Author Topic: Decisions, decisions  (Read 3369 times)

SissyLou

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Decisions, decisions
« on: May 01, 2013, 04:20:25 PM »
Hi, I'm Sissy Lou. I'm jumping out of my job of ~20 years to live the good life and just found the MMM blog (LOVE IT!) but since reading the blog I've developed a dilemma.

I've worked at the job since 1991 but quit in 1997 and went back in 2000. After giving my resignation this time, explaining that my husband and I would be leaving Seattle and moving to St. Pete, Florida, I discovered some fine print on our Human Resources site. If you work for 15 *continuous* years and are 55, your stock awards continue to vest when you leave the company; otherwise, you lose what's left as you walk out the door. When I read that, realizing I was short on the continuous 15 year part by 1.5 years (I meet the 55 years of age part), I went back to my boss and asked if I could work remotely from St. Pete and then quit once the 15 year requirement was met. She said yes, really going out of her way since the company I'm at is laying off. I'm going to step down from a director role into an individual contributor role to work remotely.

Anyhoo, after reading this blog, I'm not so sure I want to work another year and a half, even remotely and even as an IC, because I'm more encouraged to start the good life ASAP. We have slightly over $1 million saved, our condo in St. Pete requires $700 in HOAs a month (pays for cable, phone, water, 24/7 front desk security, maintenance for pool/hot tub, etc., and lots of other amenities), and we have no debt.  I like what I do OK but working another 1.5 years is starting to sound worse and worse to me; however, if I do it, we'll continue to have a salary + bonus during that time span, plus the stock awards will amount to an additional $250,000 for the coffers.

Do you think it's worth sticking around for another 1.5 years? (In some ways, I think I'm answering my own question here.)

SunshineGirl

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Re: Decisions, decisions
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2013, 04:33:40 PM »
My advice: Stick with it for 1.5 years. Just do it month by month. The interest alone from that potential $250K would pay your association fees for the rest of your life.

Rural

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Re: Decisions, decisions
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2013, 04:40:57 PM »
Try it for a month. The worst that can happen in a month is a month's salary, right? If you hate it, quit.

shelfins

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Re: Decisions, decisions
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2013, 08:03:15 PM »
Maybe you've already done this, but have you talked to management about whether there's any flexibility in the vesting policy? Often when companies are going through layoffs, they'll offer incentives to employees to leave voluntarily, and this seems like an especially easy sell since you've worked for the company for more than 15 years, just not consecutively.

jrhampt

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Re: Decisions, decisions
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2013, 09:12:25 AM »
I think it's well worth it for another 1.5 years.  You may find you like working remotely a lot more than working on site, too.  It allows you to ignore most office politics, eliminate your commute, and work from the comfort of your own home with private bathrooms and a well-stocked refrigerator.

Dee18

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Re: Decisions, decisions
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2013, 09:17:19 AM »
I'm working at home today, as I do about twice a week...and I find staying away from that well-stocked refrigerator to be a challenge!