The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Post-FIRE => Topic started by: epower on May 08, 2017, 01:18:29 PM
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Am thinking once I reach FIRE would be nice to have 6 months off or so and then get back into work in some shape or form.
I'm just not the kind of person for the "life of leisure" as they say. Preferably something 9-3pm or 4 days a week or so.
What options have you considered or are currently doing?
Have thought of personal trainer, truck driver, etc or working part time in retail garden centres, outdoor equipment shop, etc.
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Commenting to follow.
My current "day job" was my previous moonlighting gig that wound up being more lucrative & fun, so it turned into full-time. My current "moonlighting" is teaching group fitness classes in the evenings (very rewarding >>> not lucrative), which will shift to a daytime class schedule once my day job is no longer around (post-FIRE). It's always good to have a couple of plates spinning :)
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As someone whose career has not been one that provides gratification or happiness (other than making a lot of money) I've tried to pay attention to what "work" activities bring me happiness, or at the very least are enjoyable. I've been office bound my entire career, but I've noticed that I love physical activities. They can even be somewhat mundane but I think the combination of physical activity and accomplishing a task (seeing immediate gratification) pushes all the right buttons for me. There's a psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who coined the term "flow" where you lose track of time because you are so engulfed in what you're doing and how those tasks tend to create the most happiness. This might be something you want to think about and consider pursuing jobs that might encompass whatever it is that puts you in that "flow" state.
I love driving so I've thought about the truck driving angle but I'm not sure I'd want to spend much of my time dealing with jackwagons that can't drive. Sounds like a cool way to see some other parts of the country but it would also mean being away from home for a couple weeks at a time if I was a long haul driver.
I love real estate. It's probably the hobby I spend the most time on. I look up deeds, surf the MLS, drive through new developments, read zoning ordinances. I'm weird, I know. I've thought about being a real estate agent but an agent primarily works when everyone else isn't, especially if you are a buyer's agent and you're showing clients homes. That's a lot of weekends. Plus there's still a significant amount of time spent in an office. Yet if living a peak life is living an off peak life, as MMM would say, then maybe working weekends isn't that bad, though that's when all my friends and family are off.
I don't think I would mind working in a Home Depot or Lowe's either. As someone who is fairly handy I'm sure I'd learn all kinds of stuff in the beginning. A retail center like that would provide plenty of interaction with other people. I've also thought about working in a grocery store as a no pressure job, stocking shelves or something that has me moving around. Publix is a well known grocery chain in the southeast that provides health insurance to part-time employees, and they're ranked as one of the best companies to work for in the US. This would solve that pesky health insurance problem, depending on what happens politically.
A real estate agent will probably be the first job I seriously look into. I've already looked up what it will take to get my license. I'll have to find a broker that would take me on and decide if I was willing to accept how that office operates (so many hours in the office, making cold calls, etc.) If that doesn't work out, maybe the grocery store deal. There's a Food Lion right down the street and I'd love to walk to work. A Public is opening in another year or so. I would drive a few miles to work at one of the best rated companies in the US.
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I've already taken steps toward my second career after FIRE -- rock/ice climbing guide. I worked toward AMGA certifications for a couple years, then began guiding on weekends about 2 years ago. In (less than) two years when I retire from my day job, I'll guide "full" time (full time in guiding can be anything from 3-7 days/week, I'm hoping for 3-4 days/week). I've also thought about getting a personal training certificate. I've been work out/doing sport-specific training for nearly 40 years. Finally, could possibly pick up teaching some Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes here and there as well. Don't need to do any of it for the money -- I'm all set there -- but rather for the personal fulfillment and to keep me active and busy.
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Commenting to follow.
My current "day job" was my previous moonlighting gig that wound up being more lucrative & fun, so it turned into full-time. My current "moonlighting" is teaching group fitness classes in the evenings (very rewarding >>> not lucrative), which will shift to a daytime class schedule once my day job is no longer around (post-FIRE). It's always good to have a couple of plates spinning :)
This is what I did also. However, I'm working as a freelance writer, a job in which the rates are collapsing week to week. So it would depend if you need the money at all. Agree with Mamagoose that having a number of plates spinning is helpful.
BA
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I am still in the 6 months honeymoon "this doesn't feel real stage" and wondering if I'll ever get used to it. Weirder is I cannot figure out how I got anything done while I was working!
There's a significant amount of f-off time reading, gaming, cooking, walking & biking the neighborhood, researching & writing, along with many minor home projects still waiting. I got the biggest, costliest things out of the way before I FIRE'd in December.
I donate to PP & ACLU & volunteer to the local humane society & I've gotten way more active politically but none of those are things I'd want to make into a job.
The things I liked best about my previous work (network tech-installed/repaired dsl): making customers smile when it all works. Being competent & knowledgeable about my industry & sharing the awesomeness of technology. Showing people the possibilities of the web & how huge the world of information could be. Turning them on to gaming or vids or forums.
I'm not sure how to translate any of that into a paying gig but I'm thinking about it.
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I couldn't get full clearance for actual, complete retirement from DW, and it would cause tons of dissonance (as documented repeatedly on threads here) among family and friends...so I took a passion/hobby, and started a small business pursuing it. It's been a lot of work, mostly very reward, but still a lot of work. The first year I learned a ton, including things I wasn't planning on or very interested in (renovations, website design), but now I am just doing my thing, making things that people really like and happily pay for (which is much more enjoyable form of interacting with people than my career job which I left). I don't make much money, and spent a good chunk on the startup...but I should make it back plus some, and have an income source if we ever needed it.
We'll see how it goes...a gratifying adventure so far...although I'd rather be fully retired and traveling a bunch...
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So my industry (tech) is strange in that contractors are treated like disposable "things" and they are afraid of lawsuits if they treat people like anything other then that. I HATED it when I was a contractor and needed a consistent paycheck (poor, materialistic, young 20's), however I now see a lot of potential in it for a semi FIRE person.
In my state, you have to work like 6 months to reset your unemployment check. You could theoretically do a 6 month contract, get your normal (expected) layoff, get unemployment for 6 months, then just keep repeating the cycle, basically getting 6 months off every year for as long as you want while never touching the stache as long as unemployment check is as much as your expenses. Most contracts I did in the past are like 1/100th the responsibility and much easier then any full time job, they do get paid less typically however.
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As someone whose career has not been one that provides gratification or happiness (other than making a lot of money) I've tried to pay attention to what "work" activities bring me happiness, or at the very least are enjoyable. I've been office bound my entire career, but I've noticed that I love physical activities. They can even be somewhat mundane but I think the combination of physical activity and accomplishing a task (seeing immediate gratification) pushes all the right buttons for me. There's a psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who coined the term "flow" where you lose track of time because you are so engulfed in what you're doing and how those tasks tend to create the most happiness. This might be something you want to think about and consider pursuing jobs that might encompass whatever it is that puts you in that "flow" state.
I love driving so I've thought about the truck driving angle but I'm not sure I'd want to spend much of my time dealing with jackwagons that can't drive. Sounds like a cool way to see some other parts of the country but it would also mean being away from home for a couple weeks at a time if I was a long haul driver.
I love real estate. It's probably the hobby I spend the most time on. I look up deeds, surf the MLS, drive through new developments, read zoning ordinances. I'm weird, I know. I've thought about being a real estate agent but an agent primarily works when everyone else isn't, especially if you are a buyer's agent and you're showing clients homes. That's a lot of weekends. Plus there's still a significant amount of time spent in an office. Yet if living a peak life is living an off peak life, as MMM would say, then maybe working weekends isn't that bad, though that's when all my friends and family are off.
I don't think I would mind working in a Home Depot or Lowe's either. As someone who is fairly handy I'm sure I'd learn all kinds of stuff in the beginning. A retail center like that would provide plenty of interaction with other people. I've also thought about working in a grocery store as a no pressure job, stocking shelves or something that has me moving around. Publix is a well known grocery chain in the southeast that provides health insurance to part-time employees, and they're ranked as one of the best companies to work for in the US. This would solve that pesky health insurance problem, depending on what happens politically.
A real estate agent will probably be the first job I seriously look into. I've already looked up what it will take to get my license. I'll have to find a broker that would take me on and decide if I was willing to accept how that office operates (so many hours in the office, making cold calls, etc.) If that doesn't work out, maybe the grocery store deal. There's a Food Lion right down the street and I'd love to walk to work. A Public is opening in another year or so. I would drive a few miles to work at one of the best rated companies in the US.
Very thoughtful answer and I too love physical work. I didn't realize there were stores etc that have health benes for part-time jobs - now I'm gonna search the hell outta this one! I stocked shelves at a grocery store 20+ yrs ago and actually found it quite fun! It was physical, you saw immediate progress in your work (unlike my bureaucratic office job) and I got a store discount :)
thanks for the comment
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I've already taken steps toward my second career after FIRE -- rock/ice climbing guide. I worked toward AMGA certifications for a couple years, then began guiding on weekends about 2 years ago. In (less than) two years when I retire from my day job, I'll guide "full" time (full time in guiding can be anything from 3-7 days/week, I'm hoping for 3-4 days/week). I've also thought about getting a personal training certificate. I've been work out/doing sport-specific training for nearly 40 years. Finally, could possibly pick up teaching some Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes here and there as well. Don't need to do any of it for the money -- I'm all set there -- but rather for the personal fulfillment and to keep me active and busy.
Where do you live dude? I also rock/ice climb... live in Virginia. I go to Ouray every winter and also climb ice in the Catskills and Adirondacks. I though about pursuing AMGA but would have a lot of work to do.
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I am only five months into FIRE. I started a part time job working only two days a week after the first month and found out I still do not enjoy listening to an alarm or getting up only to scurry, scurry, scurry. I really thought I could handle it because I came from a really intense job (high school teacher) and was the master multi-tasker. Even though my part time job was FAR less stressful, I decided to quit and focus on turning my art hobby into something legit. It has been a crazy process but a fun one.
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Been retired 1.5 years and I limit my outside PAID deals to small amounts of consulting and playing music with several bands...
The music gigs always takes preference if it overlaps with my consulting gigs....And fun stuff like traveling, athletic coaching, and other things always take first preference!
Big Easy
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For me, I'm thinking FI coach.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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+1 to Mr. Green in observing what you really enjoy and using that to guide your future choices. Don't be afraid to try a few different things and see how you like them.
OP, how close are you to FIRE? If you want to work and earn an income but are not already FIRE, consider taking some time off and making a career change well before FIRE, especially if you are not enjoying your job.
FIRE is generally understood to be having enough stashed away that you don't ever need to work again if you don't want to. If you are already there, but desire to work a more enjoyable job, you may have worked too long in a job you did not like. I bring this up in case you are not yet FIRE, but aiming for it.
My thinking on this has changed a lot in the last 6 months. I'm at about 60-70% of my FIRE target and planning on downshifting to more enjoyable, lower-paying work within the year. I don't know the exact thing I'll do, but I'm enjoying considering a diversity of options. My expenses are so low there are lots of things I could do to just cover my costs and let my stash grow. Things like farmer, brewer/vintner, and guy fixing up houses to rent are attractive to me right now. I also find it very rewarding to fix broken things and resell them. All are very different than my current job.
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I work a few days a month as a librarian (my lifelong career.) I enjoy connecting with the library folks in my community and it has been a great way to meet people.
I also have invested in 2 rental properties. Fixing them up was fun and is an excellent investment in my area.
I wouldn't actually plan on a second career until you are actually retired - it's amazing how the fun stuff fills your time!
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I'm interested in something health related and consultative in nature. I.e. nutrition coach, personal trainer, or physical therapist. I would have to get additional certifications for any of these but feel these provide ample flexibility and mental stimulation.