I was 37 years old the day I learned that my career was over. Two decades of continuous effort snuffed out with a single news report that my employer had ceased operations. At the time I'd reached a point where I was about to achieve my career objective position. At job fairs, prospective employers showed interest and I was starting to get interviews before the economy collapsed and my company folded.
At the time, my wife and I had two toddlers with one on the way. I clearly remember being terrified as I stared at my final paycheck and wondered what we were going to do next. Thankfully my side hustle had been the slow accumulation of 7 rental homes. At every stop on my career path, I would accumulate a house or two. When it was time to leave, I would rent them out and move on to my next position. They were spread along the west coast, and I managed them from afar. Now my access to free travel was extinguished and I had to make a change.
The real estate market was enjoying an upswing. I was able to quickly liquidate my distant investments and, using a 1031 tax exchange, reconstituted the equity into building lots back in my rural hometown. My family and I moved from the heart of urban life to where the cost of living was low and effectively created a new fighting position on familiar ground. The only other job skill I had accumulated in my life to that point was in the construction of single-family housing. Using that ability, I began to construct rental houses on the lots I purchased, and we were quickly on our way to a new life.
As the years went by, I was able to acquire or build three to five homes per year. I managed all parts of construction and conducted much of the labor myself. It was grueling manual labor however I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel before the collapse of 2008 occurred eliminating access to mortgages. Idled again by another economic downturn I began to hunt for new ways to make myself productive. Eventually, it occurred to me that the growing number of vacant homes would need professional property management. I was able to secure a designated real estate broker's license and opened my own property management business.
The first years were grueling. I went from being a physical laborer to one who had to manage people. These skills did not come instinctively to me. Emotional work is some of the most painful that I have experienced and by far the least fun. When starting a business, you don't get to pick and choose the fun parts. You are responsible for all the tasks to run the operation including those you are not well suited for. It wore me down emotionally and would seek refuge in the footwell of my desk on occasion so that people would think I had left. Eventually, I was able to begin hiring staff to help carry the load. Eight or more years ago, I had reached a point where I had hired and trained and hired enough people to be able to replace myself completely. I was free to return to my chosen profession and set to work hunting job opportunities.
Quickly I discovered that my stale resume had no value. Employers were not impressed by my recent years of manual labor. They were not interested in my business accomplishments either. I had to start completely over at an entry-level position in my field to restore my professional value. So, I began to climb the ladder anew and eventually worked my way into a good job at a professional level position that serves as a respected credential. Eventually, I was again experiencing positive feedback from prospective employers and even started to receive some interview invitations before covid hit.
The purpose here is to share my story of how I reached FIRE. Though I do receive paychecks, the last check I received as the sole support of my family was a very long time ago. The bulk of my financial support comes from passive and active sources. I am very thankful that my real estate efforts bore fruit. My family is much happier after my career imploded. We eventually grew to 6 children and have been able to live in a manner that we only dreamed of as a wage slave. My career had me on the road constantly. Now my wife has me close at hand every day. I am only a text away from picking up a kid at school for an orthodontist appointment or last-minute items at the store. Since being laid off long ago, I have been home nearly every night. I currently am employed full-time in a position in my chosen field however, it is not my career objective. Apart from that, I can do what I want most of the time except sleep-in since the kids must be at school. I still head into the office on days where I am not engaged with my profession and join in with whatever situation is at hand. Lately, we have been focused on snow removal. Life in FIRE is great. I could spend my days skiing but choose not to.
I would like to make the point here that I do not have to work at all and have been in that situation for a very long time. Employment is my choice. Nothing in life is either all good or all bad. There are some considerable downsides to life after FIRE. It is the primary focus of my contributions to this thread.
