Case study: how to escape the rat race when you hate working (UK)

[Ron2500]

Hi,

I'm a 35M, currently working in the UK.

Current NW: circa £270k (£150k inherited)
Non taxable stocks & shares account: circa £50k
Taxable stocks & shares account: circa £160k
Pension (accessible from age 57): circa £48k
Emergency fund: circa £12k
Currently renting - no debt

My current financial position is mostly due to an inheritance from my grandma, and to my studies being fully financed by my parents.
Current salary: £90k which I've managed to get by changing jobs regularly over the years, and pure luck.

I've always had "nice" working conditions: good hours, good vacation time, remote working, nice colleagues...but
I can't stand working. I'm super lazy, have no work ethics and don't care anymore about anything work related. I don't think changing fields will change my mindset. I feel like I'm missing out on life.
My issue is that as per my calculations I need at least £500k invested to live on £20k a year. In my field I could probably increase my salary if I were driven but I'm absolutely not. I don't have any motivation to create a business either. I can't comprehend my colleagues' enthusiasm, motivation. It's a miracle I've never been made redundant.

How do you get over the finish line when you're lazy/hate working?

Thank you for reading this rant !

[never give up]

Hi Ron2500

Sorry you're struggling mentally a little with work. We spend a lot of time at work and it's important we reconcile some sort of enjoyment with it to avoid the prison sentence mentality.

You're in a really good position. How good depends on whether you plan to buy a house, have a family etc. Have you been tracking your expenses over a few years? Do you know £20k a year is definitely enough? At your age I personally would want 30-33 years expenses rather than 25 I.e. 3-3.3% WR rather than 4%. You may be happy with 4% and feel you can cut back on your expenses in a downturn for example.

With that salary hopefully you are maxing your company pension/SIPP allowance each year? That will be the most efficient way of reaching your number. Monevator has a really good Pension/ISA split series on how to balance your tax shelters.

https://monevator.com/tag/isa-pension-split-series/

I think your question is more about the mental side though. Is it the environment that is the issue or do you genuinely not like the work?

With regards to getting over the line you could max your pensions for a couple of years and then find a job you do enjoy even if it only covers expenses. The stash would then do the heavy lifting. Or you could see if you could work 4 day weeks if your company allows it now? That would give you more time back in your life right away.

[Ron2500]

Thank you Never give up for your kind words

I'm not sure about the £500k to be honest, I'm taking  my partner into account to forecast 20k of annual cost. We should hopefully be able to cut back on expenses if necessary. We average £2k in monthly expenses and could relocate to somewhere cheaper if not working (my partner doesn't work remotely) but with the current cost of living increase I'm not sure what the future holds.

I think I'm going through a mid 30s life crisis: being super fed up with work, deep into the prison sentence mentality and having no motivation whatsoever. I've had various jobs in my lifetime and unfortunately can't say I've truly enjoyed any of them. A dream job for me would be a truly passive one but it's not going to magically appear. I can't reduce my working days at my current job but could be looking for part-time roles.
My partner's net worth is about £60k and her salary is about £50k; she offered to support me for a while, but I don't want to go down this route.
Part of me would love to start a family and buy a home but I'm also very scared of being trapped into a mortgage and a lifetime of work to financially support my children. I fear that owning a home will somehow impede my ability to change jobs in the future.
I will definitely prioritise my pension moving forward but the 57 access age is a bummer.

I'm certainly sabotaging my career and at risk of losing my job if I keep on with my current mindset even though I'm aware that I have a chance at early retirement thanks to my nan and parents.

Thank you again for reading this rant, all the best on your journey

[never give up]

There's quite a lot to unpack there, and I'm no where near qualified enough to comment on some aspects. If you feel your lack of motivation is anything to do with depression or a wider problem please seek help won't you.

I can talk more about the numbers and work environment. My workplace has deteriorated over the last four years, I've found work hard, don't enjoy it as I used to, I've been at the same place over 20 years, and I'm taking my pursuit of FIRE extremely seriously.

I don't know if you've ever used the "where do I fit in" site of The Institute for Fiscal Studies?

https://ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in

I'm not saying this in anyway to make you feel guilty or anything, but your household income puts you above 98% of households in the UK. You both have a very special opportunity to leave work early in one form or another. I would strongly recommend taking advantage of it if your health permits. Sometimes reframing a situation can help with motivation, especially when you can see a plan starting to come together, not wishing to sound like I'm in the A Team. If you can visualise the escape then I have found that has helped me in the work environment. I've set my own goals there. I've focused more on being a helpful as possible to other colleagues, not chasing promotions, not getting involved with any corporate fluff and nonsense, and trying to generate a many laughs as possible during the working day. It all helps.

Numbers wise don't worry about the pension access age of 57/58. Assuming you are going to be alive after this age (I do hope so) then the pension forms a vital part of the plan. It's long, but please read the Monevator series in order that I linked to. It's really very good.

[Ron2500]

Thanks Never give up, I'm sorry your workplace has deteriorated, well done for keeping a positive attitude.

Yes I definitely need to take care of my mental health and put things into perspective. I only focus on the negative these days and need to reframe the situation.

The Monevator series is very interesting, thanks for the link.

[never give up]

Thanks Ron2500. I hope it goes well for you too. Feel free to post this in the UK Tax board. We don’t use it just for tax. It’s basically the UK board. You’ll probably receive more feedback there from other UK people.

[Manchester]

Reading your post, it's quite apparent that you're struggling with your mental health.  Please don't be complacent about this and seek help.  Understanding why you could be feeling depressed/demotivated could change your life for the better.

If I were you I wouldn't worry too much about your FIRE journey right now.  Maybe seek opportunities to reduce your hours at work - if you could half your hours and half your wage you'd still be earning a very good income. 

You should also be more positive about yourself.  Don't become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Stop referring to yourself as lazy.  You've clearly got something about you otherwise you wouldn't be earning £90k pa.

[cerat0n1a]

I think I'm going through a mid 30s life crisis: being super fed up with work, deep into the prison sentence mentality and having no motivation whatsoever.

I very much agree with what Manchester said - it's the mid-30s crisis you need to sort out before thinking too hard about FIRE. Getting on top of your mental health should be #1 priority.

FWIW, I retired early in my forties, with a lower salary than yours, and without any inheritance, with children and a spouse who was doing unpaid work either looking after the children or voluntary work.

With a good savings rate, use of pensions, control of expenses and so on, your salary could let you amass a sizeable chunk of money over the course of a decade, if that's what you want to do. But 10 years of viewing it as a prison sentence is not going to work. You need to get to a place where you're feeling OK day to day first. 

[Ron2500]

Thank you Manchester and cerat0n1a

Spot on Manchester on the self-fulfilling prophecy

Well done cerat0n1a for reaching FI/ early retirement.

I will seek help and hopefully improve my outlook on life.

[PhilB]

+1 on the messages from others that you need to focus on your mental health more than your finances at this point.  With those salaries you have lots of options, but the order of dealing things definitely needs to be get happy, then get rich, not the other way round.

I would recommend not even thinking much about FIRE and long term plans until you've got your head together.  Just keep your spending low (as you have been doing) and let things quietly snowball in the background for a while. 

None of us can ever eliminate from our lives all the things that don't make us happy.  What we can try to do is to shift our mental focus so that much more of our head space is focused on the things that DO make us happy.  Medication may help, therapy may help, practices such as gratitude journals may help.  Spending all your time thinking about not having to work definitely won't.  I really hope you find the right combination to restore your mojo.

[Ron2500]

Thanks PhilB
One of my friends also suggested a gratitude journal, she said that the more you're grateful and happy the more you get good things in life , I will give it a go.

[Jade]

Hi Ron2500,

I've nothing to add to the very sensible advice you've already had but just wanted to wish you well. You've taken the first step in recognizing something needs to change which is a big part of the battle often I think. I was in a kind of similar headspace a few years ago and got some good advice here too.

All the best,

[Ron2500]

Thanks Jade, glad you've managed to move past this headspace

[whywork]

Bro Ron,

I am exactly like you; always hated going to work and am never motivated. I would suggest the below

You didn't mention how are you investing. I feel that's the key. I would suggest investing 60% in index funds (S&P 500). 25% in crypto (bitcoin and ethereum) and 15% on buying leveraged index funds (TQQQ or UPRO). If you don't have leveraged ETFs in UK, try to invest in LEAPs (long term option calls) on these index funds.

WFH makes it even harder to be motivated. Maybe try working from a library or cafe or some other place with people around. Having a dedicated workspace for you and not getting up from there helps too.

Also try not to quit at a low amount. With inflation and several years to go, you need a safer amount. Looking at FIRE forums will make you hate your work life even more; you should forget these forums and the idea of FIRE. Motivate yourself to work as much as you can and keep switching jobs when it's hard but don't quit until it's safe.

[former player]

Bro Ron,

You didn't mention how are you investing. I feel that's the key. I would suggest investing 60% in index funds (S&P 500). 25% in crypto (bitcoin and ethereum) and 15% on buying leveraged index funds (TQQQ or UPRO). If you don't have leveraged ETFs in UK, try to invest in LEAPs (long term option calls) on these index funds.

Free investment advice from an anonymous source on the internet is worth less than what you paid for it.

WFH makes it even harder to be motivated. Maybe try working from a library or cafe or some other place with people around. Having a dedicated workspace for you and not getting up from there helps too.

This is decent advice, if it fits your particular circumstances.

[whywork]

Free investment advice from an anonymous source on the internet is worth less than what you paid for it.

Thank you for warning. We definitely need alternate views. Ron, my portfolio is aggressive (40% crypto, 10% TQQQ, 20% FAANG stocks, 30% QQQ) but worked for me well (my investments more than doubled since what they were pre-pandemic). Please choose as it works for you

[PhilB]

Free investment advice from an anonymous source on the internet is worth less than what you paid for it.

Thank you for warning. We definitely need alternate views. Ron, my portfolio is aggressive (40% crypto, 10% TQQQ, 20% FAANG stocks, 30% QQQ) but worked for me well (my investments more than doubled since what they were pre-pandemic). Please choose as it works for you

That's nothing.  I made a 3500% return* by investing on black 17!.

* Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.  Your capital is at risk if you play roulette.

[Ron2500]

Thank you Whywork for the encouragement

Investments wise I know I shouldn't talk too negatively about myself but I'm definitely not the best.
At the moment my salary is automatically invested in global funds every  month, my past experience with individual stocks is not great.
I'm curious about investing in QQQ, does anyone from the UK know what the equivalent is here and what brokerage offers it please?

[cerat0n1a]

I'm curious about investing in QQQ, does anyone from the UK know what the equivalent is here and what brokerage offers it please?

QQQ is a Nasdaq-100 tracker isn't it?

https://www.ishares.com/uk/individual/en/products/253741/ishares-nasdaq-100-ucits-etf
https://www.ii.co.uk/etfs/invesco-eqqq-nasdaq-100-etf-gbp/LSE:EQQQ

No doubt there are plenty of others.

You can also buy the leveraged one (TQQQ equivalent) if you fancy gambling.
https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/etf/snapshot/snapshot.aspx?id=0p0000xqve

(And plenty of others)

[Ron2500]

Thanks cerat0n1a !

@whywork
Re WFH, I could work from the office if I wanted to, my current workplace has an "open door" policy, I could also try working from a cafe, I'm feeling quite unmotivated but maybe I just need to "force" myself for a while.
I know that a safer amount would be better, but I'm fighting with the part of me who just wants to quit now so if I manage to get to £500k it will be a great achievement.
And yes maybe I should stop looking at FIRE forums for now

[MrThatsDifferent]

I really hope that you invest your time in seeking therapy to better understand what’s going on with you. Something is happening and it’s profound and needs immediate attention. Therapy, particularly for men, can be life-saving and re-defining. Prioritise your mental health and then evaluate your life and career decisions.