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Old 05-15-2012, 01:55 PM   #61
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I am literally writing this as I sit in another hotel room in China, slogging through another 15 hour day away from family and friends and know that I may just have to even accelerate my decision and not wait a year or two to pull the rip cord.
Safe travels Seattle.

When I was w*rking and traveled to unusual places, some people would say something like "Oh, isn't it nice that you get to go to <wherever>!!! and then I would explain about the long days, in many cases when working internationally they were even longer because you catch the working day there and in the US, only really seeing the office, hotel and perhaps a non-hotel restaurant if I was lucky. In a nutshell, business travel sounds glamorous until you actually do it, and then it is drudgery.

The beginning of the end was trying to get home after a winter snowstorm. After working a long Thursday, having one cancelled flight and getting rebooked on a connection through Dulles that was to get me home at midnight, my Dulles to home connection cancelled and the airline told me that they could not get me home until Saturday (two days later). I ended an exhausting day at 1am in a hotel further from home than where I started and was totally frustrated. To get home the next day I had to get up at 6am to take a $100 taxi to BWI, a flight to an airport that was not my home airport and then a 2 1/2 hour rental car ride home.

Enough!! Life is too short.
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Old 05-15-2012, 10:59 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by aida2003 View Post
- Like someone already advised, talk to a Vanguard rep to get your investment plan analyzed. You could learn a lot, plus it's free;

Great suggestion. I have spoke to them in the past, to set up my initial plan, but it is very much time for a tune up.

- Does your projected $120k/yr expense include healthcare premiums?

Yeah, it does. But I am planning a high deductible catastrophic plan that I can easily fit into my $120K. Plus something I didnt think about, when I finally quit, I have 8 weeks of vacation that I will cash out on. That is about $50K for me so I didnt put that into my overall plan and I can use that to pay for years of health care insurance using the HSA...

- You say nothing about your spouse. Is the $120k for both of you or does she w*rk too? If so, what does she plan to retire?

Yes, that includes both of us and she retired about 15 years ago to do charity work and she has no plans to ever work again lol

- Since you wish to teach and if it's paid, that would cover your health insurance premiums, IMO.

Another great idea, but the teaching I am planning would be charity based - teaching English 2nd language, or volunteering. I want the flexibility to not have a schedule and not interested in the horrors of substitute teaching

- If you're planning to retire next year, you definitely must get your 'money house' in order before jumping out the rat race. IMHO, you should evaluate your risk tolerance before saying "I want 5% after-tax return" and how it affects your AA.

Absolutely agree. I am a very calculating person and I will not do anything until my lawyer, accountant, tax people, medical doctor and everybody else gives me the thumbs up...that is why I am starting my homework now....accelerating my retirement date I think came out of jetlag


(I have other thoughts, but they could be redundant especially since others have shared their thoughts about your situation).
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Old 05-15-2012, 11:05 PM   #63
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Originally Posted by pb4uski View Post
Safe travels Seattle.

When I was w*rking and traveled to unusual places, some people would say something like "Oh, isn't it nice that you get to go to <wherever>!!! and then I would explain about the long days, in many cases when working internationally they were even longer because you catch the working day there and in the US, only really seeing the office, hotel and perhaps a non-hotel restaurant if I was lucky. In a nutshell, business travel sounds glamorous until you actually do it, and then it is drudgery.

The beginning of the end was trying to get home after a winter snowstorm. After working a long Thursday, having one cancelled flight and getting rebooked on a connection through Dulles that was to get me home at midnight, my Dulles to home connection cancelled and the airline told me that they could not get me home until Saturday (two days later). I ended an exhausting day at 1am in a hotel further from home than where I started and was totally frustrated. To get home the next day I had to get up at 6am to take a $100 taxi to BWI, a flight to an airport that was not my home airport and then a 2 1/2 hour rental car ride home.

Enough!! Life is too short.
Absolutely agree. To give you color, I did 245,000 miles in the air last year! And you are right about the days when you travel internationally. You actually catch the US waking up and I find that I literally work 15 hour days on the road. Couple that with 12-14 hour flights, connections, hotels, strange food, interpreters, not being able to work out and all the stress of the leadership requirements, and you have a receipe for "why am I doing this?"

People think business travel is glamourous, and some of it actually is. It is nice to see the world on a company dime, but it absolutely does come at a cost. I am averaging 20-22 trips overseas a year. And it isnt consistent. I can be in Europe one week, week at home catching up and changing out clothes and then be back on a plane to Asia the next week.

And what people dont understand is that you cannot simply just down throttle into a smaller job. There are people in those jobs and no space and the company would dramatically frown and be totally non-supportive of somebody who built a base of skills and in a leaderhsip position to just say "hey, I want to take a smaller job". It doesnt work that way. Its all or nothing. That is why I am going to pull the rip chord and be done.

Its been a great run. I have learned alot. I have been very blessed, but I do see alot of people getting cancer or heart attacks alot younger in this industry because of the stress and travel and I am smart enough to see where this is heading...
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Old 05-16-2012, 04:45 AM   #64
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People think business travel is glamourous, and some of it actually is. It is nice to see the world on a company dime, but it absolutely does come at a cost.
I never actually saw much of the world while I was doing all that traveling. My intinerary was generally to leave NYC at the last possible minute, fly somewhere, take a cab from the airport to some law firm or courthouse, conduct my business as quickly as possible and go right back to the airport. On trips where I stayed over, I was generally eating room service at the hotel while preparing for the next day's events. After the first few times, the conference rooms, courtrooms, hotels and airports all look the same.
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Old 05-16-2012, 05:07 AM   #65
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I never actually saw much of the world while I was doing all that traveling. My intinerary was generally to leave NYC at the last possible minute, fly somewhere, take a cab from the airport to some law firm or courthouse, conduct my business as quickly as possible and go right back to the airport. On trips where I stayed over, I was generally eating room service at the hotel while preparing for the next day's events. After the first few times, the conference rooms, courtrooms, hotels and airports all look the same.
This sounds much like most of my travel as well, minus the courthouses.
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Old 05-16-2012, 05:24 AM   #66
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Originally Posted by MichaelB

This sounds much like most of my travel as well, minus the courthouses.
I thought you wrote minus the outhouses, which feature more prominently in my own travels.
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Old 05-16-2012, 05:53 AM   #67
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I thought you wrote minus the outhouses, which feature more prominently in my own travels.
It sure gives one an appreciation for the conveniences of life in the US...
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Old 05-16-2012, 06:39 AM   #68
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I am a very calculating person and I will not do anything until my lawyer, accountant, tax people, medical doctor and everybody else gives me the thumbs up...
The thumbs up from everybody except the doctor is wonderful news. The thumbs up from the doctor may imply 'keep trucking as you've been doing'. Measure up his answer correctly
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Old 05-16-2012, 08:30 AM   #69
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...And what people dont understand is that you cannot simply just down throttle into a smaller job. There are people in those jobs and no space and the company would dramatically frown and be totally non-supportive of somebody who built a base of skills and in a leaderhsip position to just say "hey, I want to take a smaller job". It doesnt work that way. Its all or nothing. That is why I am going to pull the rip chord and be done.....
While that may be true, once you decide to jump perhaps you could test the waters for a part-time consulting gig with your current employer. When I decided that I wanted out it was more because of the travel rather than the work. I was able to convert to part-time as a "consultant to the consultants", work from home and minimize my travel. Eventually, I tired of that and totally pulled the plug.

It was easier for me in that I was directly involved in client service and wasn't in a leadership position like you are; but it wouldn't hurt to have a discussion about the possibilities once you decide if the answer is no that you are ok with walking away.
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Old 05-19-2012, 08:42 PM   #70
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I am late to this thread, but wanted to post to encourage you to continue. I made a similar salary and was aiming for the exact same net worth at age 50. Earlier this year I had some medical problems, and decided to pull the rip cord at age 47. I could not be happier with the decision. The stress and toll on my health and outlook from executive level politics and travel is melting away slowly, and I just can't stop smiling - people tell me I look 10 years younger already. So go talk to an FP from Vanguard, read a few books, write down your plan, and be ready to pull the trigger. Once you feel confident that you've done all you need to do to prepare, you can leave whenever you want.

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