Author Topic: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated  (Read 121484 times)

TomTX

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #200 on: September 21, 2020, 08:26:53 AM »
I was just looking for a “safe”ish place to vent and chose here. Please feel free to ignore me and move on now. This post is pretty pointless,

I am not sure if I have OMY syndrome but my inability to calmly move toward FIRE is an illness of some kind for sure.

Today’s drama.....

It has been on the radar for a month or so, but it came up again at work again today. I am in pole position to get a very big promotion.... and meanwhile I am going to FIRE this year.

I really want to FIRE, but have this nagging feeling that I should take the promotion to crown my career. 🤴 The promotion would take my career to a height I never imagined possible, nor aspired to achieve.

If I landed the job I’d feel good very about what I’d achieved and the extra money in the stash will be used for certain. DW thinks I should take on the challenge of the appointment. She thinks I’d relish with the pressure and challenges that I’ll face.....

On the other hand I want to FIRE and I’ve saved hard to get to the point where I can. I’ve been chipping away for years to get to this point. At 48 I am not so young, and want to make the absolute most of the next 20 years, and sitting in an office isn’t what I spend my nights dreaming about.

There are many pros and cons for either next step which I couldn’t be bothered writing here, but I really really hope I don’t get the job because I really fear that if offered I will accept the job offer and that will be another 5 years of life life consumed...... 😤

Wow - just read this thread and this was exactly my situation 2 years ago.  Hope you chose well.

An update would be great - it's been more than 6 months, so itchyfeet should be promoted and/or FIREd by now ;)

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #201 on: September 21, 2020, 11:08:31 AM »
I was just looking for a “safe”ish place to vent and chose here. Please feel free to ignore me and move on now. This post is pretty pointless,

I am not sure if I have OMY syndrome but my inability to calmly move toward FIRE is an illness of some kind for sure.

Today’s drama.....

It has been on the radar for a month or so, but it came up again at work again today. I am in pole position to get a very big promotion.... and meanwhile I am going to FIRE this year.

I really want to FIRE, but have this nagging feeling that I should take the promotion to crown my career. 🤴 The promotion would take my career to a height I never imagined possible, nor aspired to achieve.

If I landed the job I’d feel good very about what I’d achieved and the extra money in the stash will be used for certain. DW thinks I should take on the challenge of the appointment. She thinks I’d relish with the pressure and challenges that I’ll face.....

On the other hand I want to FIRE and I’ve saved hard to get to the point where I can. I’ve been chipping away for years to get to this point. At 48 I am not so young, and want to make the absolute most of the next 20 years, and sitting in an office isn’t what I spend my nights dreaming about.

There are many pros and cons for either next step which I couldn’t be bothered writing here, but I really really hope I don’t get the job because I really fear that if offered I will accept the job offer and that will be another 5 years of life life consumed...... 😤

Wow - just read this thread and this was exactly my situation 2 years ago.  Hope you chose well.

An update would be great - it's been more than 6 months, so itchyfeet should be promoted and/or FIREd by now ;)

On the 2020 cohort thread, itchyfeet is listed as having accepted a new job, so perhaps they took the promotion?

BikeFanatic

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #202 on: September 21, 2020, 03:12:31 PM »
OP OMY are you still happy with the decision to fire in light of Covid? Like itchyfeet I have a promotion coming also, and am slogging out OMY, have to decide soon. I re read your thread OMY, I do remember this thread from back in the day. I hope I dont keep slogging away at my job out of fear.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2020, 05:00:05 PM by BikeFanatic »

TomTX

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #203 on: September 21, 2020, 04:26:55 PM »
I seriously had excellent timing getting my big promotion a year ago. 20% raise, and fulltime WFH since March (old position would still be going in most of the time) - and the boost to (eventual) pension value will mean I can walk away in ~2 years, presuming the markets are at least flat.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #204 on: September 22, 2020, 10:04:42 AM »
Wow just read this thread. Lots of good info here.

I'm struggling with this as well. My situation is that I'm in a contract until next October, but I'm bored as hell with the job. Before covid19 I had decided to give notice in January and be out by the end of Q1. But now it just seems silly to go through the drama of leaving early when we could easily be on lockdown again. So I'm leaning towards riding out the virus and adding to the stash in the meantime, but boy oh boy am I bored.

Congrats on breaking free Omy. Sounds like you made the right choice :)

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #205 on: September 22, 2020, 08:01:04 PM »
I am very happy we FIREd last year. If we had waited until this past March, I have no doubt we would still be working. With the lockdown and the stock market drop we would have slogged it out a bit longer. If we were still working at this point, we'd be telling ourselves we should wait until after we knew the outcome of the election. Then the excuse would be that we should wait until the SCOTUS decision on the ACA. My concerns would have just kept moving the goal post further away every year until we got sick or died.

We finally realized that we had enough money and that we were smart enough to figure out a Plan B if something catastrophic should happen.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2020, 10:19:26 PM by Omy »

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #206 on: September 23, 2020, 08:23:01 AM »
I am very happy we FIREd last year.

<snip >

We finally realized that we had enough money and that we were smart enough to figure out a Plan B if something catastrophic should happen.
This.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #207 on: November 13, 2020, 06:32:05 AM »
Finally found this thread!  A very interesting read.  So glad you managed to avoid your OMY, OMY, and have been enjoying the fruits of your labours! 

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #208 on: November 13, 2020, 09:02:42 AM »
Admittedly there were several OMYs before we finally quit (at least 5 "one more years" actually). The plus is that we doubled our net worth in that time which increased our confidence significantly. I regret that we only had about 6 months of goofing off before the pandemic shut us down. We are doing our best to keep our spirits up while significantly limiting our social activities and travel plans.
So far pandemic spending has been WAY less than our projections and we've made good progress in organizing and house maintenance. Looking forward to a post-covid world...but content that we are privileged enough to not have to expose ourselves on a daily basis.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #209 on: November 19, 2020, 09:16:29 AM »
I am very happy we FIREd last year. If we had waited until this past March, I have no doubt we would still be working. With the lockdown and the stock market drop we would have slogged it out a bit longer. If we were still working at this point, we'd be telling ourselves we should wait until after we knew the outcome of the election. Then the excuse would be that we should wait until the SCOTUS decision on the ACA. My concerns would have just kept moving the goal post further away every year until we got sick or died.

We finally realized that we had enough money and that we were smart enough to figure out a Plan B if something catastrophic should happen.

Yeah, I think I finally realized at some point that the list of possible catastrophes out there more often end up with me dead rather than broke....so encourage an earlier FIRE, not a later one.

And I have never seen any reason to base the decision off of current health care/tax/political policies etc, in the US at least every 2 years could bring something totally different (or bring things back) and that is just not a significant period of time in my planned retirement.


Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #210 on: November 21, 2020, 08:40:12 AM »
Yes...the Rich, Broke, Dead calculator was an eye opener for me. And DH has always said the same thing about US politics. The other conclusion we came to is that if it's so bad that we're hurting, we will still be in a lot better position than 95% of the population.

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #211 on: January 02, 2021, 09:53:20 AM »
Happy New Year!

Quick update. We just did our end of year net worth calculations and it was much better than expected. The stock market has been kind to us and our renters have been paying consistently (knock on wood that both continue). We did our first Roth conversion this year since we had so little income that it made sense to get some of our IRA money taxed at the 12% rate.

2021 will be our first year with ACA subsidies (assuming we can keep our MAGI under the cap). Our health insurance costs should be less than a third of what our COBRA costs were. If we have a windfall and MAGI  goes over the cap, our costs will be similar to last year's COBRA...so still manageable.

I'm still bored from being in self-imposed covid jail. Looking forward to getting vaccinated as soon as my turn comes up. Until then I will attempt to be productive at house projects, financial optimization, and health and exercise goals...and lots of binge watching of old tv series.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #212 on: January 03, 2021, 02:50:32 AM »
@Omy Thanks for this update - this thread was one of the main influences in hastening my retirement!

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #213 on: January 03, 2021, 06:36:54 AM »
I loved seeing the update OMY.

I end up having similar thoughts on the health insurance, we're married with no kids and either will fill up the 12% tax bracket and pay full price, or let our income be in the range of $65,000 and pickup a tax credit worth around $3,000 towards health insurance.

One neat thing we've figured out is with some self employment income, those premiums become an above the line tax deduction.  We're picking up at least $1,000 in easy gig work to stay active (mainly shopping high dollar Costco orders for Instacart)

terran

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #214 on: January 03, 2021, 07:48:13 AM »
One neat thing we've figured out is with some self employment income, those premiums become an above the line tax deduction.  We're picking up at least $1,000 in easy gig work to stay active (mainly shopping high dollar Costco orders for Instacart)

Something to keep in mind, the deduction is limited to the amount of the self employment income less the SE tax deduction or the cost of health insurance (whichever is less), so you don't instantly get to deduct the whole cost of health insurance as soon as you have any self employment income.

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #215 on: January 03, 2021, 09:03:54 AM »
You can also consider contributing (a lot) to a Solo 401k if it looks like your self employed income is going to break through the ACA subsidy cap. It's crazy how much you can contribute to that to reduce MAGI. We are also planning to do some improvements to the rentals in 2021 to help keep us under the subsidy cap.

@Omy Thanks for this update - this thread was one of the main influences in hastening my retirement!

Starting this thread helped me SO much in my FIRE journey. I'm happy that it has helped others as well.

Mrs. Healthywealth

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #216 on: January 11, 2021, 09:52:53 PM »
Six months since my last check in. We've been mostly isolating for the past 6 months to keep ourselves out of covid-19's grasp. A bit boring since we aren't traveling or socializing as much as we expected. On the plus side, we haven't spent nearly as much as we budgeted and we've completed several home improvement projects. We have also focused on eating better and exercising a lot more.

Our portfolio mostly recovered - our last calculation indicated that we were a bit down from the high in December but that we had more than when we retired last August. So far both tenants have been paying on time and have jobs that are safe for now.

My biggest concern is what might happen to the ACA with the legendary RBG no longer here to save it. DH or I may get a job with health benefits if things get too wonky, but we're not rushing into that just yet. I'm strongly considering taking a complete break from social media and the daily chaos in the news to improve my mood.

Appreciate you sharing so much about your journey. Think ACA will be ok given the current political climate we are entering. Hope things open up soon so you can enjoy your freedom; not meeting up with friends and traveling is a tough one. Once things open up, that’s when we will most likely FIRE. Look forward to hearing how you’re adjusting a year later.

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #217 on: February 26, 2021, 03:13:19 PM »
Almost 2 months since my last update so I'm checking in. We have been FIREd for 18 months. A year ago we had just come home from a road trip to visit family before the world came to a stop. I had a lot of anxiety in March of 2020 about the stock market, whether our tenants would be able to keep their jobs and keep paying rent, and where I was going to find toilet paper and cheese since the shelves were bare for 2 months and our supply was dwindling. A lot has changed in a year. I woke up this morning feeling optimistic that life might return to normal fairly soon with covid cases falling. I can't wait to be eligible for the vaccine so we can feel confident about traveling and socializing again.

While I've been a bit whiny at times about our self-imposed covid jail, I realize how fortunate we are to live in a lovely home with more than enough space to spread out. We have taken lots of walks and worked on our exercise goals. I was forced to become a MUCH better cook because we never eat out - which has made us healthier and wealthier. Since the pandemic started, we've been donating monthly to a local food pantry because we have so much more than we need.

That's all for now. Thanks for all of your support - this forum has definitely fueled my optimism.
« Last Edit: February 26, 2021, 04:05:31 PM by Omy »

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #218 on: February 26, 2021, 03:17:54 PM »
That's a lovely update!  So glad you can feel the optimism returning.  I can too (though still fundamentally an anxious person).  It's amazing what scientific awesomeness and some sunshine can do!

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #219 on: April 09, 2021, 01:25:14 PM »
Just received a lovely letter from the state health exchange. Our subsidy increased by $158 per month and our Gold plan will go down to $229/month for 2 of us. Thank you ACA and The American Rescue Plan!

Also, we received Moderna#1 in mid March (both had sore arms), and we will get Moderna#2 in less than 2 weeks.  We are super excited to start traveling a bit and spending time with family and friends. This past year was not what we had expected from FIRE, but in some ways the isolation has made us appreciate being FIREd even more.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2021, 01:52:43 PM by Omy »

itchyfeet

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #220 on: May 07, 2021, 06:00:59 AM »
So finally getting around to checking in.

I took the job!!

It’s been a busy year.

We repatriated to Australia in August and I started my new job.

Things have not gone as planned. I can’t say much here due to NDAs but my company is in the midst of being swallowed up by a bigger fish and having bits of it sliced off and fed to the sharks.

The merger with Big Fish Co is going to be a massive project that would keep me very busy for the next 3 years, but also gives me an out, and I have decided to opt out.

I have scratched the itch I had, and now I will be pulling the pin.

I have some golden handcuffs to keep me interested in not resigning before 1 Jan 2022, but on the first working day of 2022 I will hand in my resignation and step out of the shark infested waters and move on with my post fired life.

DW is still not convinced/ ready to FIRE so will keep working for a bit. She is happy to see me test retired life and then decide what’s best for her. She might cut back to 3 or 4 days a week.

I told my parents of my plans and mum said even as a teenager I would tell them I would retire by 50. So she wasn’t surprised to hear me confirm retirement at 50.

So no more angst. The future is clear.

I am glad I stepped into the role. I have no regrets. It’s been crazy times this past year with the M&A activity swirling around. The work has been challenging and at time stimulating and rewarding, but I can’t honestly say that I feel it is the absolute optimal way to spend the limited hours I have in my life, so I look forward to having more or less complete freedom of choice on what I do with my time from some time early next year... probably April.

Sorry to take so long to give an update.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2021, 06:04:28 AM by itchyfeet »

Financial.Velociraptor

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #221 on: May 07, 2021, 08:01:33 AM »
@itchyfeet

Gogogogogogogogo!

I've been through huge faceless corporation M&A and S&D before as an accountant.  It is a big messy job.  Few things clearly defined and lots of squishiness.  It can be fun but the long hours and sudden and shifting deadlines can be a hassle. Grats on a golden handcuffs package.  Have your eyes open as termination date approaches.  The acquiring company usually wants to get rid of large numbers of the people it acquired, especially if they are G&A.  You might be able to get a severance package!

itchyfeet

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #222 on: May 07, 2021, 06:24:36 PM »
I tried to negotiate a severance already. Haha. No dice.

I have secured a nice retention bonus if I hang around till Jan, and they offered to increase my notice period to 6 months. That cuts both ways though. Whilst they would have to pay me out 6 months on top of statutory redundancy if punting me, it would also mean that if I want to leave I’ll have to suffer through 6 months after giving notice. I have no interest in that, and given I am almost certain they will have work for me for the next 3 years through the various separations and integration, the 6 months notice is of no interest to me.

Frankly, if they want me gone (which I don’t expect in the next 2 years at least ) I’ll take my retention payment, my unpaid bonuses, the 3 months in lieu of notice, a few months redundancy and I’ll be on my way with a fat wallet and a smile.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #223 on: May 08, 2021, 04:28:32 AM »
Cheering you on from the sideline @itchyfeet!  Go for it!

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #224 on: June 17, 2021, 02:14:46 PM »
Two months since my last update. The SCOTUS decision not to kill the ACA was nice to wake up to. We FIREd 22 months ago with the ACA's future still up in the air and took the leap of faith. I'm sure there will be other issues to deal with along the way, but I'm so glad we didn't keep working "to see what would happen regarding health care".

We've been fully vaccinated for awhile now. Moderna #2 made me pretty sick for 3 or 4 days, but it was well worth it. We are feeling bulletproof and are socializing regularly and making travel plans again.

I've had some unexpected income from referrals this year that has supplemented our rental income and investment income. We're half hoping one of our tenants moves soon so we can fix the place up and charge $300-$400 more a month for it. They are looking for a bigger place to rent, but the rental market is so insane. We might have to start increasing the rent to move them along, but it's tough when they've been good tenants and have managed to pay on time through the pandemic.

Overall...life is good.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #225 on: June 17, 2021, 02:52:55 PM »
I was really glad to hear the SCOTUS decision, too, although from what I gather it was expected.  Honestly, I don't think you would have had any problems even if it had been axed, though.  I'm assuming you've ridden the big market rise with the rest of us?  Your withdrawal rate must be super low by now. 

It's so nice to be fully vaccinated.  We splurged and went out for a nice dinner a couple weeks ago when we hit shot #2 + 2 weeks.   

I'm surprised you were sick that long from the shot.  I got fairly sick, too, but it was only a day and a half for me. I don't think I've heard of anybody else feeling the side-effects for that long.   

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #226 on: June 17, 2021, 03:55:16 PM »
I started vomiting 24 hours after the shot. Then I had a hard time rehydrating/eating which made me very weak for the next couple of days...with a nasty headache until I was finally able to rehydrate. It wasn't pretty.

While the affordability of the ACA was not critical to our FIRE plan, the preexisting condition coverage is extremely important to us. I didn't want to be forced to pay for subpar coverage or to have to pay crazy premiums to stay covered...or to find that parts of our bodies wouldn't be covered at all. The peace of mind is priceless.


Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #227 on: August 20, 2021, 07:15:51 AM »
Long update. Today marks my 2nd anniversary of FIRE.

It's a nice little milestone, and it has gone remarkably well considering that 1.5 years of it have been during a pandemic.

Our net worth has increased over 30% in the past 2 years due to real estate and market gains...so feel free to pile on with a bunch of "I told you so's". My worries about the ACA have (so far) turned out to be a complete waste of energy. We had budgeted $25k+ per year for health insurance and 2021 and 2022 are likely to be under $4k per year.

The pandemic has kept our spending at all time lows. We learned to cook, to shop with recipes in mind, and reduced our restaurant spending significantly. We spent next to nothing in gas or travel. We spent more on home improvement categories but have done a lot of it ourselves since we have time (and didn't really want to invite strangers in to our covid-free zone).

Recently we've started spending significantly more on updating one of our rentals to bring it into the 21st century. Our tenants asked to extend because they couldn't find a new place, so we decided to just go ahead and replace the HVAC, windows, doors and outside trim while they are still living there. We are forbidden by the state to raise the rent on them yet, but we will bump it a little when allowed.

We've also given a lot more to charity and will continue to increase spending in this category. It seemed ridiculous that we qualified for stimulus money so we decided to earmark that money for food banks and other charities.

We've let our guard down significantly after being fully vaccinated, but we've still stayed fairly close to home because covid is raging in most of the areas we would have traveled to. We will probably continue this approach through fall and winter and re-evaluate in the spring. I'd love to start traveling again when cases get under control - and we will get boosters as recommended.

We are content but would love a little more excitement in our lives. I'd like to get back to a more "normal" retirement with no concerns about the virus. The math tells me we'd probably be fine if we caught a breakthrough case (and it may actually benefit our immunity), but an abundance of caution is limiting us to "safe" local activities like gardening, hiking, kayaking, and doing home projects. The goal is to stay busy until we feel confident enough to travel and socialize more freely.

All things considered, we are doing well ... but it's not quite the retirement we imagined.

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #228 on: August 20, 2021, 07:44:35 AM »
Good to hear you are doing so well. And that you have enough activities you can do without socializing.

I think COVID is there to stay, as long as a good portion of the world is not vaccinated yet. Including many voluntary non-vaxxers in first world countries. Maybe that last group of people will change their minds in time...

dougules

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #229 on: August 22, 2021, 10:27:14 AM »
It's great to hear things are going well, pandemic aside.  I really can't believe it's been that long. 

I feel like I owe you an apology.  I'm trying to figure out when we should FIRE, and it's freaking me out a little.  It's tough when you're on the other side of the fence. 

I think COVID is there to stay, as long as a good portion of the world is not vaccinated yet. Including many voluntary non-vaxxers in first world countries. Maybe that last group of people will change their minds in time...

The virus is definitely here to stay, but I'm hoping in a year or two it's just a low smolder instead of a forest fire.

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #230 on: August 22, 2021, 10:45:13 AM »
You certainly don't need to apologize to me...I haven't taken offense to anything you've said. I have pretty thick skin when it comes to internet strangers.

If you haven't already done so, I strongly recommend reaching out to the community to talk about what's holding you back. The water is fine...jump in!

dougules

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #231 on: August 22, 2021, 10:56:18 AM »
If you haven't already done so, I strongly recommend reaching out to the community to talk about what's holding you back. The water is fine...jump in!

I did, but I think I may have gone off the deep end a little. 

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #232 on: August 23, 2021, 07:32:50 AM »
I now understand why you thought you owed me an apology. 😉

oneyear

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #233 on: August 23, 2021, 07:39:07 AM »
What a story and well done OMY. Is it ok to post my own OMY here for advice? Don't want to hijack you're thread, but some comparisons here and I like the no bullsh*t approach the others have given. If not ok, I'll post to it's own

Congratulations. Insanely jealous here

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #234 on: August 23, 2021, 08:42:55 AM »
Hijack away!

dougules

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #235 on: August 23, 2021, 08:56:30 AM »
I now understand why you thought you owed me an apology. 😉

I'm sorry for being harsh couple years ago.  It really is completely different when you're on the other side of the table.  I'm a nervous wreck. 

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #236 on: August 23, 2021, 02:24:48 PM »
I interpret your approach as "direct" not "harsh" - and I very much appreciate direct, constructive comments.

My approach is also very direct, so I am happy to reciprocate now that you are ready to be nudged into action.

oneyear

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #237 on: August 24, 2021, 02:22:26 AM »
Thanks OMY. Well here I go!

Last year I completed the sale of my business. Before the deal, I was already financially independent but this comfortably put our withdrawal rate at 2.5% on a very middle class lifestyle. We've been living off my wage for the past 9 months, which is close to the 2.5% as a pre-fire trial. I'd say I'm in as comfortable a position as I could be. My wife has been a stay at home mom for 5 years and she's likely to never work again unless she chooses to herself. This is of course fine and as a partnership we work incredibly well together. We have a son who is 6 years old.

My question comes around the business. As part of my earn out there are some sizeable golden-handcuffs that vest over a 3 year horizon (1/3 annually). I'm  months in to year 1 and while the parent company is hands-off, I'm losing my mind being in the office daily. It's not mine anymore and while I'm doing a perfectly acceptable job, I would rather move into the next phase of my life.

The golden handcuffs come with a caveat. My sister, who was my business partner is directly tied into the same deal I am. If I leave, the golden handcuffs for both of us stop. She is not in the same financial position as me and the handcuffs would give her financial security. She did receive the same payout as me on the business sale, so I would say she's comfortable but not FI. While she was equal partner, I was founder and brought her into the business later on. There's no questioning we would not be in the same position if not for the partnership, but as there are activities I engage in that she has little knowledge of, it would be hard for her to run the company in my absence alone. I know she wouldn't be keen to do so either. I have explained my position to her and she has asked me to stick it out, and we'll both leave next year (this would weaken my position to leave then over now).

If I leave my sister could of course renegotiate her deal, but I'll be honest, she'd struggle to run the business alone. And I dont think wants to

Options I've been considering

I want to be fair to the new owners and give them my intent to leave, not notice as that puts a time on it. (Happy for many face punches on this) This way I can give them a timeframe to put my replacement in without being a mad panic. I could suggest a 3 day work week in the interim, but this could be a red flag to our team and cause some of the senior managers to leave. Making it harder for me to do so.

An alternative is to give my 3 months notice after year 1 (Nov) and maybe do contract work for the company beyond that to support them.

I have a loyalty to the business. I started it and want to see it succeed. But ultimately I'm only an employee now.

Please give me a reality check. I'm driving myself mad trying to figure out what to do. Appreciate any and all feedback.

Other info for substance/background

I have few plans post-fire. I may start the cliched personal finance blog to teach personal financial literacy to entrepreneurs. I may play xbox for 6 months. I may deep-dive into music or languages. I will concentrate on getting fitter after neglecting myself for years.

I plan to decompress and spend time with my wife and son. I can think of nothing better than bringing my son to school. Something I get to do only a couple of times a year. Why because I am a work-aholic. I need to be at my desk by 8am. I was in this mindset for 15 years. Be the hardest worker, work all hours, be the best. If I arrive at 9, what does that say for my work-ethic to my team. I appreciate how ludicrous this sounds as I type it.

My parents are ageing, they play golf. Maybe I'll do that with them. I will have no issue filling my day meaningfully.

Sorry a bit of a rant at the end there. Help and Thank You!
« Last Edit: August 26, 2021, 02:38:14 AM by oneyear »

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #238 on: August 24, 2021, 07:14:51 AM »
This would be a tough one for me because I'm very close to my siblings, and I'd have serious heartburn about doing something that would impact them negatively. If it didn't involve a sibling, I'd say leave whenever you want as long as you aren't contractually obligated to stay. I also think it's nice of you to give the new owners enough time to find somebody who you could train to take over...but not necessary unless you are contractually obligated.

Is your sister really okay with you giving notice at the one year point? If so that's probably what I would do.

Is there any way you could restructure things (coming in later, leaving earlier, working from home) so you could have more time with your son?


AlanStache

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #239 on: August 24, 2021, 10:20:38 AM »
Would your sister take the opportunity to save a lot before you left, or would she be in the same basic position she is in now?  Why stress yourself and sacrifice your time with your wife/kid to help her go from 35% FI to 38% FI over the next two years?

dougules

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #240 on: August 24, 2021, 01:39:30 PM »
I'm 9 months in to year 1 and while the parent company is hands-off, I'm losing my mind being in the office daily. It's not mine anymore and while I'm doing a perfectly acceptable job, I would rather move into the next phase of my life. I do not have confidence in the parent company management either.

How bad is it bothering you?  If you're just a little bored I would say stay and help out your sister.  If it's affecting your mood, your health, or your relationship with your family, I'd say talk with your sister and let her know you need an exit plan.  In between those two extremes, it's not an easy a call really. 

oneyear

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #241 on: August 26, 2021, 02:57:19 AM »
Thank you all for the very kind words. Was hoping there was something obvious that I was missing. As tough as the chat was to have, I had this with my sister. She understands and has made a request, which I'm happy to honour for her. Not going into the details here, but lets call it a compromise.

Have a great day everyone and omy I am so insanely jealous of you :)

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #242 on: August 26, 2021, 05:48:57 AM »
Good luck and let us know when you escape!

MetalCap

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #243 on: August 26, 2021, 07:09:08 AM »
Not FI but have been in somewhat similar situations business wise.  I'd have some discussions with the parent company about disassociating your handcuffs from your siblings.  You may be able to offer a change in split of the handcuffs (parent company currently sees 1 handcuff with a 50-50 split).

This could be something similar to another round of funding where your shares are diluted but the previous round maintains the same %.

In my business dealings I've always gone by the mantra of "You don't get what you don't ask for"  Try to see how you can transition to part time/work from home etc and what the parent company wants.  Who knows they may prefer to have you and your sister out after 1 one year now that they have a handle on the acquisition.

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #244 on: November 18, 2021, 08:48:41 AM »
Three months since the last update, so I thought I'd add a quick one.

We've had unseasonably warm fall weather and did a pretty good job of whipping the yard into shape and taking care of maintenance on the rental. We're getting ready to verify income for the marketplace and will probably stay with our current plan. Premiums will go up over 50% but are still super reasonable given our ages...and much less than Medicare will be when we're eligible for that in a few years.

We're planning on getting boosters in early December so we can spend limited time with extended family during the holidays. I also see a winter vacation to somewhere warm after we have the confidence that comes from boosting.

In the meantime, we will continue purging stuff to simplify and minimize. I'm also trying to adopt the policy of cleaning for 15 minutes a day to avoid a cleaning marathon when it gets to the point that it really needs it. Biggest challenge is that I havent figured out how to keep these sessions under an hour. ..when I start cleaning I lose track of time and notice things that I ignored successfully before I started this daily cleaning game.

Dicey

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #245 on: November 18, 2021, 09:56:21 AM »
Hmmm, maybe consider getting the booster sooner than Dec, so it has longer to kick in before the holidays? I'm not a medical professional, so please don't mistake this for medical advice, just a "Why wait?"

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #246 on: November 18, 2021, 12:52:27 PM »
Very good point. I got sick for 3 days from Moderna #2 and have a lot of obligations in the next 10 days that require my attention. I needed to schedule the booster when I had at least 48 hours of down time in case I end up curled in the fetal position again. Hopefully, the half dose booster will be a bit gentler on my system.

TomTX

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #247 on: November 18, 2021, 07:48:00 PM »
Very good point. I got sick for 3 days from Moderna #2 and have a lot of obligations in the next 10 days that require my attention. I needed to schedule the booster when I had at least 48 hours of down time in case I end up curled in the fetal position again. Hopefully, the half dose booster will be a bit gentler on my system.

How about Black Friday? The consumer frenzy seems likely to leave the pharmacy under-utilized.

Omy

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #248 on: November 21, 2021, 06:05:07 AM »
Made booster appointments for DH and I on Black Friday. That gives me 2+ days to recover before my next obligations. The pharmacy had lots of open slots as TomTx predicted.

Ladychips

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Re: Serious "one more year" syndrome - advice appreciated
« Reply #249 on: November 21, 2021, 07:37:24 AM »
I don't love cleaning so the deal I make with myself is to set a timer. When the timer goes off, i quit.  Juvenile, but it works.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!