@58 in Chicago and on fire to retire.

[CoolRich59]

I signed up a couple of weeks ago and so don't recall where I ran across this site, but am enjoying what I've read so far.

As for myself, I'm a corporate attorney (58) with a great wife (56) and we recently became empty-nesters. Recently, I had a situation at work that has lit a fire under me to get retired.

I won't bore you all with the details, but it was nothing earth shaking. I was working on another deal that was having the typical issues getting to close and the typical pressures to "make it happen". I'm sure lots of you can relate.

What was different this time was that I suddenly decided 'enough is enough'; I guess "flamed out" is the best way to describe it. Suddenly, I just did not care anymore.

Like I said, there was no drama, no meltdown, no scene. I kept working as if nothing had changed (in fact, the deal just closed yesterday), but I went home and told the wife: We are going to do whatever it takes to cut spending and increase saving so I can retire as soon as possible.

And that's why I'm here. We have done OK saving, but of course, could have done better. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful I'm less than 5 years from retiring and am laser focused on accelerating date (which is the reason I'm here! ).

[Blue Collar Guy]

Welcome, Im Glad you found a reason to retire early, you will be thrilled when you do.

[Mdlerth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 ...What was different this time was that I suddenly decided 'enough is enough'; I guess "flamed out" is the best way to describe it. Suddenly, I just did not care anymore...

+1

Like you, it's not that I hold the worst j*b in the whole world.

There's no heavy lifting. My current boss is a decent human being (they haven't all been). The paycheck is not spectacular but in 37 years it's never bounced.

It's just that I want NOT to have any j*b at all.

Had I gotten serious sooner, I could be long gone already. As it is, TMYs and I'm outta here.

Welcome to the board! I await your future posts with lively anticipation.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 I won't bore you all with the details, but it was nothing earth shaking. I was working on another deal that was having the typical issues getting to close and the typical pressures to "make it happen". I'm sure lots of you can relate.

Oh yeah. A very common story.

I call it maturity. Suddenly, one day you wake up and realize everyone's hair isn't on fire. That one last email doesn't have to be sent today. That deal can wait another day, etc., etc. It isn't all about what you do. The world will move on, and you and they will be fine with it. Really.

- Joe (where you are, but struggling with OMY)

[MBAustin]

Welcome CoolRich59! If you haven't found them already, we have a helpful list of things to think about leading up to that last day in the office:

Some Important Questions to Answer

Have you run retirement calculators such as FIREcalc (link at bottom of each page here)? That will give you an idea of when your target date might be.

Glad to have you join in here!

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 ... As for myself, I'm a corporate attorney (58) with a great wife (56) and we recently became empty-nesters. Recently, I had a situation at work that has lit a fire under me to get retired. ...

Welcome, Rich! Good luck on the plan.

I'm business litigator (57) and DW is OBG (56); we are out as of tomorrow afternoon. Big difference is that our youngest graduated from college 3 years ago--and we'd been planning to retire early for many years.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your savings mount with an empty nest. Subject to portfolio performance, you'll probably be in a position to retire much more quickly than you expect.

[Katiek]

Welcome. I'm sure you'll find lots of good information and helpful people here.

[rodi]

Welcome CoolRich59.

I was in a similar situation to you (albeit a bit younger) when I had an Ah-Ha moment... The Ah-Ha came when I realized that reducing spending (to save more) actually shrunk the size of the nest egg needed.

We'd been paying down our mortgage with extra principal, and maxing out our 401ks... but hadn't been saving much more than that... I ramped up our savings a bit more (which reduced our spending a bit more) and realized that we hadn't lost any quality of life... Little things like changing cell carriers, arguing down the price of cable, changing our landline to a cheap VOIP (magicjack)... we cut about $200 from our monthly budget... not a huge amount... but that inspired us to find other savings... All without making serious cuts to our lifestyle... As we spent less I realized we needed less to support our retired lifestyle... this, plus better than expected market returns allowed me to retire 3 years earlier than planned.

You'll get there. Most folks have a lot of fluff in their spending that can be trimmed to reach retirement sooner.

[CoolRich59]

Thank you everyone for your warm welcome and for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate all the responses and read them to my wife at dinner; it was very motivational reading.

While I enjoyed all the comments, if you will bear with me, there are a couple I would like to respond to:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBAustin Welcome CoolRich59! If you haven't found them already, we have a helpful list of things to think about leading up to that last day in the office: Some Important Questions to Answer

Wow. Thanks. What a downer.

Just kidding of course. But, reading this list was very sobering - and very necessary. As I said, I am "on fire to retire" and that could easily "snowball" into a rush to retirement. But, now more than ever, I need to be judicious before making such a momentous decision.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2017ish we are out as of tomorrow afternoon.

Do you mean you are retiring tomorrow? If so, that is terrific! Congratulations!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi We'd been paying down our mortgage with extra principal, and maxing out our 401ks... but hadn't been saving much more than that... I ramped up our savings a bit more (which reduced our spending a bit more) and realized that we hadn't lost any quality of life... Little things like changing cell carriers, arguing down the price of cable, changing our landline to a cheap VOIP (magicjack)... we cut about $200 from our monthly budget... not a huge amount... but that inspired us to find other savings... All without making serious cuts to our lifestyle... As we spent less I realized we needed less to support our retired lifestyle... this, plus better than expected market returns allowed me to retire 3 years earlier than planned. You'll get there. Most folks have a lot of fluff in their spending that can be trimmed to reach retirement sooner.

Thank you for this. Unfortunately, I am just learning this 'double benefit' now.

I know you can't cry over spilled milk, but am still kicking myself for not being disciplined about my spending. The good news is that for the last month, my wife and I have been scrupulously tracking our spending and will be looking for ways to cut spending and translating it into savings.

Thanks again for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to spending plenty of time here.

[brucethebroker]

At least you figured it out now, and not in another 5 years, or after a health scare....
Good luck.

[Bryan Barnfellow]

1000% of what rodi wrote! Reducing your spending doesn't have to mean "enduring" reduced circumstances.

-BB

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 ... The good news is that for the last month, my wife and I have been scrupulously tracking our spending and will be looking for ways to cut spending and translating it into savings. ....

This will serve you well. Over the years, we've found that the very fact of tracking put brakes on us. Never "budgeted," but always knew where the money was going, which seemed to make us cautious spenders. (Then again, I think like most here, we were the type wandering around the room wondering if there were still more marshmallows hidden that we could save for later consumption! See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanfo...low_experiment)

Planning/talking about what you will do together once the takeoff point is achieved makes the process non-grueling.

Again, welcome to the forums.

[CoolRich59]

I was looking for something else tonight and came back to my first post -- just 14 months ago!

In that time, I've retaken control of my finances and -- most importantly -- been FIRE'd for over 8 months now. There are so many people on this forum I want to say thank you to. I hesitate to name names for fear of omitting someone; there have been so many who took the time to write me and help me on my way. I am very humbled and grateful to each and every one of you.

That being said, I would absolutely be remiss for not thanking MichaelB for being so gracious in admonishing me on my several faux paus -- you always did so with patience, understanding, and an abundance of class. Thank you!

Although I've had some health issues since I've FIRE'd, I've improved my relationship with my wife, spent more time with my kids and grandkids, done a lot more quality reading, and reduced my stress and anxieties tenfold ... no a hundredfold.

In my case, we had to make financial adjustments, but the benefits outweighed the "sacrifices" so much that it's not even a factor.

I am so grateful for all the input, advice, guidance and knowledge I've received here. Being FIRE'd so far exceeds one more day in the @ffice that all I can say is don't wait OMY, OMM, or even OMD if you can possibly avoid it.

Life is short. You worked hard. Enjoy the time you have left - the people, the places, the experiences. No one dies wishing they'd spent more time in the @ffice.

[Sunset]

How nice and lovely to hear your success at not working.

[tdv2]

Great to hear things are going well for you CoolRich59.....I'm about 5 months into FIRE myself....best decision I ever made. Your comment on the stress level dropping 100 fold is right on the money.

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi Most folks have a lot of fluff in their spending that can be trimmed to reach retirement sooner.

E.g., purchase of the infamous Gazingus pins described in Your Money or Your Life. See further here, here and here.