Anyone "Unretire"?

[ATtiny85]

I considered getting a little pt job at local HD or auto part stores last year.  They were all hiring, but none would fit my restrictions and required flexibility.  I figured it wasn't meant to be.  ;-).

Having the ability to put restrictions on applications and walking away is super powerful! That is very awesome to be in a position to say "hmm, then no thanks."

In a lot of places it seems things are even more stretched than last year. Might be time to add a couple more restrictions and float an app or two.

[asauer]

I did but not soley b/c of inflation.  I was out of it for 6 months and realized that there were still some financial goals that I had.  I'm back to work just doing it in a very different way.  Having 6 months off gave me a much needed rest and a new perspective on money and on my value as a person (read: where I want to spend my time).  So, I'll be in for another 2-4 years.

[Poeirenta]

I am suddenly thinking about it...help!

I've been on my Sabbatical of Unknown Length/ test-RE for about 10 months. A colleague (not from my former employer) reached out with a work opportunity for a small NGO.  It would let me use my skills and stay involved in an important societal cause on which I am a subject matter expert. It would be nice to bring in a little more income and keep our hands off the stash.

Here's where I'm hung up: do I want to start a business so I can legally (in WA) be an independent contractor, aka freelance consultant? Or be a part time, remote (except for 1 in-person meeting each quarter) employee? Seems like they could do either, but with a preference to a consultant contract.

I'm just not sure I want the hassle of starting and running a business. On the other hand, a location-independent p/t job would fit with future plans to travel in FIRE.

I'm only looking for 16 hours/week; I'm just not sure it's worth it given I'd have to do the taxes, invoicing, etc. Also, I will need to buy a laptop since I only have a Surface Go tablet.

Anyone want to convince me/dissuade me from my options above?

(there's also the option to stay on sabbbatical...)

[Miss Piggy]

I've been on my Sabbatical of Unknown Length...

SOUL-searching?

(Sorry...for some reason, I couldn't help myself. It just sort of jumped off the page.)

[MustacheAndaHalf]

Here's where I'm hung up: do I want to start a business so I can legally (in WA) be an independent contractor, aka freelance consultant? Or be a part time, remote (except for 1 in-person meeting each quarter) employee? Seems like they could do either, but with a preference to a consultant contract.

I'm just not sure I want the hassle of starting and running a business. On the other hand, a location-independent p/t job would fit with future plans to travel in FIRE.

You are not the first person who wants to become a consultant and is only creating a company to do that.  I suspect this is easier than you expect, since you're starting a one person business.  You might want to ask over in the "taxes" area, which tends to also have good answers about accounting and business decisions.
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/taxes/

[Poeirenta]

I've been on my Sabbatical of Unknown Length...

SOUL-searching?

(Sorry...for some reason, I couldn't help myself. It just sort of jumped off the page.)

That's because I totally stole it from another forum member! It was too perfect not to!

[moneytaichi]

Work makes you appreciate the small things and without work the small things become irrelevant.  I found it was actually effort, not a job but real effort, to keep myself motivated and occupied. You have to set goals and push yourself outside of your boundaries. Take chances and don't let yourself get into too much of a routine.  Keep pushing to find new things, new experiences.  They don't have to cost a lot but do spend the money you do have on these things.  I can't stress it enough, retirement does not mean the end of effort, it's not easy and if you don't push yourself you can fall into a routine that may not satisfy you. 

Hands down on @frugal_c. I retired at 2018 and went back to a FT job at the summer of 2021. After retirement, we are still us. I found myself run into the same issues at work during my retirement time, e.g. striving for achievements, people pleasing and perfectionist. I slowly downshifted my gear to a place of equilibrium and a good routine. I filled my time with newly found appreciation to slow living.

After I went back to work in 2021, I found my old unhealthy tendencies came up again (as expected). I have been trying to shift down the gears WHILE working. This means to let go of my expectations, become more patient, find satisfaction in certain things, and not give a f**k on everything etc. I work from home 80 to 90% of time so I have tons of flexibility. I am glad that I am working currently because I can:
1) pad more cushion, buy stocks and help my family
2) less opportunity costs because of Covid and DH's health issues
3) get paid to build a healthy lifestyle for my re-FIRE later

The last one is really important because I realize that I can still be miserable or get stuck in an unhealthy lifestyle, even if I retire. Like @frugal_c said, we have to push ourselves to find new experience and find a good routine. It becomes more important after RE when the motivation and structure of a work are gone. I just committed to my psychologist/life coach that I will do more exercise and fun local trips in the next couple of weeks.

[Polaria]

In Canada it can be more difficult, depending on your work, to get rehired over 50. It seems to be an ageist bias that is very difficult to prove.

Correct, the same here. But to be honest, I have never switched jobs and still work for my first employer so can't tell you from my own experience. It is just a known fact, a week ago they mentioned it on a newsitem related to the shortage of labor. The 50+ group is basically ignored and sitting at home.

There is another side to the story though, more personal than my age. As mentioned this is my first employer and I am very comfortable there. I'm experienced, appreciated, accepted and earn a very good income for my education level. Job is fun as well, no toxic environment.
Retiring a nice job like that with the knowledge that unretiring means to start all over and proving yourself again, doesn't sound that great. So if I retire - it should be fore good.

This ageism problem is exactly the same in Belgium. If you get unemployed and you’re 50 or over, you get specific trainings from the unemployment agencies to boost your chances to find a new job (as one of my relatives in that case explained to me a couple of years ago).

[Metalcat]

I "retired" like MMM did, in that I retired from my main, full time profession, and have no intention of going back because I physically can't.

I can afford not to work, but I like work, so I'm constantly taking on projects. Some of those projects are compensated, some aren't. I only take on projects I enjoy. I easily walk away from the ones that I stop enjoying.

I enjoy working for free when it makes sense, but I HATE doing work for free when it's just a business entity trying to take advantage of me. So for that work, if it's interesting, I insist on fair compensation, but what's fair isn't some default amount I insist on working for. If it's a $500/hr job, then I'll expect $500/hr, if it's a $30/hr job, then I'll expect $30/hr. It depends on which skills I'm using and what the industry is.

That said, I'm doing another degree right now, which will lead to another career, so even though I have some paying projects at the moment, I won't consider myself "unretired" until I'm back to having an actual career. Not just work that I move in and out of at will.

All of my definitions for myself are 100% arbitrary, like everything to do with defining what "retirement" means for anyone.

[Morning Glory]

My spouse just started a job this week so I am technically now a SAHP. He should make enough to cover our expenses while the stash recovers but not much more, so I guess we are "barista fire". When people ask what I do I've been telling them I'm on a career break to take care of children, then talk about what I did before. They inevitably ask what my spouse does and then get confused when I tell them he's also a SAHP, so I won't be able to do that any more. 

[MustacheAndaHalf]

EscapeVelocity2020 - Would an anonymous poll settle the question of this thread having confirmation bias?
(I could also see the reverse: someone FIRE'd successfully, so they don't have much to share in here, and don't post)

I've considered what to say in this thread, but ultimately I value privacy more than sharing complete details.  I was retired for some number of years, then un-retired.  Last year I donated ETFs to a donor advised fund, which you can infer means I had money to donate to charity.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

EscapeVelocity2020 - Would an anonymous poll settle the question of this thread having confirmation bias?
(I could also see the reverse: someone FIRE'd successfully, so they don't have much to share in here, and don't post)

I've considered what to say in this thread, but ultimately I value privacy more than sharing complete details.  I was retired for some number of years, then un-retired.  Last year I donated ETFs to a donor advised fund, which you can infer means I had money to donate to charity.

It would be interesting if there were an anonymous thread version with a poll and people could comment anonymously to add color (since 'unretire' can mean all sorts of things, like you point out.  One person may consider it un-retiring or switching careers and another might call it FIRE'd, just working for other than FI reasons).

As to the successful FIREs that leave ER forums to do other things, I guess we'd just have to accept that there is some % of those that wouldn't be represented in the results...

[BlueHouse]

I guess it's popped in my head but since all the 'losses' are still on paper and not realized I will just wait it out and hope that the 'I' word gets under control, that going into mid-term elections and year end the markets will improve in general

Same.