Not needing to save additional for retirement versus being FI

[frugalsusan]

Hi all, I've been reading MMM since fall of 2013 and have finally worked up the courage to post. I have worked at the same company for 9 years now, and make a good salary (over 100,000 now), and thought that I would continue working there until I was FI.

Recently the stress of the job has led me to wonder at what point I could simply worry about having a job that makes current budgetary needs versus also needing to save additional money for retirement.

I am excited to report that in looking at FV calculators, it appears that my cash net worth of approximately 600,000 means that I don't need to continue investing money, and that if all i do is find a job to cover current expenses, I will be good. (I'm in my early 30s. This is assuming I would be starting to withdraw in about 30 years or so) This has produced an amazing sense of freedom for me. I know that on this forum everyone is focused on being FI, but for me, I'm really excited about the fact that I can now find a job that pays less but that makes me happy so that I don't mind working for longer.

I'm writing this because I'm curious if others have had this experience. If so, did you take the plunge and leave your high paying job for a different one in a field that you loved more?

Thanks so much for any thoughts or comments that people have. I wouldn't be who I am today if not for MMM.

[VolcanicArts]

I left  a stressful high paying job for a multitude of reasons, some were beyond my control. I had some decent cash reserves at the time, but nothing close to FI money. I worked a very low stress contract job for about a year after that and also covered prn shifts at another place. It was kind of funny because I was so stressed about money when I initially left, but as soon as I started the contract job, I was able to save more in that year than I ever had before. I now have a job I enjoy that is full time that I kind of stumbled upon. It is definitely worth leaving if you are not happy, especially if you have enough money saved up to sustain you. We only live once, in my opinion it's not worth it to stay at an undesirable work position, when other options can easily be found, and in reality we really end up not needing as much money as we think we do to sustain ourselves.

[Khan]

Copying and pasting from some other threads of this nature and my posts...
https://livingafi.com/2015/08/04/taking-a-gap-year/
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/early-retirement-vs-serial-mini-retirements/

The following topic was exactly about this!
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-much-would-you-need-to-be-fi-if-you-kept-working-(for-fun)-and-only-lived-of/
And I think this topic moved in that direction:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/where-are-you-in-your-fi-journey/

With 600k in the bank, that 600k doubles every 10 or so years in real terms(post inflation), so in 30 years it should be worth... approximately 4.8million, plus or minus a bit. IMO, after 200-300k in early 30's, you've won the retirement game, and never have to add another cent to it to retire on. You can live paycheck to paycheck on a job you loved, willingly, and it wouldn't matter. You are as healthy financially as needed.

If your current job is causing you stress, feel free to leap, anywhere. if you've been able to get to 100k in this, you could probably do it elsewhere, or better maybe. Or not, like I said above, it doesn't matter.
http://freakonomics.com/podcast/new-freakonomics-radio-podcast-the-upside-of-quitting/

[Linea_Norway]

Congrats, you have built up a stash of FU money.

About moving to a lower stress job for a lower pay. I tried with my current job with paid a big less than my previous, but has a much shorter commute. But it has actually become a very stressful job at times (most of the time). So I don't stress about the commute anymore, but about job issues instead. Not good.
My DH also went for a lower stress job some years ago, with a short commute. But it became a bit uninteresting for him. He did learn a whole new area of expertise, but when that was mastered the rest was little challenging. Now he is back in a challenging group leader role with more interesting projects and instructing other people. With a twice a long commute and a lot higher pay.

We two plan to work full time for another 2 years or so, and then reduce to part time working, before retiring. And I suppose my DH wants to keep working part time on project basis after that as well. That would give a very good safety net.

My conclusion is that, yes, you could try to find another job that you enjoy better, but the grass is not always totally green at other jobs either. Other jobs just have other issues. But we can presume that some working environments are significantly better to work in than others.

[Rosy]

CONGRATS!:)
600K in your retirement stash at age 30 is killer:) Yeah for you - big relief, you already won at the retirement game of life.

So now what will you do?
Take your time changing jobs, taking a lower paying job is not necessarily the answer. I agree that it is time to move on from a job that drains the life out of you, but perhaps you might go about job hunting with the thought of potential for advancement firmly in your mind and not immediately settling for the first offer either.
It wouldn't hurt to consider negotiating other benefits - reimbursement for career advancement classes, extra vacation days or paid for parking or transportation or cell phone reimbursement or benefitting from the company credit card travel rewards - whatever.
Remember, whatever you start your new job with, is the basis - for future pay raises.

Just sayin', since it can be easy to accept what is offered out of relief and eagerness to finally get to do something new and exciting that you always wanted to go for. Now that you can afford to roll with the lower pay, don't lose sight of the fact that you might still want a career. Never estimate the achievers need for challenge in your work life.

[Guesl982374]

Once you realize you don't NEED that stressful high-paying job, you may find that knowledge makes the whole thing less stressful.  You can become a different employee, emboldened by the knowledge that you don't need this job.

+1 This happened to me. I dialed back hours, pushed back on management, & let go of the most of the stress (hint: most of the stress is usually internally driven). I ended up being rated higher than normal and got higher than normal pay raises.

[samsonator54321]

Yeah I vote for the change of perspective too. Last year I was very stressed at my job and felt trapped.

But, I realized that I was choosing to work there, that I didn't have to work there. We live off my wife's salary so theoretically I could do a low wage low stress job and be fine. However realizing that I was CHOOSING to be in this job (for the $) made all the differnce. Work doesn't phase me anymore and it hasn't for 7-8 months since this realization.

[o0olizo0o]

I left a high stress/higher paying job for a lower stress/lower paying job. I know this pushes back my FI date, but I'm very happy with my decision. Ultimately, only you can decide what is best for you.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

Hi all, I've been reading MMM since fall of 2013 and have finally worked up the courage to post. I have worked at the same company for 9 years now, and make a good salary (over 100,000 now), and thought that I would continue working there until I was FI.

Recently the stress of the job has led me to wonder at what point I could simply worry about having a job that makes current budgetary needs versus also needing to save additional money for retirement.

I am excited to report that in looking at FV calculators, it appears that my cash net worth of approximately 600,000 means that I don't need to continue investing money, and that if all i do is find a job to cover current expenses, I will be good. (I'm in my early 30s. This is assuming I would be starting to withdraw in about 30 years or so) This has produced an amazing sense of freedom for me. I know that on this forum everyone is focused on being FI, but for me, I'm really excited about the fact that I can now find a job that pays less but that makes me happy so that I don't mind working for longer.

I'm writing this because I'm curious if others have had this experience. If so, did you take the plunge and leave your high paying job for a different one in a field that you loved more?

Thanks so much for any thoughts or comments that people have. I wouldn't be who I am today if not for MMM.

Congratulations on your progress so far.

My wife and I turn 30 this year, and your plan is exactly what we want to do with our lives.  We are both maxing our 401ks, HSA, and other tax-advantaged accounts until we hit $500,000 in assets.  This should happen in about 7-8 years when, God-willing, we have kids slightly younger than that.

As an attorney, I would plan to roll back and be on a salary that covered our expenses. My wife wants to work but will go to a 25 hour/week schedule.  The goal would be to bring home about $75,000 per year so we can easily cover expenses, take long vacations, save for college, and maybe put extra money towards the mortgage.

While this part-time work is happening, we plan to let the $500,000 roll for 10-15 years, and it should have bulldozed to $2.1M by then. 

[Linea_Norway]

While this part-time work is happening, we plan to let the $500,000 roll for 10-15 years, and it should have bulldozed to $2.1M by then.

Just a digress:
How do you calculate this 500,000 dollars turning into 2.1M in 15 years?

I wanted to find out and calculated a sum, presuming a 7% profit on average per year for 15 years. This turns 500,000 into 1.379,516.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

While this part-time work is happening, we plan to let the $500,000 roll for 10-15 years, and it should have bulldozed to $2.1M by then.

Just a digress:
How do you calculate this 500,000 dollars turning into 2.1M in 15 years?

I wanted to find out and calculated a sum, presuming a 7% profit on average per year for 15 years. This turns 500,000 into 1.379,516.

Our actual savings within 7 years should actually be closer to $700,000, and I think I calculated 7.5% growth. Not sure why I didn't just post the real numbers.

[EnjoyIt]

frugalsusan,
Congrats on hitting $600k.  Congrats on realizing that although you have not fully won the game, you have front loaded your retirement so that now you have plenty of options.  We have come to this conclusion about 1 year ago and I would like to share our experiences and maybe offer you some advice.  Once the realization sinks in, I found the actual work I do much less stressful as others have described. I can easily say no to things I don't find any value in and devote my time on things I actually want to do. I am less stressed in general knowing that our retirement is pretty well set from here on in.  In your case, I am sure you can relocate to a low cost of living area, and retire today on $600k if you really had to.  The freedom is yours to take whenever you want.  So my advice is to let this knowledge soak in for a few months.  Evaluate what you like and don't like about your job, while also looking at what causes you stressed and see if it could be avoided. After those few months not only will your stash increase, hopefully you learned a little bit about yourself.  Maybe considering going part time may be a potential option if you are willing to delay FI.  Maybe it is worth hanging in there for a few more years and just calling it quits ASAP. You just achieved the stage of your wealth that buys options.  Enjoy that stage and enjoy your life. Congrats again.

[frugalsusan]

Thanks for the very thoughtful replies. I just listened to the Freakanomics link posted by Khanjar. And read through the other discussions. It's interesting to think about quitting in terms of a sunk cost bias. It's also interesting to think about quitting as not being a negative.

I've also been thinking about the posters that noted that sometimes it's an attitude shift that's in order, and that having the power to know that you don't need the job helps turn it into a better job. For me I think it involves some very honest conversations with HR and my department manager regarding reducing my number of direct reports and moving away from finance/accounting.

I also think I am going to pursue new opportunities so that I can really understand what's out there. Part of me is really interested in seeing what's out there and feeling like I'm capable of interviewing again after 9 years. Pushing the comfort level a bit.

Thank you again to all of the thoughtful responses. It's really been helping me clarify my thoughts.