2019 fire cohort

[Loren Ver]

I'm glad to see some folks are staying retired :D.

@MissNancyPryor I always love your perspective and your voice, thank you for sharing.  Social Security better not send me a to do list with my check, just sayin'! I will totally send them that check back :P.

@sui generis I love your response!  Why would you want to lock yourself back in a cage once your finally got to spread your wings? I still meet with old work friends regularly, after those meetings any rosy glasses I might have about my work days are very much cracked to pieces!

@okonomiyaki I'm so sorry.  It sounds incredibly hard and frustrating.  Best of luck getting back on your feet in the UK.  We are rooting for you!

[SugarMountain]

"I saved up my own lottery prize and am now spending it."
 

It's funny how that works.  When I tell people I'm retired and they can't believe I have no plans to go back to work, I do think if I said, "well, I won $X million in the lottery and decided I no longer want to work" would go over better than, "I saved $X million over 30 years of working and decided I no longer want to work" does.  I don't share what $X is, but the concept is unfathomable to most. 

(2019 cohort update, not sure if I ever put it in this thread, but since I'm here I will now. I was originally 2018, tried to quit, got talked into staying in a different easier role, did that for two years, but was able to take a package in 2020 so I've been retired a little over two years after OMY'ing twice inn 2018 & 2019.  If anyone finds this searching about "one more year," I will say I am glad I did what I did.  Our portfolio increased significantly and because of various COVID programs, 2020 was a fantastic year to get laid off and ultimately retire in.  I did look for some jobs so I was unemployment eligible, which also helped with health insurance costs in 2021.  None of them went anywhere, but were the kind of things I might be willing to do if it actually worked out.  I do sometimes worry about money, we've moved and had some lifestyle bloat due to that, but really we just need to take a look at what we've spent in 2022 and make some minor tweaks.)

[dude]

Been a long time since I was here, wow. Casually perused the last few pages of this thread and happy to see lots of fellow 19'ers are doing well. I can't believe it's going on 4 years now for me (May 2019). SOoooooo much has happened since then.

In a nutshell:  I went through a long and stressful divorce which cost me $80k+ in attorney's fees, lost 22% of my pension to the ex, had to fork over @$100k of my 401k to her as well, found a new girl (considerably younger than I am), got engaged, had my first child (a beautiful daughter who recently turned one year old) at the ripe old age of 56, have traveled and recreated extensively the past 4 years, relocated from Boston to fkng Texas (sorry, I hate fkng TX), and the bottom line is I'm happier than I've ever been.

Retiring from the 9-5 has just been the most amazing thing imaginable. I'm still collecting plenty from my pension, still have in excess of $900k invested, and can start collecting SS in just 4.5 years. Money hasn't been an issue whatsoever. Though I no longer own a house, and prices have skyrocketed in my area, along with mortgage rates obviously, everything is just hunky dory.

So to all fellow 19'ers out there, keep on keepin' on!

[couponvan]

@dude sorry on the divorce, but congratulations on moving on with your FIRE life!  Fatherhood at 56 is probably tiring, but since you don't have to work you can take the time for rest you need.  A pension plus a million on the side saved is a nice thing, and you will be collecting SS on that little person as well until they turn 18.  Hmmm.  I may have just come up with a new retirement strategy I hadn't thought of before.  Is that why all those "old" retired people are adopting and fostering kids on the internet these days? For the SS bump to afford said kids' expenses. 

I'm posting here to commit retirement blasphemy in that I am planning a return to PT work for the 4 years my youngest is in college.  COVID means remote work is now a possibility and a thing.  I'm bored being RE when my spouse is still working.  So, we are both going to work for 4 years and then we will both retire when DH turns 55.  Or retire when we/he decide/s to stop spending so much $$!

[Loren Ver]

Thank you for the updates @dude and @couponvan.  Sorry you ended up divorced and in Texas dude, but I am glad you seemed to recover.    Couponvan, any ideas what you will do for PT work?  Hopefully something fun!

Loren

[dude]

@dude  A pension plus a million on the side saved is a nice thing, and you will be collecting SS on that little person as well until they turn 18.  Hmmm. 

yep, a little known provision of the program, which is why I will definitely be claiming early and not waiting until FRA! :-)

[couponvan]

Thank you for the updates @dude and @couponvan.  Sorry you ended up divorced and in Texas dude, but I am glad you seemed to recover.    Couponvan, any ideas what you will do for PT work?  Hopefully something fun!

Loren

I'm going back to work for my previous employer.  With COVID, they opened up fully remote work options, so I will mainly be doing reviews of completed work for people in the field versus going to actual client locations to do work.  If I hate it, I can quit.  That's my mantra anyway.  I have just discovered I do not have a resume on my computer-I need to find the flash drive where I hid them!  I am also doing 120 hours of CPE to reactivate my license, and that is more boring than I remember. Of course, I'm doing the dry ethics and sexual harassment trainings for each state first.  I should have started with the fun stuff!

[FIRE 20/20]

@dude, I'm sorry to hear about the divorce.  Even though it seems like things worked out well, divorce is always difficult. 

It seems like lots of us have returned to work!  I'm still firmly in the never ever ever camp as far as returning to work goes.  Fortunately we've spent less than expected and we had a good market run to kick off FIRE, so we're more comfortable financially than I had planned.   I am having too much fun doing things like volunteering (math tutoring at the library), playing piano (working on Chopin's Nocturne in C-Minor Op. posth.), spending time with family and friends, and travel.  My biggest stressor at the moment is that I won't be able to practice piano for the 3 weeks we are going to spend in the U.K. this spring. 

[couponvan]

It seems like lots of us have returned to work!  I'm still firmly in the never ever ever camp as far as returning to work goes. 

I was never in the FIRE camp.  I was on a smoke break. It apparently didn't build to full FIRE. LOL.  Putting together the resume last night I realized I wasn't too terribly invested in the whole return-to-work.  It still doesn't feel real.  I leave for 10 days in Egypt Thursday, then back for 5, then to Florida for another 10 days.  Finally doing some traveling right before returning to work.  COVID really did put a damper in fun travel. My biggest stressor is downloading enough CPE to review while I'm stuck on the bus in Egypt.

[Trifle]

Hello 2019 peeps!  I'm past four years FIREd now and doing well.  We've done some excellent travel both here in the States and internationally.  We've had some adventures, including hosting a foreign exchange student for a year.  I volunteer for two excellent local charities that I love.  Day to day life here on our little farm is blissful.  All in all the past four years have been glorious. 

Our only problem (and it's a minor one) has been generating enough income on paper to keep our insurance on the Health Care Exchange.  I briefly tried out a part time job to help with that income issue, but quit after a few weeks.  I have zero tolerance for bullshit anymore.  I'll just do the Roth conversions to create the income.  Thanks FIRE!   

[chasesfish]

Bumping the thread...

Enjoying my 5th summer of freedom.  It's not bad

[SeanTash]

So another year has gone by!
I'm still doing Uni tutoring and really liking it, it's two days a week onsite (plus a little extra wfh), 6-7 months a year, so really just the right amount for me. It really does not feel anything like work I used to do.
I'm heading off to the south pacific for 6 weeks next week - Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. Looking forward to escaping the Auatralian winter for a bit.
I co-parent a 2 yo lab puppy too, which is amazingly rewarding, if trying at times!

[Loren Ver]

Is it June already!

April was our FIREversary, and it came and went.  We got our yearly picture of doing anything but working!  This year was building fun things.

Glad other folks are traveling and otherwise enjoying there time.  I will be flying to Florida for my mom's 75th birthday.  I was able to fly down for her 70th while I was still working, but this time I will be able to stay longer, which is nice.  I can't stay too long, because she then makes her yearly trip up to visit family in the north, and I am one of her stopping off points haha. 

Loren

[stoaX]

I'm coming up on my retirement anniversary.  Work seems long ago in a galaxy far away.

[chasesfish]

I'm coming up on my retirement anniversary.  Work seems long ago in a galaxy far away.

I can't believe it was my prior life.  So far away, so strange.

[MissNancyPryor]

I'm coming up on my retirement anniversary.  Work seems long ago in a galaxy far away.

I can't believe it was my prior life.  So far away, so strange.

This describes my life, too. 

Last week I got a text from a former staff member saying she was applying to another job, probably hinting she wants a reference which I will gladly give.  But it was very much like hearing a voice through cotton earmuffs, or tapping your jaw hard when under dentist's anesthesia.  "Huh? Wut?" my brain and body said.  Oh, yes, that old workie thing I used to do, that super-important career stuff that obsessed my former life.  Yawn.   

I am a September 4, 2019 FIRE anniversary baby.  The irony that it occurs on Labor Day this year is rich, as the country celebrates the worker by having a day off for those fortunate to have a role that allows it.  I celebrate not working by jotting some thoughts in the 2019 Cohort thread and will begin to slowly rend my garden to compost and gather seeds. 

I like that metaphor as the season changes.  My garden was built with much preparation and then tended with much care, and now it will be put down with its heirlooms stored in little packets and made ready for next time.  I love that in retirement I have the time to think about the poetry and peace that process offers and it is no longer a weekend rush of weeding and tending and fixing and dashing around because here comes Monday again. 

There is time for everything now.  FIRE has far exceeded my dream of it and I still find myself saying "I can't believe I pulled this off."             

[Loren Ver]

Well said Miss!

Today I went out for my walk and then started a loaf of bread.  I found a recipe I wanted to try.  When working I didn't have as much random time to just try random recipes that took TIME and then might not be good and might require more food prep time if they were complete flops.  I had to cook batches for the week, so they had to be tried and true. 

I got together with some old work friends last week to celebrate one of their birthdays.  They both still work.  They were both tossing around an idea to start a small business to get themselves out of the office and to be their retirement plan.  Sounds like work to me :).  They both plan on retiring early.  We meet regularly and do numbers so they will both be out in in their 50s (about 10 years).  But that's a long time to be waiting.  I keep telling them they can do it sooner if they want, but one is waiting for kids to start college and the other wants to be a big spender.  To get their own. 

Loren

[chasesfish]

Today is officially five years since I took that last elevator ride down from the corporate office.

How's everyone else doing?

[Omy]

No complaints here! One of the things I'm loving is the ability to hop in the car at a moment's notice to go on an adventure. I hung out with my nieces kids on a whim yesterday (so fun). I'm going kayaking tomorrow and sailing on Sunday. We'll do a little gardening next week then off for another week long adventure.

[Loren Ver]

No regrets.  I can't believe its been 5 years, and yet it feels like I've always been retired.  The life is very good. 

Yesterday was such a full day and a migraine came up and I just needed sleep.  So I took a 3 hour nap, then was up for a bit, then slept for another 9.  Then today was a nice slow day of recovery.  That was one of the big draws of retirement, being able to have time to not feel well when I don't feel well, instead of putting on the fake happy work face and pushing through.  No meetings, no math, no hour after hour of doing precision work, no rush hour traffic.

Even the rough stuff is better!

Loren