, but take solstice in knowing that in all historical conditions portfolios have recovered with a ~3% WR.

skyrefuge

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #18 on: May 12, 2015, 10:19:45 AM »
even if stock prices halved you'd still make the same dividend income (usually more as companies increased dividend payments during the last great recession).

In addition to your desire to portray dividends with a quality that they don't actually possess (as pointed out by nereo), your more-specific statement above is factually, flat-out wrong.

Dividends of the S&P 500 most definitely dropped during the last recession, and furthermore, declines are not a rarity.

The S&P 500 real dividend dropped 25% from its Dec. 2008 peak, and took a full four years to return to that 2008 value.

This is an easily-checkable fact: http://www.multpl.com/s-p-500-dividend/

Sorry for the thread-hijack Olde Stache (you can definitely retire!), I just couldn't let such a clear untruth go uncorrected!

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #19 on: October 27, 2015, 10:08:07 AM »
I am replying to my old post started back in May 2015.  I have decided to Soldier On One More Year.  As was suggested in one of the replies, "why not take advantage of the pay raise offered with the new duties and have fun with it."

Circumstances do and have changed over the last few months, as they always do. so I think I am going to take advantage!

Thanks for all the input.  Looking forward to the retirement time but will have fun until then.

arebelspy

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #20 on: November 08, 2015, 06:12:09 PM »
I am replying to my old post started back in May 2015.  I have decided to Soldier On One More Year.  As was suggested in one of the replies, "why not take advantage of the pay raise offered with the new duties and have fun with it."

Circumstances do and have changed over the last few months, as they always do. so I think I am going to take advantage!

Thanks for all the input.  Looking forward to the retirement time but will have fun until then.

Thanks for the update!  Enjoy your last year, and be sure to let us know when you do pull the plug.  :)
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Another Reader

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #21 on: November 08, 2015, 06:24:45 PM »
If you have not done so, take a look a the forums over at early-retirement.org.  You will find a lot of like-minded people closer in age to you facing similar questions and problems.  I have found that the wisdom and advice over there, although more conservative, is more applicable to folks our age.

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #22 on: November 08, 2015, 07:22:22 PM »
Thanks for the encouragement Another reader and arebelspy!  I will check out early-retirement.org too.

Fi(re) on the Farm

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #23 on: November 09, 2015, 03:38:09 AM »
More comments!!  This is cool!
I really appreciate all the points of view.  Bob W. mentioned about a special needs trust for my son.  I have had one of these set up for quite a while already, but nice to hear from someone who is familiar with the situation.  I also appreciate your comments about expenses.  My giving to my church is the reason the they are so high as I tithe from my full income, which would go down in retirement.  I also want to downsize housing as my daughter finishes college.

I would still like to do contract work (on my own terms) at least until I am FRA for SS purposes.  I like what I do and see no reason that I should cut off that income stream at this point.  Kind of MMM like retirement.

Thanks again for your responses and encouragement.

+1 for the special needs trust! I've got a 30 yearold autistic daughter who's still at home. We set up a trust a few years ago. Did you know that when you get closer to needing  to be in a nursing home you can put all your assets in your son's trust and Medicaid can't go after them? It  definitely gives me peace of mind knowing that there will be fund to improve her quality of life.

And  yes, you should retire!

TomTX

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #24 on: November 09, 2015, 05:00:21 AM »
You can retire today, and you don't even need to take Social Security.

patrickza

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #25 on: November 09, 2015, 07:24:49 AM »
Wow I think I'm barely able to make it to 40, you're 62 and doing OMY!

To each his own I guess :)

Anyway, just make sure you look after yourself physically so you have time to do the things you love.

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #26 on: November 10, 2015, 01:29:24 PM »
Thanks for your comments KateH. My son is 31 and autistic also. Special Needs trust is set up. Tom TX and patrickza, I am going to use the next year to finish out the career in a high note because I will be able to accomplish something I have been striving for and also have time to get my ducks in a row.

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #27 on: May 25, 2017, 08:05:47 PM »
I am resurrecting a thread I started in May of 2015 asking if I should do "one more year."  Well, I turned in my resignation letter today.

Even after 2 more years it was hard to push the send button to send the letter. I am calling my resignation, retirement.  I'm 64 years old (how did that happen?), and marvel at the younger mustaches that are able to let go so much earlier.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #28 on: May 26, 2017, 04:49:41 AM »
Sweet!  Got any plans, or are you going to chill for a bit?

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #29 on: May 26, 2017, 08:52:51 AM »
Thanks for your comment. I have some family activities like a reunion and wedding that I am going to be able to do. If I stayed on the job I would not have been able to attend.

Other than that I am going to cool my heels while trying to figure out a way to make a few bucks on my own terms and on my own schedule. The schedule is something that I have not had control over in my career. Just doing things on my own schedule is FREEDOM to me.

G-dog

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #30 on: May 26, 2017, 08:55:41 AM »
Congratulations!

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #31 on: May 26, 2017, 09:05:11 AM »
Thanks!

Tyson

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #32 on: May 26, 2017, 09:51:09 AM »
Thanks for your comment. I have some family activities like a reunion and wedding that I am going to be able to do. If I stayed on the job I would not have been able to attend.

Other than that I am going to cool my heels while trying to figure out a way to make a few bucks on my own terms and on my own schedule. The schedule is something that I have not had control over in my career. Just doing things on my own schedule is FREEDOM to me.

Dude, you are free, how awesome is that!  Congrats and enjoy the hell out of your life that is now 100% yours.

honeybbq

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #33 on: May 26, 2017, 09:56:18 AM »
I would retire... and if you have the time/energy available devote it to your special needs child.

Alternative, OMY just to pad the trust for him. The current administration is trying to decimate care for people and I fear for individuals who need help such as your son might in the future.

I don't really think you can go wrong either way.

Exflyboy

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #34 on: May 26, 2017, 10:09:41 AM »
Great to hear! It took me awhile before not going to work felt normal so don't be surprised at that.

Congratulations.

rockeTree

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #35 on: May 26, 2017, 10:16:20 AM »
A million congrats! Special needs kid here too - I do all my projections for spouse and I but then kind of think 'OMY' for the trust will be hard to talk myself out of.

G-dog

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #36 on: May 26, 2017, 11:40:45 AM »
Great to hear! It took me awhile before not going to work felt normal so don't be surprised at that.

Congratulations.

Ahem. Maybe because you kept working via contract...../jk

Fi(re) on the Farm

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #37 on: May 26, 2017, 03:55:58 PM »
Congratulations! Enjoy the freedom!

Exflyboy

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #38 on: May 26, 2017, 06:01:43 PM »
Great to hear! It took me awhile before not going to work felt normal so don't be surprised at that.

Congratulations.

Ahem. Maybe because you kept working via contract...../jk

Its my 1 full year anniversary with no paid work whatsoever.. That must be a thing on a 12 step program right?..;)

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #39 on: May 26, 2017, 06:08:03 PM »
Great to hear! It took me awhile before not going to work felt normal so don't be surprised at that.

Congratulations.

Ahem. Maybe because you kept working via contract...../jk

Its my 1 full year anniversary with no paid work whatsoever.. That must be a thing on a 12 step program right?..;)

"hi, I'm ExFlyboy, and I'm a workaholic"
"hi, Ex"
"I've been work-free for one year"
* applause*

CONGRATULATIONS!

yourusernamehere

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #40 on: May 26, 2017, 06:17:33 PM »
Congratulations Old Stache!


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Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #41 on: May 26, 2017, 07:22:48 PM »
Thanks Everyone

arebelspy

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #42 on: June 17, 2017, 09:54:41 PM »
Congrats on your retirement!

Was it a two week notice? If so, you should just be in your first week or two of retirement. 

How's it gone?

Or was it a one month notice or longer, so you have a bit more?

Either way, what are your plans for the next six months/year?  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Olde Stache

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #43 on: June 19, 2017, 03:23:18 PM »
Thanks for your post arebelspy. The retirement is great so far, but busy. I retired at this point because I have a bunch of family stuff happening this summer that I was going to miss out on because of the work schedule. There are family reunions and weddings that I would have missed.

I was planning on giving a month notice, but a few days, like 3, before I was to turn in my letter a bonus was announced. So I held off for a while until I saw the money in my account. SWEET!!  So I ended up with only giving a two week notice. No problems with that.  My immediate supervisor had known for about 2 1/2 months before I left because I didn't want to leave him in the lurch.

After the summer I am going to figure out how to make some extra bucks when and how I want. The joy of being FI!  I don't need to work but but don't want to waste away either. When you are my age the wasting can happen fast. ;)


arebelspy

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Re: Can I Retire or should I Soldier on a bit longer (OMY)?
« Reply #44 on: June 19, 2017, 05:56:30 PM »
Awesome! Congrats on the bonus, and enjoy the family activities!  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!