My heart's not in it

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LBrowning

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DW is a teacher and has one year until pension eligible. I told her I would also work another year. Every day is torture; I have mentally checked out. It's gonna be a long year.
 
Why flog yourself?

Zombie-ing around for a year is corrosive for you and your co workers...not to mention the employer.

You can support your wife by house-husbanding [or some other helpful task set] for the balance of her work term and not abuse yourself doing something you hate.
 
Maybe they can assign you to study hall for the year. (assuming they still have a study hall, I might be dating myself)
 
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I'm right there with you, but I've got just under 3 to go. So, be glad you're not me. :D See, doesn't that make you feel better? :dance:
 
Or make it your mission to teach or mentor some of your young coworkers. It would be a shame for your years of knowledge to walk out the door. It could make a huge difference in the career of some millennial in your workplace. Think of the people who trained or mentored you, and pass the knowledge along. In my last year, I am grabbing every chance I get to mention, either through formal mentoring programs, or through informal mentoring, where I can justify getting paid to sit and drink coffee while talking about myself. :)
 
My last year was really hard, too, because my husband retired before me. It was sure tough, but it does pass. I used to tell myself " I'll never have to do THAT again" as each annual duty or milestone passed.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
FMLA is 12 weeks off. You can use it if you are sick or taking care of sick family. Does your wife look sick in the summer or more around Christmas? Do you have sick parents?
Can you get fired so it isn't your fault?
Use all sick and vacation days you have, ask now for all the school holidays like Christmas week and spring break. Does your car ever not start or get a flat tire before work that takes half a day or more to fix? Do you have lots of doctor and dentist appointments or need any medical procedures? If you could pick between working one day or a colonoscopy which would you choose?
 
The last year or so was a balancing act for me. Stay engaged enough that I'm not sitting there twiddling my thumbs, but not so engaged that I get sucked into all the drama. What worked for me was to make sure my essential/routine tasks got done, but make sure anything I did beyond that was something that really interested me, rather than the crisis of the day.

That being said, is there any reason you and DW both need to retire at the same time? I think it's easier if one goes first, and gets used to the routine before the other pulls the plug.
 
I had to do a OMY myself. I moved from the Class of 2015 to 2016, and am hating it.

I completed my 4-year vesting at my previous company, which was a startup that had a successful IPO. Unfortunately, the stock isn't quite near where I want it to be, as they're not profitable yet but should be in Q4 of this year. Once that happens, I think it will start taking off after they prove they can be profitable. There's also analyst speculation of them getting acquired that's pushing the stock up the past couple weeks (although I don't want them to be acquired).

Since I was fully vested and the golden handcuffs fell off, I quit and went to work for another pre-IPO startup and am hating every day. I just don't care about the company, the people, the product, the customers, or anything. They're just a paycheck to me. My plan is to get over the first year's vesting cliff so I at least walk away with something in case they're successful later, but I'm NOT staying here 4 years. I just can't do it.
 
Your wife has to work one more year to earn the pension--do you "have" to do this too to pad the nest egg? If not, does your DW know how truly awful you feel about it? Perhaps you can be a househusband for her last year or look for something else to do short term to earn a little money.
 
LBrowning said:
DW is a teacher and has one year until pension eligible. I told her I would also work another year. Every day is torture; I have mentally checked out. It's gonna be a long year.
Click to expand...

Why did you do that to yourself?;)
 
Well into my final year I am using every trick I can. I googled the trade show schedule in my area and was sure to request vacation for all those dates. Those close to me know the score and are very helpful. Almost halfway through the final year, I've made it clear that if budget cuts make it necessary to cut someone I'm the guy. The beauty of it is that the dumb**ses at the top laugh it off thinking there's no way a guy like me could be hanging it up.
With only a year to go make your own path, have fun with it.
 
Same situation here except I have 2 more years until DW teaching pension. I can do my job in my sleep but the motivation and desire is fading quickly (ok already gone).

I'll keep on to fund college education for kids and to have some extra fun money in retirement.

Enjoy and congratulations on the final year stretch.
 
Life's too short to spend a year "mentally checked out". Find another option. Good luck.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Your wife has to work one more year to earn the pension--do you "have" to do this too to pad the nest egg? If not, does your DW know how truly awful you feel about it? Perhaps you can be a househusband for her last year or look for something else to do short term to earn a little money.
Click to expand...
No, I don't have to, and we have discussed it. I will give it the old college try, but may end up pulling the trigger anyway.
 
A year ago I set my goal at mid-2016. Things at work became easier because I realized that I no longer have to worry about career development, training, positioning myself for my next job. I can give exposure and opportunities to my staff. I can give away credit to other people because I just don't need it. So my staff love me.

Now that I am a year away, I now know that I'm not concerned if they lay me off. That doesn't mean I'll slack off - other people are depending on me. But it does mean that the boss can't hurt me. If things get hot, I can leave. In six months time, I'll give five months notice, and then she'll know that she has nothing over me. Things can only get better....
 
I was in tears 3 or 4 days a week when I got out of the truck to catch the train pretty much the entire last year before I quit the cube job. If I had another choice, I would have taken it. Open the door marked "exit."
 
bld999 said:
Why flog yourself?

Zombie-ing around for a year is corrosive for you and your co workers...not to mention the employer.

You can support your wife by house-husbanding [or some other helpful task set] for the balance of her work term and not abuse yourself doing something you hate.
Click to expand...

+1

Husband retired a year before I did. I wasn't even serious about retiring until he did and was enjoying his new life so much....coffee at a different place each morning is one example.

DH took over all the cleaning, laundry, cooking. Each evening I came home to dinner prepared and a clean house. He even packed my lunches and would bring me iced tea at work if I asked. Just guessing your wife might like that, too?

That made my last year much more bearable. It was a long year, but my responsibilities ended each day at 4PM. :)
 
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