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I wasn't sure which category to put this in, but considering my indecisiveness and OMY tendencies, I've decided to put it in Throw Down The Gauntlet in order to challenge myself.
This thread is for those of us contemplating a FIRE date in 2015. We can share our thoughts as the FIRE date approaches, any concerns we have on short term market fluctuations and how it affects our imminent FIRE and last minute SWR calculations, etc.
My situation is I wasn't sure if 2015 or 2016 would be my FIRE date. However, recent changes at work (such as a new overeager workaholic boss), organizational changes, company changes affecting morale, etc., has me yearning for FIRE sooner rather than later. I became mortgage free in 2014 and sold off a house, so I am getting primed for FIRE. I'm secretly hoping for a voluntary severance package to be offered at work in order to make my FIRE a no-brainer.
I've read of others contemplating FIRE in 2015. The names that come to mind are Dr. Doom and So Close. So who else is ready to join the Class of 2015?
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Do it. It's wonderful.
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Do it. It's wonderful.
I love reading your recently-FIREd posts. I notice quite a change from your OMY ruminations last year to your euphoria post-FIRE. Truly inspiring...
My taking two weeks off during the holidays really made my return to work somewhat depressing. I can't really complain too much about my job, but just knowing the future that is possible for me soon just makes me focus on the negatives instead of the positives at work.
I've mentioned before that I am on the edge of FIRE, probably mostly due to some investments that haven't done stellarly in the last two years. I'm hoping for a rebound soon, and all of my new money is going into US index funds.
Plus, I'm not quitting without a severance package that should be sizable enough to live on for a year - or two if I get one of those sweet volunteer packages that hardly ever get offered. I've built up enough sweat-equity at my company to deserve this parting gift. ;-) I'm finally seeing the stars align for this to happen in 2015.
I'd also like a still-working spouse to provide some cushion for FIRE, but unfortunately haven't been too lucky in this regard. :-( I've done pretty well on my own though so no complaints.
BTW, in order to add some more information to my scenario, I am 46 in 2015. Still "early" according to most folks, but maybe not as badass on these forums.
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ER at 46 is still indeed badass.
My own decision to ER was made so much easier by my still working wife. If I were single I probably would have still ER'ed...but it would have a little more stressful a process. My wife, seeing what my job was doing to my health, wanted me to quit my job as much I did. The dual incomes for years helped up build up our finances to the point now that neither of us has to work. She works because she likes doing so, and to be honest, it's nice to see the stache grow for a few more years until she joins me in ER. I never would have been able to pull this off without her...no way.
Daisy, what you did ON YOUR OWN to set yourself up to pull the trigger on FIRE... it's AMAZING.
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Okay, add me to this gauntlet.
The wife and I are thinking of pulling the plug this year. Right now we're calling it a sabbatical (that will last 1-3 years). After that, we'll see if we go back, or not. Sort of an ER trial run.
We have lots of backup and contingency plans in place.
But I think June 4, 2015 may be it for our working career.
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This has the makings of a very cool thread. I'm looking forward to read about The Class of 2015!
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With the plummet in oil prices, I might be in too :) I'm FI, so I don't plan to look for a job ever again, so by definition I'd be RE (but really just a SAHP for the next 8 years). Maybe kick my blog back into gear, there's been some great EconTalk podcasts lately that I would love to write about if I had more time. And I've always wanted to go through my journals and put some first person history online, for posterity.
The only reason I wasn't in the class of '14, or even '013 for that matter (when we returned from Dubai), was that I've just been too, I guess, complacent... I even wrote a post all about how, once you have 'enough', it is silly to keep on working, and yet I'm still just cruising down the same familiar road, piling up cash in the backseat. Not that I'm complaining, there are also some nice things about fitting in to society's expectations on the surface (for the most part, I know the neighbors wonder why I bought a Fit when it's pretty obvious that we spend way less than we bring home).
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Following along with interest but not sure I can skip a grade. :)
I’ve always been in the class of 2016-2018 bucket but given some recent changes at work I’m also considering what it would take to make 2015 a possibility. Eager to hear how the 2015 class proceeds and maybe start ramping up excitement for the class of 2016!
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Okay, add me to this gauntlet.
The wife and I are thinking of pulling the plug this year. Right now we're calling it a sabbatical (that will last 1-3 years). After that, we'll see if we go back, or not. Sort of an ER trial run.
We have lots of backup and contingency plans in place.
But I think June 4, 2015 may be it for our working career.
I called my leaving work a sabbatical too. It was suppose to be for about 5 years before going back to work. That was more than 10 years ago and I'm still on sabbatical - the "just OMY" scenario in reverse :-)!
When I get laid off (either because it's going to happen anyways or I engineer my layoff), I'm also going to call it a sabbatical. That way, I won't have people pestering me about getting a job or being "worried" about me...without having to divulge my riches. I'll have the severance pay to fall back on and can assess after the year or two how it's working out.
I met a somewhat early-retiree recently who was gushing about his wonderful lifestyle. He volunteers at the symphony, museums, etc and loves it. I think he was 57 when he retired due to a buyout at his company.
I'd like to do some of this "work" as well on a very part-time basis. I'd love to work with kids at the science museum and volunteer at the performance center to see free shows and concerts. But I need me some sabbatical time right after the layoff. Time to get into great shape, rekindle old sports activities, visit the nieces and nephews, do a long term hike, catch up on reading, help elderly parents, just relax. Oh man, I can't wait...
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Following along with interest but not sure I can skip a grade. :)
I’ve always been in the class of 2016-2018 bucket but given some recent changes at work I’m also considering what it would take to make 2015 a possibility. Eager to hear how the 2015 class proceeds and maybe start ramping up excitement for the class of 2016!
Hey, even December 31, 2015 will count for the Class of 2015. You can do it!
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Okay, add me to this gauntlet.
The wife and I are thinking of pulling the plug this year. Right now we're calling it a sabbatical (that will last 1-3 years). After that, we'll see if we go back, or not. Sort of an ER trial run.
We have lots of backup and contingency plans in place.
But I think June 4, 2015 may be it for our working career.
Sounds awesome! And you will do it at a pretty young age.
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Yep. I'm in. Totally and completely. It's awesome to have such great company on this!
@Daisy, re: 2 weeks off, completely relate. I came back to work after 11 straight terrific days out of the office to find my direct peer CW has been enlisted in the Marathon Bomber jury (Tsarnaev trial) and will be in a courtroom instead of a cubicle for the foreseeable future.
I'm all for him doing his civic duty (it's not as though he has a choice in the matter, after all) but guess where my manager is trying to toss his work? You guessed it -- in the garbage chute of Doom. Thanks for that.
BTW, me = also saying I'm going on sabbatical to folks at work. I just don't want to get into it with people in the office as it seems like there's little point.
The next phase feels exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes for everyone here.
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Yep. I'm in. Totally and completely. It's awesome to have such great company on this!
@Daisy, re: 2 weeks off, completely relate. I came back to work after 11 straight terrific days out of the office to find my direct peer CW has been enlisted in the Marathon Bomber jury (Tsarnaev trial) and will be in a courtroom instead of a cubicle for the foreseeable future.
I'm all for him doing his civic duty (it's not as though he has a choice in the matter, after all) but guess where my manager is trying to toss his work? You guessed it -- in the garbage chute of Doom. Thanks for that.
BTW, me = also saying I'm going on sabbatical to folks at work. I just don't want to get into it with people in the office as it seems like there's little point.
The next phase feels exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes for everyone here.
Welcome to the challenge!
Wow, that jury duty thing really has you Doomed in your final stretch before FIRE. Maybe that extra work pressure will provide that extra push to get you to finally accept FIRE.
Me...well the year has turned out better than I thought at work. I got put in charge of a small project that's right up my league. I may not even need to write code, although even if I do it's in an area I know well...as opposed to the other work I feared I would have to do. This project takes me to the end of the year, at which point I will assess the stash, the future work prospects, and my readiness for FIRE. I'm pretty happy that my final project at work will be a good one so that I can go out with a bang!
Also, I've taken to doing my long exercise during the work day instead of having to wake up early (argh) or wait until I get home and it's dark. I'm training for my upcoming ski trip, so I've been skating for a couple of hours during lunch. Then I take a shower at the gym and go have lunch at my desk. It's the best time in Florida to be exercising during lunch, as doing it in the summer would be non-advisable due to the heat. The weather is really nice this time of the year. I have something to look forward to in the morning and then the lunchtime exercise keeps me in a good mood the rest of the day. It beats sitting in a cube for 8 straight hours. So it's working out pretty well.
I then stay later at work, but it's equivalent to working out after work. The other day, since I stayed late, they were buying dinner for everyone at work due to a project nearing its end and crunch time - so double bonus!
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I'm in :)
I was planning on going in September but OH moving to Middle East so off a bit earlier. 7 weeks 2 days at work 37 days at work less 1 days leave left. Hasn't really hit me yet - especially as I also need to pack the house up. Too much to think of so I'm getting through it by selling random items on ebay as an avoidance strategy.
Really inspired by the stories on here, including someone who walked 51 miles in a week - that will be my plan :)
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It would take a minor miracle for me, but I will be following with interest.
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I'm in :)
I was planning on going in September but OH moving to Middle East so off a bit earlier. 7 weeks 2 days at work 37 days at work less 1 days leave left. Hasn't really hit me yet - especially as I also need to pack the house up. Too much to think of so I'm getting through it by selling random items on ebay as an avoidance strategy.
Really inspired by the stories on here, including someone who walked 51 miles in a week - that will be my plan :)
OH? Other Husband?? :)
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I'm proud of all you 2015 folks. Best wishes - I really look forward to seeing some success posts and then hearing about your FIRE journeys.
EscapeVelocity2020 - what do oil prices have to do with your FIRE date? Is it because your spending will decrease, therefore increasing your savings?
I think I could FIRE in about 5-8 years, but will likely stick around the military for another 11.5 to snag the pension...Assuming I still enjoy it and we haven't gotten into some quagmire. Like many of you, I plan on calling my RE a sabbatical or saying I'm a SAHD (if/when we have kids). I also might have a flexible side gig for entertainment's sake.
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I work in oil and the industry is notorious for cutting staff (starting with contractors, which mercifully I no longer am). I got told I was laid off in 2003 when my first child was on the way, but wrangled my way on to a project and survived, so I'm VERY thankful to be in a position where I can FIRE this time around.
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I'm in :)
I was planning on going in September but OH moving to Middle East so off a bit earlier. 7 weeks 2 days at work 37 days at work less 1 days leave left. Hasn't really hit me yet - especially as I also need to pack the house up. Too much to think of so I'm getting through it by selling random items on ebay as an avoidance strategy.
Really inspired by the stories on here, including someone who walked 51 miles in a week - that will be my plan :)
OH? Other Husband?? :)
Ha ha, no, other half.
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As a Gen-X'er, whenever I see your name "gallygirl" I just can't get the "Valley Girl" song out of my head.
Gallygirl, she's a gallygirl. OK, fine, for sure, for sure, she's a gallygirl and there is no cure...
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Well, practically speaking the only way I would reach FI in 2015 is to lose someone, and I really don't want to do that. But I'll be watching the rest of you with positive thoughts.
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As a Gen-X'er, whenever I see your name "gallygirl" I just can't get the "Valley Girl" song out of my head.
Gallygirl, she's a gallygirl. OK, fine, for sure, for sure, she's a gallygirl and there is no cure...
Never heard of that song or expression before but just asked Prof's Google & Youtube. Ha ha, so not me. Like, totally not me ;)
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Unless something goes spectacularly wrong with the commuted value of my pension, December 18, 2015 is my date. I'll be 47. I plan to give notice the day before, call in sick that day, and then have my two weeks of holidays. I don't want to deal with co-worker "That's impossible. You can't do that" comments. Reminds me of when I gave up a full-time job to return to school and my co-workers warned me about what a huge mistake I was making. It wasn't a mistake at all...it was just something none of the rest of them would ever consider. People can have such tunnel vision.
I don't live with my SO, so I'm doing it on my own too. :)
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Also, I've taken to doing my long exercise during the work day instead of having to wake up early (argh) or wait until I get home and it's dark. I'm training for my upcoming ski trip, so I've been skating for a couple of hours during lunch. Then I take a shower at the gym and go have lunch at my desk.
That's great, Daisy - A similar schedule works for me as well. I get to work early @7:30 and stay until about 4:45, but take a monster 2 hour break in the middle for exercise/shower. The wonderful thing about getting workouts in the office is increased predictability -- you can much more reliably get them in. It seems much harder to do it once you're actually home, because then you're thinking about dinner or whatever other odds and ends you have to finish before the day comes to a close. Or maybe that's just me.
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That's great, Daisy - A similar schedule works for me as well. I get to work early @7:30 and stay until about 4:45, but take a monster 2 hour break in the middle for exercise/shower. The wonderful thing about getting workouts in the office is increased predictability -- you can much more reliably get them in. It seems much harder to do it once you're actually home, because then you're thinking about dinner or whatever other odds and ends you have to finish before the day comes to a close. Or maybe that's just me.
For me getting my workout/exercise in during the day at work keeps me on track. There are hardly any conflicts and I actually look forward to them as they breakup my day and I feel soo energized after. Doing it in the morning or after work is nearly impossible for me.
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Also, I've taken to doing my long exercise during the work day instead of having to wake up early (argh) or wait until I get home and it's dark. I'm training for my upcoming ski trip, so I've been skating for a couple of hours during lunch. Then I take a shower at the gym and go have lunch at my desk.
That's great, Daisy - A similar schedule works for me as well. I get to work early @7:30 and stay until about 4:45, but take a monster 2 hour break in the middle for exercise/shower. The wonderful thing about getting workouts in the office is increased predictability -- you can much more reliably get them in. It seems much harder to do it once you're actually home, because then you're thinking about dinner or whatever other odds and ends you have to finish before the day comes to a close. Or maybe that's just me.
I knew I read that lunch-time suggestion somewhere on these forums - guess it was from you.
We have an onsite gym with a shower, but I always left my lunchtime workouts (however few those were) for weights or something where I didn't sweat much. You know, we women are a bit fussy about our hair and having to wash it after sweating and I just thought it would take too long.
But, dang it, I'm so close to FIRE I just don't care any more. ;-)
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That's great, Daisy - A similar schedule works for me as well. I get to work early @7:30 and stay until about 4:45, but take a monster 2 hour break in the middle for exercise/shower. The wonderful thing about getting workouts in the office is increased predictability -- you can much more reliably get them in. It seems much harder to do it once you're actually home, because then you're thinking about dinner or whatever other odds and ends you have to finish before the day comes to a close. Or maybe that's just me.
For me getting my workout/exercise in during the day at work keeps me on track. There are hardly any conflicts and I actually look forward to them as they breakup my day and I feel soo energized after. Doing it in the morning or after work is nearly impossible for me.
Yeah my clown commute and inability to function too well in the mornings (especially without food) and the early winter nights just make the whole lunchtime thing a much better option.
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I wonder what percentage of posters here would be overjoyed to get severance packages.
I would love one and I'm not even close to FIRE yet - but hey sign me up for a few months (or more) pay and "free time" off work!
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I wonder what percentage of posters here would be overjoyed to get severance packages.
I would love one and I'm not even close to FIRE yet - but hey sign me up for a few months (or more) pay and "free time" off work!
I don't think I am exaggerating in saying that if my company offers one of the sweet voluntary severance packages which is sizable enough for me to live two years off of (due to my recent cost cutting), you'd better clear the path between me and the front door because I am out of there soon after the announcement is made. Think roadrunner making a beeline out the door yelling "beep beep".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk
EDIT: I do not want to quit without some kind of severance package, since we've been having constant layoffs. Some people have quit recently without a severance package and I'm like WTF? Some had other jobs but one guy recently just quit to do "other stuff". Part of me wonders whether he's FIRE or not. I didn't want to pry.
I suppose if I work another year it might be equivalent to getting laid off now with a severance package, but I would still feel like I missed out on some "free" money if I quit in a year with no package. Quite a dilemma...I love to optimize so I just can't give up the free money.
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I wonder what percentage of posters here would be overjoyed to get severance packages.
I would love one and I'm not even close to FIRE yet - but hey sign me up for a few months (or more) pay and "free time" off work!
I was offered one last year but was still enjoying what I was doing and the amount wasn't enough to make me quit. It was something like 30k before tax. I'll definitely stick around for two more years and if they offer a better one then, I'll think about it. I'm thinking my "serious consideration" number is 50k and I am pretty sure I'd bolt at 100k.
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I'm hoping/planning to be class of 2015, by summertime if all goes well; glad to find this thread!
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I'm hoping/planning to be class of 2015, by summertime if all goes well; glad to find this thread!
Welcome to the graduating class!
I had mostly a good week at work this week, especially yesterday. I started having second thoughts of my rush to FIRE. I'm being put in charge of a project with definable goals and mid-term duration until the end of the year. What am I nuts? I make a great salary. I have a long life ahead of me.
Today was a whole other story and I started wondering if I'd make it the whole year. The commute (arguably the worst part of working) was horrendous and some misunderstandings at work made me wish it was just gone.
And to top it all off, there was the most beautiful sunset in the sky reflecting on the water on my drive home. Although I appreciated it, I wished I wasn't stuck inside of the car and was outside enjoying it. Unfortunately, there was no good spot to stop on to get a really good view.
Ho hum...these are the ups and downs right before a major decision.
I'm not worried at all about my interests in a post-FIRE life. My main thoughts go around financial security and not letting people down at work or having my family pester me about not working. I always try to do a good job, so leaving "early" sometimes goes against that.
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I wonder what percentage of posters here would be overjoyed to get severance packages.
I would love one and I'm not even close to FIRE yet - but hey sign me up for a few months (or more) pay and "free time" off work!
I was offered one last year but was still enjoying what I was doing and the amount wasn't enough to make me quit. It was something like 30k before tax. I'll definitely stick around for two more years and if they offer a better one then, I'll think about it. I'm thinking my "serious consideration" number is 50k and I am pretty sure I'd bolt at 100k.
I've heard the packages get worse as time goes on, especially if you are in a downsizing company. But it all depends on the timing. If you are young enough, you can take a package as long as you've got another job lined up. When you're a little older, you might wait a little longer for another package as you let your stash grow, since it may be harder to find another job, especially in your geographic area if you don't want to move.
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I've heard the packages get worse as time goes on, especially if you are in a downsizing company. But it all depends on the timing. If you are young enough, you can take a package as long as you've got another job lined up. When you're a little older, you might wait a little longer for another package as you let your stash grow, since it may be harder to find another job, especially in your geographic area if you don't want to move.
I'm in the military, so it remains to be seen what will happen. They did offer better packages 6-7 years ago, but I was ineligible. As I stated, I am happy with what I'm doing right now so I'm not going to change it for awhile. The separation package isn't my primary driving factor, but it could be the thing that tips a 50/50 decision one way or the other.
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Welcome to the graduating class!
I had mostly a good week at work this week, especially yesterday. I started having second thoughts of my rush to FIRE. I'm being put in charge of a project with definable goals and mid-term duration until the end of the year. What am I nuts? I make a great salary. I have a long life ahead of me.
Today was a whole other story and I started wondering if I'd make it the whole year. The commute (arguably the worst part of working) was horrendous and some misunderstandings at work made me wish it was just gone.
And to top it all off, there was the most beautiful sunset in the sky reflecting on the water on my drive home. Although I appreciated it, I wished I wasn't stuck inside of the car and was outside enjoying it. Unfortunately, there was no good spot to stop on to get a really good view.
Ho hum...these are the ups and downs right before a major decision.
I'm not worried at all about my interests in a post-FIRE life. My main thoughts go around financial security and not letting people down at work or having my family pester me about not working. I always try to do a good job, so leaving "early" sometimes goes against that.
Daisy you are not nuts. I'm trying to convince myself of the same thing...why give up such a good salary. However I'm telling myself, if I'd be happier not working than working, in general, and I don't need to work anymore, than actually I'm nuts to keep doing it. It's not really that different than saving up to buy a car, for example, then once there's enough saved up, you buy the car, you don't just keep saving indefinitely. Like I said though, I'm trying to convince myself of the same thing.
We can use this forum to encourage each other to take the plunge :-)
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I'm about 50% sure I'll be in the 2015 class. I just need to do some financial calculations to determine whether I'm better off waiting until the new financial year because I have about 7.5 months of leave to get paid out and I don't want all of that to be taxed in the same year as my yearly wage.
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I'm about 50% sure I'll be in the 2015 class. I just need to do some financial calculations to determine whether I'm better off waiting until the new financial year because I have about 7.5 months of leave to get paid out and I don't want all of that to be taxed in the same year as my yearly wage.
This is one reason why my date is December 18. Quit right before two weeks' holidays and take my commuted value in a tax advantaged way.
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I'm about 50% sure I'll be in the 2015 class. I just need to do some financial calculations to determine whether I'm better off waiting until the new financial year because I have about 7.5 months of leave to get paid out and I don't want all of that to be taxed in the same year as my yearly wage.
This is one reason why my date is December 18. Quit right before two weeks' holidays and take my commuted value in a tax advantaged way.
I'm thinking of banking some PTO time this year as well. If I do decide to FIRE before January 31, 2016 (our PTO rollover date), I could cash in on an extra little bonus. Let's see if I can convince myself to take as little time off as possible this year in order to get that bonus. Kind of hard for me as I'm a time-off kind of girl. If I don't FIRE by 1/31/16, then I will probably have to take the whole month of January off in order to not lose that time. We're not allowed to carry over more than 5 days, and I'm not losing it!
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How are my fellow classmates in Class of 2015 doing? I've been reading books mentioned in the Book Club section, getting CDs in place, tightening up my "plan", and waiting for a couple income events at work in the next few months. I'm really thinking late May or sometime in June for my FIRE date, but I'm not sure, just having cold feet for no good reason.
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How are my fellow classmates in Class of 2015 doing? I've been reading books mentioned in the Book Club section, getting CDs in place, tightening up my "plan", and waiting for a couple income events at work in the next few months. I'm really thinking late May or sometime in June for my FIRE date, but I'm not sure, just having cold feet for no good reason.
We had a long walk and talk about it on Saturday.
We're torn between a lot of different options. The one that makes the most sense right now is for her to FIRE in June and me to work another year, then ER.
But it's also tempting to say fuck it, and have us both quit. Very up in the air if one or both (or - very unlikely - neither) of us will be done in June.
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How are my fellow classmates in Class of 2015 doing? I've been reading books mentioned in the Book Club section, getting CDs in place, tightening up my "plan", and waiting for a couple income events at work in the next few months. I'm really thinking late May or sometime in June for my FIRE date, but I'm not sure, just having cold feet for no good reason.
We had a long walk and talk about it on Saturday.
We're torn between a lot of different options. The one that makes the most sense right now is for her to FIRE in June and me to work another year, then ER.
But it's also tempting to say fuck it, and have us both quit. Very up in the air if one or both (or - very unlikely - neither) of us will be done in June.
Dang, ARS, I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to be all right with working if she isn't? Any concerns about relationship dynamics? Just curious, as the whole single-FIRE thing can be a point of contention for some couples (but not all, obviously.) Here's hoping you can find a way to make it happen.
@AlwaysBeenASaver, I'm still close to positive that April of this year is going to be it for me.
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I had mostly a good week at work this week, especially yesterday. I started having second thoughts of my rush to FIRE. I'm being put in charge of a project with definable goals and mid-term duration until the end of the year. What am I nuts? I make a great salary. I have a long life ahead of me.
Today was a whole other story and I started wondering if I'd make it the whole year. The commute (arguably the worst part of working) was horrendous and some misunderstandings at work made me wish it was just gone.
I just caught this post and wanted to say that I strongly relate to the cycling of feelings you've described. You have a nice, slow week at work with some interesting stuff to do and a good amount of control and direction and you feel like: This isn't so bad, especially for the pay.
But then you have a couple of bad days in a row and get really itchy again.
I've come to believe there's never a perfect time. If you quit when things are interesting and sane you may feel like you left a place that was too good to be true, and you were a fool to leave. But if you quit when things are busy -- or maybe not busy, but instead just crazy, like politically or in terms of interpersonal relationships (read: crappy coworker flare-up or similar) you may feel like your company got the better of you and you left impulsively, and that's not a great ending either.
In the end I think you're either ready or you're not.
'Course I'm not exactly qualified to give advice on quitting, being that I haven't done it yet and I've had my own issues with OMY.
That being said, I'm itchy right now and I hope to stay that way for the next month leading up to my departure. Can't wait.
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How are my fellow classmates in Class of 2015 doing? I've been reading books mentioned in the Book Club section, getting CDs in place, tightening up my "plan", and waiting for a couple income events at work in the next few months. I'm really thinking late May or sometime in June for my FIRE date, but I'm not sure, just having cold feet for no good reason.
Well I am in the planning stages of a project at work that should take me to the end of the year. I think I'm going to ride that project out until it ends. I don't like to quit in the middle of something, and they are placing some responsibility on me so I want to return the favor.
Plus, some big changes may be happening at work this year. We don't have a lot of information yet. If things go as I think they will, some time this year or next I hope to have that window of opportunity to get some kind of a voluntary severance package. At 20 years of service, that is not chump change. I'm thinking this will be the "sign" I need to finally pull the trigger.
But it's hard to mentally dedicate myself at work. I'm trying my hardest to stay motivated. I'm likening it to senioritis.
I have to do the work necessary to get me through the end of this project, but finding little things annoying me all of the time. For example, I've never had to deal with our overseas offices and will have to with this project. So I have two nighttime conference calls with the overseas folks. That's bad enough. But then I found out that some of them may be away due to some holidays this week and I mentioned to my boss that maybe we should cancel the meetings. He said we should call anyways and see who shows up....yeah because I have nothing else going on at 10:00pm so why not waste one night, have no one call, to then have to set up another call after their holiday. I think I actually said that out loud, but didn't care about the consequences. ;-)
I hear you on the cold feet. In reality, I complain about my work but it's really a great place to work - if you have to work. I have great benefits, even though the company as a whole is running into issues. But, time is a-ticking and I keep daydreaming of other things. I sit in meetings and realize the topics being covered are things I don't care much about any more and staying at work, although financially beneficial, is emotionally detrimenting. I've got other things I want to do. Sigh...
I'm happy to hear others are finding the courage to pull this off in 2015.
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I had mostly a good week at work this week, especially yesterday. I started having second thoughts of my rush to FIRE. I'm being put in charge of a project with definable goals and mid-term duration until the end of the year. What am I nuts? I make a great salary. I have a long life ahead of me.
Today was a whole other story and I started wondering if I'd make it the whole year. The commute (arguably the worst part of working) was horrendous and some misunderstandings at work made me wish it was just gone.
I just caught this post and wanted to say that I strongly relate to the cycling of feelings you've described. You have a nice, slow week at work with some interesting stuff to do and a good amount of control and direction and you feel like: This isn't so bad, especially for the pay.
But then you have a couple of bad days in a row and get really itchy again.
I've come to believe there's never a perfect time. If you quit when things are interesting and sane you may feel like you left a place that was too good to be true, and you were a fool to leave. But if you quit when things are busy -- or maybe not busy, but instead just crazy, like politically or in terms of interpersonal relationships (read: crappy coworker flare-up or similar) you may feel like your company got the better of you and you left impulsively, and that's not a great ending either.
In the end I think you're either ready or you're not.
'Course I'm not exactly qualified to give advice on quitting, being that I haven't done it yet and I've had my own issues with OMY.
That being said, I'm itchy right now and I hope to stay that way for the next month leading up to my departure. Can't wait.
I'm trying to find short term goals to motivate me to not focus on the day-to-day "drudgery".
For example, I have a vacation coming up so I'm mentally planning for that. Then comes a small bonus. Then comes the month where I've maxed out my 401k frontloading. Then comes a project deadline. Then comes...etc...
It will help me get through the year.
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But it's also tempting to say fuck it, and have us both quit. Very up in the air if one or both (or - very unlikely - neither) of us will be done in June.
It sounds like you've either hit or are very close to "your number." Perhaps you can both quit in June with a plan to pick up something shorter term during next winter to make up the missing $ for your number? Just a thought, I know everyone's situation is different.
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@AlwaysBeenASaver, I'm still close to positive that April of this year is going to be it for me.
Congrats, that's great - only a couple months to go for you!
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I'm trying to find short term goals to motivate me to not focus on the day-to-day "drudgery".
For example, I have a vacation coming up so I'm mentally planning for that. Then comes a small bonus. Then comes the month where I've maxed out my 401k frontloading. Then comes a project deadline. Then comes...etc...
It will help me get through the year.
I've kinda been doing some similar mental tricks, trying to keep my mind occupied with small things coming up each week and CONSTANTLY looking at calendars. But I'm still finding it really hard to get through each work week. And at the same time I find myself dreading the day I have to break the news to my boss. I'm completely bored with my job but I don't feel it would be ethical for me to take a new job (what I would normally do in this situation) knowing I won't be working for much longer.
I feel like I really need to just PICK A DATE ALREADY, but I just can't get myself to do it! I've been toying with the idea of giving notice the 2nd week in May and letting my boss decide if it's a 2 week or 3 week notice.
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I'm trying to find short term goals to motivate me to not focus on the day-to-day "drudgery".
For example, I have a vacation coming up so I'm mentally planning for that. Then comes a small bonus. Then comes the month where I've maxed out my 401k frontloading. Then comes a project deadline. Then comes...etc...
It will help me get through the year.
I've kinda been doing some similar mental tricks, trying to keep my mind occupied with small things coming up each week and CONSTANTLY looking at calendars. But I'm still finding it really hard to get through each work week. And at the same time I find myself dreading the day I have to break the news to my boss. I'm completely bored with my job but I don't feel it would be ethical for me to take a new job (what I would normally do in this situation) knowing I won't be working for much longer.
I feel like I really need to just PICK A DATE ALREADY, but I just can't get myself to do it! I've been toying with the idea of giving notice the 2nd week in May and letting my boss decide if it's a 2 week or 3 week notice.
Someone mentioned on another thread to pick some event or seasonal thing you want to do that needs to be done at that time (some summer or fall event you can't do in the winter, for example) to help you decide when you want to FIRE by.
In my case, I am waiting to see the big changes that may be happening at my work this year. So the timing is somewhat out of my hands. I've left it up to fate. I've told myself if things go a particular way (and that is the most likely scenario), then I will have both the impetus at work to leave with a severance package and the story to tell my family and friends to explain my "sabbatical".
I really think my parents would be worried about me if I just quit without this reason. They know I have money saved up, but they don't know the extent of my plans. They came to the US as immigrants and had to start over from scratch financially at the age of 30, so I think they would think it's not wise to FIRE in my 40s.
However, my parents are quite badass. They came at the age of 30 to the US with no money but my father was able to retire at a normal age of 65 or so with no financial worries. Also, the first five years or so were pretty much spent trying to help family come to the US as well, so there wasn't a lot of saving going on then. And then they raised 4 children. Not bad at all...if they can do it under those circumstances it should be doable for others.
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Hmm, I don't know...
I've given my firm a strong signal that they either need to move me or fire me this summer. If this doesn't happen, I pretty much have to resign.
Thing is, I do think I have one last worthwhile project/ role in me, plus my wife is lukewarm (FIRE will mean moving back to her home country, which she wants to do, but not just yet...)
So I am having feeler talks with a friend about joining him consulting.
Options as I see ot:
1) I get fired, the extra cash makes FIRE less risky looking to my wife
2) I get moved to a role I enjoy, then FIRE after that is complete (45 now, so around 50)
3) I quit, FIRE anyway (probably by stealth, a long sabbatic that never ends...)
4) I quit, take up a freelance role.
My wife has been not working for 4 years now.
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Count me in - target July 3, 2015.
Trying to avoid OMM - one more month syndrome.
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Has anyone used the cfiresim calculation website to see how well the portfolio would do? I see that if I were to retire now with what I believe to be a comfortable enough income that cushions me above what my expenses are for myself then according to the website my success rate is 98.95%. The other nice thing to think about is that any withdrawals from stock index funds in taxable account which result in long term capital gains have no federal taxation if one is within the 15% tax bracket. I would consider retiring this year, but I'm still a bit afraid to do so, and therefore will still save some more money for a few more years. I'm self-employed but probably have trouble letting go of this working lifestyle. It's a lot to consider.
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Arghhh....Looks like I'm going to be class of 2016. Turns out my new boss is awesome, my staff are great and I have too much autonomy to give up a package worth over $200K per year. I really thought I was going to hate this year....but I don't! Guess I'll be making my FIRE plans for 2016. All the very best for class of 2015.
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I had mostly a good week at work this week, especially yesterday. I started having second thoughts of my rush to FIRE. I'm being put in charge of a project with definable goals and mid-term duration until the end of the year. What am I nuts? I make a great salary. I have a long life ahead of me.
Today was a whole other story and I started wondering if I'd make it the whole year. The commute (arguably the worst part of working) was horrendous and some misunderstandings at work made me wish it was just gone.
I just caught this post and wanted to say that I strongly relate to the cycling of feelings you've described. You have a nice, slow week at work with some interesting stuff to do and a good amount of control and direction and you feel like: This isn't so bad, especially for the pay.
But then you have a couple of bad days in a row and get really itchy again.
I've come to believe there's never a perfect time. If you quit when things are interesting and sane you may feel like you left a place that was too good to be true, and you were a fool to leave. But if you quit when things are busy -- or maybe not busy, but instead just crazy, like politically or in terms of interpersonal relationships (read: crappy coworker flare-up or similar) you may feel like your company got the better of you and you left impulsively, and that's not a great ending either.
In the end I think you're either ready or you're not.
'Course I'm not exactly qualified to give advice on quitting, being that I haven't done it yet and I've had my own issues with OMY.
That being said, I'm itchy right now and I hope to stay that way for the next month leading up to my departure. Can't wait.
I've been keeping a private journal full of ranting about work on the days that it is bad as a reminder to myself on the good days. I'm also saving emails that I've sent to my former colleague who did my job before I did and who transferred out. While all is not rosy at her new location, she no longer has to deal with the toxic bullshit that I've been living. I'm hoping that reading the journal and the emails helps to counter OMY.
I've decided that increasingly I do not like the person I am when I am dealing with work stress.
I'm also on Day 2 of a migraine.
303 days...
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Has anyone used the cfiresim calculation website to see how well the portfolio would do? I see that if I were to retire now with what I believe to be a comfortable enough income that cushions me above what my expenses are for myself then according to the website my success rate is 98.95%. The other nice thing to think about is that any withdrawals from stock index funds in taxable account which result in long term capital gains have no federal taxation if one is within the 15% tax bracket. I would consider retiring this year, but I'm still a bit afraid to do so, and therefore will still save some more money for a few more years. I'm self-employed but probably have trouble letting go of this working lifestyle. It's a lot to consider.
Sounds like you are good to go!
I tried it. If I put in my frugal budget I get 100% success. If I put in my spendy-pants budget I get 93.81. I didn't put in any values for SS, so if it still exists when I'm eligible, that will be an added buffer.
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Count me in - target July 3, 2015.
Trying to avoid OMM - one more month syndrome.
Congrats on picking a date!
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Has anyone used the cfiresim calculation website to see how well the portfolio would do?
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The other nice thing to think about is that any withdrawals from stock index funds in taxable account which result in long term capital gains have no federal taxation if one is within the 15% tax bracket.
I'm a big fan of history-based calculators like cFIREsim, FIRECalc. Most people (correctly!) consider a percentage above 95% as 'done' and ready to FI -- congrats.
But many other people -- myself included, so this isn't a jab or anything -- are almost comically risk-averse and immediately try to cover the remaining 'failure' percentage in order to get to 100%. You can cover it in many ways, e.g. committing to doing some PT work over the course of your retirement if it looks like you're getting a lousy sequence of returns, working an extra year before pulling the plug, etc.
My only suggestion if you're planning on quitting soon is to more carefully map out your plan to take distributions so that you reach a better comfort level. And to your point, taxes are expenses, and must be accounted for as part of the spending totals when you use those calculators.
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I've decided that increasingly I do not like the person I am when I am dealing with work stress.
Yes, completely understand. I'm normally pretty mellow myself, but when stuff gets piled on at work, I get edgy and sometimes behave badly and then feel terrible about it later. (I have some unfortunate type A aspects in my personality that lie dormant until certain stress triggers occur, at which point I get really intense and wacky...)
When these events happen it's a reminder to pull back from work if possible (take a vacation day and do something enjoyable to switch gears and decompress) because I'm too involved and need to disassociate.
Re: journal, I think that's great. There's a lot of science to show that we humans are wired to forget painful events in favor of donning rose-colored glasses to view our pasts. But now you have documentation to remind you how actually perceived your working life when you were moving through it. Nice!
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Dang, ARS, I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to be all right with working if she isn't? Any concerns about relationship dynamics? Just curious, as the whole single-FIRE thing can be a point of contention for some couples (but not all, obviously.) Here's hoping you can find a way to make it happen.
Yeah, I don't care. I don't see why that would be an issue. I like my job, which is why I do it.
But it's also tempting to say fuck it, and have us both quit. Very up in the air if one or both (or - very unlikely - neither) of us will be done in June.
It sounds like you've either hit or are very close to "your number." Perhaps you can both quit in June with a plan to pick up something shorter term during next winter to make up the missing $ for your number? Just a thought, I know everyone's situation is different.
Yeah, right now it's more about settling a few other things logistically and health care than it is the salary. Money isn't really an issue.
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>>Yeah, I don't care. I don't see why that would be an issue. I like my job, which is why I do it.
Awesome, glad to hear it.
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Has anyone used the cfiresim calculation website to see how well the portfolio would do? I see that if I were to retire now with what I believe to be a comfortable enough income that cushions me above what my expenses are for myself then according to the website my success rate is 98.95%. The other nice thing to think about is that any withdrawals from stock index funds in taxable account which result in long term capital gains have no federal taxation if one is within the 15% tax bracket. I would consider retiring this year, but I'm still a bit afraid to do so, and therefore will still save some more money for a few more years. I'm self-employed but probably have trouble letting go of this working lifestyle. It's a lot to consider.
I'm only on it like every day...
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Arghhh....Looks like I'm going to be class of 2016. Turns out my new boss is awesome, my staff are great and I have too much autonomy to give up a package worth over $200K per year. I really thought I was going to hate this year....but I don't! Guess I'll be making my FIRE plans for 2016. All the very best for class of 2015.
I'm sorry to hear that. Hee hee only on a FIRE forum could I say such a thing to your comment.
It looks like I'm in a similar situation. Work isn't sucking so much. The worst part is the commute and the time constraints work puts upon me.
But factors beyond my control hurdle me towards FIRE this year or early next year. If things go a certain way at work, I am definitely out of there.
But for now, I'm leading a cool project and my boss has tamed down his annoying side. He really does mean well and is a good manager, but he's a little too invested in work and then expects others to be...leads to a little workaholism. His nice side has been shining the past couple of weeks though. Sigh...
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I've decided that increasingly I do not like the person I am when I am dealing with work stress.
Yes, completely understand. I'm normally pretty mellow myself, but when stuff gets piled on at work, I get edgy and sometimes behave badly and then feel terrible about it later. (I have some unfortunate type A aspects in my personality that lie dormant until certain stress triggers occur, at which point I get really intense and wacky...)
When these events happen it's a reminder to pull back from work if possible (take a vacation day and do something enjoyable to switch gears and decompress) because I'm too involved and need to disassociate.
Re: journal, I think that's great. There's a lot of science to show that we humans are wired to forget painful events in favor of donning rose-colored glasses to view our pasts. But now you have documentation to remind you how actually perceived your working life when you were moving through it. Nice!
I'm the opposite of Type A, but even I don't like what I turn into when I feel time constrained and have to turn down other stuff in my life that I'd like to do. I get a little irritated with others and then can only squeeze things in - which I hate because I'm more of the slow and enjoying type - hate to be rushed. Especially with elderly parents that love the TLC...wish I could help out more.
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>>Yeah, I don't care. I don't see why that would be an issue. I like my job, which is why I do it.
Awesome, glad to hear it.
Always great to hear that a teacher loves their job, I think it is generally an under appreciated and underpaid job.
How hard is it to pick up substitute teaching jobs as needed?
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Re: journal, I think that's great. There's a lot of science to show that we humans are wired to forget painful events in favor of donning rose-colored glasses to view our pasts. But now you have documentation to remind you how actually perceived your working life when you were moving through it. Nice!
Speaking of journals Dr Doom, your blog is fantastic! I have been binge reading your accounts of your work years (holy crap Batman!) and really appreciating your posts on working through numbers and strategies.
You are an excellent writer. Thank you for putting all that out there for the rest of us to profit from.
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Re: journal, I think that's great. There's a lot of science to show that we humans are wired to forget painful events in favor of donning rose-colored glasses to view our pasts. But now you have documentation to remind you how actually perceived your working life when you were moving through it. Nice!
Speaking of journals Dr Doom, your blog is fantastic! I have been binge reading your accounts of your work years (holy crap Batman!) and really appreciating your posts on working through numbers and strategies.
You are an excellent writer. Thank you for putting all that out there for the rest of us to profit from.
That reminded me to check up on the latest Doom-musings and found another gem:
http://livingafi.com/2015/02/17/i-could-quit/
I loved this part:
So I’ll confess here that quitting is my go-to thought whether things are rough at work or they aren’t. It doesn’t makes a difference. With my own leave-work-forever date looming, I’m in a semi-daze most of the time, mentally saying goodbye to things I don’t like.
Seeya later, beaten down pile carpet. Gotta run, meeting room with conference phones atop maple-veneered tables. Hasta La Vista, dirty kitchen refrigerator that smells like moldy bread.
It’s as though my brain is narrating an updated version of Goodnight, Moon, revised for early retirees.
Irritating co-worker? That’s okay. I’ll be leaving soon. Confrontation with management? No big deal, I’m just about out the door. Boredom? I’ll be saying goodbye to that in two months as well.
Because I could quit, you know. And I’m damn well going to.
Priceless...
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>>Yeah, I don't care. I don't see why that would be an issue. I like my job, which is why I do it.
Awesome, glad to hear it.
Always great to hear that a teacher loves their job, I think it is generally an under appreciated and underpaid job.
How hard is it to pick up substitute teaching jobs as needed?
There are available sub jobs every day in my district, so it wouldn't be a problem. But that wouldn't be as much fun as having your own class, and the reason we want to FIRE is travel, so staying here and subbing would defeat the purpose.
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..nice things
Cool - thanks for the kind words. Blogging has been a great hobby and I'm always glad to find that some people see value in the content.
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How are my fellow classmates in Class of 2015 doing? I've been reading books mentioned in the Book Club section, getting CDs in place, tightening up my "plan", and waiting for a couple income events at work in the next few months. I'm really thinking late May or sometime in June for my FIRE date, but I'm not sure, just having cold feet for no good reason.
We had a long walk and talk about it on Saturday.
We're torn between a lot of different options. The one that makes the most sense right now is for her to FIRE in June and me to work another year, then ER.
But it's also tempting to say fuck it, and have us both quit. Very up in the air if one or both (or - very unlikely - neither) of us will be done in June.
It's looking like both of us will be done in June. 50 working days left.
It's amusing how frequently it changes though. OMY/OLY/etc. is a lark.
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How are my fellow classmates in Class of 2015 doing? I've been reading books mentioned in the Book Club section, getting CDs in place, tightening up my "plan", and waiting for a couple income events at work in the next few months. I'm really thinking late May or sometime in June for my FIRE date, but I'm not sure, just having cold feet for no good reason.
We had a long walk and talk about it on Saturday.
We're torn between a lot of different options. The one that makes the most sense right now is for her to FIRE in June and me to work another year, then ER.
But it's also tempting to say fuck it, and have us both quit. Very up in the air if one or both (or - very unlikely - neither) of us will be done in June.
It's looking like both of us will be done in June. 50 working days left.
It's amusing how frequently it changes though. OMY/OLY/etc. is a lark.
So exciting ARS.
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It's looking like both of us will be done in June. 50 working days left.
It's amusing how frequently it changes though. OMY/OLY/etc. is a lark.
That's awesome, congrats!!
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I'm getting really nervous about FIREing...just don't want to make the biggest mistake of my life. But not FIREing after saving for it for so long could also be the biggest mistake of my life. I kinda wish I worked at a place that had layoffs so I would just be forced into it - no chance of that happening at my employer. And I don't mean to offend anyone who was layed off and didn't want to be. My mental date for the past month or so has been to give notice on May 18th. I really hope I don't back out. Lately I've been telling myself I'll look for short term contract work once the weather turns cold, to keep my skills fresh "just in case".
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I'm getting really nervous about FIREing...just don't want to make the biggest mistake of my life. But not FIREing after saving for it for so long could also be the biggest mistake of my life. I kinda wish I worked at a place that had layoffs so I would just be forced into it - no chance of that happening at my employer. And I don't mean to offend anyone who was layed off and didn't want to be. My mental date for the past month or so has been to give notice on May 18th. I really hope I don't back out. Lately I've been telling myself I'll look for short term contract work once the weather turns cold, to keep my skills fresh "just in case".
Don't really know your situation, but many things you've said resonated. First - I'm also with an employer that won't lay me off, although sometimes I think it would be best for both parties, if the world were fair. But, with a little distance, things work out just fine either way, I still make plenty of money for my employer and have more than paid for myself given good fortune in the past... Having been a contractor, I can see how pure Capitalism (e.g. 401k vs. company penison) might just suck for the next generations...
But thinking you'll look for contract work in ER makes me nervous. Contract work can be brutal. If you're in oil & gas right now, stay put! In fact, I don't know where, in the current economy, jumping to contract is a wise choice, so please educate me on that. Keeping your skills fresh seems counter-intuitive to taking ER. I look forward to pulling the rip-cord in order to take a few chances on learning new skills - like blogging, publishing an e-book, or going heavy into research. It's pretty inspiring to see how Gates and Jobs and, now, Zuckerberg turned their ideas into a global enterprise, that made them mind-blowingly wealthy. But there are 7 billion people that want these things; that's why it's called the 1% and not the 25% or whatever would be more reasonable.
Either you are FI-RE and a little overly apprehensive, or you are forcing the round peg into the square hole. It's impossible for us to make a sound judgement, but I hope I said something that helps...
I'm in high tech and have done contract work previously in my field, and enjoyed it, so I'm not concerned about that; sounds like it would be very different in other industries. I also don't know if I'll actually take contract work, perhaps once I'm RE for a while I won't be so worried about keeping up my skills?
And yes you hit the nail on the head, I'm FI but apprehensive (more than a little!) I've hit my number and my WR will be around 3.2% at my comfortable budget with extras built in, and around 2% if I had to switch to my bare bones budget (no travel, no gifts, no eating out.) I think my actual WR will end up around 2.8-2.9% because the extra safeties I built in (health catastrophes mostly) will likely not happen every year. I didn't include SS or the value of my home in any of my calculations, so that's another possibly safety net I have. There may not be any SS by the time I get there, but my home value will increase over time. I know mathematically I should be fine, but it's still hard not to worry about things.
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So April 10th will be my last day at work -- it's official, I signed some paperwork with my employer last Friday. I'm finally no longer thinking about when and how to pull the trigger, which is actually an incredible relief and something of a major accomplishment for me. I had a little bit of difficulty finally letting go of work, but those issues are firmly in the rear view mirror. Now everything feels right.
Only 3 working weeks left -- feels trippy and surreal, but in a good way. I'm so glad that this is the year.
@AlwaysBeenASaver, my own spending looks very similar to yours, FWIW. A touch above 3% normal years, and I'm able to cut it to perhaps 2.2% floor if things get really wacky out there. I think this is about as safe as it gets, and you're already better off than a heck of a lot of people who ER. Good luck thinking things through.
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So April 10th will be my last day at work -- it's official, I signed some paperwork with my employer last Friday. I'm finally no longer thinking about when and how to pull the trigger, which is actually an incredible relief and something of a major accomplishment for me. I had a little bit of difficulty finally letting go of work, but those issues are firmly in the rear view mirror. Now everything feels right.
Only 3 working weeks left -- feels trippy and surreal, but in a good way. I'm so glad that this is the year.
@AlwaysBeenASaver, my own spending looks very similar to yours, FWIW. A touch above 3% normal years, and I'm able to cut it to perhaps 2.2% floor if things get really wacky out there. I think this is about as safe as it gets, and you're already better off than a heck of a lot of people who ER. Good luck thinking things through.
Congrats!! I'm sure 3 weeks will go really fast and then you'll be free!
And thanks for the words of encouragement :-)
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May 15 is now target date to leave my current job, though I'm still not 100% sure that will mean I'm FIREd.
Great news lhamo! Call it a sabbatical then. I had one myself a few years ago after a layoff. I thought I was potentially FIREd then, but in reality wasn't really ready. An unexpected offer 5 months later from an old employer brought me back into the working world. The next time I am laid off I think it's for good. But man those 5 months of decompression and health were awesome!
So April 10th will be my last day at work -- it's official, I signed some paperwork with my employer last Friday. I'm finally no longer thinking about when and how to pull the trigger, which is actually an incredible relief and something of a major accomplishment for me. I had a little bit of difficulty finally letting go of work, but those issues are firmly in the rear view mirror. Now everything feels right.
Only 3 working weeks left -- feels trippy and surreal, but in a good way. I'm so glad that this is the year.
@AlwaysBeenASaver, my own spending looks very similar to yours, FWIW. A touch above 3% normal years, and I'm able to cut it to perhaps 2.2% floor if things get really wacky out there. I think this is about as safe as it gets, and you're already better off than a heck of a lot of people who ER. Good luck thinking things through.
Oh man, now another one falls! The dominoes are falling quickly and will hit me as they approach me later this year.
Congrats Doomie. I caught up on your blog just now and got the low down. It looks like you caught your employers by surprise.
I'd probably take the sabbatical offer if I was in your shoes. But I can see how you'd want to be honest with them and not lead them on. I guess that's the difference with having a 3% vs 4% SWR and having a still working spouse as buffer.
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Oh how funny Dr. Doom; after seeing Daisy's comment, it sounded like you were the same person who's blog I get via email - I checked your signature line and, sure enough! I have to tell you, I got a lot out of reading your blog posts about your discussions with your management; thank you for sharing so much of your experience. It's really helping me with thinking this all through as I become more sure of FIREing. And also realizing places I don't want the resignation discussion to go :-)
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My wife is switching from full-time (50 hours) to part-time (25 hours) at the end of April. Her full-time job puts a damper on our travel plans.
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And also realizing places I don't want the resignation discussion to go :-)
Yes, this was actually one of my primary motivations to share the blow-by-blow discussions -- to show other people the folly of my own approach. Sometimes the best teaching is to illustrate how you've gone and screwed things up, i.e. Don't Do This, It Doesn't Work.
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I guess that's the difference with having a 3% vs 4% WR and having a still working spouse as buffer.
I have one (3%) but not the other, actually -- my wife expects to quit in June so we'll be in it together. (Although I did imply to management that my wife would be working indefinitely, that's not the case in reality.)
BTW, despite the fact I didn't take sabbatical, I'd recommend it to just about anyone else because: Why not? It's just not the right decision for me personally.
I can't wait to read here that you're all set, too - I know you're close. It's very exciting to read the updates in this thread.
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Two weeks into FIRE and loving it so far - but today was my last official day as I took holidays. So as of tomorrow I tick the 'retired' instead of 'working' box on online surveys :)
I'm a really poor sleeper and thought it might improve. The quality hasn't (I wear my fitbit which monitors my sleep and I'm awake a LOT during the night) - but being able to stay in bed longer means I am nodding off again when I'd previously have been getting up so I do feel more rested.
Good luck to everyone on the verge!
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Two weeks into FIRE and loving it so far - but today was my last official day as I took holidays. So as of tomorrow I tick the 'retired' instead of 'working' box on online surveys :)
I'm a really poor sleeper and thought it might improve. The quality hasn't (I wear my fitbit which monitors my sleep and I'm awake a LOT during the night) - but being able to stay in bed longer means I am nodding off again when I'd previously have been getting up so I do feel more rested.
Good luck to everyone on the verge!
Congrats on now checking the "retired" box, that must be a great feeling!!
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Two weeks into FIRE and loving it so far - but today was my last official day as I took holidays. So as of tomorrow I tick the 'retired' instead of 'working' box on online surveys :)
I'm a really poor sleeper and thought it might improve. The quality hasn't (I wear my fitbit which monitors my sleep and I'm awake a LOT during the night) - but being able to stay in bed longer means I am nodding off again when I'd previously have been getting up so I do feel more rested.
Good luck to everyone on the verge!
Two weeks into FIRE and we're just hearing about it now?!?!? I thought we had something going on here...
Just kidding...congrats.
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I guess that's the difference with having a 3% vs 4% WR and having a still working spouse as buffer.
I have one (3%) but not the other, actually -- my wife expects to quit in June so we'll be in it together. (Although I did imply to management that my wife would be working indefinitely, that's not the case in reality.)
BTW, despite the fact I didn't take sabbatical, I'd recommend it to just about anyone else because: Why not? It's just not the right decision for me personally.
I can't wait to read here that you're all set, too - I know you're close. It's very exciting to read the updates in this thread.
So I had taken some time off work recently and my boss let me extend it slightly for personal reasons. I thought to myself...what a nice guy, I really have a good thing going at work. What's the rush for FIRE?
Then I return today and the boss is complaining that my replacement during the time didn't take up the micro-managing Agile management role too seriously and he wants me now to take that on.
His words:
"You need to set up nightly meetings with our overseas members of the team for these daily standups". I mention that two nights a week is a lot.
Then he says:
"Yeah we're all used to our cushy 9-to-5 jobs but we need to stretch ourselves. It's only 15 minutes two nights a week. We can't be so loosy-goosy." In my mind, it's not the short amount of time but just the fact that I have to mentally allocate this space 2-3 nights a week to accomodate the cheaper overseas labor. Like I've got nothing else to do on weeknights...
This is definitely fueling the FIRE flames...
I like the cushy job, and I'm not the micromanaging type. I like being "loosy-goosy" (his term). This Agile push is definitely yet another reason for FIRE. This is the way the industry is going. Sigh...
I find us "older types" at work are the most resistant to this daily micromanaging that we're not used to. Some people have refused to attend these daily meetings and stuff. I have a theory that this micromanaging and daily status and short sprint schedules promoted by Agile is a reflection of the new millenial generation and their need for constant supervision and guidance. The rest of us don't like this push.
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I guess that's the difference with having a 3% vs 4% WR and having a still working spouse as buffer.
I can't wait to read here that you're all set, too - I know you're close. It's very exciting to read the updates in this thread.
...
I've gone through most of the workplace issues you've mentioned at one time or another and definitely feel for you.
Many software shops have around-the-clock schedules FWIW due to offshoring. Management tries to spin off hours meetings with teams in other locales as "only" 30 minutes, but this is disingenuous. You're exactly right: If you have a 7PM meeting on Tuesday, you will not be playing racquetball with a friend or, in the summer months, going outside to mess around with your kids, whatever. You are tied to the house so that you can be on that meeting. You may have followups that you need to take care of immediately following the meeting, too -- extending that 30 minutes to perhaps an hour. If the meetings are in the morning (say, 6:30), you will be anxious about the commute.
While this might be okay for a week or two, it is not okay as a lifestyle. I lived this life for a while and found it to be an unacceptable and unsustainable way to exist.
2. I've also gotten back from vacations and immediately had pressure cranked up at work. It's the worst. You're all calm and mellow from the break and as soon as you're back in, someone or other is telling you to run at a 60mph pace and blah blah blah.
And I do have the sense that it's getting worse. No one is able to push back on the constant monitoring, supervision, surveillance because: Need job.
Have you heard about slack (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/technology/slack-the-office-messaging-app-that-may-finally-sink-email.html?_r=0), btw? It's a new-ish IM client that's spun as business-Instant-Messenger and improves communication and productivity. Archives everything, improves transparency.
In short, it increases the number of connections between you and the corporate Hive. Anyone in the company can search your own chat history with anyone else. Yes, I imagine some of the privacy knobs are adjustable, defined as per corporate policy, but still, the idea feels slimy and controlling.
I'm incredibly glad I'm getting out. And these sorts of work-styles is really why I won't go back. If I need to seek employment in the future, for whatever reason, it won't be software. And hopefully I can avoid being in an office, too.
I'll stop there before this gets out of control, as I'm already way off topic... :)
Edit: shorter, believe it or not.
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Congrats Galley Girl and Dr. Doom!! ER is great. OK so THAT'S the understatement of the year :-)
Can't wait to join you officially. Although I have resigned I have a couple of weeks yet to get through. I'm continually inspired by your enthusiasm, it's totally energizing and inspiring!
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Congrats Galley Girl and Dr. Doom!! ER is great. OK so THAT'S the understatement of the year :-)
Can't wait to join you officially. Although I have resigned I have a couple of weeks yet to get through. I'm continually inspired by your enthusiasm, it's totally energizing and inspiring!
+1. Spartana's the FIRE poster-gal and cheerleader all in one. :D
I've been very much enjoying your blog Dr. Doom - I went back and added every post from the beginning (apparently there's been 79) to my Pocket (Read it Later) account and have been working my way through. So awesome to read the early 2014 material now (things like where you talk about OMY and hoping to not get sucked in and that you want to pull the plug in 2015 no matter what) with knowing where you're at today. :)
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Congrats Galley Girl and Dr. Doom!! ER is great. OK so THAT'S the understatement of the year :-)
Can't wait to join you officially. Although I have resigned I have a couple of weeks yet to get through. I'm continually inspired by your enthusiasm, it's totally energizing and inspiring!
+1. Spartana's the FIRE poster-gal and cheerleader all in one. :D
I've been very much enjoying your blog Dr. Doom - I went back and added every post from the beginning (apparently there's been 79) to my Pocket (Read it Later) account and have been working my way through. So awesome to read the early 2014 material now (things like where you talk about OMY and hoping to not get sucked in and that you want to pull the plug in 2015 no matter what) with knowing where you're at today. :)
Cool, thanks ARS. I'm always hopeful that the content helps a few people think things through a bit, perhaps pushing them through their own final OMYs. Seriously doubt you need any help yourself, though. Much like herpes, OMY does not affect everyone.
Fair warning on some of those early posts: They suck. I encourage you to skip around liberally. I think things got better as they went along.
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Cool, thanks ARS. I'm always hopeful that the content helps a few people think things through a bit, perhaps pushing them through their own final OMYs. Seriously doubt you need any help yourself, though. Much like herpes, OMY does not affect everyone.
I vacillate between OLY and OMY, but with the wife firmly pushing to be done ASAP, the choice sometimes seems out of my hands. We definitely won't have the problem of having worked too long, though we may have to go back at some point. :D
Fair warning on some of those early posts: They suck. I encourage you to skip around liberally. I think things got better as they went along.
I actually really like the personal stories (newspaper route, video game playing, your description of meetings).
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Much like herpes, OMY does not affect everyone.
This needs to be on a MMM-branded t-shirt. I'm sure it will be a best seller!
Uh, or not so much. Unless they are selling for $1. You simply can't SELL to people who don't want to buy. Supply & demand yo! This shirt would generate zero demand. People who want it won't spend the cash, people who are willing to spend the cash wouldn't want it.
I agree though, it would make a nice shirt. Good quote Doom.
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Methinks we should have been doing this list-style, like E-R.org does.
See: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/class-of-2015-a-66921-24.html
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Much like herpes, OMY does not affect everyone.
This needs to be on a MMM-branded t-shirt. I'm sure it will be a best seller!
Uh, or not so much. Unless they are selling for $1. You simply can't SELL to people who don't want to buy. Supply & demand yo! This shirt would generate zero demand. People who want it won't spend the cash, people who are willing to spend the cash wouldn't want it.
I agree though, it would make a nice shirt. Good quote Doom.
Yeah, that was meant to be a joke. But if you just sell a single shirt in this tough crowd, you are still a best seller!
Ah, I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. But after re-reading this, I found a slight alteration to doom's quote that I think improves the analogy a bit:
Much like herpes, OMY does not affect infect everyone.
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Methinks we should have been doing this list-style, like E-R.org does.
See: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/class-of-2015-a-66921-24.html
Yes! How about a sticky in the Post-FIRE subforum? (I once suggested something similar in the "forum ideas" section, but got no takers.)
Sorry for crashing your thread, given that in all likelihood my own FIRE won't commence until 2018 (assuming I don't contract a case of OMY syndrome (or herpes, for that matter)).
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Methinks we should have been doing this list-style, like E-R.org does.
See: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/class-of-2015-a-66921-24.html
Yes! How about a sticky in the Post-FIRE subforum? (I once suggested something similar in the "forum ideas" section, but got no takers.)
Sorry for crashing your thread, given that in all likelihood my own FIRE won't commence until 2018 (assuming I don't contract a case of OMY syndrome (or herpes, for that matter)).
Sounds like a great idea...not sure if I'm up to creating the list.
And welcome brooklynguy. Who knows, I might be crashing my own thread if I end up FIRE'ing in 2016 instead. I don't have a fixed FIRE date. I'm stubbornly waiting for a sweet severance package...in addition to letting my international funds recover a bit....that stubborn US dollar is not helping. I am trying to diversify my funds a little more, but they took a hit the last few years. The wonders of indexing (I am now learning the benefits).
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Hey Doom!
According to your blog you are a free man now. I was just wondering when you were going to work your way over here and gloat. Gloating in the name of FIRE is good.
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this looks an amazing thread with whole lot interesting people in it.
Well I'm in too! looking forward to FIRE
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Hey Doom!
According to your blog you are a free man now. I was just wondering when you were going to work your way over here and gloat. Gloating in the name of FIRE is good.
His last blog post said he would be consumed with moving until the 20th -- but if you happen to pop in please share an update, Dr. Doom!
Brag, brag, brag, gloat, gloat, gloat.
That oughta do it!
Yeah, moving is taking a lot of time, we're looking at apartments (decided to rent for a while) and evaluating different towns and neighborhoods. House is mostly sold (under agreement, only mortgage contingency remains) and closes end of May so we're on a clock to get out. Also juggling family stuff that I don't bring up all that much, but it's there.
Still, it's so much easier and pleasant to manage a move when not working. Like, for example, I'm leaving in 20 minutes to drive to another town to look at an apartment. With work, I'd have to either beg for time off, try to schedule this on the weekend, or take a sick day.
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Congrats doom. I've been reading the blog but don't think I posted there.
I'm sure you've been thinking about it much longer, but I've been anticipating your FIRE since you posted 10 months ago about your wife being more on board. Good stuff to see it materialize. Hoping I can join the fun in a few years.
Good luck with the move.
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Congrats Doom! Well deserved.
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WORD, doom. Word.
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Hey Doom!
According to your blog you are a free man now. I was just wondering when you were going to work your way over here and gloat. Gloating in the name of FIRE is good.
His last blog post said he would be consumed with moving until the 20th -- but if you happen to pop in please share an update, Dr. Doom!
Brag, brag, brag, gloat, gloat, gloat.
That oughta do it!
Yeah, moving is taking a lot of time, we're looking at apartments (decided to rent for a while) and evaluating different towns and neighborhoods. House is mostly sold (under agreement, only mortgage contingency remains) and closes end of May so we're on a clock to get out. Also juggling family stuff that I don't bring up all that much, but it's there.
Still, it's so much easier and pleasant to manage a move when not working. Like, for example, I'm leaving in 20 minutes to drive to another town to look at an apartment. With work, I'd have to either beg for time off, try to schedule this on the weekend, or take a sick day.
Yes, that is exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't too much to ask for...
I can't wait for your first post on your blog as a FIREd man. (not that I'm rushing you)
I have a suggestion. I realized DOOM backwards is MOOD. So your new post-FIREd persona could be changed to the (the good) MOOD DR. It seems like DOOM won't fit your new lifestyle. Just saying...
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Yes, that is exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't too much to ask for...
I can't wait for your first post on your blog as a FIREd man. (not that I'm rushing you)
I have a suggestion. I realized DOOM backwards is MOOD. So your new post-FIREd persona could be changed to the (the good) MOOD DR. It seems like DOOM won't fit your new lifestyle. Just saying...
Next post finishes up the last week at work (it's probably 70% done) and the one after that will start getting into how things feel now that I'm not working. Really short answer, though, is that it's good. Tremendously good. I know it's just a phase and the high will go away as I adapt to the new normal, but right now I'm glowing and really happy.
RE: name change -- DOOM always fits DOOM's lifestyle, now and until the end of time.
DOOM 4 EVR!! Muuaah-hah-hah-hah.... ;)
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On my end...a really good coworker announced he's leaving and got another job. Everyone is a little shocked.
I asked him if he tried to finagle a layoff severance package before he left. He said he had mentioned it to his boss and his boss laughed. He didn't get a package. I guess they knew he was leaving anyways.
So then he tells me that from the sounds of it, there may not be a big layoff any time soon. As he said it, he was hoping those of us in the conversation got happy as a result of hearing that. Not me! I pressed a little further and said "so no layoffs soon?". I guess that's what he heard from above.
Bummer! That was what I was looking forward to. It looks like I need to rethink my timing here.
The problem is that the higher ups are making it such drudgery for the rest of us, that many of the young people are leaving on their own. As a result, there will be less need for a layoff as they can cut costs by just accepting the attrition. My FIRE plan in 2015 is in danger...
I still have some hope that a major change is coming (and there is good reason to think that) and I hope to squeeze in a layoff in the next year or two when that happens. Either that, or my international and energy stocks better start performing well again. That darned strong US dollar is killing my investments.
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Congrats doom. I've been reading the blog but don't think I posted there.
I'm sure you've been thinking about it much longer, but I've been anticipating your FIRE since you posted 10 months ago about your wife being more on board. Good stuff to see it materialize. Hoping I can join the fun in a few years.
Good luck with the move.
Thanks C (and ARS, and NiCE too)
I'm still following your story, too (probably will always follow it -- in addition to your own well-written updates, it also generates a lot of valuable side conversations, very cool). I love to see the steady progress, so I have absolutely zero doubts that you'll be there soon. It's energizing to see other people kicking ass and moving toward their own goals with consistency and dedication. Very inspiring.
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Bummer! That was what I was looking forward to. It looks like I need to rethink my timing here.
Funny. But wouldn't a package only count for a few months, anyway? Or do you have a crazy amount of compensation built up due to a large number of years with your company?
I hear you about the attrition. That's lame -- so not only does your current work environment get worse because: fewer workers, but also you can no longer get laid off.
If it makes you feel any better, you sound like a really good person and a conscientious worker, so it's hard for me to believe you'd be targeted in a layoff, even if your company did decide to do some cutting. Might be best to consider non-layoff focused plans?
Re: Energy stocks -- they'll come back up, eventually. Current valuations are a result of OPEC manipulating the market, plain and simple. It isn't as though planet Earth magically acquired more oil. It remains a finite and expensive resource.
I won't make any predictions regarding international stocks, but just stick to whatever AA you've decided on, don't make any moves, and you'll do fine over the long term. That's what I love about passively investing via indexing: It's a lazy person's dream come true, which is perfect for me.
Because I will soon be testing the boundaries of lazy.
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Bummer! That was what I was looking forward to. It looks like I need to rethink my timing here.
Funny. But wouldn't a package only count for a few months, anyway? Or do you have a crazy amount of compensation built up due to a large number of years with your company?
That's a good point.. if you were hoping for 3 month's severance, but aren't going to get it, doesn't that just push back your timeline by 3 months?
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Bummer! That was what I was looking forward to. It looks like I need to rethink my timing here.
Funny. But wouldn't a package only count for a few months, anyway? Or do you have a crazy amount of compensation built up due to a large number of years with your company?
I hear you about the attrition. That's lame -- so not only does your current work environment get worse because: fewer workers, but also you can no longer get laid off.
If it makes you feel any better, you sound like a really good person and a conscientious worker, so it's hard for me to believe you'd be targeted in a layoff, even if your company did decide to do some cutting. Might be best to consider non-layoff focused plans?
Re: Energy stocks -- they'll come back up, eventually. Current valuations are a result of OPEC manipulating the market, plain and simple. It isn't as though planet Earth magically acquired more oil. It remains a finite and expensive resource.
I won't make any predictions regarding international stocks, but just stick to whatever AA you've decided on, don't make any moves, and you'll do fine over the long term. That's what I love about passively investing via indexing: It's a lazy person's dream come true, which is perfect for me.
Because I will soon be testing the boundaries of lazy.
Thanks for the nice words.
Well depending on the package, it could amount to either 4-5 months of pay (on the low end) or twice that (if the really good packages come out). I have a lot of years of service. It may not sound like much, but it could be between 1 and 2 years of expenses, depending on the package. So I had figured it would be a good transition into FIRE for those first two years.
I guess I don't like to leave any money on the table. There were so many layoffs in the past two years that I thought it would be a waste to leave without taking some of that severance money. Say you leave and a couple of months later a really good package was offered. It's happened to others that retired right before the big voluntary package a couple of years ago.
That's why I said I'd have to revisit my plans. I'll have to see how my investments do into the end of this year and next. Unfortunately, I just got on the indexing bandwagon this year. I have a lot of my money in some international investments that had done really well from 2008-2011 or so, but then have stagnated. So I've been a little reluctant to sell them at a "low" and invest in the US market right now at a "high". I guess you can say I've hit my sequence of returns risk in my international investments and want to let them recover before converting them to the index funds. They are quite diversified so I know when the US dollar takes a break down they will recover.
I guess I feel I'm really on the edge of FIRE and should probably really wait One More Year (I know...blasphemy on this site). So I thought being offered a severance package would be the kick in the pants I needed. Even if I wasn't totally ready for FIRE, I'm almost there and would accept the package and move on.
I also want to wait until the project I am on finishes up later this year/beginning of next year. I don't want to leave in the middle of it even though I'm not really fully invested in it. I guess it's that old responsibility thing and seeing things through.
I have a feeling that timing will tie in perfectly with my investments recovering...maybe fate has it planned that way.
I was trying to take the "easy way out" by having a layoff opportunity at work instead of me going through the mental and emotional exercise of deciding to quit. I will probably have to reread your blog to get the motivation to do it. I guess you can call me a weenie...
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Daisy, here's something else to think about. I have a friend who has been absolutely miserable in her job for over 5 years. She's a techie in Silicon Valley and could easily find another job in her field, but she doesn't want to leave layoff money on the table. Her company has periodic layoffs, but she's never been selected/accepted as a volunteer. Kinda similar to OMY, except it's more like "one more layoff", waiting to be one of the chosen ones. I think reevaluating and choosing a date you can FIRE w/o layoff money is a good plan; if you get a layoff before then, well great! If you don't, you have a date to count down to and if you stick to the date you're not stuck in "one more layoff" land forever :-)
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Daisy, here's something else to think about. I have a friend who has been absolutely miserable in her job for over 5 years. She's a techie in Silicon Valley and could easily find another job in her field, but she doesn't want to leave layoff money on the table. Her company has periodic layoffs, but she's never been selected/accepted as a volunteer. Kinda similar to OMY, except it's more like "one more layoff", waiting to be one of the chosen ones. I think reevaluating and choosing a date you can FIRE w/o layoff money is a good plan; if you get a layoff before then, well great! If you don't, you have a date to count down to and if you stick to the date you're not stuck in "one more layoff" land forever :-)
Great advice! Yes, that's why I need to reevaluate my plan.
The "Big Layoff of 2013" timed just perfectly with my discovery of the MMM blog. I got so many great ideas from it. I moved, became mortgage free, and drastically cut my expenses. I wasn't eligible for the voluntary layoff of 2013 but it's what kicked me into action to plan for the Next Big Layoff and be ready to accept a voluntary package. So that's where my head has been over the past couple of years.
Now that I've prepared myself to be in a position to accept such a package, I was patiently waiting for it to arrive. It still could happen as some major things may be changing at my company. But I realize I need to think beyond that and now prepare for the possibility of leaving on my own.
And then I got put on a project that conveniently takes all of this year to do.
I've noticed in my life I get the yearning to do something, I try to take action to make it possible but run into some roadblocks, then I wait patiently, and then usually through some other mechanism I hadn't even thought of, things just happen to line up to give me what I wanted. It's kind of hard to explain typing these words here. We shall see what the rest of this year and beginning of next year hold for me.
I also have a big expense in my condo building due at the end of this year. I knew about it when I bought the place a year ago and have the money saved for it...but I guess I just want that big expense out of the way mentally before I'd feel comfortable pulling the plug.
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And an update on myself, as long as I'm in this thread.
I'm planning to give notice on May 18th (!), with my stated last day being May 29th. If they convince me they'll use my time wisely, I'll be willing to stay until June 5th.
I've been struggling all year with "letting go" of a good income but I've finally overcome that. I'm bored to tears with my project this year and unhappy with the projects I see for myself later in the year. I finally realized recently that even if I wasn't going to FIRE, I would not continue working at this particular company. So in that case, I may as well give FIRE a try.
So yeah, less than 2 months left, yikes!
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And an update on myself, as long as I'm in this thread.
I'm planning to give notice on May 18th (!), with my stated last day being May 29th. If they convince me they'll use my time wisely, I'll be willing to stay until June 5th.
I've been struggling all year with "letting go" of a good income but I've finally overcome that. I'm bored to tears with my project this year and unhappy with the projects I see for myself later in the year. I finally realized recently that even if I wasn't going to FIRE, I would not continue working at this particular company. So in that case, I may as well give FIRE a try.
So yeah, less than 2 months left, yikes!
All right!
I sympathize with the part about seeing boring projects in your future...sounds like my situation. I'll be gladly reading your announcement on May 18th!
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And an update on myself, as long as I'm in this thread.
I'm planning to give notice on May 18th (!), with my stated last day being May 29th. If they convince me they'll use my time wisely, I'll be willing to stay until June 5th.
I've been struggling all year with "letting go" of a good income but I've finally overcome that. I'm bored to tears with my project this year and unhappy with the projects I see for myself later in the year. I finally realized recently that even if I wasn't going to FIRE, I would not continue working at this particular company. So in that case, I may as well give FIRE a try.
So yeah, less than 2 months left, yikes!
Congratulations! I struggle with leaving the highest paying position I will ever have too - but this job is killing me one way or another, so it must die first.
I hope your last few weeks go well!
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Yes, that is exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't too much to ask for...
I can't wait for your first post on your blog as a FIREd man. (not that I'm rushing you)
I have a suggestion. I realized DOOM backwards is MOOD. So your new post-FIREd persona could be changed to the (the good) MOOD DR. It seems like DOOM won't fit your new lifestyle. Just saying...
Next post finishes up the last week at work (it's probably 70% done) and the one after that will start getting into how things feel now that I'm not working. Really short answer, though, is that it's good. Tremendously good. I know it's just a phase and the high will go away as I adapt to the new normal, but right now I'm glowing and really happy.
RE: name change -- DOOM always fits DOOM's lifestyle, now and until the end of time.
DOOM 4 EVR!! Muuaah-hah-hah-hah.... ;)
I've been following your blog recently Doom and can't wait to see your first post-retirement entry. Very well written!
I believe I'll be joining the class of 2015 as well by accepting a severance package this year. I'm transitioning out of my current role (replacement already on-board) and the company has given me 90 days to find an internal opening or take a package. After 14 years at the same company I think it's time for a change in my life. I just don't have the motivation and patience for the corporate ass-kissing and politics.
I'm 43 and now FI (especially with the severance which would equal about 2 to 3 years living expenses). Perhaps I'll get another job but I'd like to take time off for the moment.
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Methinks we should have been doing this list-style, like E-R.org does.
See: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/class-of-2015-a-66921-24.html
Yes! How about a sticky in the Post-FIRE subforum? (I once suggested something similar in the "forum ideas" section, but got no takers.)
Sorry for crashing your thread, given that in all likelihood my own FIRE won't commence until 2018 (assuming I don't contract a case of OMY syndrome (or herpes, for that matter)).
Sounds like a great idea...not sure if I'm up to creating the list.
And welcome brooklynguy. Who knows, I might be crashing my own thread if I end up FIRE'ing in 2016 instead. I don't have a fixed FIRE date. I'm stubbornly waiting for a sweet severance package...in addition to letting my international funds recover a bit....that stubborn US dollar is not helping. I am trying to diversify my funds a little more, but they took a hit the last few years. The wonders of indexing (I am now learning the benefits).
Okay, let's start it in-thread for now.
I thought about gleaning ones from earlier in the thread, but they may have changed, so I just started with the two I'm sure of:
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Forum Name - ER Date
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
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Anyone feel free to cut and paste that into a reply, and add in your own (and use the latest one when you do so), chronologically, whether you've already FIRE'd this year, or are planning on FIREing later in 2015. If you don't have an exact date, but are doing it this year, add your name to the bottom with TBD. :)
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I guess I feel I'm really on the edge of FIRE and should probably really wait One More Year (I know...blasphemy on this site).
..
I was trying to take the "easy way out" by having a layoff opportunity at work instead of me going through the mental and emotional exercise of deciding to quit. I will probably have to reread your blog to get the motivation to do it. I guess you can call me a weenie...
OMY is not blasphemy to me. If there's one thing that working through my own OMY has taught me it's that people approach the leaving very differently based on personality, background, experience, and their relationship to their current employer (or vocation.)
The only person I've ever pressured to quit immediately was Brave New Life and he doesn't even visit these forums. It's one of those things -- when you're ready, you know it. If you're not ready, and you have logical reasons for not being ready, that's fine. I'm confident that you'll work through it and make the choice that's right for you. It's not as though you're ignoring the issue -- it's the opposite, in fact: you're carefully considering your options.
I like your more recent posts though where you're hinting you'll make quit plans that are unrelated to a potential layoff. I think that's healthy and removes the 'limbo' factor that seems to be present.
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The only person I've ever pressured to quit immediately was Brave New Life and he doesn't even visit these forums.
I miss BNL's posts. Hope your blog doesn't get as neglected as his. :)
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone feel free to cut and paste that into a reply, and add in your own (and use the latest one when you do so), chronologically, whether you've already FIRE'd this year, or are planning on FIREing later in 2015. If you don't have an exact date, but are doing it this year, add your name to the bottom with TBD. :)[/b]
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone feel free to cut and paste that into a reply, and add in your own (and use the latest one when you do so), chronologically, whether you've already FIRE'd this year, or are planning on FIREing later in 2015. If you don't have an exact date, but are doing it this year, add your name to the bottom with TBD. :)
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding Frankies Girl, whether she likes it or not :)
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA- 12/18/15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Just clarifying: this is just for FIRE individuals, right? FI doesn't qualify?
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Just clarifying: this is just for FIRE individuals, right? FI doesn't qualify?
I'm not one to limit free expression. Feel free to post here.
But I guess it is a place to gather one's thoughts as one makes the grand decision to FIRE or not in 2015.
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Yes, that is exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't too much to ask for...
I can't wait for your first post on your blog as a FIREd man. (not that I'm rushing you)
I have a suggestion. I realized DOOM backwards is MOOD. So your new post-FIREd persona could be changed to the (the good) MOOD DR. It seems like DOOM won't fit your new lifestyle. Just saying...
Next post finishes up the last week at work (it's probably 70% done) and the one after that will start getting into how things feel now that I'm not working. Really short answer, though, is that it's good. Tremendously good. I know it's just a phase and the high will go away as I adapt to the new normal, but right now I'm glowing and really happy.
RE: name change -- DOOM always fits DOOM's lifestyle, now and until the end of time.
DOOM 4 EVR!! Muuaah-hah-hah-hah.... ;)
I've been following your blog recently Doom and can't wait to see your first post-retirement entry. Very well written!
I believe I'll be joining the class of 2015 as well by accepting a severance package this year. I'm transitioning out of my current role (replacement already on-board) and the company has given me 90 days to find an internal opening or take a package. After 14 years at the same company I think it's time for a change in my life. I just don't have the motivation and patience for the corporate ass-kissing and politics.
I'm 43 and now FI (especially with the severance which would equal about 2 to 3 years living expenses). Perhaps I'll get another job but I'd like to take time off for the moment.
Just when I thought I was getting over waiting on a severance package to make my decision to FIRE, someone comes along and states they got a severance package and decided to FIRE. Sigh...my timing is always wrong...
Just kidding, congratulations Carlos! 2-3 years of living expenses is no laughing matter. I'd take it in a heartbeat.
Now I need to go back and read Doom's blog to take the severance thoughts out of my mind.
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
Daisy - TBD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Just clarifying: this is just for FIRE individuals, right? FI doesn't qualify?
Yeah, the "I pulled the plug!" list. :)
Feel free to start a thread on hitting FI!
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Nah, I'll cheer for you guys from over here. You rock!
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding Frankies Girl, whether she likes it or not :)
LOL! I saw this thread a little while ago, and kept meaning to post here. :D
Thanks for adding me!
It's been quite surreal so far. I just posted in my journal thread about getting a courtesy call from my workplaces' 401k rep at Fido to discuss retirement planning and future workplace account options. I think I threw her for a loop telling her I already knew what I wanted to do and I wasn't planning on working anywhere again - retired! :)
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like Daisy missed my post, so I thought I'd add it in. Hope this isn't an omen that I won't be on this list this year. ;)
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THE CLASS of 2015 --The List
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like Daisy missed my post, so I thought I'd add it in. Hope this isn't an omen that I won't be on this list this year. ;)
(https://foodandweightsblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/back-in-the-game.gif)
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lol I'd better be back in the game. Seven fights at school today.
I'm exhausted.
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Yay Lhamo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
lhamo -- 6/15/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day draws near!
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Congrats, Carlos!
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I am very far from my FIRE date (as in 6-8 years away), but I'm in the middle of a pretty big life transition, and I can relate to a lot of you who are counting down your last months, weeks, or days at work. I'm moving to a foreign country, but taking about four weeks off work before I arrive. My boss has already transitioned many of my responsibilities to other employees. Now, I have one big project that I'll see through to May 4, and the rest of the pay period will be wrapping up odds and ends.
I feel so much less stressed about work stuff knowing that my responsibilities have been culled and that there's an end in sight. I also CAN'T WAIT until I have a month off from work, and no obligation of job searching hanging over my head (have another one lined up already). It's only four weeks, and I can't decide how to spend them. I can read some books I've been looking forward to, spend more time learning the language of the new country, spend more time with family and friends, stay up late and sleep in late (night owl here), go on hikes, go to the beach... the list is endless. Unfortunately, my vacation won't be, and this fact makes me even more anxious for my FIRE date.
I'm envious of everyone who is close enough to have a FIRE date (or even a FIRE year), but I know you've all worked very hard to be where you are financially. I've enjoyed reading your posts here (and Dr. Doom's "notice" blog article) and I can't wait until it's my time for real. Maybe in a few years, I'll be the one starting a Class of 20XX thread! :-) Until then, I'll be cheering you on through the ups and downs of 2015. :-)
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I can finally contribute to this thread as we now have a date!~
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
lhamo -- 6/15/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oooh I like that I got a triple 5, that must be a good omen. Sometime on that date I will walk away from work. Well I hedged a little as I'm trying to be approved for an official personal leave of absence because I wanted three months of health insurance at my current low rate.
Feeling a little scared and having stache-envy. Some folks have huge staches! My husband went for a voluntary layoff a couple months ago but I've waited to get in those last few paychecks until we sold our home. The home now has a solid offer and due to close May 29th. We plan to move to our new mortgage free home, leaving on Monday May 18th. Our stache after the home closes and we get those proceeds will probably be just under 1 mil. So we will have an income from that we will draw on. My husband intends to get a real estate photography biz going. I'm just looking forward to exploring my options for awhile - gardening, reading, biking. I may look for some kind of work once my leave is over. We have to see what kind of expenses we will have and whether our projected stache income will be enough for most things. But since we want to be ski bums and travel, we will probably need some kind of actual work to pay for that.
-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 5/29/15 or 6/5/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
lhamo -- 6/15/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
FIRE & loving it :)
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FIRE & loving it :)
(http://img.pandawhale.com/post-38447-everything-is-awesome-gif-lego-GdJw.gif)
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Carlos - 4/30/15
How'd the last day go?!
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
I updated mine, my date is looking like 6/5 now, boss will be out during the week I had been planning to give notice.
I hope no one minds that I moved a few names around above to get them into date order.
-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
I updated mine, my date is looking like 6/5 now, boss will be out during the week I had been planning to give notice.
I hope no one minds that I moved a few names around above to get them into date order.
Congrats! Thanks about putting the dates in order. :)
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I'm so close to joining the class of 2015. I hope to go PT for a year or two after FI and I am VERY tempted to pull the trigger somewhere around the end of the year. It will likely be a little premature, but not a huge risk. Picking up slightly more income the first few years is not at all a problem.
So I won't be full RE, but I'll follow for inspiration.
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Carlos - 4/30/15
How'd the last day go?!
How are you arebelspy? I liked your interview with Joshua over at RPF.
it's funny how when you are at the point of leaving something you remember more the positive experiences than the negative. I felt a bit sad at my going away dinner after hearing all the nice things my team had to say. I will miss them. My partner told me he saved all the text messages I've sent over the past few years complaining about work in case I need a reminder. I'm told they are hilarious.
Officially I'm still employed at this point but am in a bridge period of 90 days after which my severance package kicks in. IF I wanted to I can apply for internal openings/transfers in this period. Yesterday I met with the lady in HR to review the severance package and discuss my job search. I was pretty open with her that I really want to take some time off at this point (I said a year and didn't mention FIRE). She was in agreement that that would be what she would do if she was in my place.
Incidentally the severance is about 25 to 35% more than I was estimating so my nest egg can continue to grow over the next 3 years before I even need to tap into it.
So I've got zero responsabilities at work, no direct reports, NOTHING. So far it doesn't seem real. I've been at home meeting contractors for quotes on some home repairs, done the grocery shopping and cleaning and yard work. I'm going to phone a personal trainer today recommended by a friend and start a fitness routine. On to new and better things. The lack of stress has been WONDERRFUL.
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That's awesome, love to hear stories like that. Congrats! :D
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I've been at home meeting contractors for quotes on some home repairs, done the grocery shopping and cleaning and yard work. I'm going to phone a personal trainer today recommended by a friend and start a fitness routine. On to new and better things. The lack of stress has been WONDERRFUL.
Carlos, that sounds great, congrats on having freedom now to do these things! I'm looking forward to some similar things - even cleaning! And I'm really looking forward to having time for yard work without skimping on things due to lack of time!
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Carlos - 4/30/15
How'd the last day go?!
How are you arebelspy? I liked your interview with Joshua over at RPF.
it's funny how when you are at the point of leaving something you remember more the positive experiences than the negative. I felt a bit sad at my going away dinner after hearing all the nice things my team had to say. I will miss them. My partner told me he saved all the text messages I've sent over the past few years complaining about work in case I need a reminder. I'm told they are hilarious.
Officially I'm still employed at this point but am in a bridge period of 90 days after which my severance package kicks in. IF I wanted to I can apply for internal openings/transfers in this period. Yesterday I met with the lady in HR to review the severance package and discuss my job search. I was pretty open with her that I really want to take some time off at this point (I said a year and didn't mention FIRE). She was in agreement that that would be what she would do if she was in my place.
Incidentally the severance is about 25 to 35% more than I was estimating so my nest egg can continue to grow over the next 3 years before I even need to tap into it.
So I've got zero responsabilities at work, no direct reports, NOTHING. So far it doesn't seem real. I've been at home meeting contractors for quotes on some home repairs, done the grocery shopping and cleaning and yard work. I'm going to phone a personal trainer today recommended by a friend and start a fitness routine. On to new and better things. The lack of stress has been WONDERRFUL.
Congratulations Carlos. Kick back and enjoy!
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Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
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Congrats, PeteD01, not much longer!
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Other 2015 people I've spotted around, who likely haven't seen this thread:
Upstate NYer - October 2, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg656463/#msg656463)
benjenn - July 31, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/the-last-few-months-weeks-days-before-er/msg659582/#msg659582)
earlyFI (approximately mid-August 2015) (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg652218/#msg652218)
:)
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Other 2015 people I've spotted around, who likely haven't seen this thread:
Upstate NYer - October 2, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg656463/#msg656463)
benjenn - July 31, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/the-last-few-months-weeks-days-before-er/msg659582/#msg659582)
earlyFI (approximately mid-August 2015) (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg652218/#msg652218)
:)
Iris lily
Miss Prim
I think they also FIRED this year.
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Enjoyed reading this thread, and congrats to all!
I don't think the IRP would allow me to claim I actually retired this year, as it's more of a career change (quitting PT job do double down on my homemaker duties). We're not FI yet either.
But I still like saying I am retired(ish) :P
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This thread is awesome (even if it is an E-R.org ripoff :) ). Those of us who retired in 2014 and earlier need more people to "play with" during normal working hours.
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Other 2015 people I've spotted around, who likely haven't seen this thread:
Upstate NYer - October 2, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg656463/#msg656463)
benjenn - July 31, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/the-last-few-months-weeks-days-before-er/msg659582/#msg659582)
earlyFI (approximately mid-August 2015) (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg652218/#msg652218)
:)
Should we secretly add them in to our list?
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Enjoyed reading this thread, and congrats to all!
I don't think the IRP would allow me to claim I actually retired this year, as it's more of a career change (quitting PT job do double down on my homemaker duties). We're not FI yet either.
But I still like saying I am retired(ish) :P
I approve.
Even when FIRE'd we will all be using our invested resources and frugal magic powers to maintain a healthy lifestyle, like you appear to be doing in your quasi-FIREd state. The life you are living now is the one that many of us aspire to.
I figure investing your money and learning to find new ways to be frugal while FIREd will still be a form of "working".
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For the record, my BS bucket is certainly getting filled at work. I do want to see the end of the project I am working on through. We'll see what happens when that ends and the not-so-interesting upcoming projects start getting thrown my way. Will I be too wimpy to cut the fire-hose-of-good-income off and FIRE? Will my FIRE stash rise to the levels I want (not need). Time will tell...
I did see a job opening for an up-and-coming tech startup and briefly thought about it. Job would be much closer to home so I could do it as a stepping stone to FIRE. Sounds like a fun job. It would be the kind of role I'd like. But then I read reviews of this startup online and got queasy..people working 80 hour work weeks at a pay level lower than I make now. Then I thought...eh...just hold on a little while longer where I'm at.
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Other 2015 people I've spotted around, who likely haven't seen this thread:
Upstate NYer - October 2, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg656463/#msg656463)
benjenn - July 31, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/the-last-few-months-weeks-days-before-er/msg659582/#msg659582)
earlyFI (approximately mid-August 2015) (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg652218/#msg652218)
:)
Should we secretly add them in to our list?
Nah, they can stay incognito if they want. :)
There are a lot more of us though, I'm sure, in the Class of 2015 than is posted here, and that idea makes me happy. So many people getting free.
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Last day of work was anticlimactic. Last night we had our wonderful, memorable, celebration dinner. Later after having gone to bed, around 12:30, I woke up and felt terrible. Thought too much to drink but only had two glasses of wine and a cognac. My nose was stuffed up as if I had an allergy (but no known allergies). I felt dizzy and queasy with hot and cold sweats. Maybe I got the flu. Maybe it was food poisoning but the restaurant is renowned and surely must be careful about germs. Maybe I ate too much as we did order quite a bit including some very rich food like foie gras. Maybe it was psychosomatic as I had both a work lunch celebration and post-work drinks scheduled the next day with co-workers. Being an introvert, this makes me somewhat nervous even though they are the co-workers I like. I had visions of dying before I reached my ER and how cruel the universe would be to allow that! All I know is the sickness I had wasn't similar to anything I'd had before. Eventually I was able to get to a light sleep. But I was relieved when my husband later said his stomach wasn't feeling too good either. At least then I wasn't being psychosomatic.
I won't ever know what went on but in the morning I still felt weak and dizzy although not as bad as I had at 12:30. I took that as a sign of what to do... My husband drove me to work where I quickly wrote a couple emails saying I was ill, and submitted my timesheet, then gave over my badge and laptop to security. My husband was waiting for me in the garage and away we went. That was it. Later, I caught up with folks online and apologized and explained somewhat lamely that I didn't know what had happened. I invited them to look me up if they came through Salt Lake. Did I cop out or what?
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Congrats Sequim, you're done!! Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well, but I'm sure you'll be feeling absolutely wonderful Monday morning when you don't have to go to work!
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Thank you AlwaysBeenASaver although I was well enough to work if I REALLY wanted to, just couldn't bring myself to go through with the whole day. Came home and then felt like I should have that laptop there, logged in, with emails to check...but it wasn't so that was a surreal moment.
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Congrats Sequim, you're done!!
+1. That's all that matters. It would be nice if the last day was full of chapagne toasts and memories. But really it doesn't matter. You can always go back and have a nice lunch with the people you really want to say goodbye to.
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Thanks guys. It's true, we've eaten at many taco trucks in sketch neighborhoods and never had a single episode. Perhaps this was a mild case and luckily did not have any real bad effects from it. Not spelling it out.............
I've been really looking forward to turning the alarm off for once and for all but Monday is our take-off day and need to get an early start, so we'll need it one more time. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up to the folks at work who I wanted to see one last time as I'll be leaving Washington and the only time we'll be back is to visit my sister and doing fun road trips. Maybe I'll wave as I go by our campus although I would prefer to avoid the nasty I-405 - I-90 interchange whenever possible. Part of our reason to leave Washington is as bad traffic refugees!
The unknown lies ahead and I've always liked new beginnings. Good luck to all those still waiting for their day! Eventually it happens.
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Maybe it was food poisoning but the restaurant is renowned and surely must be careful about germs.
Read any of Anthony Bourdain's books on the restaurant industry to quickly disabuse yourself of the notion that the cost of the restaurant is in any way directly correlated with its cleanliness. I have had some of my worst bouts of food poisoning the few times I have eaten in "higher end" establishments in Beijing, while typically suffering no problems from the neighborhood joints.
Hope you are feeling better and I agree that being able to clock out, go home, and recover without having work to worry about catching up on sounds like a great post-FIRE perk!
I will second this opinion for Sub-Saharan Africa as well...I've found some of the street vendors to be more reliable than good-looking restaurants. Basically in the developing world you have to take a chance or rely on the opinions of other people who have 'tested' the food for you first.
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Adding myself, who had an "F that OMY" epiphany...
I'm putting my "official notice" date of June 5 down, but in actuality the date could be 6/12 or even as late as 6/19, depending on their ability to find a new hire/training. But definitely FIRE-ing in June, sooner than later!
:-)
-The Pigeon
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
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Adding myself, who had an "F that OMY" epiphany...
I'm putting my "official notice" date of June 5 down, but in actuality the date could be 6/12 or even as late as 6/19, depending on their ability to find a new hire/training. But definitely FIRE-ing in June, sooner than later!
:-)
-The Pigeon
Congrats! What was your original plan before you F-ed the OMY? You probably had to be pretty close to be able to make the instant decision to FIRE.
This past week made me want to rethink my OMY too. I had two nights of calls due to a 12 hour time zone difference between the two offices. It really starts to frazzle my brain when I have to worry about a nighttime meeting...messes up the whole day and the day after.
One is a meeting I ran because half of my team is overseas. I don't make my local team attend these as I don't think it's worth their personal time. I meet with them during the day.
The other one is a larger audience that my manager runs. He could very easily also run two separate meetings, but he insists on having his whole team together so he alternates one week during the day and one at night. The main issue is that he is a micromanager that gets mad when certain things aren't done a certain way, without ever expressing beforehand that he wanted things a certain way. And they are measuring people's time way too meticulously, I think. Our work culture has never been like that and it seems to be changing. My team feels micromanaged when I pass down the orders from above (although I'm pretty vocal to my manager about not liking this and tell my team too).
A funny thing is that the meeting (like usual) started to run over the hour time slot because one guy's status is always waaaaaay long. I saw a couple of local people drop out of the call without saying anything. I IM'd one of the guys that did and he said I should drop off too. I actually announced my drop off just to make the point. ;-)
So then after the call I am upset and stressed over what the manager tells everyone and I have trouble sleeping which then affects my next morning.
Oh well, there is an FU money story brewing here and I am going to relish in it.
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Adding myself, who had an "F that OMY" epiphany...
I'm putting my "official notice" date of June 5 down, but in actuality the date could be 6/12 or even as late as 6/19, depending on their ability to find a new hire/training. But definitely FIRE-ing in June, sooner than later!
:-)
-The Pigeon
Congrats!!
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[quote author=Daisy link=topic=29358.msg671422#msg671422 date
Congrats! What was your original plan before you F-ed the OMY? You probably had to be pretty close to be able to make the instant decision to FIRE.
[/quote]
Hi Daisy!
My story is in a couple other threads with more detail, but in a nutshell, I was all set to retire in January, but a job inquiry came, and my interest was piqued. The offer came, I took it, I hate to toss out an opportunity... I hoped I'd like and enjoy it. Unfortunately, I did not.
My plan upon taking the job was to stick it out for a year and quit next April/May after maxing out their 401k for 2015 & 2016, test-drive living on my 2.3% withdrawal rate, and prepping mentally for the FIRE.
The non-enjoyment of the work, feelings of "ugh, I can't do this anymore!," and all the other annoyances of work, and the knowledge that I didn't *have* to put up with it--realizing I'm *choosing* to put off living life on my own terms to spend my precious time doing something I don't want to do, out of feelings of obligation to people who don't matter in the scope of my life... That led to calculating different scenarios where I quit earlier and earlier. Then I just wanted out NOW. The reasons I had to stay weren't going to have that much effect on the overall scenario. Why wait?
Yeah. Mostly that. I have the means, all calculations say I'll never run out of money, all those "put-off-for-somedays" waiting in the wings... if I'd just be brave for once...
No epic FU money story, just making a key realization, which I knew all along (we all do) but jumping into the unknown/untrodden path is scary. I faced the fear and did it anyway!
I work in the graphic arts field, and just last week I set my font-preview program to display a paragraph instead of a sentence. This was the paragraph it displays when you choose that option:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Having that in my face daily may have also contributed a bit of a "push"…
Wow, I'm gonna be free,
The Pigeon
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[quote author=Daisy link=topic=29358.msg671422#msg671422 date
Congrats! What was your original plan before you F-ed the OMY? You probably had to be pretty close to be able to make the instant decision to FIRE.
Hi Daisy!
My story is in a couple other threads with more detail, but in a nutshell, I was all set to retire in January, but a job inquiry came, and my interest was piqued. The offer came, I took it, I hate to toss out an opportunity... I hoped I'd like and enjoy it. Unfortunately, I did not.
My plan upon taking the job was to stick it out for a year and quit next April/May after maxing out their 401k for 2015 & 2016, test-drive living on my 2.3% withdrawal rate, and prepping mentally for the FIRE.
The non-enjoyment of the work, feelings of "ugh, I can't do this anymore!," and all the other annoyances of work, and the knowledge that I didn't *have* to put up with it--realizing I'm *choosing* to put off living life on my own terms to spend my precious time doing something I don't want to do, out of feelings of obligation to people who don't matter in the scope of my life... That led to calculating different scenarios where I quit earlier and earlier. Then I just wanted out NOW. The reasons I had to stay weren't going to have that much effect on the overall scenario. Why wait?
Yeah. Mostly that. I have the means, all calculations say I'll never run out of money, all those "put-off-for-somedays" waiting in the wings... if I'd just be brave for once...
No epic FU money story, just making a key realization, which I knew all along (we all do) but jumping into the unknown/untrodden path is scary. I faced the fear and did it anyway!
I work in the graphic arts field, and just last week I set my font-preview program to display a paragraph instead of a sentence. This was the paragraph it displays when you choose that option:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Having that in my face daily may have also contributed a bit of a "push"…
Wow, I'm gonna be free,
The Pigeon
How on earth did I miss that you were in the graphics field? Cool! I just quit my graphic design job this year and believe me, it was scary at first, but I am doing MUCH better now. ;)
I know there are several others in the same field (Forestbound is another) on the MMM forum, and it's quite refreshing to see more folks like us from typically creative arts able to FIRE. As we're typically given a bum rap on being too right-brained to crunch numbers, it's lovely that there are some of us out there to prove the doubters wrong. You can be a creative and still be down to earth and pragmatic enough to manage your money well. :D
(and I thought I was the only one that changed the sentences in the font preview fields. I had mine saying all manner of silly things but never thought to make them inspirational... that's nifty!)
Congrats on making your decision - you're going to be so happy!!
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Great story Pigeon and it really resonated with me. Your saying "will I be brave enough..." I love that! Yes that is how it is and there can be such self-loathing before the actual step can be taken. And finally the job becoming so intolerable once you made the inner decision to leave. No matter how much money, it can't make it better. Well maybe a ton of money~
Also congrats on being a creative and able to FIRE. I have friends in the biz and know how hard it is to stay employed. Both friends were laid off. One is a house-husband while his wife works and goes to school as he can't find work in his field that is tolerable and pays decently. The other is house-sitting in her mom's house doing free-lance jobs. I think they are both a lot happier, however, than being unhappy in the crappy jobs they had.
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The non-enjoyment of the work, feelings of "ugh, I can't do this anymore!," and all the other annoyances of work, and the knowledge that I didn't *have* to put up with it--realizing I'm *choosing* to put off living life on my own terms to spend my precious time doing something I don't want to do, out of feelings of obligation to people who don't matter in the scope of my life... That led to calculating different scenarios where I quit earlier and earlier. Then I just wanted out NOW. The reasons I had to stay weren't going to have that much effect on the overall scenario. Why wait?
Yep, those are great realizations to have. Others at work feel shackled because they are so dependent on a job for income, that they won't stand up for their rights or work/life balance when needed.
Some friends of mine are planning a dinner on an upcoming night when my boss has one of his calls with Asia. After thinking about it, I informed him I had a "personal conflict" and would not be able to attend. Not sure of the ramifications of that, but I am not going to turn down a girls-birthday-night-out for some silly status meeting at 10pm.
I read someone on this forum mention the vague "personal conflict" excuse and I have now used it quite a few times.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
I love that quote! I have a running file of quotes like these. One of my other favorites related to FIRE is:
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
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It's just a day over two weeks since I left work. We moved away from Washington and into our new state of Utah so not only leaving a job but a state so maybe that is why it seems so very long ago that we had that "old" life. The feeling of having all my time ahead of me to myself is so liberating and exhilarating. I've had feelings of phantom work reflexes, however. Over last weekend I felt I needed to get things done as the weekend would soon be over before realizing, with glee, this was not the case! My husband has been planning an elaborate breakfast (in our old life, he was the breakfast chef for the weekends) he wanted to make and when I asked him when he was going to make it, he said Monday and we both laughed when I said, "But that's a work day!".
So many people have reasons [excuses] to not do things that would benefit them. This just boggles my mind. As simple as saving money by putting in an expense request for your mobile phone used at work - it all makes a difference. Why is it that people have such inertia. And they are so easily parted from their money as witnessed by all the luxury vehicles getting driven around our old Washington neighborhood. I've tried to encourage folks to do things differently as one of my co-workers expressed his envy of what we were going to do, but he always had excuses for why he couldn't do something (oh, my wife likes to shop so I have to keep working, it's too much paperwork to do the phone expense, etc)...sigh...
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@Daisy:
That's an awesome quote too! Do you notice the recurring nautical theme of some of these inspirational quotes? The romance of the sea, faraway lands and discovery, I suppose.
@Sequim & Frankiesgirl,
Sometimes I think the creative fields are terrible jobs. So much stress, the niggling clients who don't know what they want, seemingly useless changes/corrections just to "justify their job," e.g. "make that 1% less magenta," expecting brilliance without think-time... all for a pittance.
Luckily, I've been a saver (many thanks to my depression-era parents and the frugality they ingrained in me), but I've made a boatload of saving mistakes. I would have done *so* much better (and gotten out faster) had there been the sort of advice now freely available on these ER blogs and this forum when I was a young pup. You young whippersnappers should count your lucky stars that you can find this sort of info with the click of a mouse.
Thankfully, I did OK, and this is my ***LAST WEEK*** (jumping up and down).
I will still be doing some freelance stuff here and there, but only if I feel like it and the project sounds fun. Other than that... It's time for *MY* art. :-D
Counting down the hours (are we there yet?), and posting on MMM on company time ;-) ,
-The Pigeon.
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Just found this thread. I am in this class as I went FIRE on Jan 1, 2015. I had a crazy job in public media where, through attrition, and fueled by the economic downturn, I ended up with 4 areas of responsibility, each of which could be a full-time job. I now do one of those jobs as a contractor from home. I'm still in the "pinch me, is this a dream" phase. I am so grateful!
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Just found this thread. I am in this class as I went FIRE on Jan 1, 2015. I had a crazy job in public media where, through attrition, and fueled by the economic downturn, I ended up with 4 areas of responsibility, each of which could be a full-time job. I now do one of those jobs as a contractor from home. I'm still in the "pinch me, is this a dream" phase. I am so grateful!
Congratulations. It is not a dream, this is your new real life, you have earned it.
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Just found this thread. I am in this class as I went FIRE on Jan 1, 2015. I had a crazy job in public media where, through attrition, and fueled by the economic downturn, I ended up with 4 areas of responsibility, each of which could be a full-time job. I now do one of those jobs as a contractor from home. I'm still in the "pinch me, is this a dream" phase. I am so grateful!
Welcome to the Class of 2015!
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If I keep neglecting to keep my mouth shut, I'm going to be fired before I can retire at the end of the year.
I even like my boss, but some of our policies are just fucking ridiculous.
What amuses me is how afraid for me some of my co-workers are. Most of them are glad that I say what I do, but they seem to think we can't possibly survive without this job.
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I graduated :-)
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I did it this year, does that count? My position was eliminated last fall, but it took until the end of March to process. I had my dream job teaching in an Ivy League university. Not tenure track but a solid position that it would've taken a new Dean to eliminate. Well, they hired this moron and she listened to the mongrels in finance so the result is they eliminated my position along with a bunch of others.
Instead of looking for a new job, I'm taking my severance and calling it a day. We also sold a family apartment building for about twice what I expected it was worth ($4.55M).
BPA, why not get fired? You'll get more $$$$ that way.
I'm going to buy another property or two, put the rest in investments and I think that given that our house is paid off, my wife and I can raise our two kids and live another 50 years on that.
I bought a blood pressure meter two days ago. I'm running or exercising every day now. Gone from a 10.30 mile to a 9.30 mile in the two months since retirement. I stopped my blood pressure meds (beta blockers interfere with the running). Measured 125/79 today. Funny, that's what it was when I was on beta blockers!! I can tell my BP is way better now. Probably doing a 90 minute bike ride tomorrow.
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Congrats smoghat! That definitely counts in my book.
I would love to get fired or eliminated. I don't think it is going to happen though. I speak up about silly company policies all the time (similar to BPS), but thankfully, there are only a few small issues and my boss agrees with me. So we metaphorically shake our fists at corporate, and then go back to our jobs.
I don't think I could push my boss into firing me, from a moral stand point. I have no interest in essentially screwing over my clients or coworkers, which is what it would take.
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I graduated :-)
With honors; Magna cum laude. Congrats.
Same to you Rebs and any other recent graduates. Permanent summer.
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I did it this year, does that count? My position was eliminated last fall, but it took until the end of March to process. I had my dream job teaching in an Ivy League university. Not tenure track but a solid position that it would've taken a new Dean to eliminate. Well, they hired this moron and she listened to the mongrels in finance so the result is they eliminated my position along with a bunch of others.
Instead of looking for a new job, I'm taking my severance and calling it a day. We also sold a family apartment building for about twice what I expected it was worth ($4.55M).
BPA, why not get fired? You'll get more $$$$ that way.
I'm going to buy another property or two, put the rest in investments and I think that given that our house is paid off, my wife and I can raise our two kids and live another 50 years on that.
I bought a blood pressure meter two days ago. I'm running or exercising every day now. Gone from a 10.30 mile to a 9.30 mile in the two months since retirement. I stopped my blood pressure meds (beta blockers interfere with the running). Measured 125/79 today. Funny, that's what it was when I was on beta blockers!! I can tell my BP is way better now. Probably doing a 90 minute bike ride tomorrow.
Sweet! Congratulations, you are in t he catbird's seat!
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Thanks, all!
Sadly, the new Dean was too stupid to fire me. She was only listening to the knuckle draggers in finance who said they should get rid of our class of positions. The previous year, a co-worker said that any future Dean would be an idiot if they got rid of us since they got so much out of us for how little they paid us. Well, they found one, didn't they? His position was eliminated too so he went on to be a chair at another school. Meanwhile, the word on the street is that the program I'm teaching in is down the tubes thanks to the moron who they hired. And I'm thrilled to be above that fray for once!
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I did it this year, does that count? My position was eliminated last fall, but it took until the end of March to process. I had my dream job teaching in an Ivy League university. Not tenure track but a solid position that it would've taken a new Dean to eliminate. Well, they hired this moron and she listened to the mongrels in finance so the result is they eliminated my position along with a bunch of others.
Instead of looking for a new job, I'm taking my severance and calling it a day. We also sold a family apartment building for about twice what I expected it was worth ($4.55M).
BPA, why not get fired? You'll get more $$$$ that way.
I'm going to buy another property or two, put the rest in investments and I think that given that our house is paid off, my wife and I can raise our two kids and live another 50 years on that.
I bought a blood pressure meter two days ago. I'm running or exercising every day now. Gone from a 10.30 mile to a 9.30 mile in the two months since retirement. I stopped my blood pressure meds (beta blockers interfere with the running). Measured 125/79 today. Funny, that's what it was when I was on beta blockers!! I can tell my BP is way better now. Probably doing a 90 minute bike ride tomorrow.
I won't get more money because I'm being insubordinate by questioning policy vocally, and there is no packaging out where I work. But good suggestion otherwise.
I plan to leave December 18, and if I've calculated it right, consequences for me before then could be a temporary suspension or anger management training which I would have to pay for myself(plenty of people who get fed up and lip off in my line of work get this stipulation). The first step is a meeting and a chastisement and a warning that any other infraction within the next 18 months could lead to suspension and eventual termination.
I wouldn't mind a suspension for standing up for what I believe in, but don't want to pay for bullshit anger management training.
It is amazing the number of people I work with who feel exactly as I do and are too afraid to speak up. I'm so grateful for FI and the ability to live fairly frugally.
88 more working days (if I don't get suspended).
Congrats to you, smoghat. I'll be joining the bliss at the end of December.
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If I keep neglecting to keep my mouth shut, I'm going to be fired before I can retire at the end of the year.
I even like my boss, but some of our policies are just fucking ridiculous.
What amuses me is how afraid for me some of my co-workers are. Most of them are glad that I say what I do, but they seem to think we can't possibly survive without this job.
I'm in this camp now as well. It can be quite fun to just express your true opinions and see everyone's reactions. In fact, standing up to the new and strange rules at my workplace seems to be my "purpose" these days. I figure it's the least I could do for the young-uns and financially-strapped co-workers at my company. I keep saying, "what are they gonna do - fire me?".
Congratulations to all of the new members of the Class of 2015!!!
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If I keep neglecting to keep my mouth shut, I'm going to be fired before I can retire at the end of the year.
I even like my boss, but some of our policies are just fucking ridiculous.
What amuses me is how afraid for me some of my co-workers are. Most of them are glad that I say what I do, but they seem to think we can't possibly survive without this job.
I'm in this camp now as well. It can be quite fun to just express your true opinions and see everyone's reactions. In fact, standing up to the new and strange rules at my workplace seems to be my "purpose" these days. I figure it's the least I could do for the young-uns and financially-strapped co-workers at my company. I keep saying, "what are they gonna do - fire me?".
Congratulations to all of the new members of the Class of 2015!!!
ha ha Thanks for commiserating!
I've always been the outspoken one, but I don't think anybody, even me, really knew how I was choosing my battles before. I'm careful to attack ideas and not people but I've slipped on that once. What he did to me was worse, so I'm not too worried about that.
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'll happily add my name to the list. My original date was for 7/3... but after reading how insurance works on the ACA marketplace, I think I need to pull it back so that I can start coverage on the first of the month.
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/2015 (or possibly 6/30/2015)
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'll happily add my name to the list. My original date was for 7/3... but after reading how insurance works on the ACA marketplace, I think I need to pull it back so that I can start coverage on the first of the month.
Spork - 7/3/2015 (or possibly 6/30/2015)
Since my employer-provided insurance is paid in the 1st of every month, by staying until the 2nd July is covered by employer. You may want to check on this at work.
I also wanted to clearly complete 1000 hours for another year of vesting in pension and SS calculations. 6/30/2015 may count as 1000 hrs, I was too lazy to optimize that to the last minute.
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'll happily add my name to the list. My original date was for 7/3... but after reading how insurance works on the ACA marketplace, I think I need to pull it back so that I can start coverage on the first of the month.
Spork - 7/3/2015 (or possibly 6/30/2015)
Since my employer-provided insurance is paid in the 1st of every month, by staying until the 2nd July is covered by employer. You may want to check on this at work.
I also wanted to clearly complete 1000 hours for another year of vesting in pension and SS calculations. 6/30/2015 may count as 1000 hrs, I was too lazy to optimize that to the last minute.
I'll try to check... though these types of questions are sometimes wormholes that are difficult to get any data out of.
I don't have a pension... so that's out.
I thought SS was calculated on earnings though, not hours. Am I missing something?
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'll happily add my name to the list. My original date was for 7/3... but after reading how insurance works on the ACA marketplace, I think I need to pull it back so that I can start coverage on the first of the month.
Spork - 7/3/2015 (or possibly 6/30/2015)
Since my employer-provided insurance is paid in the 1st of every month, by staying until the 2nd July is covered by employer. You may want to check on this at work.
I also wanted to clearly complete 1000 hours for another year of vesting in pension and SS calculations. 6/30/2015 may count as 1000 hrs, I was too lazy to optimize that to the last minute.
I'll try to check... though these types of questions are sometimes wormholes that are difficult to get any data out of.
I don't have a pension... so that's out.
I thought SS was calculated on earnings though, not hours. Am I missing something?
Re: SS - this is something I heard from someone else and I didn't investigate much. Maybe a year with < 1000 wouldn't count when they select your 35 highest earning years (no matter the earnings)? I think they use 35 yrs., but I haven't checked this recently.
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Other 2015 people I've spotted around, who likely haven't seen this thread:
Upstate NYer - October 2, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg656463/#msg656463)
benjenn - July 31, 2015 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/the-last-few-months-weeks-days-before-er/msg659582/#msg659582)
earlyFI (approximately mid-August 2015) (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/countdown/msg652218/#msg652218)
:)
Should we secretly add them in to our list?
Nah, they can stay incognito if they want. :)
There are a lot more of us though, I'm sure, in the Class of 2015 than is posted here, and that idea makes me happy. So many people getting free.
Just found the thread. Happy to add my name to the list. I will give notice the end of July, my last work day will be Aug 12, 2015, my official last day of work is Aug 14, 2015 but I will far away in the PNW on a beach enjoying day 2 of my first post FIRE vacation ;)
This is a pretty supportive group. I have been reading posts from most of you under other threads, what a great bunch of people. Happy to be free in 2015!!
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
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Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
Weird I haven't come across this thread before now. SOmeone upthread did mention me, but I added my name to the list. I'm nearly 3 months into fire. It's nice. :)
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Congrats and welcome to the new additions to our class!
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'll happily add my name to the list. My original date was for 7/3... but after reading how insurance works on the ACA marketplace, I think I need to pull it back so that I can start coverage on the first of the month.
Spork - 7/3/2015 (or possibly 6/30/2015)
Since my employer-provided insurance is paid in the 1st of every month, by staying until the 2nd July is covered by employer. You may want to check on this at work.
I also wanted to clearly complete 1000 hours for another year of vesting in pension and SS calculations. 6/30/2015 may count as 1000 hrs, I was too lazy to optimize that to the last minute.
I'll try to check... though these types of questions are sometimes wormholes that are difficult to get any data out of.
I don't have a pension... so that's out.
I thought SS was calculated on earnings though, not hours. Am I missing something?
Re: SS - this is something I heard from someone else and I didn't investigate much. Maybe a year with < 1000 wouldn't count when they select your 35 highest earning years (no matter the earnings)? I think they use 35 yrs., but I haven't checked this recently.
And...... JUST LIKE YOU SAID: If I work July 1, I'm insured all month. Thanks G-dog.
I'm also replopping my name in the class list as it seems to have plopped out.
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'll happily add my name to the list. My original date was for 7/3... but after reading how insurance works on the ACA marketplace, I think I need to pull it back so that I can start coverage on the first of the month.
Spork - 7/3/2015 (or possibly 6/30/2015)
Since my employer-provided insurance is paid in the 1st of every month, by staying until the 2nd July is covered by employer. You may want to check on this at work.
I also wanted to clearly complete 1000 hours for another year of vesting in pension and SS calculations. 6/30/2015 may count as 1000 hrs, I was too lazy to optimize that to the last minute.
I'll try to check... though these types of questions are sometimes wormholes that are difficult to get any data out of.
I don't have a pension... so that's out.
I thought SS was calculated on earnings though, not hours. Am I missing something?
Re: SS - this is something I heard from someone else and I didn't investigate much. Maybe a year with < 1000 wouldn't count when they select your 35 highest earning years (no matter the earnings)? I think they use 35 yrs., but I haven't checked this recently.
And...... JUST LIKE YOU SAID: If I work July 1, I'm insured all month. Thanks G-dog.
Yes! SCORE! I am glad this info was useful!
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How come there was no 2014 thread? That would have been fun. ;)
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How come there was no 2014 thread? That would have been fun. ;)
It is not too late! Start one, it would be interesting to see.
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Heh...2014 FIRE'ees are so YESTERDAY. :)
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Gave notice today. Wife and I are going to take an extended trip in the truck camper to start our new life free from the cubicle!
Forum Name - ER Date
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/15
AlexK - 7/17/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
[/quote]
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Welcome to the class, AlexK!
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I've added DH and myself to the list! 50 days (and 32 work days) to go! Woo-hoo!
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/15
AlexK - 7/17/15
BenJenn - 7/30/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
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Welcome to the class, BenJenn!
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Heh...2014 FIRE'ees are so YESTERDAY LAST YEAR. :)
Fixed that for you. ;)
Gave notice today. Wife and I are going to take an extended trip in the truck camper to start our new life free from the cubicle!
Congrats, buddy! MIL going to stay and watch the house?
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Added Caserole on.
Casserole55 - 1/1/15
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/15
AlexK - 7/17/15
BenJenn - 7/30/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
BPA -12/18/15
Daisy - TBD
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Congrats, buddy! MIL going to stay and watch the house?
Yes! MIL moved in but she will watch the house and pets while we are gone, even paying $300/mo rent. We were thinking we couldn't travel until the pets died (cat is stubbornly healthy too), but it worked out.
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Congrats, buddy! MIL going to stay and watch the house?
Yes! MIL moved in but she will watch the house and pets while we are gone, even paying $300/mo rent. We were thinking we couldn't travel until the pets died (cat is stubbornly healthy too), but it worked out.
Well that works out nicely, and means you don't have to spend as much time cooped up with her. Win-win. :)
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Six. More. Work. Days.
It is gettin' real up in here!
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Six. More. Work. Days.
It is gettin' real up in here!
Awesome!!
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Six. More. Work. Days.
It is gettin' real up in here!
:)
I'm right there with ya.
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Congrats lhamo!!!
And you're almost there G-Dog & Spork!! A week-ish and then FREEDOM! :D
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One teeny life lesson I learned: If you're quitting on a holiday, state your last day as the first day back from the holiday so you get paid for it.
My boss asked me if I wanted to recant and resubmit my notice -- but they'd already done a crapload of paperwork and it just seemed silly to rework it after the fact.
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One teeny life lesson I learned: If you're quitting on a holiday, state your last day as the first day back from the holiday so you get paid for it.
My boss asked me if I wanted to recant and resubmit my notice -- but they'd already done a crapload of paperwork and it just seemed silly to rework it after the fact.
Eh, one day of pay - not significant.
Somehow coming back on Monday 7/6/15 was more torture than getting another day's pay.
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Six. More. Work. Days.
It is gettin' real up in here!
Looks like the champagne pops for G-Dog and Spork this week!
Hang in there, friends, the starting gate will swing wide, and you'll be OFF!
How're things for my FIRE-time co-graduates AlwaysBeenASaver, Arebelspy and and lhamo?
-The Pigeon, enjoying my fourth Monday-is-Saturday (wow, fourth week already!)
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Six. More. Work. Days.
It is gettin' real up in here!
Looks like the champagne pops for G-Dog and Spork this week!
Hang in there, friends, the starting gate will swing wide, and you'll be OFF!
How're things for my FIRE-time co-graduates AlwaysBeenASaver, Arebelspy and and lhamo?
-The Pigeon, enjoying my fourth Monday-is-Saturday (wow, fourth week already!)
Good. So much to do, so little time. :)
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GO G-DOG AND SPORK!!!!
I think we may need to have some kind of virtual 4th of July pool party on this thread to celebrate how many of us will be newly FIREd (or semi-FIREd) at that point.
I'll bring the virtual guacamole, because all I can keep thinking is HOLY GUACAMOLE I AM FREE TO DO WHATEVER I WANT!!!!
With virtual FIREworks! Or is it FIREnotworks?
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How're things for my FIRE-time co-graduates AlwaysBeenASaver, Arebelspy and and lhamo?
Going well, but busy! I'm enjoying having time to work on projects, see friends, and wander through local farmer's markets, without feeling rushed in everything I do. What I hadn't anticipated is I don't have as much online time as I used to. I used to do a lot of my online stuff at work, during lunch break and other downtime. I decided to take this morning to do some online catchup :-)
I find this interesting: I didn't tell most people I retired, I told them I'm taking the summer off, then after summer deciding what's next. But I ran into a neighbor the other day and he said "(other neighbor) told me you retired!" And my sister said "I hope you decide not to go back to work so you can visit more often." And some of my friends are assuming I'm done working for good. I guess this will make it easier to explain after summer when I'm still not working.
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Officially unemployed! Probably won't feel any different until Monday morning. The wife and I are working on cleaning and packing the camper before the epic trip.
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Congrats!
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Officially unemployed! Probably won't feel any different until Monday morning. The wife and I are working on cleaning and packing the camper before the epic trip.
Congratulations - have a great epic trip.
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Congrats, you made it!
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I give notice on Wed, in 3 days. I thought I would be nervous, thankfully I am not. I came home today from a vacation and thought my AC was broken, that made me a little nervous, had to do some self talk..you have the money,...it is fine. But the AC seems to be blowing cold air now. :)
I have been working for this for so long it seems surreal. It hasn't hit me that in few weeks I won't have to go back to w*rk anymore.
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I give notice on Wed, in 3 days. I thought I would be nervous, thankfully I am not. I came home today from a vacation and thought my AC was broken, that made me a little nervous, had to do some self talk..you have the money,...it is fine. But the AC seems to be blowing cold air now. :)
I have been working for this for so long it seems surreal. It hasn't hit me that in few weeks I won't have to go back to w*rk anymore.
So what is your last day? Congratulations!
I am only 3 weeks in to this Brave New World - still settling in. Np but I haven't missed work once!
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I give notice on Wed, in 3 days. I thought I would be nervous, thankfully I am not. I came home today from a vacation and thought my AC was broken, that made me a little nervous, had to do some self talk..you have the money,...it is fine. But the AC seems to be blowing cold air now. :)
I have been working for this for so long it seems surreal. It hasn't hit me that in few weeks I won't have to go back to w*rk anymore.
So what is your last day? Congratulations!
I am only 3 weeks in to this Brave New World - still settling in. Np but I haven't missed work once!
Thank G-Dog!
My official last day is Aug 14, but I will take off for a 2 week vacation on Aug 12th. I am giving them 8 weeks notice before the next big project, but I only have to stick around for 2 weeks after I give notice as I will be done with all my current projects.
Congrats on your retirement! I don't think I will miss work either. I have actually made a list of all the things I won't miss :) would love to hear how you are doing, what you are doing? How did your transition go, etc?
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We did it! DH and I actually left work a day earlier than expected and arrived at our beach home last Thursday night. :) Woo-hoo!
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We did it! DH and I actually left work a day earlier than expected and arrived at our beach home last Thursday night. :) Woo-hoo!
Congrats!!
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I give notice on Wed, in 3 days. I thought I would be nervous, thankfully I am not. I came home today from a vacation and thought my AC was broken, that made me a little nervous, had to do some self talk..you have the money,...it is fine. But the AC seems to be blowing cold air now. :)
I have been working for this for so long it seems surreal. It hasn't hit me that in few weeks I won't have to go back to w*rk anymore.
I already feel nervous and my RE date is December 18. There are aspects of my job that I just love: the kids and the actual teaching in my subject area. I will miss that. The political BS is stressing me out even though I am on vacation right now. And that political bullshit is slowly killing me. Even though I've been a union rep for almost my entire career, I no longer trust our local president. I am fed up with politicians who demonize teachers in order to win favour with voters and create educational policies that are contrary to what I think is the direction public education should take. I do like my boss who is a really good guy. If he were a dick, I would feel less nervous about quitting. I am a little worried that he will take it personally. And I will miss the kids.
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I give notice on Wed, in 3 days. I thought I would be nervous, thankfully I am not. I came home today from a vacation and thought my AC was broken, that made me a little nervous, had to do some self talk..you have the money,...it is fine. But the AC seems to be blowing cold air now. :)
I have been working for this for so long it seems surreal. It hasn't hit me that in few weeks I won't have to go back to w*rk anymore.
So what is your last day? Congratulations!
I am only 3 weeks in to this Brave New World - still settling in. Np but I haven't missed work once!
Thank G-Dog!
My official last day is Aug 14, but I will take off for a 2 week vacation on Aug 12th. I am giving them 8 weeks notice before the next big project, but I only have to stick around for 2 weeks after I give notice as I will be done with all my current projects.
Congrats on your retirement! I don't think I will miss work either. I have actually made a list of all the things I won't miss :) would love to hear how you are doing, what you are doing? How did your transition go, etc?
Oh oh! That is THIS WEEK! Today is your last work day, woohoo!
It has been 5 weeks for me, I have not missed work once. This will be so great!
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Well, since I started this thread and we are well into the year, I thought I'd give an update.
I really don't know if I will be FIRE'ing this year. It's pretty likely not. So then that brings up the 2016 question.
Reasons for not FIRE'ing yet:
1. Still don't feel ready for FIRE financially...especially with the market woes. I'd rather stay employed and not rock the boat during this time instead of sweating it out with sequence-of-returns risk early on in FIRE. Note that I do get a lot of vacation time at work so it's bearable.
2. Might as well finish the project I am on which takes me through the first quarter of next year. Some parts of the job are great, others not-so-great. But it becomes a little funner when I just speak my mind at meetings and stuff. There has been a lot of attrition, so upper management isn't likely to fire someone or "encourage a retirement" in these circumstances. They are pretty much begging us to stay.
3. If I stay on until 12/31, we expect the full bonus payout in the first quarter next year due to meeting business goals.
4. My gut is telling me it's better to see what 2016 brings.
5. I use up all of my vacation time and enjoy some time flexibility at work - not that I ask for it, but I figure it's part of our work culture and I'm going to continue it until someone notices. In fact, there was a job opening at a small startup nearby and I was tempted to apply for more "interesting" work, and then shrugged when I realized my time flexibility and generous vacation benefits would be greatly reduced.
6. Sticking around is giving me plenty of fodder for any future plans to start my own Dilbert-ish type of cartoon. Seriously, some of the stuff is just plain funny when you detach yourself from it with an FU-money attitude.
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Daisy, for a long time now I've been impressed with your level headed approach to your FIRE-pursuit.
Actually pulling the ripcord on your career is never a slam dunk decision, and I think it is prudent to save a bit more if your sanity can take it. And it seems yours can. :)
My decision to leave a lucrative career was only a no-brainer because my wife still wanted to work (and yes, our stache isn't all that shabby). A solo journey to FIRE is a much trickier beast, IMO. You are doing great from what I see.
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Come on over to the class of 2016! So far there only seems to be the 2 of us and I'm waffling. :)
Not sure if it's recent market factors, ACA/Election, or some other correlation at work but the class of 2016 sure feels currently underpopulated.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/class-of-2016 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/class-of-2016)
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Jon_Snow - Thanks so much for the kind words. Reading your journal makes me antsy for FIRE, but I will continue reading it or whatever else you write as it is a fine example to what a well-lived FIREd life is like. Yes, being single makes the FIRE math a little different.
Spartana - Ditto on being a great FIRE inspiration as Jon_Snow. Too bad your sister has also decided to postpone FIRE, but of course I have very similar concerns as she does. So true that FU money makes the job more FUn. It was a true compliment when a youngish coworker told me today that I am always the one that replies at meetings with the truth and that many times people wait for me to speak up to make a comment. I told him it's because I'm not afraid of being fired...but he didn't realize it was really spelled FIREd. ;-)
CryingInThePool - I'll wait to join the Class of 2016 until December 31st...because one never really knows if I pull out a wildcard and truly FIRE in 2015. Rumors of a new layoff are now circulating and I may try and see if I can slip my name into the pool (pun intended CryingInThePool). Unfortunately, my department will probably be spared of the layoff due to the large attrition...so it probably won't work.
Let's hope some others planning on 2015 can successfully pull it off.
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Daisy: I may be holding out until 2016 too. I've been back to work after vacation for two weeks and until yesterday, haven't wanted to quit. I've come up with a plan that is almost a game that will help me stay at least until the end of January.
I could get completely frustrated and quit in December, but I might wait until some time in 2016.
Update: Well, a kid was added to my class today and his mother is the mother from hell. Won't make her kids accept any responsibility for themselves, covers for them, pays other people to do their assignments for them while they skip class and smoke up. In class, the kids seem to think they can say and do what they want because of "freedom of speech" which they learned from their mother. Uh no, you can't bully your classmate because of "freedom of speech." When the one started yelling at me that I was violating his constitutional right to free speech at least I was able to say, "We're not American. Wrong constitution." They've had enough time to learn that in Canada it's "freedom of expression" which is essentially the same thing. When I busted her son for plagiarism and he failed my class, she yelled, "Fuck you, you fucking bitch" and threatened to go to the school board. She accused me three times to my boss of not following her son's Spec Ed plan (which was total bs, I followed the plan and had the documentation to prove it). She might make my life living hell. Luckily, at this point, I can just quit, but I was having a good semester otherwise. So, we'll see. I can go at any time and I do not want to deal with that crap.
Update: October 6, 2015. Well, that didn't take long. Control freak, victim-y department head has pretty much clinched my decision. Unless there is some catastrophic fall in the commuted value of my pension, I am gone as of December 18, 2015.
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Just found this thread.
Well, if semi-retirement counts (working 20 hours a week), I pulled the plug on November 16, 2015, so I'm part of the very happy class of 2015. :)
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Just found this thread.
Well, if semi-retirement counts (working 20 hours a week), I pulled the plug on November 16, 2015, so I'm part of the very happy class of 2015. :)
Congratulations!
I sooooo wish I was FIREing in 2015. Things at work are not going to look good in 2016.
On the bright side, I might be setting myself up for a layoff and a nice severance package. I'm starting to push back on the direction they are trying to push me into at work after my current project, which is not at all where my skillset or interests lie.
So I could choose to get upset at the direction, or marvel at the timing of it all aligning with a 2016 exit + severance. Sometimes I think fate has a way of providing the proper timing for things.
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Thanks Daisy!
I agree, timing is everything. Sometimes when the timing is right, everything seems to fall into place.
Fingers crossed that things work out the way you want them to and you get to FIRE soon. :)
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Add me to the list. Gave my two weeks notice on 11/30/2015, my last day is this Friday 12/11/2015. I have mixed emotions. Makes me nervous to consider my self FIRE'd since I'm only 28. My DH still wants to keep working for 8 more years...silly to me since I think we can both pull the plug, but he is just a workaholic and I'm not sure how I can convince him, but I'm going to try (him not quitting with me, kinda makes me feel guilty). I don't want to give my self the "title" FIRE, but rather FI and unemployed (or something along those lines, makes me feel better), until I figure out what I want to do. For now, driving every single day for 30-45 minutes EACH way (total 1 hour or 1.5 hours per day), waking up without an alarm, organizing my home, cooking and cleaning, getting rid of clutter, exercising and losing 35 more pounds, drawing, coloring, playing video games is all I have in mind. I'm sad, happy, excited, nervous, scared. Countdown...3 more business days to go....
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Add me to the list. Gave my two weeks notice on 11/30/2015, my last day is this Friday 12/11/2015. I have mixed emotions. Makes me nervous to consider my self FIRE'd since I'm only 28. My DH still wants to keep working for 8 more years...silly to me since I think we can both pull the plug, but he is just a workaholic and I'm not sure how I can convince him, but I'm going to try (him not quitting with me, kinda makes me feel guilty). I don't want to give my self the "title" FIRE, but rather FI and unemployed (or something along those lines, makes me feel better), until I figure out what I want to do. For now, driving every single day for 30-45 minutes EACH way (total 1 hour or 1.5 hours per day), waking up without an alarm, organizing my home, cooking and cleaning, getting rid of clutter, exercising and losing 35 more pounds, drawing, coloring, playing video games is all I have in mind. I'm sad, happy, excited, nervous, scared. Countdown...3 more business days to go....
Yay and congratulations!!!
I am now 9 days, 19 hours, and 48 minutes from FIRE and I am waffling. My current issue is that I am actually really good at my job, but it stresses me out. We'll see if I pull the plug or chicken the fuck out. I admire you for not chickening the fuck out.
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Oh it was horrible, walking to my bosses office and turning in that letter (2 weeks notice). 10 seconds later I wanted to go rip it out of his hands and tear it apart!! I felt like that for about the 1st and 2nd day. Now I'm looking forward to my first Monday of peace..One of many I hope!
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Congrats SS! :)
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Congrats class of 2015!
And good luck to those of you who are still not sure when to FIRE!
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Holy fuck. I just quit. Last day is next Friday, December 18 like I thought.
I can't believe that I didn't chicken out. I feel like puking a bit though. lol
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Holy fuck. I just quit. Last day is next Friday, December 18 like I thought.
I can't believe that I didn't chicken out. I feel like puking a bit though. lol
YAY!!! I'm so happy for you. I've been quietly following your story and sending you good vibes. 'When to leave' is a tough choice to make, but I hope you'll find yourself in a few months feeling a thousand times better and knowing you made the right choice. :D
Congrats :)
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Holy fuck. I just quit. Last day is next Friday, December 18 like I thought.
I can't believe that I didn't chicken out. I feel like puking a bit though. lol
Congratulations. I felt kind of sick when I gave notice. But I felt relieved afterward. I hope that feeling of relief and happiness overtakes you soon!
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Holy fuck. I just quit. Last day is next Friday, December 18 like I thought.
I can't believe that I didn't chicken out. I feel like puking a bit though. lol
YAY!!! I'm so happy for you. I've been quietly following your story and sending you good vibes. 'When to leave' is a tough choice to make, but I hope you'll find yourself in a few months feeling a thousand times better and knowing you made the right choice. :D
Congrats :)
Thanks, Cookie78! Last night I was finally able to articulate that I loved being able to make a difference in kids' lives, but I needed to give myself permission to take care of myself. Those two things were often at odds with each other.
I feel really good right now, but I'll bet that I cry when I tell my boss because he is just about the best boss you could ever imagine. When I got the call during class that indicated that I had cancer years ago, he came up to cover for me while I cried in my workroom. Such a great guy.
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Holy fuck. I just quit. Last day is next Friday, December 18 like I thought.
I can't believe that I didn't chicken out. I feel like puking a bit though. lol
Congrats! What a nice Christmas present. :)
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Holy fuck. I just quit. Last day is next Friday, December 18 like I thought.
I can't believe that I didn't chicken out. I feel like puking a bit though. lol
Congrats!!!
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Thank you!!
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Cogratulations!!!! BPA, count down time!!!
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Yay BPA!
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Thanks, everyone! I no longer feel like puking. I feel a bit stunned with a creeping sense of relief invading. Super happy feeling to come, I'm sure.
Yay Class of 2015!
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I feel really good right now, but I'll bet that I cry when I tell my boss because he is just about the best boss you could ever imagine. When I got the call during class that indicated that I had cancer years ago, he came up to cover for me while I cried in my workroom. Such a great guy.
So, tell him how great he is, how much you loved working with him, and how he helped during your bout with cancer. You can continue to stay in contact with him. Maybe you can sub in the future if you want to at some point. It is the end of the job, np but doesn't need to be the end of this relationship.
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Thanks, everyone! I no longer feel like puking. I feel a bit stunned with a creeping sense of relief invading. Super happy feeling to come, I'm sure.
Yay Class of 2015!
That feeling fades REALLY fast. The sense of awesome: hasn't faded yet for me.
Congrats!
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I feel really good right now, but I'll bet that I cry when I tell my boss because he is just about the best boss you could ever imagine. When I got the call during class that indicated that I had cancer years ago, he came up to cover for me while I cried in my workroom. Such a great guy.
So, tell him how great he is, how much you loved working with him, and how he helped during your bout with cancer. You can continue to stay in contact with him. Maybe you can sub in the future if you want to at some point. It is the end of the job, np but doesn't need to be the end of this relationship.
+1
Your boss would really appreciate hearing this from you. He may not know the impact he had on you. And maybe you modelled some of his awesome boss behavior in your own work. It's always nice to hear that the good efforts you put in were appreciated, heck even noticed!
Recently someone left our company and he told me how much I had helped him when he was a wee little intern. I thought I was just doing my job and honestly hadn't treated him any differently than anyone else. And he was such an awesome worker and collegue after many years there and considered quite an expert in stuff when he left. Needless to say after hearing that from him I was on quite a high and even renewed my energy at work (well just a little).
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I did tell him and I've told him before. I had been a union rep and sometimes drove him nuts, but I've told him many times what I like about him. I also told HR how great I thought he and my former boss were.
I did cry but not for long. I won't sub because here it is considered unfair to take jobs from teachers who are just starting out, but I did ask him if he'd be a reference for other kid-related work I might be interested in in the future. I'm thinking of doing a Masters degree in Work and Society at McMaster, and could use a reference from him with that.
Funny thing. My son is reconciled to my quitting, but he doesn't want his step-mom to know. I thought we got along great, but I guess she criticizes plenty of my decisions...including my decision to not live in a McMansion although she thought I could afford it. Oh well. I'm free and you are still working and I am eight years younger than you are, so suck it. lol
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I posted way, way back, that I retired from my job in public media on Jan 1, 2015. I am doing the part of my job that I liked best from home as a contractor. My husband and I are both singers, and he teaches voice. Our income this year from doing the things that we love has exceeded our plan by about $12K. We have only used our 'stash for health insurance, real estate taxes, estimated federal and state taxes, and vacation. We are covering all the regular expenses from our "work." The stock market has been soft, so we have not seen the income from investments that we had planned, but we'll end up on target anyway.
I think we'll get a better idea about spending and finances in 2016. We had a cushion in the form of vacation pay that got us off to a good start in 2015. We spent some $ setting up the new lifestyle. We invested in some stuff to set up our new life - new computer, router. We both got bikes, etc.
But that's just the money stuff. The LIFE stuff has been fabulous. Exercise, sleep, great food, time for friends, time to learn (taking anatomy and physiology at the Khan Academy), volunteer, all in abundance. Plus, a nice long trip to Europe, and a giant party in celebration of our 25th anniversary. 2015 has been absolutely amazing!
Best wishes to everyone in the class of 2015!
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Such a fantastic thread to stumble upon and see the discussion as dates were set, time gradually passed by and then the moment of action and emotions have been gone through.
I also like seeing the events and discussion around those that couldn't make it happen in 2015.
I was pretty sure I was able to make 2015 happen for myself but then the Canadian Oil Economy crashed.
- I lost my tenant in my rental property (oil community) and the vacant rates have skyrocketed and I've been vacant for 3 months - no revenue isn't fun but Im still paying down my own asset and I guess creating a big tax write-off due to expense ratio
- my wife stopped taking an income since September as we own a small business in this community (sport/clothing retail) and with downturn discretionary spending has plummeted and we have lost cashflow to generate a wage for her.
- slow down in Oilfield also affects my job as I sell pumps and make commission which I funnelled directly to savings accounts
- lastly , I am taking advantage of work health program to pay for kids braces
I will watch the 2016 thread and may join up over there.
I ran the FIREcalc and 600,000 at 25,000/year showed zero chance of failure for 60 years, never used that before and was shocked at what my safe level could be.
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Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday! Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off! :) Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!
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Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday! Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off! :) Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!
Congrats!!!
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I ran the FIREcalc and 600,000 at 25,000/year showed zero chance of failure for 60 years, never used that before and was shocked at what my safe level could be.
Did you add in other variables (like social security or a pension)? Because that should definitely have failures, and if it didn't, it's because the timeline was too long--there aren't as many 60 year periods to compare, but there are failures in that range for 30 years, so logically even though those periods aren't counted in the 60 year ones (because they're more recent, and the 60 year ones would have had time to build up more money before those roughest 30 year periods), it's still a failure, just not showing up. It's a limitation of FIRECalc.
Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday! Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off! :) Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!
Congrats! :)
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Thanks! Funny observation. I've been talking about this site to people for several years and most people are like "yea, yea, whatever". After I announced I was calling it quits all of these same people started coming up to me asking "what was the name of that site you told us about these past couple years?" Should have seen a bunch of new converts the past couple weeks coming to the site! :)
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Did you add in other variables (like social security or a pension)? Because that should definitely have failures, and if it didn't, it's because the timeline was too long--there aren't as many 60 year periods to compare, but there are failures in that range for 30 years, so logically even though those periods aren't counted in the 60 year ones (because they're more recent, and the 60 year ones would have had time to build up more money before those roughest 30 year periods), it's still a failure, just not showing up. It's a limitation of FIRECalc.
That's what I thought too, didn't seem quite right and was the first time I've used it. Let me go back to check it out and thought 60 was the default setting. I will make sure that there is nothing under the pension section. 30 years will put me at 71 years old and will be able to start collecting my CPP here in Canada for a little extra security in old age.
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Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday! Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off! :) Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!
We FIREd on the same day! I also have people now wanting to know how I can do it/did it. I've got a couple of "free" lunches from friends coming up, so that I can explain the whole commuted value vs pension thing and simple, optimized living as a better way of life.
Congrats!
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Fantastic, congrats! Free lunches are always good! :)
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Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday! Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off! :) Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!
Congratulations! Don't feel like you're late to the party. What's important is that you got there. I didn't retire until I was 54, but I am enjoying my freedom as much as anyone. Something to give yourself credit for is that sites such as MMM didn't exist when we were starting out. We had to figure it out on our own, for the most part. Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.
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Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.
See the instructions at the top of this thread (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/'class-of'cohort-what-year-will-you-fire/). :)
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Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.
See the instructions at the top of this thread (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/'class-of'cohort-what-year-will-you-fire/). :)
Thanks rebs, but I'm too lazy to start a new class/thread. I just hopped on the oldest one and then saw someone I wanted to offer encouragement to, even if I'm not in the right "class".
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Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.
See the instructions at the top of this thread (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/'class-of'cohort-what-year-will-you-fire/). :)
Thanks rebs, but I'm too lazy to start a new class/thread. I just hopped on the oldest one and then saw someone I wanted to offer encouragement to, even if I'm not in the right "class".
Two demerits!
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Thanks Diane! Been so busy in retirement haven't checked in for awhile! :) What strikes me the most is my wife and I have always been somewhat but frugal but MMM really drove home the possibilities. Once we decided to take action it literally only took about 5 years to pull it off. My point being there are probably a lot of people out there that could be in a position of being FI pretty quickly if they just thought the MMM way. Unfortunately in our society today that really isn't a focus. Congrats again to everyone who made FIRE a reality in 2015! And to those of you still in the race stay with it as it can happen for you with the right mind set and focus! So far being FIRE has been everything I have hoped for!
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How do I quit my own self-employment rat race? LOL
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How do I quit my own self-employment rat race? LOL
Move to a tropical paradise?
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I FIRE'd mid-2015. I've lurked on MMM for a long time, finally got around to registering.
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Sooooo Class of 2015.. how goes it?
Was this our final roster?
Casserole55 - 1/1/15
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
FINate -- "mid-2015"
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/15
AlexK - 7/17/15
BenJenn - 7/30/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
BPA -12/18/15
Anyone who FIRE'd in 2015 want to add themselves?
So all of us have been ER'd for between approximately 8 and 20 months (with the average probably just around a year, since we're just past mid-year 2016).
Got a few questions that I thought might be fun...
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context. (Stuff like this may, or may not include things like: How old are you? What area of the country/world? How long have you been FIRE'd now? What SWR did you pull the trigger at? Did you downsize or move to a lower COL? Did you downshift to a semi-ER? Is a spouse still working? etc. etc. Just a little paragraph background detail on you personally, so we know where you're coming from on the below questions.)
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
:)
Figured this might be a good chance to reflect, for the Class of 2015 folks, and fun to read for the people not FIRE'd yet!
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I'll start.
(Feel free to quote this post, then delete the quote tags and my responses, so you have the questions already formatted and easy to answer.)
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.
Wife and I pulled the trigger just over a year ago, June 2015. We were both 29 at the time, though I turned 30 right afterward. We were public school teachers. We did a short teaching summer school gig as our first ER side-gig, then cleaned out our house, got rid of all our stuff except what fit in a backpack each, and left (Las Vegas) to travel the world full time. We had our first child in January, in Istanbul. More details in the link in my sig, if you're interested, but that's our basic background.
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
Great! We mostly FIRE'd off of rental properties (15 of them), and expenses and everything has been right in line with projections. Spending as well. We had a lot of uncertainty around both numbers (since rental income can fluctuate, and since we were starting full time travel, which can be expensive, and having kids, which can be expensive, no idea on how our spending might line up). But everything's been smooth. We've earned more than we thought we would, from her having a hobby of writing romance novels that are getting published by Harlequin, and from us selling credit card trade lines (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/selling-tradelines-piggybacking-$600hr-20-40kyr-side-gig/), travel hacking, etc. Money doesn't seem like it will be a problem--it's not that expensive to do cool things, and it's pretty easy to make more of it, if you need.
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
Just lots of travel (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/where-in-the-world-is-arebelspy/). We hiked the Camino (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/arebelspy-hikes-the-camino/), 500 miles across northern Spain. We went to Germany, London, Morocco, Istanbul, Prague, etc. etc. We had a baby (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/mini-money-mustaches/ababyspy/) in Istanbul.
Now we're doing a house sit in Australia with 2 dogs, a cat, nine chickens, and four aplacas.
Up next, I have a 10-day silent meditation retreat (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/arebelspy-takes-a-10-day-a-vow-of-silence-to-meditate/), then we'll bum around SE Asia for the next eight months or so, then who knows?
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
We could have done it much, much earlier. But no regrets about it. We enjoyed working quite a bit, but felt we FIRE'd at exactly the right time, we were done with that phase of our lives, turning 30, and having a kid, and ready to move on to new adventures.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Just do it. OMY is so silly, in retrospect. You'll be fine. :)
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
FIRE is bliss. There's so much cool things out in the world to see, and do. Step out of the comfortable box you've been in,and into adventure! Having the complete freedom of doing whatever you want, every day.. there's nothing to compare it to.
Looking forward to reading everyone else's responses, good or bad! :)
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REBS learning debrief class of 2015 (GO <insert mascot/team name here>!)
1) quick background
now 56 yo, FIREd 12 months ago at 55 yo
Still living in the Midwest of the USA - in an average or low cost of living area, no plans to move
I bugged out at about a 3.5-4 SWR
No downsizing or sale of home - we bought a pretty modest home, paid off 2 years ago
i am fully & gloriously retired, but my spouse is still working (their choice)
Is a spouse still working? etc. etc.
I found MMM sometime in 2014, it opened my eyes! I started tracking expenses, running numbers, etc. and learned that I could pull the plug. Based on my employer's policies - I waited for my 55th birthday AND worked 6 months in 2015 to be able to actually retire (and capture some retirement benefits) and to maximize or optimize some other stats or benefits
2) How have finances gone?
Pretty good so far. My FIRE was based on 2014 expense data - it seems to have partially underestimated my spend. But 2015 had a few unexpected expenses.but the calculators indicated I had already over saved in most scenarios I ran. And, I can adjust I/O if I need to. Not worried (yet anyway).
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
Hmm, nothing comes to mind as really cool.
I have been able to waste less food - that was a constant annoyance, unexpected expense, and ethical issue I struggled with. But, I am not traveling the world with a newborn like some folks ;)
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
No regrets! I wish I had been more aware that I could retire early - but once I knew it was an option, I HAULED ASS! I am actually pretty impressed that with my ignorance, I was able to pull the trigger as quickly as I did once I found all you experts!
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Congratulations! You've probably done a lot of planning and what-if scenarios - take time to enjoy this and live in the moment instead of doing constant analyses and 5 or 10 year projections. Relax, you got this! Try to avoid turning FIRE into another job.
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
I needed some decompression / recovery time after leaving work. You may not, but I needed some time to do nothing and adjust. It has been better than I could have hoped for. As someone who has been a worrier and planner all my working life, I am shocked at how easily I have left much of that go. I hardly ever curse anymore - I had a really bad potty mouth while working (stress much).
7) what do you do all day?
Hah! Someone has to say this, so - "WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!". Now that that is out of the way, I can answer. My former co-workers ask me this all the time. They still confuse busyness and productivity. I spend most days interacting with my dogs (playing, walks), some garden tasks, household tasks, reading, food prep and clean-up, food preservation (pickles, jams, drying) or special treats, catch up on news, some nature time. I run errands about every 10 days or so. I have lunch with various friends about 2-3 times per month. So, most days, I don't leave home except for walking the dogs. This sounds like doing nothing to most people, but I am happy with it. I could do more, and may add things but I don't feel obliged to do so.
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1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.
I was age 47 at fire, but I'm age 48 now; funny how that happens. I live in the Santa Cruz area of California, part of the larger SF/Monterey Bay area. I didn't move or downsize after FIRE. I didn't FIRE based on SWR as much as based on my own spreadsheets and the online calculators, but my budget came out to around 3.3% of my stash at the time of FIRE, the way I calculated it. I have a long-time partner but we have separate finances; I still pay 50% of our shared expenses (mortgage, food, etc.) and would still be FI if he wasn't in the picture. I've seen some discussions here in which people say I'm not really FIREd if he's still working, but I'm FI even w/o him/his $, and I'm retired, so in my eyes that makes me FIREd.
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
My spending is as expected; I studied my spending for several years and based my budget on that. I haven't earned any money, except a $2 winning lottery ticket I found in the parking lot. The only financial surprise has been excessive vet bills for our elderly cat. It's covered long-term in the budget, but still a little shocking to see the bills come in for the past couple of months. Not a problem in the big picture, but since you asked...
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
Nothing as cool as you've done, but really loving being able to visit family for longer than my former vacation time allowed, as well as loving spending so much time outdoors in our beautiful summer weather. For the past several years I had said to myself that I really didn't want to spend another summer indoors working and now I've finally achieved that and it's pretty amazing!
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
Absolutely no regrets! Not to say I don't still question the $$ aspect occasionally, but so far it still looks fine.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Be sure about your budget, account for out-of-the-ordinary expenses, and once that's covered, just do it. There is no reason for OMY if you're sure about your budget and your stash.
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
My biggest observation/surprise is how I'm still busy a lot! I'm busy with (mostly) activities I've chosen to take on, which is awesome, but I'm not spending much (any) time sitting around doing nothing.
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not a 2015 FIRE but appreciate the sentiments. Was FI before 2015 (probably 2011, long story) but really interested to follow and maybe contribute.
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1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.
I'm 58. FIREd 9 months ago. I had been aware for about a year before my FIRE that I could retire if I wanted to. One day I just did. No notice. It was not an FU situation. I just could not handle the job any more. I had a beeper and it was at the end of a week of an IT crisis that required 24/7 hyper-availability. I was tied to a never-ending conference call that I had to remember to mute before I brought the phone into the bathroom. Yes, really.
I don't regret it, but it was very abrupt. I had not done much advance planning, and I felt very guilty about not giving notice. My first three or four months I think I was expecting some kind of divine punishment.
2) How have finances gone?
Spending is fine, but mostly because I pared everything down to the bone. The stock market went south as I was retiring and it scared me. Now I am seeing that even during that period I was OK.
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?
This summer has been a revelation. I have not enjoyed summer like this since I was a kid. That is cool to me.
4) Any regrets?
I took a side-hustle job almost immediately that I ended up hating and quitting.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
The money will probably be fine, however it can be a big psychological adjustment. Maybe wait a few months before throwing yourself in to new commitments that you can't easily get out of.
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Wondered how this thread got bumped... :)
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.
FIREd at age 42. Married, no kids. Both of us were doing great on our own - no debt but a very small mortgage, investing in the work plans (no real idea what to choose so used a friend's allocation) and spending much less than we earned. Was on track to early retire in our mid 50s on our own, but not really sure about how... I assumed it would be something to figure out once we were in our 50s.
Learned about investing (starting with zero knowledge) after my dad died and left me an inheritance that made us instantly FI. The amount of money was too much to just blindly toddle along without knowing what I was doing. Figured out the FIRE part and grew our investments up to the level of being self sustaining for the rest of our lives, and pulled the trigger a few years after.
I gave a standard 2 weeks notice. Had severe anxiety, depression and major stress due to horrible boss, work conditions that had turned absolutely terrible over the last 3-5 years. Took me about 6-8 months to stop feeling depressed and having anxiety attacks regularly.
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
Husband's salary paid for all of our living expenses, so no tapping the investments for monthly expenses. He was due to FIRE this year around this time (summer 2016).
Investments themselves are trouncing the market average. Hooray!
No extra money earned. I have done nothing whatsoever resembling work and have zero plans to ever again if I can help it.
The only surprise so far is how we can pull out a large chunk from our savings for something that was planned (like a roof replacement) and the next month we have regained all we spent and a bit more besides. It's like a well - the water level just comes back no matter how many buckets we draw. While I know this isn't always going to be the case, it is nice for the first year (psychologically speaking) to see it in action.
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
Not really? I think lots of the things I've done have been really cool, but it's not noteworthy to anyone else probably. Lots of relaxing, puttering, organizing and cleaning. And sleeping, cooking, reading, and playing.
I have lost a huge amount of weight (as has the husband) and we're in the best shape ever, so that might count. I was never small, but got huge during the last decade of work due to stress and exhaustion and other related health issues. Still have a little farther to go, and we're currently working on muscle building and trying to eliminate a bit more fat.
I've been to visit family in the spring and have another trip planned in the fall/early winter (usually only managed to make it there (several states away) once every other year or two. As I don't have to hoard my vacation time any more for family trips, I can go twice a year now. As nice as trips home are, they are NOT vacations where one can relax, so I needed to use all my vacation days before some years just to detox from work situations.
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
No regrets other than wish I'd done it years ago. I wish I'd known about the concept in my 20s tho.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Not really anything that hasn't already been said earlier.
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
If you're in a bad job situation, it is amazing how free you feel once you're out. But it may take you not just months, but a year or longer to feel better. I still have nightmares. I may always have them. Don't stay in a shitty place dealing with shitty people purely for money/benefits; it costs you more than you think.
7) What do you do all day?
I don't feel like I'm busier than when I was working. I have no set schedule any more. I often forget what day of the week it is, and I am fine with that. :)
I mostly putter. I declutter areas in the house. I repair things I can figure out how to fix on my own. I garden and do yard work. I clean and sort things. I have taken uncountable loads of junk to thrift stores. I run lots of errands during the day (10am seems to be the best time to hit stores). I take naps. I volunteer a few times a week. I read an average of 3-5 books per week. The husband and I have been working through our vinyl, CD and movie collections and eliminating any that we don't love (the process has been lots of fun). I definitely play on my computer every day.
I get daily exercise, minimum of 1 hour, but more like 2-3 hours if it's going swimming or we are at a park (see below). I swim, bike, do yoga, walk and do bodyweight routines every week.
Right now, one of my big projects is sorting books (we have hundreds - our second largest bedroom is floor to ceiling bookshelves on 2 walls) so I can eliminate a large portion.
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Oh, one more question I should have thought of earlier (anyone who already answered everything above, feel free to chime in with a new comment for this one, or edit your post above), but FG's and ABAS's comments on being busy made me think of it.
7) What do you do all day?
Thanks to everyone posting so far, fun to read!
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Don't see my name on your list! I FIRE'd at the end of 2015
1) Quick background. FIRE'd at 51 living in Arkansas which is a pretty low cost of living area. Had already downsized and simplified several years earlier in preparation for FIRE. Don't owe anyone anything (which is very freeing). Spouse had already retired 8 years before me as part of our deal to support me because my job was very intense and took us around the country every couple of years.
2) Finances have been on track if not below what I anticipated even though we have done everything we have wanted to do so far including a 2 week vacation (is it considered a vacation if you are retired??) :) No financial surprises so far but some health insurance decisions coming up shortly.
3) Biggest things so far are getting really healthy resulting in the loss of 70 lbs so feel great! Also been able to devote some great quality time to my grandson before he gets to his school age years which I clearly wouldn't have been able to while working. Also getting quite proficient at various sports. :)
4) No regrets. It'd be easy to say I should have FIRE'd earlier but I think the decision is just as much a pschological one as a financial one and it took me until 51 to feel it was the right time per my planning. Overall given how I was able to retire (with a package from my company) I got out at just the right time.
5) My advice after counseling several friends who also "retired" from my company at the same time but weren't mentally prepared to do so, focus on your expense side as much or more as your income side. One directly affects the anxiety felt about the other. By that I mean once I was done counseling one of my friends about his ability to dramatically reduce his expenses he felt a world better about his income side. I know it sounds obvious but apparently really understanding how little you need to get by on is not always the focus (less so for the experienced people in this forum of course). It's kind of a Stoic approach I guess. The last thing I would recommend is once you have done your analysis, set a date and when that time comes if you have met your goals then take the plunge. Second guessing at that point will just keep you working longer for no reason.
6) And to give you some incentive, a colleague of mine who was my age and kept saying he was going to retire but couldn't bring himself to pull the plug, found out shortly after I left that he had cancer. He died 3 months later. In the big scheme of things life is very short. If you have planned and executed accordingly, take the leap and enjoy whatever time God has given you on this earth to truly enjoy those things and people that you love! That is what I am doing and I wouldn't trade it for anything at this point!
7) I stay active in various sports, spend time with my wife, grandson, kids, and parents. As I have heard said I am not really sure what I do every day. All I know is I am very busy! :)
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1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.
Married/Male/52. I FIRE'd on Independence day 2015. We're living in the woods in east Texas. We both grew up here ... moved away... and moved back about 10 years ago to be close to family. We are both sort of nerdy. I have the warm, fuzzy personality of Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
I've been thinking about/planning for FIRE for 20+ years. I have a beloved uncle that FIRE'd at 48 many years ago that put my mind in that direction.
I've always been an over-planner. I've always been a saver. I've always been super conservative in my finances.
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
My spending one year in is well below what I thought it would be. Taxes are huge. We had a couple of very unexpected high $$$ expenses... and we are STILL under our target spending. One of them was an unexpected payment for half of a niece's tuition for a semester. One was an unexpected stay in an out of town hotel for 6 weeks due to family illness.
And... due to the way the family illness turned into death... I will be inheriting a significant amount soon. Without including this, I can pretty much tell I over-saved. Including it, I seriously over saved.
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
Nothing cool out of the ordinary. I will say that FIRE gave me the freedom to spend every day with my dad during a 3 month hospital stay. I am not sure this is a good memory... but it is something I was glad I was able to do.
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
I certainly could have pulled the trigger sooner. But being over cautious... not sure how I would have handled it emotionally. Financially, I could have jumped WAY sooner.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Even with a couple of financial emergencies, my expenses are way lower than I had estimated. Remember that!
I am learning a lot about inherited IRAs. If you know you're going to inherit an IRA of any significant amount, you may find that some of the MMM rules of logic may not entirely apply. You may find that you want to weigh more of your earlier investments in Roth or taxable accounts. Inherited IRAs are strange, with likely mandatory minimum withdrawal amounts that really balloon over time. These RMDs are regular taxable income. We've all seem to had it drummed into our heads that taxes will be lower as we age. But if your income starts to balloon... this may not be the case.
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
I can't think of much. It has been awesome. I must say I have not gotten nearly as much done this year as I had hoped.... but I am at least starting to make some headway. My plans were to get a workable wood shop up and running and teach myself some wood working. I have at least made a dent in that... but it is only a small dent.
7) What do you do all day?
I like to tinker. Work on a car one day... work on the house one day... I take on little computer projects for myself (that only I really care about). My productivity hasn't been huge... and I hope to get that up a little.
Wife and I have also started working with a local cat rescue group. This includes fostering cats in the house and includes some minimal duties one day a week at the "cat barn" where many of the misfits live.
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7) What do you do all day?
This is difficult to answer because each day is different and I mostly do what I feel like doing that day.
I have the life-necessities type things I do, which I kind of split up like this (although this too is totally flexible:)
Monday: tidy up the house, do a load of laundry, possibly deep clean an area if I feel like it.
Tuesday: put in an hour or so at my volunteer job, run a few errands while I'm in town.
Wednesday: grocery shopping if I need anything, bills/finances if anything needs attention.
Then there's all the other stuff I enjoy doing, which I pick and choose from depending on my mood:
cooking, crafts, gardening, indoor projects, outdoor projects, reading, learning, and the list goes on...
I just thought about what I did yesterday. Every few hours I went through a feeding routine with my elderly cat who's having some issues. I chased down and caught a lizard my young cat brought into the house. I love that I have time to spend with my cats and they're not stuck in the house all day! I finished replacing the doorknobs in our bathrooms and started repairing the trim on one bathroom - all due to an issue last week with the young cat getting locked into the bathroom and the quick-release not working. I visited a local friend and helped him with something he needed help with. Did some gardening. Made some soup. Started a project to seal up leaks in the roof of our woodshed. Binge read the online newsletters for a garden club I attended recently. Chatted with my mom for over an hour.
Although the activities vary, and some days I do have boring errands to do, this is a somewhat typical day for me - just doing things I want/like to do. And there's an endless supply of such activities, so I'm pretty much always busy with something!
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I'm from the Class of 2016; thanks for all the advice!
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Good thread, I'll bite. Just got back from backpacking in the high sierras and then vacationing with the family, so getting to this a bit late :)
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context. (Stuff like this may, or may not include things like: How old are you? What area of the country/world? How long have you been FIRE'd now? What SWR did you pull the trigger at? Did you downsize or move to a lower COL? Did you downshift to a semi-ER? Is a spouse still working? etc. etc. Just a little paragraph background detail on you personally, so we know where you're coming from on the below questions.)
I'm 39, FIREd for about a year now. Live in a HCOL area with DW and 2 young daughters. We thought about relocating to LCOL which would allow us to spend and travel more, but the grandparents and most of the extended family are here and that's more important to us right now. I was a software engineer, DW was an elementary school teacher though she quit her job about 5 years ago because kids. DW still substitute teaches on occasion, though this is mainly because she knows a lot of the teachers and she likes to get out of the house and do something different.
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
Finances are going as expected. I was somewhat surprised that we spend a lot less now - I guess that's because we have a lot more time to cook at home, and I now fix more things around the house myself. Even though things are going as expected, it still amazes me that passive income just shows up each month, and when I log into Mint to check things every few weeks our financial situation is stable and going as planned, even though neither of us is really working. We've had a couple of unexpected expenses, but was no big deal to cover these out budget surplus and/or savings.
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
The coolest thing has been being able to spend so much time with my family, and to live virtually stress free. We don't have any grand plans to travel the world with our 3-5 year old kids (we traveled a lot before kids), but since we live in a beautiful part of California we've really enjoyed seeing and experiencing everything this area has to offer. Beaches, state parks, national parks, camping, wineries, cool towns, family bike rides, etc. The best thing has been being able to do things mid-week, which means we get better deals and we mostly avoid the crowds. We joke that we look forward to the weekdays now, since weekends are often filled with kid birthday parties and other business, whereas we got to go have fun during the week.
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
No regrets. Since my early 20s I had planned to be FI by around 40, so this is something I've been preparing for, financially and mentally, for a long time. I held on as long as I could at my last job primarily because it paid so well and therefore brought me to FI much faster. That was tough, only working at a place because of the compensation while putting up with a lot of BS, but it was worth it. But I was definitely ready to leave when I pulled the trigger.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
The first few months of ER may be slightly unsettling/disorienting, at least it was for me. Even though I've always been very intentional about not letting my career/work become my identity, and have always maintained pretty good work/life balance, it was still tougher than expected to give up the daily grind at first. It's really quite sad that our culture places so much emphasis and identity on "what you do" rather than who you are. I've realized that it's not just what you do each day, it's also the mindset that a high income encourages profligate spending, which can easily become part of our identity - so even if you don't get your identity in your work per se you may be placing your identity in how much you earn and the spending that that makes possible. All I can recommend is to stick with it, sit with the uncomfortableness and really think through and process those feelings. Think about the tradeoffs you're making - is it really worth 50-60 hours/week + a long commute to satisfy your sense of purpose or meaning? For me this process became a great opportunity for spiritual renewal, a time to really ponder meaning and purpose. So although I struggled somewhat early on to answer the "what do you do" question, now I just answer "I'm retired" and then enjoy watching people's expressions. If they're genuinely curious I'm happy to fill in all the details for them, but for the most part I just leave it at that.
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
Without a doubt I'm in the best shape of my life. I made a point of consistently hitting the gym 5-6 days/week weight lifting and "bootcamp" style workouts, plus regular bike rides and lots of outdoor activities. This is much easier to maintain when you have more time. I feel like it has taken the better part of a year to undo the damage of sitting in an office for 20 years. I sleep better than ever, and consume much less alcohol and caffeine. My all around health is much better with healthy blood pressure (previously prehypertensive), healthy body weight, great cardio, and all around more active and agile. I love that I can go backpacking, hunting, or biking in the mountains and go quickly over steep terrain without getting exhausted. The only problem is that none of my friends or family can keep up :) As I like to tell my wife, I know I could have kept working like crazy and made a ton of money, but what's the point if I'm only going to end up spending a fortune living with heart disease or a metabolic condition.
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following
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It is so interesting to read the diverse experiences here, and in more detail than you usually see. I'm attributing the quality to the excellent questions that structure the responses and let the reader compare.
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I'm a class of 2015 and just noticed this and I am therefore really late to the party. I'm normally more of a mmm forum lurker than an active participant, but it's probably about time I start posting. Here goes:
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context. (Stuff like this may, or may not include things like: How old are you? What area of the country/world? How long have you been FIRE'd now? What SWR did you pull the trigger at? Did you downsize or move to a lower COL? Did you downshift to a semi-ER? Is a spouse still working? etc. etc. Just a little paragraph background detail on you personally, so we know where you're coming from on the below questions.)
I retired in 2015 at the age of 29. I'm from the Boulder area just a few minutes down the road from our revered leader (is that cheating?) Currently traveling full time, about half of the time in cheap countries, but in the other half in very expensive places such as New Zealand and Singapore. The stash was roughly around 400k when I stopped working, so that gives a theoretical safe withdrawal rate of $16k a year using 4%, although most of my net worth is stuck in a stupid unproductive condo and in IRA's that I can't touch, so my real SWR is probably closer to $8k a year. I need to do something about that condo.
2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line? Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected? Any financial surprises, good or bad?
It turns out that long term traveling is way less expensive than I anticipated, so I've actually done ok with the budget. In the first year I've basically spent around what my passive income has thrown at me. (I've detailed this here if anyone is interested: http://www.noodlesandfish.com/travel/)
The big unplanned financial surprize happened when I was traveling in Nepal - I decided to sponsor a kids education, which costs around $1500 a year for a quality boarding school. I am committed to paying for this kids education for as long as he wants to go to school, and at the moment he is 4 years old so that might be a while if he makes it all the way through college. Then like the sucker I am I signed up to pay for another kid, and then a third, and then a fourth and fifth for good measure. Hey, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. All in I'm on the hook for around $7,500+ a year of totally unplanned expenses for the next 20 years or so (and I should note that tuition gets more expensive as the kids get older).
I have no idea how I'm going to pay for that in the long run, but honestly, it's $7,500 a year, I could pull that off making minimum wage if I really had to so I'm not losing sleep over it. If anything I'm sleeping better knowing that I'm hopefully making a huge difference in these kids lives.
3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE? Planning anything cool in the next year?
Um. Travel is pretty cool if that's your thing. Sponsoring education in poor and corrupt countries is cool if that's what you're into. I'm not really an intrinsically cool person.
4) Any regrets? Did you FIRE too soon? Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner? Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
This is going to sound weird to many of you, but I actually wish I retired earlier. Had I not screwed around so much when I was younger and dumped money on junk and bars I probably could have retired at around the age of 25. I'm not complaining about reaching FI at 29... well, ok, I am complaining.
5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Go for it. Anyone who thinks they are close should just go for it, don't drag it out any longer than necessary. Chances are you'll accidentally make an income later in life anyway.
6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
You all are awesome for sharing your stories, I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to do this without everyones encouragement.
7) What do you do all day?
That varies day to day, but the weird thing about not working is that your days still manage to be full. For a week or so after I retired it felt like I suddenly had all the time in the world. There were so many unallocated hours each week free of any scheduled activity, huge blank spots to fill with whatever I wanted. Soon enough that free time just started to feel normal, now I have no idea how people could possibly have time to work and do everything else in life.
I guess my point is that you won't be bored.
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Neat story, vine.
Your spending/stache cuts a little low for me (with family, wanting the freedom to travel or live in more expensive places), but as a single person in cheap countries, sounds like it works well for you.
Glad you found some meaning in the charity work.
Thanks for sharing!
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Neat story, vine.
Your spending/stache cuts a little low for me (with family, wanting the freedom to travel or live in more expensive places), but as a single person in cheap countries, sounds like it works well for you.
Glad you found some meaning in the charity work.
Thanks for sharing!
It is low, but it doesn't feel at all limiting since most countries in the world are insanely cheap. There are literally hundreds of cheap countries, and many of these are places I would spend time in anyway because they are fun, not because they are cheap.
At some point I'll probably want to stop traveling and settle back in the US and that is probably going to be expensive. In the future I hope to increase safe spending levels significantly to account for that and family etc.
Something I probably should have mentioned is that my stache is currently growing. I retired at around 400k, now two years later the value is closer 530K, all from market returns. Part of my strategy is to try to front-load time in these cheaper countries towards the beginning of my retirement so that the portfolio has a better opportunity to grow. Once it reaches a high enough amount I'll come join you and Ali for a beer in one of those expensive countries :)
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Hi Vine - thanks for your post.
How did you decide to sponsor education for those kids on Nepal? Were you there at the time? I would like to hear more of this story!
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Hi Vine - thanks for your post.
How did you decide to sponsor education for those kids on Nepal? Were you there at the time? I would like to hear more of this story!
Well, I was traveling in Nepal for about three months and it just sorta happened. The education that the Nepalese government schools provide generally suck.
I tend to travel really slowly, and don't usually see many of the sights or do the touristy things. Instead I tend to spend lots of time hanging out with locals. So all of these kids are from families I've spent a fair amount of time with, and sending the kids to private school seemed like and easy thing for me to do.
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@vine, it’s interesting to hear your story as it is not a common one on this forum. I think it’s amazing you retired on that amount and your stash is growing. You saw an opportunity and decided to take it. I’m glad it is working out so well for you. Sounds really efficient how you are traveling in cheap countries and letting your stash grow.
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Nowhere near FIRE but I just stumbled across the post...
@vine, you mentioned that "most of my net worth is stuck in a stupid, unproductive condo."
So that means your holding onto real estate in the US? Are you renting it out? (i'd guess not based on your word choice of "unproductive") Trying to sell it? I was just curious as to why you didn't liquidate the equity (which seems significant based on your "most of my net worth" statement) since you aren't living there anymore.
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Hi Vine - thanks for your post.
How did you decide to sponsor education for those kids on Nepal? Were you there at the time? I would like to hear more of this story!
Well, I was traveling in Nepal for about three months and it just sorta happened. The education that the Nepalese government schools provide generally suck.
I tend to travel really slowly, and don't usually see many of the sights or do the touristy things. Instead I tend to spend lots of time hanging out with locals. So all of these kids are from families I've spent a fair amount of time with, and sending the kids to private school seemed like and easy thing for me to do.
Providing (better) education for people is a great thing to do in any country IMHO.
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Nowhere near FIRE but I just stumbled across the post...
@vine, you mentioned that "most of my net worth is stuck in a stupid, unproductive condo."
So that means your holding onto real estate in the US? Are you renting it out? (i'd guess not based on your word choice of "unproductive") Trying to sell it? I was just curious as to why you didn't liquidate the equity (which seems significant based on your "most of my net worth" statement) since you aren't living there anymore.
It is US based condo in a high COL area that I bought long before I had a clue as to what is and what is not a good investment. At the time I fell into the classic "buy the biggest and nicest thing you can qualify for" trap.
I do rent it out, but management fees, hoa dues and maintenance eat up most of the profit. From a cash flow standpoint it's not very productive. If I had used the same cash I've thrown into the condo over the years and invested in say a broad market mutual fund I'd have a much bigger stash now, and I'd now have liquid assets. Obviously that would be preferable.
So I call it unproductive, although in truth it's mildly productive. But it's way less productive than mutual funds or a better rental would be.
So why haven't I liquidated? I suppose because over time returns will get much better since it's a fixed mortgage. When I calculate long term returns (say 5+ years from now) the cash flow starts to look good enough for me. In the really long term the cash flow should be excellent.
The bigger reason is that it's easier in the short term to hold onto it than it would be to deal with selling. Real estate transactions are either expensive or a lot of work depending on how you go about it. I'm overseas at the moment and I'd rather not have to deal with it.
Finally, the condo is located in a city that I might be interested in living in again at some point in the future. The area is getting more and more expensive, the condo might be the only way I'll be able to afford to live there without having to go back to work.