Author Topic: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?  (Read 4129 times)

Fastfwd

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Got steady work since I left school until a few months ago when my employer closed down the local office. Had never been laid off before and have yet to go a single day without work and pay. I found work but it's not something I enjoy and it does not pay as well. I do something very specialized and right now the market is empty of job offers for that.

I am wondering if I should just quit and stop receiving paychecks until I can find something I really enjoy. Maybe a work vacation would reset me and make me happier until I find something else. It would probably push my FI date a few months back.

I wonder if this is what people feel like when the numbers tell them they are FI but quitting the job still seems risky.

I can definitely go many months, possibly years without work. My wife has a guaranteed job for life and her salary covers our expenses if we are careful. Just worried that I'll regret pushing back FI date just because I was in a job I did not enjoy for a few months. Then again maybe decades from now I'll look back and wonder why I was putting up with this situation instead of quitting ASAP.

Stache In Training

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2014, 09:46:00 PM »
If you don't ever have to worry about your wife losing her job, and the job you have now is not enjoyable, and doesn't pay well, I'd see if by staying home, you could save as much money as that job is paying you.  So see if by staying home, you can do all the chores in the most efficient way, never use your car because you've got the time to ride your bike everywhere, cook every meal at home, etc.  See if all that would add up to saving what you currently get paid, and then your choice becomes pretty easy.  If not, well then the choice is still gonna be hard, but I'd hate to push FI back further... just personally.

mxt0133

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2014, 09:57:54 PM »
If I was in your shoes, I would have collected unemployment until you found something you truly enjoyed doing, can you still collect?

Then I would focus on trying to lower your expenses, learn how to cook more efficiently, reduce utilities, ect.  Basically use this as an opportunity to get to your FI date sooner by lowering your expenses.  This is a much bigger factor in shortening the time to FI than how much you save or rate of return.

I have taken this approach towards my own FI goals and learning to lower my expenses one dollar at a time may seem trivial but plugging my numbers in my calculator shows that I can reach FI much faster than trying to increase my earnings by 2-3% more.

MrFancypants

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2014, 07:59:25 AM »
I guess my attitude is a little different in regards to finding what you love.  I don't believe it's a good idea to quit working because you hate your job and you're trying to find a job doing something you'd enjoy more....  this smacks of "the grass is always greener...." when the reality is that the greener grass on the other side of the street is typically fertilized with bull shit.

If you can make the case that you can save as much money as you earn, then staying home could be the right choice to make that may open up other opportunities.  Otherwise you may find that your wife becomes resentful and potentially loses respect for you; I've seen one marriage of a very close friend fall apart because of this (there were other issues, but this was a big one). 

If you have yet to reach financial independence and basically aren't even close to it, you need to consider taking every opportunity you can get, and if the best paying job is one that you don't enjoy but is better than every other option you have by a wide margin, well....  suck it up for a while, stay out of the "I'm comfortable in my crappy job" rut, and keep your eyes open for more appealing alternatives.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2014, 08:01:15 AM by Mykl »

Fastfwd

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2014, 05:45:24 AM »
If I was in your shoes, I would have collected unemployment until you found something you truly enjoyed doing, can you still collect?

I never collected because I found this job right away but it was misrepresented to me(salary and conditions). Now if I quit I get nothing.

I guess I'll stay for a while but do it my own way and if management is not happy they can let me go and we'll all be happier.

oldtoyota

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2014, 06:26:59 AM »
If I was in your shoes, I would have collected unemployment until you found something you truly enjoyed doing, can you still collect?

I never collected because I found this job right away but it was misrepresented to me(salary and conditions). Now if I quit I get nothing.

I guess I'll stay for a while but do it my own way and if management is not happy they can let me go and we'll all be happier.

Is there any way you can work on getting what you want? I've seen that work when done with a smile and a looooot of patience. One of the most important things I've learned in the work world is to wait and to keep repeating the message (in different and non-annoying ways) that I want people to learn. It can take a long time, but it's gratifying to see things moving in the right direction.


Fastfwd

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2014, 06:33:01 AM »
...Otherwise you may find that your wife becomes resentful and potentially loses respect for you; I've seen one marriage of a very close friend fall apart because of this (there were other issues, but this was a big one). 

If you have yet to reach financial independence and basically aren't even close to it, you need to consider taking every opportunity you can get, and if the best paying job is one that you don't enjoy but is better than every other option you have by a wide margin, well....  suck it up for a while, stay out of the "I'm comfortable in my crappy job" rut, and keep your eyes open for more appealing alternatives.

Good points. We have talked it over already and we are both comfortable with me being out of a job for a few months. I have worked a lot these last years and this made it possible to get rid of the mortgage in 10 years instead of 25 so a few months without pay are not heavy in the balance of things.

I definitely am looking for other opportunities and could probably find some random work easily but I want my next step to be the right one for the decade to come. I really hate changing jobs.

Fastfwd

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2014, 06:36:54 AM »
Is there any way you can work on getting what you want? I've seen that work when done with a smile and a looooot of patience. One of the most important things I've learned in the work world is to wait and to keep repeating the message (in different and non-annoying ways) that I want people to learn. It can take a long time, but it's gratifying to see things moving in the right direction.

Very good advice and I have done this successfully in the past. Maybe I am giving up too quickly here. I'll work on that in a more positive way but still keep looking for an exit.

Ftao93

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #8 on: March 21, 2014, 08:43:17 AM »
Since you were laid off, I would say you can probably get unemployment for a bit.  I'm not a fan of collecting it just because, but it is there to help you find another job.

Don't be TOO picky, esp. if you are extremely specialized.  However, remember that you have the sum of all human knowledge at your fingertips just for the googling.  Maybe you can find yourself a new skill, or see if you can take some classes to do something you like more.

Sofa King

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Re: Leave a job when not FI. Is this a taste of the jump to retirement?
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2014, 10:58:59 AM »
He forfeited collecting unemployment because he took another job. You can't quit your job because you don't like it and collect unemployment.