This is my first post on MMM, I have been lurking and reading for a few months. My story is very similar to the OP, except that it all happened about 2.5 years ago, so I think I can add some perspective.
I was 49 years old and had been at the same megacorp for 15 years, and had steadily moved up the ranks until I was made a director in my last position. I actually did not want the director role as I liked being a manager, but I was picked and I really had no right of refusal other than to quit. That all happened in late 2005. I started my new director role in early 2006 and did well until 2012 for the most part, although the stress and anxiety of the job was wearing me out. My "C" level boss retired in early 2012 and my peer got the job. He made my and everyone's life a living hell immediately. He was a madman actually, causing so much stress that several people went out on disability, 1 woman who was younger than I died in her sleep (I believe this was at least partially because of work stress) and I then witnessed another co-worker have a stroke in the middle of a contentious meeting.
I made a great deal of money, but with kids in college, I also paid full price for all things college and I paid as much to the federal government alone in taxes as I earn in salary today.
I suffered with anxiety and my health was really poor. Fortunately, I had an OK start to FI with the following:
250K in pension which I took as a lump sum when I left, which I ten rolled into a deferred income annuity (the pension I could buy for myself was better than what the company was offering)
600K in 401K which I rolled into an IRA
100K in brokerage savings earmarked for college
200K in equity in my primary home
75K in equity in our vacation home in FL (which will soon become our permanent home)
So, I quit my job after I found a similar position at a university in the Philly area. However, the new job came with a 2 hour one way commute, so at the last minute I took a very low paying position with a friend's non profit. I spent 2 years at this job living through PTSD. The madman C level person was fired 4 months after I left, and although a few folks asked about me coming back, I knew I was done. I had no gas left in the tank. I was 49 and I felt tired and just wrecked. I also went through a guilt stage which was composed with an overwhelming feeling of guilt that Dad and Hubby was not the corporate all star anymore. My wife has a job that she loves working at the local school, so we had health benefits covered, and my small salary was paying most of the bills. However, working for a small non profit was not for me as we were always going month to month not knowing if donations would keep us open. Another type of stress.
After 2 years, we made our next big decision when I accepted a position at a university in Florida that is close to where our vacation home is. My wife and youngest are still in my original state of PA as my youngest is graduating high school in 2017. The good news is that my son goes to the same school I work at, so we are making the split family situation work for now.
I really like my new job in the .edu space. Universities move slowly, are typically more political, but the stress level is 10% of what I used to have. My salary is still only about half of what I used to make, but my son gets freee tuitiion and I also increased my financial aid package for my daughter by 20K as a result of my job downsizing.
I use the word downsizing when I talk with others about my job situation. Just as a house can get to be too much, so can jobs. I downsized to get away from the madness. I was very successful in my old life, but I was never happy. My wife, out of the blue after 6 months told me one evening that "It was so nice to have her husband back". I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried when I heard that.
I learned a great deal about myself through this journey. I have social anxiety and do not do well in meetings. I am much better at working with small teams on very technical projects and am back in my comfort zone. My new unversity wanted to make me a director, and I respectfully told them no way. My self-discovery taught me that I actually went up at least one too many levels in my career, as I was chasing the money as well as the ego.
I consider myself FI today and my financial picture has improved somewhat through the acquisition of a rental property. Homes in rural Florida are cheap, and the rental market is strong. Most importantly, with an annual tax bill of $500, the passive income seems like a good strategy. I think I am going to grow that number to 5 houses to create most of my retirement income.
I am actually planning on full retirement in 2017 when my youngest graduates. She will get the basic state college education (Florida is an exceptionally great value) and I will thank God that I made it. It is not easy being separated from loved ones, but our weird situation is working 7 months into our 2 year plan.
My advice to the OP is to not wait for life or deals or companies. The megacorp I worked for outsourced my entire former department, and I am so happy I did not have to live through all of that stress 2 years later. I would also suggest looking at .EDU employers, the pace is slower and the salaries are lower, but I started with 26 days of vacation, 10 days of sick time, and 15 university holidays. That's like being retired already! My retirement stash would have been more if I had stayed, but the true cost of that in personal health is just not worth it.
Lastly, here is your litmus test. If, on Sunday evening, you have an unbearable sense of dread for Monday, OR if on Friday you have such euphoria that you made another week; these are your queues to make a change.
FloridaDad
