You're ready to retire when:

[dex]

When you ask yourself:
How much money would they have to pay me to stay and you realize it would have to be what they are paying the head of the division. (They wouldn't do it and you would leave if they did.)

 

[W2R]

That was what I waited for and it was worth the wait. At about this time last year, I started counting down the number of remaining Mondays until I retired (also in November). That helped me. Hang in there it, it is great on the other side.

Thanks for the encouragement! In July and August I will be training my replacement and hopefully she will be taking some of this off my shoulders. Then in September and October, I am planning to use up all my vacation time, rather than getting paid for it in a lump sum. I'll take 1-2 weeks off, then a week on, then repeat during those months.

So, if I can just hang on through August it should be easier after that.

An ancient joke in my family is based on my father's attitudes when he was in school. Each year while working his way through medical school during the Great Depression (by embalming bodies at the local mortuary) he would tell my mother, "Next year will be easier and more interesting!" That phrase pops up frequently in other contexts, when speaking with family members. I think I can truthfully say, at last, that next year finally will be easier and more interesting.

 

[W2R]

When you ask yourself:
How much money would they have to pay me to stay and you realize it would have to be what they are paying the head of the division. (They wouldn't do it and you would leave if they did.)

That topic came up recently when my supervisor was feeling me out with respect to a retention bonus + promotion. I told her that our agency can't offer me enough money to entice me to stay. Rash, I know. But at what price would I sell my life, now that I can reclaim it? Some things are priceless.

Besides, five more years of this would d*** near kill me, IMO.

 

[REWahoo]

How much money would they have to pay me to stay ...

A couple of months prior to retiring I was asked to delay my departure date by two months. I countered with an offer to stay an additional 4 weeks if they would pay me for 6 - they agreed. So short term, my price was a 50% pay increase.

 

[JDARNELL]

- You notice that you're in the oldest age bracket for the military's physical fitness test.

I do my annual PT test in two weeks. I was looking at the new brackets given my distinguished age of 40. I think I will be in good shape Oh yeah we also get an altitude adjustment.

Tomcat98

 

[jug]

I knew it was time to go when "you pass gas", that you can't control, in front of the young females, and you really don't care.

Puts a new spin on the expression "old fart".

Jug

 

[dex]

I told her that our agency can't offer me enough money to entice me to stay. Rash, I know. But at what price would I sell my life, now that I can reclaim it? Some things are priceless.

That's it in a nutshell.
A computation forgotten in the "Do I have enough to retire" question.

I am so happy (a word I don't take lightly) at this moment.

 

[Redbugdave]

You know you're getting short when...over the past years you've had to keep your yapper shut and now you can smile and let a little of it out...

 

[Buckeye]

You know you are ready when you volunteer to be the next cost-savings project. The company will lose an important product line in a few months so I volunteered to be laid off on 7/7 - 8 more weeks to go. My responsibilities will be divided among 6 people with 5 of them getting promotions. A great outcome for all. Virtually all the people who work at the company are "lifers" (my term for those who are born, raised and die in the same town) and I didn't want to see any of them laid off. The subsidized COBRA also makes this doable.

We have our house up for sale but who knows when it will sell and we can move to FL. Houses can stay on the market for a long time in my rural town even in a good year. It is in perfect condition and we just finished turning it into a showplace with the help of an interior designer and stager. The good news is we aren't competing with other sellers in our price range. The bad news is our home is one of the nicest and most expensive homes in the area. Expensive is a relative term in this area.

We have to pay to live somewhere and we get a lot for our money in this house so until it starts to get cold out, this is a great place to hang out. Luckily, we have friends in FL who are happy to have us visit. I'm not sure if I'm really done w*rking for good but the economy may make that decision for me.

 

[freebird5825]

That topic came up recently when my supervisor was feeling me out with respect to a retention bonus + promotion. I told her that our agency can't offer me enough money to entice me to stay. Rash, I know. But at what price would I sell my life, now that I can reclaim it? Some things are priceless.

Besides, five more years of this would d*** near kill me, IMO.

I am SO proud of you.
Rash? No way. Honest and self-confident is more like it.
What kind of place would even think a retention bonus and promotion, in the 11th hour no less,
would actually change the mind of a retiree-2b ?
Ooops, I w*rked for the same type of place myself. I can answer my own question.

Heads up...If they haven't already, next step might be to try to get you back as a contractor.

 

[W2R]

I am SO proud of you.
Rash? No way. Honest and self-confident is more like it.
What kind of place would even think a retention bonus and promotion, in the 11th hour no less,
would actually change the mind of a retiree-2b ?
Ooops, I w*rked for the same type of place myself. I can answer my own question.

LOL!! Then you know. It has actually worked for them in the past but it won't work with me. And thanks for the kind words, BTW.

Heads up...If they haven't already, next step might be to try to get you back as a contractor.

I have indicated a distaste for that idea when it came up in casual conversation. But now that you mention it, maybe they will pursue it further as time passes. Thanks for the tipoff. (And in case anyone's wondering - - I have no intention of continuing to work as a contractor).

 

[freebird5825]

I didn't really retire, I resigned into FIRE.
I knew I was ready to FIRE when
- my hands and upper body were aching 24/7 and headed straight for more injury and possible surgery. Nobody cared, and the w*rk kept getting piled on.
- I discovered the TSP-to-annuity conversion option, did the numbers for expenses and income, and saw it was completely possible.
Pre-FIRE, I did actually make an appt with the head honcho to see if he would transfer me to a less demanding position until I could do an early out, and he declined to grant that.
I politely told him he could expect my resignation within 6 months. The look on his face was priceless. I kept a poker face, but on the inside...
The resignation letter was in his email (and all other persons' email who had to be told) within 24 hours.
I chose April 1st as my FIRE date.
They probably thought I was bluffing or nutz. I was neither.

 

[Gotadimple]

I have indicated a distaste for that idea when it came up in casual conversation. But now that you mention it, maybe they will pursue it further as time passes. Thanks for the tipoff. (And in case anyone's wondering - - I have no intention of continuing to work as a contractor).

Nah. . . once you're away from that place and you're getting the retiree mail, you won't want to go back into the environment. It's the reason you decided to FIRE.

Consulting/contracting -- it's the same thing: you'll be asked to do what you didn't want to do when you were 'slaving to earn' the retiree benefits. Not worth the time away from what you want to do with the rest of your life.

Knowing that you don't need to work and are totally in control of your days makes such a difference in one's attitude. Now you really have time to appreciate each day -- or waste it and goof off if you choose to.

-- Rita

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Don't knock consulting/contracting! It puts you at arms length from office politics, you develop a sense of independence and it pays a lot better!

 

[Meadbh]

What kind of place would even think a retention bonus and promotion, in the 11th hour no less,
would actually change the mind of a retiree-2b ?
Ooops, I w*rked for the same type of place myself. I can answer my own question.

My place had a retention program with annual updates about the payouts due in 2007. Once the cheques were cut, there was an exodus. Surprise? I think not. The retirees had it all planned.

 

[bbbamI]

Wow, Cinnamon...10 posts in 20 minutes...that must be a record.

 

[REWahoo]

Wow, Cinnamon...10 posts in 20 minutes...that must be a record.

Back in the day we saw CFB put up 22 posts in less than 60 minutes - not one-liners, but multiple paragraph posts with detailed responses.

He blamed it on too much caffeine...

 

[haha]

Back in the day we saw CFB put up 22 posts in less than 60 minutes - not one-liners, but multiple paragraph posts with detailed responses.

He blamed it on too much caffeine...

I think The Bunny was a caffeine source rather than a use.

Ha