Getting Ready for semi-retirement but nervous

[Getting Ready]

Age 46, married with two children aged 6 and 11. Plan on leaving a fairly lucrative professional job in one year's time to work part-time and leave the pressures behind. $1.3 million in investable assets and a paid off home with no debt. I can earn $60 - $75,000 in part-time income. DW can earn about $7,500 per year.

I think with a 4% return and my-part-time income, we can more than cover our expenses. The real hurdle is emotional...leaving a well-paying position voluntarily and going into "living mode" rather than "saving mode" which we have been in all our life. It is the mental aspect I am having the most difficulty with. I feel guilty about voluntarily leaving a well paying job.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Age 46, married with two children aged 6 and 11. Plan on leaving a fairly lucrative professional job in one year's time to work part-time and leave the pressures behind. $1.3 million in investable assets and a paid off home with no debt. I can earn $60 - $75,000 in part-time income. DW can earn about $7,500 per year.

I think with a 4% return and my-part-time income, we can more than cover our expenses. The real hurdle is emotional...leaving a well-paying position voluntarily and going into "living mode" rather than "saving mode" which we have been in all our life. It is the mental aspect I am having the most difficulty with. I feel guilty about voluntarily leaving a well paying job.

I am sure others will come along and add more deep thought that what I have to say...but, for me, GUILT is a USELESS human emotion that doesn't do too much good. And remember, when the grim reaper comes around, the ONLY one who will get to decide if YOU lived your life well is...YOU.

Oh yes...welcome to the forum!

 

[Walt34]

The real hurdle is emotional...leaving a well-paying position voluntarily and going into "living mode" rather than "saving mode" which we have been in all our life. It is the mental aspect I am having the most difficulty with. I feel guilty about voluntarily leaving a well paying job.

Others have expressed the same sentiment many times on this board so you're not the only one. It is a huge lifestyle change and (in most cases) irreversible so it is natural to feel some anxiety about it.

Oh, and welcome to the board, I think you'll fit in just fine.

 

[Ronstar]

Welcome Getting Ready. I think you have a perfect plan for handling the mental aspect of ER - work part time. It provides for a great mental and financial transition into full retirement. My advice would be to get a handle on your expenses, and run your scenario through FIRECalc (link at bottom of page).

Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[aida2003]

Welcome to the forum!

Now, why exactly are you leaving your lucrative career? Is it too stressful that affects your health? Does the current job keep you on a very tight leash and away from your family? Does your DW fully support your decision? Are you anxious because you're leaving your employer on your free will only or because you're not sure how it will play out financially after you jump the ship? If the latter, have you already tracked your monthly expenses? What will happen with the health/dental insurance? Those darn braces are expensive! Are you planning to pay for your children's college? How fast will you find your part time job? Well, if you're ready, at least find your part-time job before you close this door to prevent more unnecessary stress on your family.

 

[CaliKid]

I am in the same position as you and I am taking the path of working pretty much full bore a few more years and then quitting in full. Have you considered that option? Not sure it's better than going part time or not!?

 

[ER Eddie]

The real hurdle is emotional...leaving a well-paying position voluntarily and going into "living mode" rather than "saving mode" which we have been in all our life. It is the mental aspect I am having the most difficulty with. I feel guilty about voluntarily leaving a well paying job.

Same here. I know I can afford to retire financially. I have about twice as much as I'd reasonably need.

I just have a hard time pulling the plug on work. The job isn't that hard, it is interesting in some ways, and it seems so counter-intuitive to walk away from all that money (not "all that" much, really, but decent).

I don't have any brilliant advice. I'm sort of in the same boat.

 

[RobbieB]

Living mode is way more expensive than saving mode for me. Twice as much. Now working on getting it to three times as much.

I like thinking of ways to blow more dough instead of ways to save more dough -

 

[OneDay]

Age 46, married with two children aged 6 and 11. Plan on leaving a fairly lucrative professional job in one year's time to work part-time and leave the pressures behind. $1.3 million in investable assets and a paid off home with no debt. I can earn $60 - $75,000 in part-time income. DW can earn about $7,500 per year.

I think with a 4% return and my-part-time income, we can more than cover our expenses. The real hurdle is emotional...leaving a well-paying position voluntarily and going into "living mode" rather than "saving mode" which we have been in all our life. It is the mental aspect I am having the most difficulty with. I feel guilty about voluntarily leaving a well paying job.

I'm the same age with two at home children, older than yours. I've got the option of working part time in the future and will have the same financial situation as yours in the next few years, I can say I'm nervous, I worry about what people will think, I don't know why. But I think spending more time doing what I enjoy doing will get me over worrying, congrats and good luck.

 

[HadEnuff]

it's normal for intelligent beings to be nervous over times of transitions. First day of high school (were you nervous), college, work, new assignment at work, maybe proposing marriage? ?

See the trend? you'll be fine. Enjoy!

 

[tps7742]

Congratulations on ER and it sounds like you have a very good transition plan.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I'm sort of in the same situation- my kids are 9 and 12, and when I quit my job, I cannot work part time- I'd have to find something else entirely- that pays much less if I wanted to work again. I was really torn about this- for a long time- I felt guilty and scared- After thinking and reading and analyzing for 2 years- I'm good. No more guilt- no more indecision. I have my date set, and I'm happy now that my mind is at ease. There was a blog I read- "Living a FI" about a guy thinking about the same decision- that helped me work through my own issues. Maybe that will help you work through your head.

 

[Nodak]

I am sure others will come along and add more deep thought that what I have to say...but, for me, GUILT is a USELESS human emotion that doesn't do too much good. And remember, when the grim reaper comes around, the ONLY one who will get to decide if YOU lived your life well is...YOU.

Oh yes...welcome to the forum!

+1

 

[38Chevy454]

I'm in the part-time retired boat already. I call it that, not part-time working, since my mind is really on enjoying the extra time away from work. I was fortunate to stay in my position, just cut back to 3 days/week. Primary for me was to keep benefits and the cost avoidance of getting health ins outside work.

I think part-time is a great way to transition and begin the mental change from saving to withdrawal. Although the part-time allows me to not withdraw, but also not much saving. I like your term living mode, covers living expenses but no real additional savings or withdrawal required.

 

[enginerd]

OP...If a 4% withdrawal plus your part time income meets your expenses now (I assume your expenses are around $115k) , what happens when you want to fully retire? How will you cover expenses then??

 

[Getting Ready]

Getting Ready but nervous

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.

When you get to your late forties and fifties, it is difficult not to reflect on your own mortality. You know you are old when you start reading obituaries and read about someone who is in their fifties or early sixties and has died from cancer or a heart attack. I am a positive person and think the best, but what if I only have 10-15 more years on this planet? I don't want to be blind to the cruelties of life either.

The most enjoyable things to me are quite simple...spending hours on a baseball diamond with my boys and laying beside my wife watching a movie on Netflix. My job is fairly stressful, even if satisfying, but there are many things I would rather be doing. My guilt is rooted in my decision not to maximize my income when I will want to help my children out as much as I can financially in the future. As a parent, you feel it is your job to do as much as you can for your kids and I feel like I am shirking my responsibilities somehow.

However, I am convinced it is the best thing to do. I have enough in life. I don't need more money because I can live relatively simple. When the kids are out of the house, I will sell and downsize and that will add some investment capital.

 

[ER Eddie]

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.

When you get to your late forties and fifties, it is difficult not to reflect on your own mortality. You know you are old when you start reading obituaries and read about someone who is in their fifties or early sixties and has died from cancer or a heart attack. I am a positive person and think the best, but what if I only have 10-15 more years on this planet? I don't want to be blind to the cruelties of life either.

Yup, that's been on my mind a lot lately, too. I went through a medical crisis a couple years ago and nearly died. I'm "only" 55, but both my grandfathers died in their 60s, and I'm continually hearing about one person or another dying when they are in their 60's or earlier. I've always thought about my own death, all the way back to when I was a teenager, but it seems more pressing lately.

Is it worth it to work "one more year" for just a little extra financial security, but have one less year of freedom? Especially at the end of life, the years of quality life diminish. The last few years may be spent battling an illness. How long do I want to delay retirement, just to pile up a little extra money (something I know doesn't create happiness anyhow, just security, which I have plenty of already).

On the other hand, people are living longer than ever. I might live to 80, who knows. I wish someone would tell me when I'd die. It would make retirement planning easier, lol.

My guilt is rooted in my decision not to maximize my income when I will want to help my children out as much as I can financially in the future. As a parent, you feel it is your job to do as much as you can for your kids and I feel like I am shirking my responsibilities somehow.

Ah, yeah, I understand that. I'm not a parent, but I get it. On a much lower scale than yours, I feel guilty because if I use my money to fund my retirement, then I'm not leaving as much to the animal welfare groups I support; I'm being selfish by spending money that could have gone to help neglected and abused animals.

But in the end, it really is my money. Whatever is left over is a gift, not an obligation or something that is owed.

 

[Backpacker]

I switched to part-time at the end of July, gave up VP position and now report to my replacement. Some days I think I was nuts to give up the high paying job, but when I do the math on how many hours I worked to make the wage, I am convinced my effective hourly rate is higher now. Stress level is WAY lower in the new position. In the end you've got to look out for yourself.

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[Turn_the_Page]

Having just retired last week , I can relate to your post. I got a lot of 'weird' feedback at work, most of it some version of 'why leave now' wrapped up with either veiled envy or doubt that I could make it financially.

Financially we'll be fine and we've both had major health issues that we really hope are resolved forever. But, we never know, do we?

I had a coworker suffer a heart attack in the bathroom getting ready for work one morning two years ago. He never made it out of the bathroom. Apparently he was set financially, but had fallen into the OMY trap.

 

[Getting Ready]

Wierd looks

You wonder how many people don't do what is best for them because they are concerned about societal pressures or "what people think."

We only have so much time...it is definitely finite. Time is the most precious commodity we have and we forget that sometimes until tragedy or health scares arise.

We are bombarded with messages of accumulating...

 

[sturbridge]

As a parent, you feel it is your job to do as much as you can for your kids and I feel like I am shirking my responsibilities somehow.

Your kids need YOU. Your time, your love, your attention. They don't need more electronic gadgets that money can buy. They are only little for a very short time.

 

[Golden sunsets]

OP...If a 4% withdrawal plus your part time income meets your expenses now (I assume your expenses are around $115k) , what happens when you want to fully retire? How will you cover expenses then??

This is my question as well. Not to mention a 4% withdrawal rate at your age is aggressive. What about college education costs?


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[Markola]

My guilt is rooted in my decision not to maximize my income when I will want to help my children out as much as I can financially in the future. As a parent, you feel it is your job to do as much as you can for your kids and I feel like I am shirking my responsibilities somehow.
.

Maybe that assumption is something to ponder, too? A lot of satisfaction in life is achieving things for yourself. As we all know too well, unintended consequences happen and sometimes things can go haywire in people if too much is done for them. If you take time to be with your kids and lavish time as a terrific parent versus material goods on them, maybe they will even grow up to be good savers and investors because they saw the benefits of those choices in their parents and want to emulate them.


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[Helena]

.

I had planned to retire at age 55 and had put all my ducks in a row to do just that.

But shortly before my magic 55th birthday arrived... I began to mentally hedge... "maybe I will work a bit longer", etc....

But then a few weeks before my original target date, something unforeseen happened that caused me to go ahead and retire as planned on the date planned.

I am so happy I did. I never looked back.

.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

My guilt is rooted in my decision not to maximize my income when I will want to help my children out as much as I can financially in the future. As a parent, you feel it is your job to do as much as you can for your kids and I feel like I am shirking my responsibilities somehow

I feel the same way- sort of. my kids are 12 and 9. Someone asked me what I was going to do if one of my kids wanted to go to Harvard. I have saved enough- or pretty close to enough for my kids to get an education at a state school- if they stay in the dorm. They have been told that if they want to have a nice apartment or join a fraternity, or go to Harvard, they need to get a scholarship or a loan or a job. However, if they graduate with money leftover, they can have it. Same deal was offered to my siblings and myself. I managed to pay for 2 degrees with my money (I had a summer job) and graduated debt free- my sister joined a sorority, but had a partial scholarship and graduated debt free, and my brother graduated with a little debt. NONE of us considered it a 4 year party.

i don't think my job as a parent is to provide them with everything they desire- there is great satisfaction is working hard and earning your own way. That being said- they will probably inherit a pile of money- but not (hopefully) till they are retired themselves!