Author Topic: Handed in my notice!  (Read 3720 times)

Eurotexan

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Handed in my notice!
« on: April 29, 2021, 07:53:27 AM »
Like many of us (both on these forums and around the country, I suspect), I am burnt out. I was running on empty before COVID and then last year was brutal. I am a slave to the golden handcuffs though. I have reached very lean FIRE but wanted to try to keep going for 2 more years to pad the stash.

Well, I just couldn't do it anymore. Over the past few weeks I had the wonderful realization that my happiness and mental well being is more important than the paychecks I am walking away from. As a member of the MMM community since 2013 I have known this in my heart but I couldn't act on it. Again, golden handcuffs (they sound wonderful but in reality are a terrible thing).

So, I gave my notice yesterday. I have absolutely nothing lined up. I am not ready for lean FIRE, I am 47 and have another great job in me but I realized staying where I am unhappy is robbing me of my future as well. My company wants/ needs me to work longer than a two week notice as I am the only SME in my field in the whole company (part of the reason for my burnout but they wouldn't listen) and I am waiting to hear their terms. If all goes well, I will use the severance to live on for my break, hopefully around 6 months, so the stash remains untouched.

I feel such relief. It's a little scary, I'm a very risk averse person, but this feels right. Thank you to those on these forum for the nudge I needed to make this leap!

Rdy2Fire

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2021, 08:00:30 AM »
Congrats!! I did the exact same thing! 47 and circumstances, stress, burn out etc led me to just be done instead of waiting til 50. It 'felt right' and looking back and although scary, especially when I wasn't working, COVID hit (which meant even if I wanted to work it might be tough) it was probably one of the best decision I've ever made. I'm sure you'll be fine!

TheFIREGuy

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2021, 08:44:24 AM »
Good for you! I'm burnt out as well but I'm probably 3-4 years away from lean FIRE, and probably more like 8-10 years from regular FIRE.

Do you think it'll be easy to get another job after your break? It sounds like you have a lot of options since you're so close to regular FIRE. I'm jealous :)

Blackeagle

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2021, 09:42:42 AM »
Congratulations!

dandarc

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2021, 09:45:34 AM »
Congratulations!

Ladychips

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2021, 10:11:09 AM »
Outstanding!  Yea for you prioritizing your health and your life!

maizefolk

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2021, 10:15:15 AM »
Good for you! Wishing you a relaxing and reinvigorating sabbatical that lasts as long as you wish.

Nutty

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2021, 10:16:34 AM »
Congratulations on the lean fire but really on the walking away!

After finding this site last year seeking an answer to what's next, I'm finally comfortable sitting where I am.  I have a goal and am totally comfortable if I don't make it.  Lean fire is here, but the healthcare is keeping me on coast.  I doubt I'll make fat fire.  If I stay until 62, then we are closer to fat fire.  56 is the goal.

Let us know how you like it and what you've got planned after learning to relax.

Eurotexan

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2021, 12:26:19 PM »
Good for you! I'm burnt out as well but I'm probably 3-4 years away from lean FIRE, and probably more like 8-10 years from regular FIRE.

Do you think it'll be easy to get another job after your break? It sounds like you have a lot of options since you're so close to regular FIRE. I'm jealous :)

I believe I can jump back into the workforce pretty quickly when I decide to but of course, I can never be sure. That's what made this leap so scary, I don't have anything lined up. I network pretty well so I'm keeping the faith it will work out, but if it doesn't, I have my stash to fall back on.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement!

Wolfpack Mustachian

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2021, 04:00:25 PM »
Good for you! I'm burnt out as well but I'm probably 3-4 years away from lean FIRE, and probably more like 8-10 years from regular FIRE.

Do you think it'll be easy to get another job after your break? It sounds like you have a lot of options since you're so close to regular FIRE. I'm jealous :)

I believe I can jump back into the workforce pretty quickly when I decide to but of course, I can never be sure. That's what made this leap so scary, I don't have anything lined up. I network pretty well so I'm keeping the faith it will work out, but if it doesn't, I have my stash to fall back on.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement!

If you're leanFIRE now, you can usually do something to even outside of your field if truly needed. If there's a chance to get back into your field, it just makes the jump that much less risky. Go you!

DaMa

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2021, 08:37:07 PM »
Must be something about 47.  I did the same thing in 2016.  The same week I gave my notice, a friend told me about a part-time job, and I ended up only having about a month off.  I did that job for 18 months, worked full-time for 6 months, then FIREd at 49.  I have never regretted it.

Congratulations!

reeshau

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2021, 11:26:21 PM »
Congrats, and welcome to the other side.  I'm now 1 year in, and I can say having a nice severance as an anti-SORR cash cushion feels awfully good.  It's great that you have options other than full on/off for work, but remember that your job burned you out--you owe them nothing more.  If you find you can come to terms with work that are good for you, so be it.  But you officially declared that you were done soldiering on, and that is a very good thing.

Nothing wrong with calling it a sabbatical / trial period / whatever, either.  Coming back from Ireland during the first wave of Covid gave me an excuse to keep an open mind.  But last year's market pretty much answered all questions, so I'm committed (to myself) to not going back to the same industry, although who knows what might open up in the future, anyway?

bmjohnson35

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #12 on: April 30, 2021, 10:16:10 AM »

Congrats.  It's empowering to take control of your destiny instead of following the accepted path of the masses.  It's crazy how making your health and well-being a priority can be seen as anything but normal. 

Once you have some time to decompress, you can decide the best way forward. 

henramdrea

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2021, 10:30:30 AM »
Like many of us (both on these forums and around the country, I suspect), I am burnt out. I was running on empty before COVID and then last year was brutal. I am a slave to the golden handcuffs though. I have reached very lean FIRE but wanted to try to keep going for 2 more years to pad the stash.

Well, I just couldn't do it anymore. Over the past few weeks I had the wonderful realization that my happiness and mental well being is more important than the paychecks I am walking away from. As a member of the MMM community since 2013 I have known this in my heart but I couldn't act on it. Again, golden handcuffs (they sound wonderful but in reality are a terrible thing).

So, I gave my notice yesterday. I have absolutely nothing lined up. I am not ready for lean FIRE, I am 47 and have another great job in me but I realized staying where I am unhappy is robbing me of my future as well. My company wants/ needs me to work longer than a two week notice as I am the only SME in my field in the whole company (part of the reason for my burnout but they wouldn't listen) and I am waiting to hear their terms. If all goes well, I will use the severance to live on for my break, hopefully around 6 months, so the stash remains untouched.

I feel such relief. It's a little scary, I'm a very risk averse person, but this feels right. Thank you to those on these forum for the nudge I needed to make this leap!

You're my hero!  Would love to do something like this myself, but have a family that needs me to keep working.

Next year, I'll be 55 and 30 years into my career.  It'll be time to take a serious look at where I'm headed, doing what's best for both myself and my family.  I'd love a sabbatical of some sort.  We'll see :)

Best wishes to you.  Keep us posted.  Take that time away from your work to re-discover what makes you happy, what your purpose is.

Loren Ver

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2021, 03:17:50 PM »
Woo hoo.  Glad you realized what was happening and made the decision only you could make.  Take some deep breaths and go from there.  You got this!  You gave yourself options and can choose to take them.

LV

Eurotexan

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2021, 04:24:08 PM »
So, update... they offered me a pretty measly sum to stay for two more months so I countered with three times that. I am meeting with my boss first thing on Monday, but he indicated I would get close to what I want. I finally feel in a position of power. Without the stash this retention bonus would be crucial for me to take my six months off; with the stash it's pretty much insignificant (but don't get me wrong, definitely nice to have.) I have never been a very good negotiator so this is a good life lesson for me. I am holding all the cards, I need to use them! Stay tuned...

reeshau

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #16 on: April 30, 2021, 06:12:33 PM »
Two months puts you right in the middle of summer vacation--you should be able to find something to splurge on, to help you decompress!

How sure are you that it will *just* be 2 months?  That is, that they won't try to string you along further?  It's great that you named your price to carry on, and they are jumping.  But a lesson I learned from mergers & divestitures: any "temporary" service needs to have an escalating price tag, as an incentive to get on with the separation.  Otherwise, it may be cheaper to carry on rather than deal with the situation.  So, have in mind for Monday if you want to signal that somehow: say this is absolutely it, lay down a milestone for a replacement to be named, and transition to background / support vs. work, or name your price for 2 *more* months, something that's a further multiple more.

Eurotexan

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #17 on: April 30, 2021, 06:41:53 PM »
Two months puts you right in the middle of summer vacation--you should be able to find something to splurge on, to help you decompress!

How sure are you that it will *just* be 2 months?  That is, that they won't try to string you along further?  It's great that you named your price to carry on, and they are jumping.  But a lesson I learned from mergers & divestitures: any "temporary" service needs to have an escalating price tag, as an incentive to get on with the separation.  Otherwise, it may be cheaper to carry on rather than deal with the situation.  So, have in mind for Monday if you want to signal that somehow: say this is absolutely it, lay down a milestone for a replacement to be named, and transition to background / support vs. work, or name your price for 2 *more* months, something that's a further multiple more.

Thank you, this is great advice, I have some thinking and strategizing to do this weekend!

alcon835

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #18 on: May 15, 2021, 08:34:31 AM »
Super curious to hear an update!

Eurotexan

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #19 on: May 15, 2021, 09:48:23 PM »
Sorry, just realized I never posted an update!

We negotiated me to stay an additional 6 weeks in exchange for a retention bonus which works out to be about 2 months salary. This is where my FU money was invaluable.. I was more than happy to walk away and only work my required 2 weeks notice. I finally knew my worth and wasn’t prepared to settle for less. Now I didn’t get the full number I wanted but our final number was close enough and enough of a motivation for me enjoy the next 6 weeks and not feel taken advantage of.

I feel completely at peace with my decision and know it’s the right one. This retention bonus is icing on the cake at this point. Damn, I wish I had negotiated like this my entire career. I would have been FIRE years ago

alcon835

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2021, 08:58:11 AM »
Congratulations! If you haven't yet, the FU Money Thread is a great place to tell your story. This is a clear situation where financial independence (i.e. FU money) gave you the flexibility to walk away if you needed too. Icing on the cake is it gave you the kick in the pants to FIRE as well!

The best possible outcome :D

Rhoon

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2021, 07:17:30 PM »
Congrats! Always great to hear when someone else waves goodbye to the corporate world (even if it is temporary).

moof

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #22 on: May 17, 2021, 08:26:22 PM »
Good on you.  I’m still 3 years out, and boy am I just done with corporate BS.

We are now coming up on the annual review/goals BS, my least favorite wastes of life force each year.  I tried taking up HR on their threat/offer that if you don’t do your goals crap you would be ineligible for a raise.  I was not allowed to sign up for a 0%.  I’m aiming to FIRE just before the 2024 cycle.

Cannot Wait!

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Re: Handed in my notice!
« Reply #23 on: May 17, 2021, 08:49:14 PM »
Good on you.  I’m still 3 years out, and boy am I just done with corporate BS.
Corporate BS is the worst.
Retirement BS = Beers & Sunshine.   :)

 

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