Author Topic: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner  (Read 7529 times)

gerardc

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Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« on: September 21, 2016, 07:17:09 PM »
I see many high earner Mustachians (myself included) reach 50-75% of their target retirement number, but want freedom faster so resolve to "semi-retire" by working PT or fun low-paying jobs to sustain living expenses without touching their stash, which should then automatically grow to their target within 8-15 years.

But let's not kid ourselves, working PT 20 hours a week doesn't have nearly the same efficiency as a high-paying job. With 40% effort, you'll probably get 10% of your income if you're lucky. Granted, it's more fun. But consider this alternative idea: Say you can usually save $3000 a week comfortably at your high-paying job. The deal is you keep your high paying job, but you're allowed to -- guilt free -- spend everything as long as you don't touch your stash. Financially, this would be equivalent to the semi-retirement PT job above. Would it be more fun? You could try things like:

- Fly to Vegas every week-end
- Buy bottle service or whatever is "in" at the time
- Buy crazy expensive Christmas gifts
- Date in really cool / different places
- Send $5k cash gift to a struggling family member
- Host parties at your place, all expenses paid
- Contribute to your stash, if you'e really out of ideas

... guilt free. Would this be better than being a farmer and spend $24k/year? Of course, it's very different, but it might be worth doing that for the first year or 2. Thoughts?
« Last Edit: September 21, 2016, 07:18:54 PM by gerardc »

Roland of Gilead

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2016, 07:24:38 PM »
Being high earners with no children or mortgage, it was no fun giving up 40% or more of our income to taxes for a 60 hour work week.

Working part time, you get to keep near 100% of your income.

BlueHouse

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2016, 07:43:36 PM »
but it might be worth doing that for the first year or 2. Thoughts?
Why quit after a year or two with the "fun" option?  You can keep doing that indefinitely if you're willing to work indefinitely.  Can't say it's a crazy idea though because isn't that what the non-eustachian people do??

gerardc

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2016, 07:47:45 PM »
Why quit after a year or two with the "fun" option?  You can keep doing that indefinitely if you're willing to work indefinitely.  Can't say it's a crazy idea though because isn't that what the non-eustachian people do??

Yeah but you might tire of it, and the best time to try that lifestyle is while you still have your job. Of course if you like it, keep going.

It's different than non-Mustachians because you only do it at 50-75% of your target and you don't touch your stash, so you still eventually reach FI. Also, you have enough FU money to quit at any time if things get unpleasant. Whereas most people are continuously on the brink of debt.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2016, 07:59:00 PM »
So basically you're saying that once you get close to or hit FI, you have the freedom to ER or not.  Maybe OMY for a while.  Maybe SWAMI (a term I really don't like, but don't have a ready replacement).  But basically, many FI folks are already at this 'not quite ready to fully retire' point and don't fully realize (as in, take advantage of) the fact.  They'll just have more money and options later in life, not really a reason to suddenly have a midlife crisis / go on a bender though, although that's an option too.

So, congrats if you're there and are thinking through these 'tough questions' :)

SwordGuy

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #5 on: September 21, 2016, 08:00:42 PM »
The problem with doing it is that your frugality muscles get flabby.   

It might be harder to wean yourself off the expensive lifestyle.

And, if you have a spouse, you quadruple your risk (or more!).   I say that because one spouse is generally the pusher on saving and the other is less committed to it.   If you're the one posting to this forum and not your spouse, they are likely less committed.

So, could it work?

Yep.

Will it work for you and yours?

Meh.   Maybe, maybe not.   

frugalmaybe

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #6 on: September 21, 2016, 08:02:01 PM »
but it might be worth doing that for the first year or 2. Thoughts?
Why quit after a year or two with the "fun" option?  You can keep doing that indefinitely if you're willing to work indefinitely.  Can't say it's a crazy idea though because isn't that what the non-eustachian people do??

you mean people who are immune to motion sickness? ;)

gerardc

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2016, 08:27:28 PM »
The problem with doing it is that your frugality muscles get flabby.   

It might be harder to wean yourself off the expensive lifestyle.

I'm single but that's a valid concern. Hence why you should do that carefully, maybe for a short time only. You wouldn't get new money committments, e.g. mortgage or car payments, or get into bad situations. Notice how all my examples above are temporary purchases that don't really affect your long-term situation?

So basically you're saying that once you get close to or hit FI, you have the freedom to ER or not.  Maybe OMY for a while.  Maybe SWAMI (a term I really don't like, but don't have a ready replacement).  But basically, many FI folks are already at this 'not quite ready to fully retire' point and don't fully realize (as in, take advantage of) the fact.  They'll just have more money and options later in life, not really a reason to suddenly have a midlife crisis / go on a bender though, although that's an option too.

So, congrats if you're there and are thinking through these 'tough questions' :)

Never heard of this SWAMI concept before, but that looks like it. The way I look at it is, at a high income, whatever you can do to make your job more bearable is worth it. Money doesn't buy happiness, but a shit ton of money can help you cope with the boredom of a 9-5.

sisto

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2016, 10:43:48 PM »
I'm kind of at the crossroad you describe. My original plan was to retire when I'm eligible in 2021, but more recently I've been considering sticking it out until 2024 because it would be much easier to get to my 401K because I'd be 55. So instead of having to setup ROTH ladders and 72t SEPP, I'd simply be able to start withdrawing from my 401K directly. In order to make those years more bearable I've been thinking about vacationing more now. I may also do some renovations on my house too instead of really cranking on the investments/saving.

pdxmonkey

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2016, 11:29:50 PM »
I'm kind of at the crossroad you describe. My original plan was to retire when I'm eligible in 2021, but more recently I've been considering sticking it out until 2024 because it would be much easier to get to my 401K because I'd be 55. So instead of having to setup ROTH ladders and 72t SEPP, I'd simply be able to start withdrawing from my 401K directly. In order to make those years more bearable I've been thinking about vacationing more now. I may also do some renovations on my house too instead of really cranking on the investments/saving.

Are you currently making/saving enough to max out your 401k? If so another option is that you could try to save additional in a taxable account to cover the 3 years from 2021-2024. Or...those renovations...

Goldielocks

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2016, 11:38:24 PM »
Odd post...

What if you don't actually like any of those things?   I can't think of anything worse than bottle service after flying to vegas.   and I am including stepping in fresh cat deposits in that mind set.   (Just happened.  nuf said)

How on earth do I have time / energy to do a third of that list, if I wanted to, while working?

ETA -- ok, /i re read the list....   and nope, other than the last one (which would be moot as I had enough to FIRE under the mentioned scenario, anyway), I would not even want to gift $5k to family, as that is often enabling and I know very well that enabling will take away someone's freedom as much as a high payment car loan.  I would not do that to them.

I value my time more than anything else right now.   Time to spend with family and my own interests.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2016, 11:42:34 PM by goldielocks »

gerardc

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #11 on: September 21, 2016, 11:56:08 PM »
Well, those are just ideas, you can substitute ideas that sound fun to you...

I've always considered those things foolish financially, and have never done any of them, so they might be fun just to try. In the end it might even make sense financially, because if blowing 3-5 days of work for a "crazy adventure" rejuvenates me and allows me to stick to my job even only 2 weeks longer, then it's a win!

Libertea

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #12 on: September 22, 2016, 03:02:16 AM »
I think in the end it comes down to what really matters most to you, and what you want to get out of life.  I am profoundly unhappy in my high-paying job, so much so that when it dawned upon me a few months ago that the money had pretty much become the main motivator for me getting up and going there every day, I decided to give my notice.  I gave notice even though I'm one of those people like you mentioned in your OP who's not quite all the way there to FI yet.  I gave notice almost a month ago now, and I would have left that very day if I could have; instead, my boss tried to bully me into staying longer because, let's face it, I'm not the only one who is so miserable working there, and they're perennially short-staffed.  I'm just the one who's in good enough financial shape to be able to walk away from a job like that and go do something else that pays less but will hopefully be more enjoyable (which is what I'm doing).

To my mind, there is nothing money can buy me in this world that is more valuable than my time.  I can always go out and earn more money if the need arises (even in my current field), but I cannot go out and manufacture more lifespan.  Time is the most valuable commodity any of us can ever hope to earn or possess.  Yet how often do we treat it indifferently because we don't have to actually do anything to "earn" it, in the sense that we just wake up every day and have a whole day's worth of it to "spend"?  When you love what you're doing, time will fly, but when you hate it, then every moment is a drag on your psyche.  Well, I found myself walking to work one day, saying to myself, "life is too short to be spending it at XYZ" (where XYZ is my current place of employment).  And realizing that I really meant it.  And that was when I started planning my exit.  I literally can't think of anything else (from OP's list or otherwise) that will do more to enhance my joy for life and sense of purpose, than to leave this job.  Even if it's not the best decision for my bottom line.

gerardc

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #13 on: September 22, 2016, 04:17:29 AM »
Wow, well said, Libertea. I completely agree with you. I was just considering the money and "bearability" factors, but time is more important. Happiness opportunity cost is too high here. I've waited enough. :)

steviesterno

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #14 on: September 22, 2016, 05:24:58 AM »
I'm pretty sure if I was able to save $3000 a week, I would stay there quite a while. As long as I'm not like murdering puppies, it couldn't be so bad. I would spend on the weekend on hobbies like working on cars or competitive shooting. I think I could stick out terrible a while if I had weekend distractors.

MrRealEstate

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #15 on: September 22, 2016, 06:11:24 AM »
This post seems more from the Dave Ramsey camp than the MMM camp. Instead of using money to buy freedom to do the things you love with the people you love, you simply use the money to buy things that will result in increased happiness.

Mr. Green

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #16 on: September 22, 2016, 06:29:48 AM »
I'm returning to work for a brief stint and this fantasy crossed my mind. We already have $1 million saved so we don't need more savings. My wife could quit her job, I could take 10 weeks off a year, and at our same standard of living we would still have $2500 extra we could spend every weekend. There's no way we'd come close to spending that so we'd still end up padding our savings. We could go to a baseball game and sit right behind the dugout and buy overpriced food and not care. We could take ski weekends in the winter. The list is never ending, and the concept of a budget for that money wouldn't exist because we have no interest in buying a bigger home or luxury cars and we don't need to save it. Basically, every fifth week we could fly to a Caribbean island, spend 5 grand, and still save 5 grand. It's a pretty sweet fantasy.

I know a guy who puts a $100 bill in his wallet and every month his goal is to give that to a complete stranger, for no other reason than he can. I would love to do something like that. Of course, even living on 40k a year we could do that because it's just not that much money.

In that position I'm still beholden to my job though. Assuming I sleep 8 hours a night (and I do), I have 5840 waking hours in a year. Working 42 weeks of the year means 2100 of those hours are dictated to me as to what I have to do with them. So 36% of my waking time isn't my choice, other than the fact that I made the choice to work. Don't get me wrong, I could see doing what I just described above temporarily, like for a year or two tops, but in the end I wanted 100% control of my time. For me freedom was what I really wanted, and the last 3 months have only helped reinforce that notion.

ETA: Just read LiberTea's post and it's spot on. I was also not a big fan of my job. If I love the work though, I can almost assure you I'd be doing what I described in this post though, at least for a couple years.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2016, 06:37:23 AM by Mr. Green »

ender

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #17 on: September 22, 2016, 06:50:55 AM »
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/taxes/optimizing-taxes-maximizing-benefits-for-parttime-working/

Your take home from part-time income can be absurdly high compared to FT.

Though like others, if I was saving $150k/year I'd probably stick it out a few years longer anyways.

Libertea

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #18 on: September 22, 2016, 07:02:55 AM »
I'm pretty sure if I was able to save $3000 a week, I would stay there quite a while. As long as I'm not like murdering puppies, it couldn't be so bad. I would spend on the weekend on hobbies like working on cars or competitive shooting. I think I could stick out terrible a while if I had weekend distractors.
Well, the thing is, if you managed to land yourself a job that allowed you to save $3000/week, you would not have all your weekends free to spend on hobbies.  Assuming you're an American citizen, and even assuming Mustachian spending levels, I can tell you from personal experience that this savings rate would require you to earn on the order of $200,000-$300,000/year gross, depending somewhat on factors like your location, local tax rates, pre-tax savings options, employer retirement account match, marital status, number of dependents, and other "fun surprise" caveats like possibly being hit with AMT.  Companies can also do things like require you to work for a certain number of years before certain benefits (such as stock options) will vest; if you leave sooner, you lose them.  But regardless of those other factors, the fact remains that no one is going to pay you a quarter million dollars per year to be an uninvested, 9-5 clock punching employee.  You don't reach that kind of income level without sinking quite a bit of your soul into your job.  Not to mention a lot of extra time for which you do not necessarily receive additional hourly compensation.

In my case, the decision was more like this: continue to basically defer my personal life altogether for another two years until I reached FI and could just quit working.  Or leave now at 2/3 FI and basically have time to do what I want to do on the weekends while working a lower-power, lower-hour job and continuing to glide to FI more slowly.  I'm interested in hearing if you'd still want to do this kind of high-power job even under the circumstances of it meaning that you would basically devote your entire life to your job during that time period without much time to spend on hobbies.  But for me, having now done that for a couple of years already, I've decided that I'm just not willing to defer my life any more.  I don't value the money more than I value my quality of life.

undercover

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #19 on: September 22, 2016, 09:33:54 AM »
But for me, having now done that for a couple of years already, I've decided that I'm just not willing to defer my life any more.  I don't value the money more than I value my quality of life.

Quality of life truly is everything. You can be happy with surprisingly few luxuries in life and still be extremely happy.

Already been said, but it just depends on what you value: more things/experiences, or more freedom. If you value freedom more than anything then it doesn't make sense to continue working a job you're not thrilled with only to balance it out with purchasing extravagant items/experiences. The balancing act will only last so long anyway as you become increasingly normalized to the items on your list. You'll just crave higher highs to counteract the lower lows. It makes much more sense to tolerate it (the stressful job) for as long as you can while continuing to pad your freedom fund if you're A) concerned about the safety net of said fund or B) simply not at the level you need it to be to support your desired lifestyle while not working.

And as Libertea said, there's only so much time remaining in your life right now. Both time and money are limited resources (you're only ever going to make so much money), but time is still much more valuable. Once you realize this, you know that it never makes sense to do something that makes you miserable, or to do anything for too long. There's too many opportunities and things to do than to stagnate in a specific position for too long. The only reason I plan to quit anything in my life is to free up time to do other things I may be interested in. I don't imagine such a thing as true retirement - you quit one thing and potentially move on to the next. That's why the more money you have stashed away, the more time you'll be able to afford. So time and money are correlated even though it's not a direct 1:1 exchange rate.

brooklynguy

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #20 on: September 22, 2016, 12:24:01 PM »
But consider this alternative idea: Say you can usually save $3000 a week comfortably at your high-paying job. The deal is you keep your high paying job, but you're allowed to -- guilt free -- spend everything as long as you don't touch your stash.

In other words, you can improve your own life by jacking up your spending, in a non-purposeful way?  A most unmustachian premise.  I'm afraid you may have missed the central point of this website.  These two MMM posts are particularly useful in highlighting the flaw in your proposal:

Why Should I be Frugal, When I'm So Rich?

Reader Case Study: I'm Rich and Life is Perfect - Now What?

honeybbq

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #21 on: September 22, 2016, 12:34:04 PM »
I think there's something to be said for your point. I am a high income earner, and so is my spouse. So, most people on MMM would pull the plug on what we earn/stash.  In some regards, I don't worry so much about the future and savings, since I know for the most part, I'm on auto pilot. If I decide to spend EXTRA money, I can do so and not really be guilt ridden. This is more of a boglehead approach, and I think at my income I AM more boglehead than MMM but that doesn't mean I don't take the parts of MMM that I like and leave the rest.

I posted in the other thread I do spend about $500 a month on outside help including cleaning and dog walking. That $500 is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount I save on a monthly basis. It won't really accelerate my FI/retire date, but it does make me a lot happier and reduces my stress.

That said, I don't "blow" money on ridiculous things that don't give me maximum happiness. I would never spend extra money on first class flying to Vegas, but I might take a trip there for a special occasion with a friend. Going there with the friend would give me 90% of the happiness, a first class ticket might add 10% but cost me 50% more. That's not worth it in my opinion and I wouldn't do it.

But having somebody else walk my dogs while I'm work so I don't have to clean up pee when I get home === priceless.

RobFIRE

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #22 on: September 22, 2016, 12:35:30 PM »
If I understand the theme of the original post, then the suggestion is a model of working full time in a high-paying high-stress disliked job for the fastest FIRE path, and trying to make it bearable by giving oneself approval to burn all/much of disposable income on one or more thrills. On the premise that PT work cannot be well paid in terms of equivalent hourly rate. So from the outside (not knowing about the high savings rate), would look like all the other people out their spending all their disposable income on consumerism?

Well, it would not be a model I would like to follow. I would not find driving a sports car for a couple of hours at the weekend / a weekly night out drinking post champagne etc. to be suitable compensation for a 60+ hour stressful working week. It would only work for people who found the thrill so great that it offset all the stress, I don't know if there are many such people.

Secondly I consider a lot of this kind of lifestyle to be very inefficient (I prefer "efficiency" concept over "frugal") and increasingly think that regularly spending say $1000 on dinner+night out (versus say $100 on basically the same thing if done in normal-price places) is ridiculous and not morally justifiable: if you don't need the $900 difference, give it to charity where it can be used to save hundreds of man years of life via third world health initiatives. But each to his own, people are entitled to spend their money, some people may find that "throw money at thrills" style workable for a while in order to sustain a high savings rate (actual $ if not % rate).

If in that situation I would much rather look at PT freelance/contractor work. If you have specialist skills (or at least the market values them as such) paying the $200k+ annual salary range then there should be PT/periodic contracting work available at $500+ a day, and a reasonable amount of it, you should not be reduced to working for $15 an hour just because you don't take full time positions.

TheOldestYoungMan

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #23 on: September 22, 2016, 01:37:11 PM »
Retirement isn't for everyone.

I came to this mindset because getting up for work every day makes me miserable.  I just absolutely hate it.  I haven't actually made it through a work day without resenting having to leave the house once in...god...over 5 years now.

That said, I don't think I would hate it if I just had more time off.  I actually like the type of work I do.  It's just maddening that the whole world is seemingly constructed to cater to folks who don't actually want to spend time with their kids/spouse.  People who have hobbies they want to do for just a couple hours once every 7 days.

And like you say, as soon as I drop to "part time" working 20 hours a week or so, I don't just give up half my earnings, it's much closer to 60-80%.  And then for any official type part-time, you're still looking at 5ish days per week or full work days part of the week.  I want to work for months at a time, full time, and then not work at all.

There's not a very efficient way to do that though, because most people don't seem to want that.

So the only path forward I see is to just get to a point where I'm independent from work as soon as possible.

But if you don't mind that schedule and you don't mind the working, then yea, go hog wild, live it up.  Power to you, no judgment from me.

I recognize that early retirement is inherently selfish.  I could go on and work another 40 years and end up accomplishing remarkable charitable works, paying more to help support this great nation as well as just making that contribution with my direct labors that are valuable within the marketplace.

Instead I'm going cast aside one of the pillars of being a good person that I was raised with, and that is that those who can, have a responsibility to those who cannot.

I'm saying fuck it, I'd rather not.

tonysemail

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #24 on: September 22, 2016, 01:54:20 PM »
you're not alone in thinking this way.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/why-do-you-guys-decide-to-reach-fire-so-early

like a lot of people, I'm skeptical you would find permanent happiness in such an arrangement.
at the end of the day, you fall prey to hedonistic adaptation and you'll need to seek higher highs and bigger thrills.
I view this as the road to ruin -- in spite of any precautions you assume would work.

Fishindude

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #25 on: September 22, 2016, 01:56:53 PM »
Heck, I've kind of been doing this for a while now.
Had adequate money to retire some time ago, but good old fashioned greed is probably what kept me in the game longer.   As a business owner rather than an employee, I never really hated work either.   Have had a lot of fun and built up the stache along the way.

 




Doubleh

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #26 on: September 22, 2016, 03:39:07 PM »
I think if you really believe that spending lots of money on crazy things will make your life better, it may be that you are trying to live on less than you are comfortable with at the moment. That said we are doing a very limited form of what you mention in that when I returned to work after a sabbatical a year or so ago, we thought very seriously about the extra money and made a conscious decision to increase our spending on travel. This is one of our priorities for both the wife and I, but we had been spending less than we would like to on it for several years. The thinking was that giving us time to properly decompress would make work more bearable and help us to stick it out for the last 2/3 years before we are in a position to fire properly. We also looked at our other areas of spending like our grocery bill, and decided to pretty much stop worrying about cost when we go food shopping.

The upshot of all that has been that we think less about what we spend and have less guilt when we do. We have enjoyable holidays and the crazy part is that our total spending over the last 12 months has been less than in the previous 12. In part this is having the big ticket items taken care of, and in part is because we have largely internalised mustacian principles to the extent that we generally make smart money choices even when not thinking about the money aspect. Sure we may not be quite as hardcore as some and i could definitely shave some off our budget if we needed too, but probably not enough to move the needle on our savings rate by more than a few percent.

Going back to the original premise of the OP, I think that the idea of finding a way to coast over the finish line by kicking back and covering your expenses for a few years leaving the stache untouched to do the heavy lifting for you instead of overshooting the line at full speed is definitely a sound option. For some people part time work will allow that, for others that is less efficient for the reasons mentioned by the OP - I suspect I am also in this camp.

But there are many other options out there to consider as an alternative to full time hardcore work - to name just a few WOOFing or peace corps would allow you to do fulfilling work while covering your expenses. Or living in a low cost country and doing very part time work, or even going to a fancy expensive country as an expat - this could be a great experience and even if you don't save any you're still letting your stache grow. Or how about working for a non profit, as a lecturer, or anything connected to your passion which pays less well but still enough to cover your costs.

Cathy

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #27 on: September 23, 2016, 09:55:53 AM »
Personally, I find that as I become increasingly wealthier, I am also increasingly reluctant to spend any of my money at all, other than on projects that are designed to generate further wealth. None of the consumer suggestions identified in the original post would bring me happiness, but there is one thing that actually does achieve that: seeing my net worth increase.

In addition to the two MMM articles cited by brooklynguy, the following passage from another MMM classic ("How to Make Money Buy Happiness") is also relevant:

                 At the bottom of the pyramid, you have people who seek stuff at all costs. ...

Slightly higher on the consumer thrills ladder is the new slogan of, “Don’t buy things, buy experiences! [...]” ...

In the mainstream media, the analysis ends there. Spending on experiences is better than spending on stuff, so just spend all your money on experiences and you’re set.

But there’s an even more satisfying thing you can do with money, which is rarely mentioned: not spending it.

(Emphasis in original.)
« Last Edit: September 23, 2016, 10:04:07 AM by Cathy »

sisto

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #28 on: September 23, 2016, 10:14:27 AM »
I'm kind of at the crossroad you describe. My original plan was to retire when I'm eligible in 2021, but more recently I've been considering sticking it out until 2024 because it would be much easier to get to my 401K because I'd be 55. So instead of having to setup ROTH ladders and 72t SEPP, I'd simply be able to start withdrawing from my 401K directly. In order to make those years more bearable I've been thinking about vacationing more now. I may also do some renovations on my house too instead of really cranking on the investments/saving.

Are you currently making/saving enough to max out your 401k? If so another option is that you could try to save additional in a taxable account to cover the 3 years from 2021-2024. Or...those renovations...
Yes, I do max out my 401K and HSA family. I also participate in an ESPP. I'm on a 15 year mortgage and considered refinancing back to a 30 year in order to be able to invest more in my taxable accounts, but still wondering if I should just stick it out the extra 3 years.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #29 on: September 23, 2016, 10:21:55 AM »
Another way of looking at it is this GoCurryCracker post:  http://www.gocurrycracker.com/retirement-has-already-cost-us-at-least-5-million/

It discusses just this very first world problem in gory detail (foregoing business class globetrotting, a 6-figure bonus, stock package vesting, etc.) that currently nets $1MM and counting.  I'm surprised FI folks like us don't get tomatos and eggs thrown at us when we complain about having to decide between if we want to ER in both time and money luxury or maybe put it off a bit in our 30's or 40's because, heck, it's another million bucks and we're still young! 

What to do after FI (like, for the rest of your life) is a complex problem without a unique solution, but it sure is interesting to see people discussing it.

Undecided

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #30 on: September 23, 2016, 01:10:59 PM »
If that will make the OP happy, I'm all for it, but it doesn't seem to me to be even "semi" retirement---it just involves continuing to work at the same job. I don't think it makes me a member of the Internet Retirement Police to suggest that to be stretching any definition of retirement too far.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #31 on: September 23, 2016, 01:18:19 PM »
... it doesn't seem to me to be even "semi" retirement--- .... I don't think it makes me a member of the Internet Retirement Police ...

No, not the IRP, but a new secret division called the Semi-Internet Retirement Police

Livewell

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Re: Crazy semi-retirement idea for high earner
« Reply #32 on: September 23, 2016, 01:19:26 PM »
We have young kids in school.   While it wouldn't work for me, my wife has a career where she could do part time gigs and that's an option we might explore.

Instead of working 12 months a year, she might work 25 hours 8 months a year while the kids are in school.   Then we use that money to finance all kinds of travel, maybe more high end and longer than we would otherwise do post FIRE.

It's great to have these options!

It really depends on the type of work you do.   My work I have to be available all the time, so part time isn't going to work, but I have flexibility.   I see it as an all or nothing proposition.

My wife, when she worked full time, had an 7-7 corporate type job where it took way too much of her time during the day with no flexibility.   She had to quit to maintain sanity and focus on the kids.  However, it's the type of work that has a project component to it, perfect for consulting/part time gig.   

So you make your choices....

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!