The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: Libertea on May 31, 2016, 04:21:22 PM
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Anyone else here realizing that full retirement doesn't sound so grand, and what they really want is either 1) to downshift from their current stressful but high-paying job, or 2) to start a new career that is less remunerative but more rewarding? I think I've heard some people call this plan "lifestyle optimization" or something like that. Anyway, I'll be quitting my job within the next year, then taking a few months off to travel before starting my semi-retirement job in late 2017. I won't be fully FI, but I'll have enough saved up by the end of this year to be done saving for normal age retirement. In fact, I'll likely be a multi-millionaire in my late 60s even if I never save any more for retirement after this year. So I'm happy to find that I'm getting out sooner than originally planned. Anyone else on a semi-retirement trajectory?
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Yup, I've thought about this a lot. We're having our first kid this winter, so I don't want to make grand plans, but I think for me the plan might be: continue high powered six-figure lawyer job for 2 years, then pay my own second maternity leave and being doing project-based work, hoping to earn ~1/3 of what I do now. I think I'll have a net worth of about 420K when the first kid is born (I'm 29), so stashing that untouched should be fine for traditional retirement age.
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This was my plan. I was single until I was 54, was never a super high wage earner and lived in a High COLA. I did.not.love what I was doing and wanted OUT.
However, my Inner Bag Lady (IBL) was convinced I'd never find well-paid work again if I quit too soon. I was trying to wait until Obamacare started in 2014 for healthcare, which was the only missing piece of my puzzle.
Kind of Completely out of the blue, I started dating someone and we fell madly in love and got married. When we combined finances, we realized that we were well over "the number", so I pulled the cord. I haven't looked back since. I joke that I married him for his healthcare and he says he married me for the... well, nevermind.
I realize this may not a common route to FIRE, but my point is that if you are within 75-80% or more of your number, I'd consider trying to make it across the finish line now so you never have to wrestle with your IBL (or IB Person) or even worse, be forced to look for again when you don't want to.
If you are far from your number and you have confidence in your ability to make what you have stretch, plus you have an in-demand skill set, hell YES, take a sabbatical or semi-retire if you want. You could end up like that black-belt mustachian Spartana, and never go back to work.
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This was my plan. I was single until I was 54, was never a super high wage earner and lived in a High COLA. I did.not.love what I was doing and wanted OUT.
However, my Inner Bag Lady (IBL) was convinced I'd never find well-paid work again if I quit too soon. I was trying to wait until Obamacare started in 2014 for healthcare, which was the only missing piece of my puzzle.
Kind of Completely out of the blue, I started dating someone and we fell madly in love and got married. When we combined finances, we realized that we were well over "the number", so I pulled the cord. I haven't looked back since. I joke that I married him for his healthcare and he says he married me for the... well, nevermind.
I realize this may not a common route to FIRE, but my point is that if you are within 75-80% or more of your number, I'd consider trying to make it across the finish line now so you never have to wrestle with your IBL (or IB Person) or even worse, be forced to look for again when you don't want to.
If you are far from your number and you have confidence in your ability to make what you have stretch, plus you have an in-demand skill set, hell YES, take a sabbatical or semi-retire if you want. You could end up like that black-belt mustachian Spartana, and never go back to work.
My IBL is convinced I'll be unemployable at 32 already. I don't think I'll pull the plug on the big-paying job for something less stressful until I'm at around 650K (alone), which should keep my IBL silent. But who knows. She's crazy.
I suppose I could try for one more year (and another 120K in savings), but I'm not convinced I will be employable at this for that long (this is actually based on real numbers, and not my IBL).
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Me! I'm not the type that would enjoy full retirement (I was getting bored just over the 3 day Memorial Day weekend) but I highly dislike corporate American and the 9-5 cubicle monkey life. I'd like to have a fun, part-time job that might provide some extra fun money or perhaps cover health insurance, but am not planning to do that until I'm pretty close to my FIRE goal.
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This was my plan. I was single until I was 54, was never a super high wage earner and lived in a High COLA. I did.not.love what I was doing and wanted OUT.
However, my Inner Bag Lady (IBL) was convinced I'd never find well-paid work again if I quit too soon. I was trying to wait until Obamacare started in 2014 for healthcare, which was the only missing piece of my puzzle.
Kind of Completely out of the blue, I started dating someone and we fell madly in love and got married. When we combined finances, we realized that we were well over "the number", so I pulled the cord. I haven't looked back since. I joke that I married him for his healthcare and he says he married me for the... well, nevermind.
I realize this may not a common route to FIRE, but my point is that if you are within 75-80% or more of your number, I'd consider trying to make it across the finish line now so you never have to wrestle with your IBL (or IB Person) or even worse, be forced to look for again when you don't want to.
If you are far from your number and you have confidence in your ability to make what you have stretch, plus you have an in-demand skill set, hell YES, take a sabbatical or semi-retire if you want. You could end up like that black-belt mustachian Spartana, and never go back to work.
My IBL is convinced I'll be unemployable at 32 already. I don't think I'll pull the plug on the big-paying job for something less stressful until I'm at around 650K (alone), which should keep my IBL silent. But who knows. She's crazy.
I suppose I could try for one more year (and another 120K in savings), but I'm not convinced I will be employable at this for that long (this is actually based on real numbers, and not my IBL).
I've worked nearly 9 years as an attorney in biglaw, and I am ready to peace out of there. I regret not leaving a few years ago when I started getting bullied, manipulated, and set up to fail (I guess that's all kinda the same thing) by a very unhappy partner, but I stuck through it and outlasted her. Nevertheless, my department has changed substantially, particularly over the last 1 1/2 years, and not for the better (other than shedding the bully). I'm so ready to not have the constant pressure and extreme stress anymore. But at 34 years old and single, I would rather transition into another, more balanced job. I don't consider myself FI, but certainly secure enough to not worry about taking a break, even an extended break if need be. So, I'm taking the summer off to visit relatives, do volunteer work, take a couple short classes for interest, and decompress. I'm excited to figure out the next part of my journey! Actually, perhaps I will start a journal now . . .
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Already semi-retired!
In 2007, I was making ~$30k/yr as a freelancer, and I was up for two permanent positions. One was somewhere between $75k-$100k/yr, 60-hrs/wk, nonstop travel, VERY prestigious. The other was $40k/yr, 40-hr/wk, no travel, less prestige, HOWEVER it was only 6-7 months of work contiguous (though the healthcare extended year-round!).
So, I took the lower paying position. I now make ~$50k/yr from that job, and the hours per week are fewer because I've had years to improve my efficiency. Sometimes, I take a few weeks of freelance work in my off months (Spring & Summer) to diversify my skills and maintain my contacts. I've also taken a creative writing course, a trapeze class, a 3-wk trip to Europe, started writing a text book, improved my cooking/baking skills, volunteered with my union, my finances are a well-oiled machine... etc. etc. Anything I can think of doing, I have the time to pursue with focus. I LOVE my life!
I'm not FI, but I project I can fully retire at 62. If my husband continues working past 2019, my retirement will move earlier and earlier.
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So, I'm taking the summer off to visit relatives, do volunteer work, take a couple short classes for interest, and decompress. I'm excited to figure out the next part of my journey! Actually, perhaps I will start a journal now . . .
Oh, please do! Good for you!! I'll bet the summer just flies by.
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That is my plan. Semi retire in the next 3 years. The goal is to work 8-10 days a month till I get sick of working. Hope the markets play along with my plan.
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Our initial plan was to hit 50% FI and for both of us to get part time jobs and simply downshift to enjoy life a bit more. We wanted to make enough with part time jobs to not touch the stache, so it could grow until we were FI. That didn't happen, but we did pass the 50% FI mark last year. At this point my wife is working a less stressful full time job and I'm not working a paying job but I take care of all house related work so we can enjoy the nights and weekends together. We are able to maintain a 50% savings rate with only one of us working. We will go back to the original plan if she decides this plan isn't working.
Our plans have changed multiple times, you just need to be ready to adapt and jump on the opportunities that are presented to you.
After Camp Mustache this last weekend, she might be thinking about changing plans again and getting out of full time work. No matter which plan we choose, I'm sure it will be awesome.
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I retired at 47 from the service.
Took a year off to travel do what I want sorta thing.
Reality is most of my close friends & family work.
My aging mom keeps me close by to help out so I re-entered the workforce & do side gigs, photography with a tour company.
Pretty soon it will more fun side gigs. That is my goal anyway.
Full of Happiness with a sprinkle of life on life terms every so often.
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I go back and forth on this one.
I have decided that I am going to be done with full time employment at 40. If I have enough to full FIRE I will, If not I will take some of my post tax savings and pay off my mortgage which will have about 8 years left. That way I can jump into a part time gig to cover my low cost lifestyle until I can FIRE.
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I mainly want options. If I decide to keep working, I want it to be on my terms and not someone else's. I expect I will do some sort of work for pay after RE, but it will be a "get to" not a "have to".
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Already semi-retired!
In 2007, I was making ~$30k/yr as a freelancer, and I was up for two permanent positions. One was somewhere between $75k-$100k/yr, 60-hrs/wk, nonstop travel, VERY prestigious. The other was $40k/yr, 40-hr/wk, no travel, less prestige, HOWEVER it was only 6-7 months of work contiguous (though the healthcare extended year-round!).
So, I took the lower paying position. I now make ~$50k/yr from that job, and the hours per week are fewer because I've had years to improve my efficiency. Sometimes, I take a few weeks of freelance work in my off months (Spring & Summer) to diversify my skills and maintain my contacts. I've also taken a creative writing course, a trapeze class, a 3-wk trip to Europe, started writing a text book, improved my cooking/baking skills, volunteered with my union, my finances are a well-oiled machine... etc. etc. Anything I can think of doing, I have the time to pursue with focus. I LOVE my life!
I'm not FI, but I project I can fully retire at 62. If my husband continues working past 2019, my retirement will move earlier and earlier.
That sounds amazing - what's your line of work?
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My wife and I both average about 20 hours a week. We both scaled back by about 50% a little over a year ago. My wife consistently works 20 hours a week. I actually work 4 days a week (32 hours), but for only 34 weeks out of the year (academic year). This averages to about 20 hours a week.
Based on our current lifestyle we are not super motivated to retire. We pretty much get to do what ever we want. We have two rental houses that have done pretty well, but currently rent as our primary residence. We need to save for about 2 more years before we can afford to buy another house. That is only major motivation at the moment. However, if it takes 3 years, instead of 2, it's not that big of a deal.
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This was my plan. I was single until I was 54, was never a super high wage earner and lived in a High COLA. I did.not.love what I was doing and wanted OUT.
However, my Inner Bag Lady (IBL) was convinced I'd never find well-paid work again if I quit too soon. I was trying to wait until Obamacare started in 2014 for healthcare, which was the only missing piece of my puzzle.
Kind of Completely out of the blue, I started dating someone and we fell madly in love and got married. When we combined finances, we realized that we were well over "the number", so I pulled the cord. I haven't looked back since. I joke that I married him for his healthcare and he says he married me for the... well, nevermind.
I realize this may not a common route to FIRE, but my point is that if you are within 75-80% or more of your number, I'd consider trying to make it across the finish line now so you never have to wrestle with your IBL (or IB Person) or even worse, be forced to look for again when you don't want to.
If you are far from your number and you have confidence in your ability to make what you have stretch, plus you have an in-demand skill set, hell YES, take a sabbatical or semi-retire if you want. You could end up like that black-belt mustachian Spartana, and never go back to work.
My IBL is convinced I'll be unemployable at 32 already. I don't think I'll pull the plug on the big-paying job for something less stressful until I'm at around 650K (alone), which should keep my IBL silent. But who knows. She's crazy.
I suppose I could try for one more year (and another 120K in savings), but I'm not convinced I will be employable at this for that long (this is actually based on real numbers, and not my IBL).
I've worked nearly 9 years as an attorney in biglaw, and I am ready to peace out of there. I regret not leaving a few years ago when I started getting bullied, manipulated, and set up to fail (I guess that's all kinda the same thing) by a very unhappy partner, but I stuck through it and outlasted her. Nevertheless, my department has changed substantially, particularly over the last 1 1/2 years, and not for the better (other than shedding the bully). I'm so ready to not have the constant pressure and extreme stress anymore. But at 34 years old and single, I would rather transition into another, more balanced job. I don't consider myself FI, but certainly secure enough to not worry about taking a break, even an extended break if need be. So, I'm taking the summer off to visit relatives, do volunteer work, take a couple short classes for interest, and decompress. I'm excited to figure out the next part of my journey! Actually, perhaps I will start a journal now . . .
Congrats. Do start a new journal!
With the exception of one woman (who I hope to never work with again), I'm in the weird position of actually genuinely liking my coworkers as people, despite the job being brutal, arbitrary, etc sometimes. I think I might try to make a switch to project work or so as a seventh year, but who knows if that's possible. I think I will have in house opportunities open, as well (in my corporate sub-area, people usually go in house after sixth year or so), but they are not much of a lifestyle improvement, as far as I can tell. I've had two (of ~16) coworkers leave for industry in-house jobs and come BACK within 12 months.
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I was granted a half time version of my full time job with benefits in March of this year. I think it's grand! If you think they might rather have you half time than lose you completely, you might try asking.
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4 years ago at 53 and 58 my DH and i decided to enjoy semi-retirement. It looks different all the time. For him he sometimes consults f.t. for awhile and then does not work at all. Right now he delivers flowers for 8 hours/week for fun. I teach an online uni course and do a little consulting in my field. When were retired completely we got bored after 7 months.
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I'm at 20 hours/week as a freelancer and my SO does 30 hours as an hourly employee.
A downside of having a job: vacations are standardized. While my vacations are determined by me, within reason, my SO's vacations are determined by the office. This means that travel is restricted to when the office is closed (it's a small medical practice). Traveling when everyone else is traveling is a real bummer -- hotels/airbnb are full, reward flights are taken, and it's crowded.
It's great that we're not spending out of the stash but the time constraints are growing more and more annoying. I'll go full ER later this year, probably at the end of summer.
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We can travel whenever we want as long as I have internet to teach my class. The people I consult with I just give them the dates I am gone and they don't refer any clients.
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Already semi-retired!
In 2007, I was making ~$30k/yr as a freelancer, and I was up for two permanent positions. One was somewhere between $75k-$100k/yr, 60-hrs/wk, nonstop travel, VERY prestigious. The other was $40k/yr, 40-hr/wk, no travel, less prestige, HOWEVER it was only 6-7 months of work contiguous (though the healthcare extended year-round!).
So, I took the lower paying position. I now make ~$50k/yr from that job, and the hours per week are fewer because I've had years to improve my efficiency. Sometimes, I take a few weeks of freelance work in my off months (Spring & Summer) to diversify my skills and maintain my contacts. I've also taken a creative writing course, a trapeze class, a 3-wk trip to Europe, started writing a text book, improved my cooking/baking skills, volunteered with my union, my finances are a well-oiled machine... etc. etc. Anything I can think of doing, I have the time to pursue with focus. I LOVE my life!
I'm not FI, but I project I can fully retire at 62. If my husband continues working past 2019, my retirement will move earlier and earlier.
That sounds amazing - what's your line of work?
Arts & Entertainment.
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Now that I'm done with additional prof.development, I've started taking a 2 month break / vacation each year, starting this summer. Does that count?
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I've been working part-time for 21 years, which started out as a temporary move to look after the kids when they were very young. I ended up a singe mum and I liked downshifting so much I've stayed part-time ever since and a few years ago decided I'd declare I was semi-retired. Being a latecomer to financial intelligence, I'm still stashin, but will fully retire in 2018, age 60.
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I realize this may not a common route to FIRE, but my point is that if you are within 75-80% or more of your number, I'd consider trying to make it across the finish line now so you never have to wrestle with your IBL (or IB Person) or even worse, be forced to look for again when you don't want to.
This is me. I'm 40 now, will be 41 when I semi-retire. I could have gone another 1-2 years at my current job to reach full FI, and I seriously considered it. But you know what? Life is too short to waste it killing myself to retire early. What's the point? I don't hate my current job, but it is very stressful; I don't like the city I currently live in; and I face every work day feeling kind of icky and wishing I didn't have to go in. Since deciding to leave and setting a quit date, I've been enjoying the countdown, and I have a better attitude because I know that a year from now, x or y nuisance isn't going to be my problem any more..
The other thing I realized is that full retirement would likely leave me lonely and bored. I'm single with no family, and I'm type A; I like having goals to work toward. So my plan is to change fields, continue working PT for the next several years, and maybe fully retire at 50. Or not, if I find something I love to do and I want to keep doing it. I've never had a job I really loved, but I'm open to that possibility. :)
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(Posted this elsewhere in a parallel thread...)
My SO and I are planning on working in our respective fields for decades on a part time basis starting in a few years (mid/late 30s). We're not currently "fully FI" and I doubt we will be when we reduce our hours, but we have enough saved up that we could never add to our savings again and be comfortably retired in our mid 50s. That means we need only to earn enough each year to cover our expenses, which is a pretty low target to hit.
So why do it this way?
i) We both enjoy our careers (academia and environmental research) but don't want to spend the 50-75hr/week that many do.
ii) Family. If/when we have kids we both want to spend more time with them than our parents were able to. Also, we want to spend time with our aging parents, siblings and nieces/nephews.
iii) health. We are happier and healthier when we have more free time
iv) work-life balance. I believe in the things I do for work, but it's not all I am.
v) cost savings. We hope to mostly or completely eliminated child-care expenses, and be able to do many of the things people otherwise outsource because of time.
How will it work?
Mathematically: We're about 1/4 of the way to our "FI number" right now. That means we'll hit our "number" when our 'stache doubles twice. If we just leave that money alone that will happen in 21 years with 7% real returns, 24 years with 6% returns and 29 years with 5% returns.* Any of those would be fine by us, and has us retiring long before we could collect SS. More realistically we would continue to add to our tax-advantaged accounts. Even under pretty pessimistic projections (sub 5% real returns) we'd hit FI by our early/mid 50s.
Practically: since we work in research there's a fair bit of flexibility each semester and field season. A typical 9-5, 40hr/week worker works just over 2,000 hours/year and has about 103 days off (weekends and holidays). If we each worked full time one semester (fall or spring), part time another (fall or spring) and took off the summer session we'd work about 1,200 hours and have around 190 days off. Our combined pay would be more than enough to cover our living expenses + allow us to continue contributing to retirement accounts. We could stagger who's working full time, evening out our monhtly paychecks and also ensuring that one of us was working only 2 days a week and able to cover most of the home/parenting duties. We'd also have about 6 weeks off each summer to spend together.
All of this we've modeled after other academic couples who have chosen this work/life balance.
*yes, returns are a simplification, but fairly conservative from historical data.
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That sounds like a pretty solidly thought through choice, nereo.
My dear husband (who pissed away the last 15 years of his life, financially) has some catch up to do, but I think in some single digit number of years I'll try to find some project-based work that lets me earn enough for my share of (childcare + living expenses) + maybe 10K in retirement savings, and begin coasting a bit as my stash grows. I have about 300K now (including home equity), and would probably begin coasting around 500K. I have to look in to the project-based work more, I think it'd be cool to average 20 hours a week, but maybe do a full time project then take a month off, etc. I'm not sure what's feasible yet.
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My plan all along has been to switch over to playing poker full-time once I reach FI in about 12 years. But lately I've been thinking if I can actually make enough each year to make my living expenses, I could switch over in 8 years or so and just let my nest egg grow. Problem is my local poker market is kind of small, and I don't know if I'd want to be a pro here or not.
I think I could actually make a decent living in a bigger market like Vegas once I build my bankroll up high enough (should be in another3 years). Problem is I really can't leave while my mother is still alive since my brother does not live here either.
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My plan all along has been to switch over to playing poker full-time once I reach FI in about 12 years.
[snip]
I find this fascinating. Most people I meet who want to play serious poker do so because they think they can win big money (or at least win more than they could doing something else). But you are proposing doing this post FI, which indicates you don't need to win at all, and just not loose badly.
What's the allure to playing professional poker if not for the money? The challenge? The love of the game?
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I'd like to do this also. I'm a tax man so I would hope that I could get a seasonal gig from January-April to cover expenses with a half-stache growing along side it. This would be especially easy if I could get my own clients and charge a full hourly rate, but even working for someone for a few months would probably get it done. Coasting for 9 months a year sounds like a lot of fun.
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I absolutely love several things about the game and average playing about 20 hrs/wk over the year.
In no particular order:
I love the social aspect of the game. It gets me out of the house (I'm single w/ no kids). I have other things I do: go to ballgames or concerts with friends, go on long bike rides, plus the reading, playing video games or watching the occasional Netflix show. But since I gave up boozing 6 years ago, I'm not really into meeting up with people at bars or parties. When I show up, there's usually several other people at the table that I need from playing with and am able to joke around and have a good time, while trying to take each others money.
The intellectual / mental challenge of the game. Poker is a very complex game the more you get involved with it. The cards don't matter as much as many people would believe. The key to the game is learning how each of your opponents plays. And then coming up with different strategies to exploit their weaknesses. Older people are really tight (generally) and do not like to call big bets without the best hand. When an obvious draw comes in, many pots can be stolen with big bluffs. That's just one example. The psychological aspect of the game is big too: tilt. Knowing when your opponent is on tilt and playing recklessly. If I see an opponent is on tilt, I will absolutely raise to get everyone else out of the pot. I want to be playing that person one-on-one while they are playing sub-otimally. Also, I think one of my strengths is that I tilt less than other players. If I lose a giant pot where I was an 80% favorite to win, I realize that I am still going to lose that pot one out of five times. I am able to shrug it off knowing that the math all works out in the long run. Many other players completely lose their cool and will lose the rest of their money.
I basically love to think about the game on all levels, replay hands that I have played and think about different lines I could have taken against that particular opponent. I really need to set some time aside and use some of the software I have to really go deeper into my off-table study. I can input the a particular flop that hits and then input the types of starting hands my opponent is likely to play and then I can see how often they have a made hand, a draw, or complete trash on that flop. That should tell me how often I should be bluffing them or calling them or what not.
I'm pretty sure I could make at least as much from poker as I do my real job if I lived in Vegas. But, I do not want to pack up and move while my mom is still around (she's 70 and very large, she is going to start having more and more health problems). And I'm still 3 or 4 years away from grinding my bankroll up to a level I'd be comfortable being a pro with. If I were to actually play for a living, I'd want a very large bankroll just so that the psychology doesn't mess with me if I go on a losing streak. Losing streaks are easy to handle when poker is a money making hobby. How would I react to one if I was supporting myself with the game? I see a lot of kids trying to be a pro at the small stakes and they absolutely are always stressed out. I'd want to play at higher stakes and with a really large bankroll to take that stress out of the equation.
If my mom were to actually die 5 years from now when I have the sizable bankroll, would I actually just switch careers then? I'm fairly risk averse. I know that if I were to do it for a couple of years, it would be hard to reenter the workforce (I'm currently 44). But I'm also getting burned out on corporate life (I'm a business analyst in a software dev group).
But part of the reason I want to do it post FI is that I want to do a lot of traveling, particularly out west. Growing up, every summer we'd take a 2-4 week vacation to different parts of the country. By the time I'd graduated HS, I had at least driven through 45 of the states and been to Canad twice and in Mexico for 3 hours. Maybe at the time, I didn't appreciate everything as much as I would now. So I really want to do a lot of time driving around and camping/hiking in all of the cool spots in this country. I also think it would be cool to travel around to a lot of the cool concert clubs across the country and see some of my favorite acts that way instead of just seeing them at home. I imagine along the trip, I could hit many of the casinos along the way for a night or two and earn some money as well as playing when I'm home.
Guess I've rambled enough here. In short, I'd like to be able to see and do a lot of what I want to do and still make money playing a game I am obsessed with. Make sure I never run out of money even if the worst scenarios happen in life and hopefully be able to leave a good amount behind to an organization or two I care about.
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Poker is indeed an obsession. I probably play way too much myself. Its funny, I make a hell of a lot more money per hour working than I do playing poker, yet I still play because it is fun for me. Sounds like you have progressed to a point of being able to read your players better. I am still working on this. Thanks for the lesson above. Definitely appreciated it.
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My DH and I are both semi-retired (age 44 and 36, respectively). DH went 3 days/wk in 2013 after parental leave and I started half time (7days on call/7days off call rotation) at the beginning of this year.
At the beginning of this year, I was so burned out that I initially thought that I would completely retire by ~2024 (when we'll be comfortably FI), but I'm finding that this amount of work is a really good balance. These last six months I have actually enjoyed going to work - even LOOKED FORWARD to it!! I'm remembering why I chose this profession in the first place!
I am so pleased with this balance that I may continue it longer, depending upon how I feel in 2024... maybe go down to 1/3 or 1/4 time, or maybe still half time if I can find a way to avoid night call.
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My DH and I are both semi-retired (age 44 and 36, respectively). DH went 3 days/wk in 2013 after parental leave and I started half time (7days on call/7days off call rotation) at the beginning of this year.
At the beginning of this year, I was so burned out that I initially thought that I would completely retire by ~2024 (when we'll be comfortably FI), but I'm finding that this amount of work is a really good balance. These last six months I have actually enjoyed going to work - even LOOKED FORWARD to it!! I'm remembering why I chose this profession in the first place!
I am so pleased with this balance that I may continue it longer, depending upon how I feel in 2024... maybe go down to 1/3 or 1/4 time, or maybe still half time if I can find a way to avoid night call.
That's wonderful, and it's what I envision for myself too (although I am retraining for a different field as well). What field are you in?
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I am so pleased with this balance that I may continue it longer, depending upon how I feel in 2024... maybe go down to 1/3 or 1/4 time, or maybe still half time if I can find a way to avoid night call.
That's wonderful, and it's what I envision for myself too (although I am retraining for a different field as well). What field are you in?
I'm a Registered Midwife. You?
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I have been working 24 hrs a week for 3 years (plus 10 weeks off a year ago, and minus a few months when I switched jobs and had to start out working full time). Right now I am trying to decide if I need to add more hours. We are 73% of the way to FI. Estimating we will hit FI between 2.5 years and 3.5. We ended up taking on some debt for a class I wanted to take, and house repairs, and to put in the market. So... Now I am thinking I should really try and make some money... I really don't want to work more! I love my free time! But it is good to have options.
If I worked full-time, we might hit FI 6 months earlier. If it cut the time in half, it would be a different conversation. But I don't think that is worth it for me. A 3 year time frame is too far out. DW works full time and makes more than I do, hourly. The other piece is that it is not the money only that is keeping us in this current place. We can't start doing significant travel until at least one or two of our dogs pass. And that may be 5 years or more (they are 8.9. And 10). So we will probably continue part-time work (at fewer hours than I do now) past our FI date. Our plan will be to just make enough for living expenses. We have a 50% savings rate now, so living expenses will be fine on 1/2 time.
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I'll join though I'm not sure if I've semi-retired or not....
About 6 years ago, After paying off the house we're raising our kids in and having enough put away that would cover the most basic of needs at 4% (but definitely less than I would want to live off of going forward), I started a business that some weeks/months/years has a ton of business and some times it goes quiet. The last couple of years have been very profitable per hour worked and the hours have increased greatly, though still goes quiet at times (last 3 months have been a real summer vacation). I'm working from home usually with people I like and doing something I think I'm pretty good at, so its not a chore except for the very busy times (which I kind of just have to roll with due to there being one primary client... but having that primary client means I never spend a minute looking for new ones or wondering if someone is going to pay, a huge benefit). I've now reached a more reasonable number at 4% if things tank now. The plan now is to keep going as long as the client is interested and it continues to be very profitable. I guess I could cross a higher number I have in mind first or the big client leaves me first, but as long as the working situation is fine and profitable I don't see a reason to change things. I am obviously a candidate for the OMY problem but I'll worry about that next year ;-)
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I'll join though I'm not sure if I've semi-retired or not....
About 6 years ago, After paying off the house we're raising our kids in and having enough put away that would cover the most basic of needs at 4% (but definitely less than I would want to live off of going forward), I started a business that some weeks/months/years has a ton of business and some times it goes quiet. The last couple of years have been very profitable per hour worked and the hours have increased greatly, though still goes quiet at times (last 3 months have been a real summer vacation). I'm working from home usually with people I like and doing something I think I'm pretty good at, so its not a chore except for the very busy times (which I kind of just have to roll with due to there being one primary client... but having that primary client means I never spend a minute looking for new ones or wondering if someone is going to pay, a huge benefit). I've now reached a more reasonable number at 4% if things tank now. The plan now is to keep going as long as the client is interested and it continues to be very profitable. I guess I could cross a higher number I have in mind first or the big client leaves me first, but as long as the working situation is fine and profitable I don't see a reason to change things. I am obviously a candidate for the OMY problem but I'll worry about that next year ;-)
That sounds awesome, good job!
I feel like to really wrap my head around what consulting or some alternate career choice would look like for me, I would need serious time away from work to pursue other interests and see what sticks. I'm not rushing out of my current job, but it would be good to keep alternatives in mind.
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I am pleased to report that, even with the Brexit dip, I am still well ahead of schedule in terms of savings. And I'm starting to interview for semi-retirement job. I've given unofficial notice to my current boss, but will give official notice in the fall.
I was off over the Fourth weekend, and could have used a lot more time to work on things I wanted to do. I have a list, kind of like how some people have a bucket list for traveling. But mine is more than just traveling. It's also a list of things I want to learn to do, like make sushi or write a novel. And a very, very long list of books I want to read that won't get finished even if I lived to be 100 and did nothing but read, eat, and sleep. Speaking of which, I do so wish someone would figure out a way to make sleeping optional....
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And a very, very long list of books I want to read that won't get finished even if I lived to be 100 and did nothing but read, eat, and sleep.
To add to your problem, I imagine several other worthy books will be published between now and when you turn 100, which you'll need to add to your list!
Speaking of which, I do so wish someone would figure out a way to make sleeping optional....
I agree, though actually my preference would be if we could make days be like 30 hours long, instead of 24, so that I could still get just as much work done every day, add more fun, and get a full 8 hours of sleep :-)
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Can I play in this group?! I've been spouting off all the benefits of SemiRE around the forum whenever a topic allowed. My plan is to work enough to cover expenses, maybe more in recessions/down market years. I run at a 65-80 percent savings rate, depending on the year, so I really only need about 75 percent of my current income. I'm in the medical field, per diem and travel opportunities are bountiful. The plan is a combination of travel work for 13 weeks out of the year (one standard travel contract length) or a few shifts a month per diem if I ever settle down.
I'm a numbers guy and have run them extensively. Most recent FireSim had me at 100% and a monte carlo at about 85% if I pull the plug today. However, that's counting on social security and minimal capital drawdown until about 60 (which is the plan). I would like more wiggle room than that, so I'm shooting for 2 more years. That'll allow for more capital drawdown if I see fit.
And I'm starting to interview for semi-retirement job. I've given unofficial notice to my current boss, but will give official notice in the fall.
Way to take the plunge! I can't wait to hear how it's working out for you!
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Can I play in this group?! I've been spouting off all the benefits of SemiRE around the forum whenever a topic allowed. My plan is to work enough to cover expenses, maybe more in recessions/down market years. I run at a 65-80 percent savings rate, depending on the year, so I really only need about 75 percent of my current income. I'm in the medical field, per diem and travel opportunities are bountiful. The plan is a combination of travel work for 13 weeks out of the year (one standard travel contract length) or a few shifts a month per diem if I ever settle down.
I'm a numbers guy and have run them extensively. Most recent FireSim had me at 100% and a monte carlo at about 85% if I pull the plug today. However, that's counting on social security and minimal capital drawdown until about 60 (which is the plan). I would like more wiggle room than that, so I'm shooting for 2 more years. That'll allow for more capital drawdown if I see fit.
Holly crap, I could have written that above post about me except I don't think I am going to travel just work part time in the local area but now that you mention it, traveling sounds like a great idea though still part time at each location. I am also looking for 2.5 more years. In 2.5 years as long as the market plays nice we will have enough to fire with a relatively modest lifestyle. Since we enjoy traveling and and still need to save for kids college, I will work part time just to cover living expenses and allow the nest egg to grow on its own. We are currently living on 25% of my income though because of taxes we are only saving 45-50%
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A sabbatical sounds nice. Right now, I think I can give myself a part time job fixing up the house. But I'm currently working part time and finding myself a bit bored around the house (but not free enough to just read books all day either). Maybe I need to take a year off to recharge and then see what happens. If nothing happens, then that's fine too.
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I have found a lot of inspiration in MMM over the past year. So much inspiration that I just resigned from my corporate gig yesterday! I'm planning to take 6 months to a year off to hang out with my family and do house projects. Then I'm thinking of contract work. So excited to shake things up a bit! Love the idea of semi RE for the next few decades!
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Can I play in this group?! I've been spouting off all the benefits of SemiRE around the forum whenever a topic allowed. My plan is to work enough to cover expenses, maybe more in recessions/down market years. I run at a 65-80 percent savings rate, depending on the year, so I really only need about 75 percent of my current income. I'm in the medical field, per diem and travel opportunities are bountiful. The plan is a combination of travel work for 13 weeks out of the year (one standard travel contract length) or a few shifts a month per diem if I ever settle down.
I'm a numbers guy and have run them extensively. Most recent FireSim had me at 100% and a monte carlo at about 85% if I pull the plug today. However, that's counting on social security and minimal capital drawdown until about 60 (which is the plan). I would like more wiggle room than that, so I'm shooting for 2 more years. That'll allow for more capital drawdown if I see fit.
And I'm starting to interview for semi-retirement job. I've given unofficial notice to my current boss, but will give official notice in the fall.
Way to take the plunge! I can't wait to hear how it's working out for you!
Yes, of course! You'll maybe be glad to know that you have inspired me to look for some short term contracts myself, except that I am thinking I would probably like to work abroad for a while, like for a period of several months. But I've thought about doing a similar thing in the US and then going abroad in between contracts too, starting in cheaper countries like Latin America to help keep initial costs low.
I can't remember if I told you that I'd be quitting in March, but that's the plan, followed by some travel and then start SR job next summer. Will not be dipping into my capital at all, and in fact, should continue to accumulate more at a fairly decent rate.
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http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/planning-for-a-6-withdrawal-rate-am-i-crazy/50/
I'm providing this link to another thread. There is a spreadsheet created by Forumm in there which is very pertinent to the SemiRE. Essentially he looks at taking only periodic withdrawals at higher WR's. Here is a quote from that thread from another contributor that describes it very succinctly.
...So if I'm understanding this (using the second page), this is saying if you withdraw 6% (6k from a 100k portfolio) over a 30 year period whenever the market wasn't negative the year before, historically you'd have withdrawn 6k at least 18 times, up to 25 times (median of 22 times). Out of 59 30-year periods, 3 times you'd have run out of money, but 56 times you'd have some money left, and the median amount you'd have left, in real dollars, would be $379,731?...
Based on the data provided in this awesome spreadsheet, a SemiRE could have only 16X spending saved and pretty safely assume they would only have to work enough to cover expenses for 5-12 years of a 30 year period. This person would still likely have a healthy increase in stashe as well.
For me, this equates to having to work 4 mos of the year (to cover expenses) in 20-40 percent of years until social security kicks in to carry the income burden and still maintain a high success rate. Probably even less as there is a good probability my stashe will grow to 25X spending well before, hence eliminating the need to halt withdrawals in down years.
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Very interesting, since I'm currently at 6.38% WR with a plan to fully retire in just over 2 years. I'll be 60, so probably only need to cover 30 years max, 40 yrs possible but unlikely. I've always stated I was aiming for 4%WR, but more recently have been thinking of a higher WR rate given my age. I also have our countries Old Age Pension/Medicare as a bit of a safety net, and additional equity in my house.
I am now thinking about using Forummm's method of allocating buckets and applying different WRs. But unlike Forummm, I prefer to plan this way:
Basic expenses @4%WR, and optional spending @6%. This would mean I'd never starve, and a few years out of the 30 I would have no optional spending. The optional bucket for me is mainly to have some wriggle room for the occasional luxury and unforeseen expenses or sleep money.
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Are either of you considering PT work for a while to cover current expenses, while just not adding to savings any more? My thought is this: if you have been saving a large part of your income (especially if over 50%), then you can easily afford to work less/earn less simply by decreasing your SR or eliminating savings altogether. Taken to its extreme, you could simply earn just enough to pay for your current year's living expenses (or even for current expenses minus whatever the 4% return from your portfolio happens to be). The PT work would increase your odds of success by giving your portfolio more time to grow, as well as by providing for fewer years of retirement life expectancy that must be funded from it.
Truth be told, I don't feel very comfortable about a 6% withdrawal rate. Then again, I am projecting for a 60 year retirement life expectancy, which is twice as long as the periods that the Trinity Study looked at to establish the 4% rule. So I do think some skepticism and conservatism are warranted in my case.
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Are either of you considering PT work for a while to cover current expenses, while just not adding to savings any more? My thought is this: if you have been saving a large part of your income (especially if over 50%), then you can easily afford to work less/earn less simply by decreasing your SR or eliminating savings altogether.
This is inherent in our strategy. Not only will not (needing to) save money drastically improve our cash-flow, but we would save thousands on taxes by staying in the lowest tax bracket (and using our standard deductions).
Truth be told, I don't feel very comfortable about a 6% withdrawal rate. Then again, I am projecting for a 60 year retirement life expectancy, which is twice as long as the periods that the Trinity Study looked at to establish the 4% rule. So I do think some skepticism and conservatism are warranted in my case.
There's always bootstrapping..
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Are either of you considering PT work for a while to cover current expenses, while just not adding to savings any more? My thought is this: if you have been saving a large part of your income (especially if over 50%), then you can easily afford to work less/earn less simply by decreasing your SR or eliminating savings altogether. Taken to its extreme, you could simply earn just enough to pay for your current year's living expenses (or even for current expenses minus whatever the 4% return from your portfolio happens to be). The PT work would increase your odds of success by giving your portfolio more time to grow, as well as by providing for fewer years of retirement life expectancy that must be funded from it.
Truth be told, I don't feel very comfortable about a 6% withdrawal rate. Then again, I am projecting for a 60 year retirement life expectancy, which is twice as long as the periods that the Trinity Study looked at to establish the 4% rule. So I do think some skepticism and conservatism are warranted in my case.
I already work part-time ( 3 days a week), thats why I define myself as semi retired. I save about 60%. In theory I could work 1 day a week and cover expenses, but in my industry the least I could probably work is 2 days a week and thats pushing the friendship. There is a lot of credentialling to maintain and its not possible on 1 day a week. Once I'm out, I'm out.
I had thought of picking up some other work from time to time. To be honest at 60, I'm not sure I'll want to, and I'm not sure what would be available. Its an option I comfort myself with if ever OMY sets in.
If I had a 60 year time frame I wouldn't touch 6%, unless I was definitely planning to do some work along the way.
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Are either of you considering PT work for a while to cover current expenses, while just not adding to savings any more? My thought is this: if you have been saving a large part of your income (especially if over 50%), then you can easily afford to work less/earn less simply by decreasing your SR or eliminating savings altogether. Taken to its extreme, you could simply earn just enough to pay for your current year's living expenses (or even for current expenses minus whatever the 4% return from your portfolio happens to be). The PT work would increase your odds of success by giving your portfolio more time to grow, as well as by providing for fewer years of retirement life expectancy that must be funded from it.
Truth be told, I don't feel very comfortable about a 6% withdrawal rate. Then again, I am projecting for a 60 year retirement life expectancy, which is twice as long as the periods that the Trinity Study looked at to establish the 4% rule. So I do think some skepticism and conservatism are warranted in my case.
I already work part-time ( 3 days a week), thats why I define myself as semi retired. I save about 60%. In theory I could work 1 day a week and cover expenses, but in my industry the least I could probably work is 2 days a week and thats pushing the friendship. There is a lot of credentialling to maintain and its not possible on 1 day a week. Once I'm out, I'm out.
I had thought of picking up some other work from time to time. To be honest at 60, I'm not sure I'll want to, and I'm not sure what would be available. Its an option I comfort myself with if ever OMY sets in.
If I had a 60 year time frame I wouldn't touch 6%, unless I was definitely planning to do some work along the way.
Similar boat here. Unfortunately, going PT has obliterated any remaining desire to do this work. I'm looking to get out soon, SWR be dammed, even though I have a theoretically perfect arrangement.
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Dragoncar, have you heard of David Downie? He's an Aussie lawyer who made partner in a big firm in his 30s (v unusual) and then decided to get out. He's written a book Radical Immediate Retirement, which I haven't read, but there's a good podcast with him on radicalperbsonalfinance.com. He now writes a few children's books and a few other projects and lives quite modestly. Will give you itchy feet like nothing else.
PT actually is my work salvation - work is much more enjoyable because of it. I just want even more time to do my non-work life!
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DW and I are planning on "lifestyle optimizing" in Jan. We'd be at 4.79% WR if we earned nothing- our plan is to try to earn $20k a year which would drop us all the way down to a 3.4% WR. We own a couple rental homes, but aren't counting this income in the equation to give us a buffer for once we have kids. We'll probably travel 5 months out of the year, and have done well with Airbnb'ing our place over the last year when out of town, so that should continue to contribute a few bucks to the fund especially with a lot more availability.
When thinking of how to make the rest of the $20k though, i'm really having trouble mentally being jazzed about a job that drops my hourly rate from the ~$50/hr i basically make now, to $8 or $10/hr. It's almost like we'll both still have to work 40 hours a week to only make $20k with these new jobs. It's really hard not to fall into the OMY or OMM and then just mentally count those earnings towards future year 20k income requirements. Hoping to get into something that pays a little better, or is truly so fulfilling that i don't mind doing it quite a bit. The other hard part about many of these PT jobs is that they usually have some nights/weekend hours. I know i'm being picky but that's when all of our friends still doing the 9-5 will be available to hang out! Anyone else go through this?
Thanks!
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What about consulting p.t. in your fields so you are in charge of the pay and hours, etc?
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@ Cassie, I'm a physician, it doesn't work that way. Only locums and locums are the pits.
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I was recently reading about 2 doctors that were moms so both had been trying unsuccessfully to find p.t. work but could not. Then they found each other and shared a practice.
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Dragoncar, have you heard of David Downie? He's an Aussie lawyer who made partner in a big firm in his 30s (v unusual) and then decided to get out. He's written a book Radical Immediate Retirement, which I haven't read, but there's a good podcast with him on radicalperbsonalfinance.com. He now writes a few children's books and a few other projects and lives quite modestly. Will give you itchy feet like nothing else.
PT actually is my work salvation - work is much more enjoyable because of it. I just want even more time to do my non-work life!
Thanks, I'll check it out. My current WR wouldn't be too terrible, 4.5% so it wouldn't be "radical." I could easily get the WR below 4% by cutting out some admittedly frivolous expenses but I was trying out part time mostly to try to RE my wife faster and to see if it made everything tolerable (it didn't-- I still like the work but don't like having to be accessible to clients which doesn't go away when you are PT). For those in the legal industry, you know salaries are also going up which I think may paradoxically end my arrangement since it makes my value proposition worse.
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I was recently reading about 2 doctors that were moms so both had been trying unsuccessfully to find p.t. work but could not. Then they found each other and shared a practice.
I am already PT. The issue is the credentialing required is not possible working 1 day a week, which is all I need to cover expenses.
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This is pretty much what I do. Granted, I work full time hours so I wouldn't even consider myself semi-retired. But I chose a profession that would conform to my lifestyle, rather than the other way around (tried corporate life, couldn't stand it). I love my career and my freedom and yes it's possible but not easy to balance. It can be done though. For example, right now I'm in San Francisco for the week and since I have internet connectivity, I'm able to still work, but can explore SF by day.
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This has been my approach.
Rather than busting your arse until 35 or so (this forum) or 55 (most Aussies' dream) and then doing nothing afterwards... why not just work part-time your whole life?
My wife wants to do full-time paid work, so she is. I want to do part-time paid work while full-time fathering, so I am. Home business, kids can wander in, it's pretty relaxed.
I have told my clients: I love my work at 20hr pw. I might not love it at 40hr pw, and I would certainly hate it at 60hr pw.
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In the last 7-8 years or so, I've been on a part time schedule (by choice) for about 3 years. I'm in a professional career, so earn a good hourly wage. Working 70-80% of full time, at 70-80% wage, is a pretty sweet deal. The 70% schedule was especially sweet - alternating 3 and 4 day work weeks, with the same for weekend.
Next spring, things are going to slow down at work (delivery tempo on long lead capital goods) and pick up again in the fall. I might down shift over the summer to 50% P/T. I'll probably have to be at work at least 3 days a week, but 7-7-6 hours Tue-Thur wouldn't be so bad over the Pacific Northwest spring and summer.
By some measures I'm already FIRE - I have more than 25x my target retirement income, but I'd rather be conservative so I'm well on the way to 33x (e.g. 3% WR). Once I hit that, or get within 1-2x that, I could shift to a permanent P/T schedule and be quite happy. It would be a good transition.
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Today I'm at 84 weeks until the planned payoff of the mortgage. I'm hoping, but not certain to hit this goal as I am saving 50% of my net take home income after maxing out my 401k(pre take home). Once the mortgage is gone and my required cash flow is reduced I'm going to look at the situation again and see how 1) reduced work/income will affect my fire date 2) how I feel. I'm unfortunately staying full time until those 84 weeks are up. I could FIRE in ~7 years with ~30k income using a 4% withdrawal rate. Realistically my expenses are not currently anywhere near that once the mortgage is eliminated. Additionally, I expect my savings rate to increase once the mortgage is paid for an 7 years is based on my current savings rate. I guesstimate current expenses are more like ~10k but I expect to spend more as I work less and have more time to do fun things. I've guesstimated a minimal I could deal with life, do fun stuff locally and feel OK budget as being in the ~$14k range. Adding in international travel into the annual budget begins to bump the budget very quickly past the $14k mark and depending on how you do it could eat up near infinite money (buy your own jet... )
I definitely plan to be easing into things by working 4 day weeks and taking longer vacations at some point as things get closer to see how that feels. 5 days is too much for me, but I can still tolerate it and am very risk averse so I want to get the mortgage paid while the getting is good and before robots and software automate all the jobs.
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We say we're semi retired too, good to find this thread and more like minded people. I'm still thinking I would like to be FIRE by approx 50 but currently at 40 (husbands 45) I work approx 24 hours a week in the academic year (30 weeks). My husband matches that with freelance work so we get to have a lot of time off over the year.
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I can work anywhere there is internet. I did last year on a cruise ship. I work about 10/hours a week except at certain times when I have midterms, finals or large papers/projects to grade. I only work 33 weeks/year. It is awesome!
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Yep, this is my tentative plan. My experience tells me I don't deal well without some sort of external structure, so not working at all is probably a bad idea. I could totally picture myself downshifting to a 20 hours a week job at Trader Joes or something. Like others in this thread said, once my mortgage is paid off, that becomes a possibility.
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Yep, this is my tentative plan. My experience tells me I don't deal well without some sort of external structure, so not working at all is probably a bad idea. I could totally picture myself downshifting to a 20 hours a week job at Trader Joes or something. Like others in this thread said, once my mortgage is paid off, that becomes a possibility.
Veering off topic a bit, but I see you're in MA, and I was a big TJ's fan when I lived there. It was one of the few things I really loved about day-to-day living in MA. We don't have one here, and I miss it. I wonder if they have an employee discount. If they do, that job really might be pretty awesome if you were doing it PT mostly for fun. I've also thought about working or volunteering at a library, since I love to read, or at a running store. Just wanted to say I appreciate this idea, since I hadn't thought about working PT at TJ's. The employees there did always seem like they were having a good time....
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Yep, this is my tentative plan. My experience tells me I don't deal well without some sort of external structure, so not working at all is probably a bad idea. I could totally picture myself downshifting to a 20 hours a week job at Trader Joes or something. Like others in this thread said, once my mortgage is paid off, that becomes a possibility.
Veering off topic a bit, but I see you're in MA, and I was a big TJ's fan when I lived there. It was one of the few things I really loved about day-to-day living in MA. We don't have one here, and I miss it. I wonder if they have an employee discount. If they do, that job really might be pretty awesome if you were doing it PT mostly for fun. I've also thought about working or volunteering at a library, since I love to read, or at a running store. Just wanted to say I appreciate this idea, since I hadn't thought about working PT at TJ's. The employees there did always seem like they were having a good time....
I also used to live in MA and loved TJ's. Thankfully, they also have them here in GA. No personal experience working there, but I've heard through word-of-mouth that it is actually a great place to work. Supposedly they pay the employees well, give them good benefits, and otherwise treat them well, also.
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Yep, this is my tentative plan. My experience tells me I don't deal well without some sort of external structure, so not working at all is probably a bad idea. I could totally picture myself downshifting to a 20 hours a week job at Trader Joes or something. Like others in this thread said, once my mortgage is paid off, that becomes a possibility.
Veering off topic a bit, but I see you're in MA, and I was a big TJ's fan when I lived there. It was one of the few things I really loved about day-to-day living in MA. We don't have one here, and I miss it. I wonder if they have an employee discount. If they do, that job really might be pretty awesome if you were doing it PT mostly for fun. I've also thought about working or volunteering at a library, since I love to read, or at a running store. Just wanted to say I appreciate this idea, since I hadn't thought about working PT at TJ's. The employees there did always seem like they were having a good time....
I also used to live in MA and loved TJ's. Thankfully, they also have them here in GA. No personal experience working there, but I've heard through word-of-mouth that it is actually a great place to work. Supposedly they pay the employees well, give them good benefits, and otherwise treat them well, also.
Wonder if anyone here works/worked at TJ's and can give us the scoop!
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http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/planning-for-a-6-withdrawal-rate-am-i-crazy/50/
I'm providing this link to another thread. There is a spreadsheet created by Forumm in there which is very pertinent to the SemiRE. Essentially he looks at taking only periodic withdrawals at higher WR's. Here is a quote from that thread from another contributor that describes it very succinctly.
...So if I'm understanding this (using the second page), this is saying if you withdraw 6% (6k from a 100k portfolio) over a 30 year period whenever the market wasn't negative the year before, historically you'd have withdrawn 6k at least 18 times, up to 25 times (median of 22 times). Out of 59 30-year periods, 3 times you'd have run out of money, but 56 times you'd have some money left, and the median amount you'd have left, in real dollars, would be $379,731?...
Based on the data provided in this awesome spreadsheet, a SemiRE could have only 16X spending saved and pretty safely assume they would only have to work enough to cover expenses for 5-12 years of a 30 year period. This person would still likely have a healthy increase in stashe as well.
For me, this equates to having to work 4 mos of the year (to cover expenses) in 20-40 percent of years until social security kicks in to carry the income burden and still maintain a high success rate. Probably even less as there is a good probability my stashe will grow to 25X spending well before, hence eliminating the need to halt withdrawals in down years.
Useful - thanks.
We are both going to ease into it in a couple years - primarily because we both love our jobs, the work, and the people. Then my spouse will go on my medical benefits so that helps the transition. As always - some insight provided here.
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Posting to join SRU. I'm planning on ditching my job very soon as every day is a struggle. Of course, the firehose of cash is keeping around for one more year...
I would love a PT gig that didn't have set hours. Like uber driving except not that. :)
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I'm glad I'm not the only one with this idea! Thanks mainly to CFiresim and MMM, I'm currently on year 2 of a five year plan: in four more years, I'm planning to have my mortgage paid off (with some outside help due to an inheritance) and have stashed away enough $$$ that I can reduce my day job to part-time, and do my art full time. (And let the part-time work/investments pick up the slack, if necessary, if art income can't fill the gap on my expenses.) I've never been a high income earner, and will still be working, but at least this I'll be prioritizing what I love to do rather than what I have to do.
I like to tell people that my end goal is to be a full-time artist, part-time cubicle-dweller, rather than the other way around. I'm tired of squeezing in art commissions, paperwork, shows, etc. around the edges of a 50 hour work week--I'm ready to get some of my time back!
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I'm moving in this direction over the next year (give or take a month). I'm currently working two contracts and plan to get out of one, which accounts for about 50% of our household income. The contract I'll keep is quite part time, maybe 20-30 hours per month and pays $25,000 per year. After a little detox time, I might pursue another $10,000-$20,000 in work, but I really need a break.
Part of me (that IBL!) is freaking out about this, but logically I know we'll be okay. DH will be 68 by then so we can claim his SS and begin to draw a little from the stash as needed. Once he turns 70 1/2 we'll be looking at minimum distributions from his IRA, so we'll have plenty to cover our basic lifestyle. I'm pretty much working to pad my own retirement and support our spendy lifestyle.
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Semi retired last year at age 43. It's been great so far !
During the busy seasons (Fall/Spring) I work 4 days a week/28 hrs. During the slow seasons (Winter/Summer) I work 3 days a week/21hrs.
Last year I took 7 weeks holiday and am going to try for 8 this year.
Figure I will keep this up for another year and a half and retire at 45. Hopefully not succumbing to OMY syndrome after that.
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Semi retired last year at age 43. It's been great so far !
During the busy seasons (Fall/Spring) I work 4 days a week/28 hrs. During the slow seasons (Winter/Summer) I work 3 days a week/21hrs.
Last year I took 7 weeks holiday and am going to try for 8 this year.
Figure I will keep this up for another year and a half and retire at 45. Hopefully not succumbing to OMY syndrome after that.
What are you doing 3-4 days a week w/ 7-8 weeks of holiday?!?
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What are you doing 3-4 days a week w/ 7-8 weeks of holiday?!?
I own my own company. My business partner and I just voluntarily did it. He is older than me, in his early fifties, so it is even more important to him. We are taking on less business because of it and subsequently earning less but that is the trade off. Lifestyle engineering is hard but at this phase in my life time > money.