Don't panic !

[rob/d]

Do you have a panicky moment now and then ?
Do you freeze for a second and flip into " did i turn the oven off " mode except its " did i add it all up right"?
I'm on week 8 of FIRE and i have had a few of these.
I go and check my numbers , the one's i've checked a hundred times , all is well .
Then i get a final payslip with no money in "NET pay"  and were off again .
Recheck numbers , talk to wife and we both recheck numbers , all is well .
Some may call me  pussy , but  an early finish is quite  frightening and it does affect you.
All said it's still  99% rainbows and smiles here and only 1% this crap .

Just saying.

Now where did i put my brave pills ?

[MsRichLife]

Yep. I rerun the calculations over and over. I have a giant spreadsheet where I try all different scenarios to see if our modelling stands up. I've just set my FIRE date and have started communicating it to people so I'm newly in the 'Oh Crap, this is really happening' phase.

[soccerluvof4]

Yea i think its normal to have a little OCD for awhile but if it doesnt wear off eventually you might wanta seek counceling! lol.  All kidding a side its a big change in your life give it sometime to set in.

[Exflyboy]

Oh yeah I used to wake up several times a night and had to re-run the numbers in my head.

Like you can do that so much better at 3am..hahah.

[rob/d]

 It's not just me then . Hmmm.
 

[concealed stache]

Walking down a staircase to the station... rerun those numbers
Having dinner with a friend and listening to their story... rerun those numbers
Hiking up a path towards a mountain... rerun those numbers
Turn off the lights and climb into bed... rerun those numbers

The numbers will be with you... always

It does get a bit annoying, but as the track record of success grows day by day, the worries seep away little by little.

[Rollin]

I test and retest my numbers (actually the formulas).  This is partly because many years pre-FIRE it was easy to say I have X amount of $$ from my one job.  However, FIRE will include many income line items and it just doesn't seem possible that they all add up to about what I make while I am still working!

On that note, I was challenged by my BIL (he wasn't happy with my plans - hmmm) and so I then asked him - "if you could walk away from your job today and have the same amount of income would you do it?"  He said "in a heart beat."

[zephyr911]

I test and retest my numbers (actually the formulas).  This is partly because many years pre-FIRE it was easy to say I have X amount of $$ from my one job.  However, FIRE will include many income line items and it just doesn't seem possible that they all add up to about what I make while I am still working!

It only matters what you spend, not what you make ;)

[opnfld]

Last night, lying in bed.  "What would it really be like if the market declined 50%?"  Sequence of returns risk.

Due in part to my subconscious encouraging me to stay in the job through May, rather than call it quits in January.

[Rollin]

I test and retest my numbers (actually the formulas).  This is partly because many years pre-FIRE it was easy to say I have X amount of $$ from my one job.  However, FIRE will include many income line items and it just doesn't seem possible that they all add up to about what I make while I am still working!

It only matters what you spend, not what you make ;)

Kinda, but tell my DW that! : o

[Playing with Fire UK]

Love the HHTTG reference!

I still occassionally have dreams (asleep and awake) where I end up in a panic over some exam or paper that I'm meant to hand in tomorrow. I graduated a decade ago and haven't taken any exams (apart from work piece of piss tests) since then. It gets a lot quieter but I'm not sure it ever goes away.

I also sometimes get stressy about suddenly losing a job (generally when someone thinks I've fucked up which is quickly resolved); I have a 'parachute' budget which identifies all the bits of work I could do and the way to avoid spending and liquidity crunches to avoid dropping into my savings. Although this is a bit overkill, I reassure myself that it would be okay and then pop the plan back in the drawer (or file under Z), and life goes on.

[arebelspy]

I think I would have done this checking and rechecking, but we ended up just diving in a few years earlier than planned, so I know I'll just have to wait and see if it'll work.

If I had FIRE'd on schedule, with all my ducks in a row, I'd still be checking to see if they're in the row, or wandered off.  Since I know I'm already short 2 ducklings from what I was planning, I'm just not worrying about it.  We probably have enough, so let's see.  :)