Convincing myself that I have enough money to retire

[Franklin]

I vote for status. Despite FI many years ago, my brother, a physician, refuses to retire because he does not want to give up his status. He lives and works in a community in which many people still refer him as Dr. <last name>.

Excellent point. I just spoke to a doctor friend this morning. He is in great shape at 70 years old. He is in a small town and they call him Doc. He told me that he will retire in another 8 to 10 years. It had nothing to do with money. So indeed different strokes for different folks.

 

[Retch The Grate]

The question I keep asking myself is "would you do your job for free?" because really, after you have all the money you are reasonably ever going to spend, that's what you are doing.

If I could do it part time, possibly.

I love what I do, but I also love not having to go to work. I'm pretty sure once I reach my highest threshold I will be ok not working, even though I really enjoy my job (working on a Saturday with a bunch of other folks here standing up as playable a first pass of our game as we can).

 

[Perryinva]

The OPs forced income is so far beyond the Tax Torpedoe threshold it is not a consideration in the least.

 

[ckelly78z]

There may be a health "cost" to continued w*rking

My DF worked 41 years in a union tire molding factory, and retired at 59.5, and has loved the last 18 years with plenty of activities to keep him healthy. He said many of his friends worked until they were 65, and died a few years later. Whether it was lifestyle, genetics, stress, or just plain wear/tear on their body, the ones who retired later, died earlier.

 

[NW-Bound]

A while back I read a post on the "Living A FI" blog about the author seeing a therapist for the exact same dilemma. The post was called "Mid-life FI-sis" or something similar. It was very helpful to me. You might find it helpful to you too. Good luck-

That blog is wonderful. I spent a day (or two) reading everything he wrote. he writes so well and one can really feel his angst and the indignity of modern office work and his quest to escape.

Well worth a look.

If you are interested I recommend that you start reading here :

https://livingafi.com/2014/06/13/the-job-experience-tech-support-year-1/

I never knew of this guy's blog, and I also do not go to MMM forum.

Out of curiosity, I visited the blog, and found the story interesting. The aerospace industry I worked in was nowhere as bad as the IT world that he described.

I like this guy. He's an introvert and spent time to try to understand himself. I went through a lot of this myself throughout my working career. I am a lot older, and way past my mid-life crisis to need psychological therapy.

Unlike him, I could have worked part-time until I die, even though I have plenty of money and my children are all established. I can only travel so much before it becomes tedious and no longer fun, and I like my work. It feels good to build something and see it works.

Envy and politics took the fun out of work, and I walked off the last two jobs where I consulted. I told them I was going on a long vacation, and never came back. I did leave all the technical info about my work for them to find someone to continue it. Recently, they reached out and wanted me back, after several years now.

 

[RetMD21]

I like the "living a fi " blog. In comparison, I don't have much to complain about I'd like to work a little even for free. I know that the long hours are not good for me. The status and identity issues have been part of delaying my departure. I don't see that as a favorable reflection on my character. I am looking at working as a temp.

 

[NW-Bound]

... I'd like to work a little even for free...

Some people have work that can be altruistic, such as yours.

In contrast, I would not do my engineering work for an employer for free; it would simply enrich other people.

I have seen too many people claiming credit for my work, and I am not going to give them the work for free too.

 

[pb4uski]

.... One other thought others can explain much better than I. Has your FA talked to you about the "tax torpedo"? You can actually have too much money at some point and get socked. It actually is good for me to have my NW go down a bit right now so that my required distribution at 70+ is lower and perhaps, my taxes on SS will be less.

Here's my take on the tax torpedo. You obviously deferred that income because you thought that your marginal tax rate in retirement would be lower than your marginal tax rate when you deferred that income and you would save money on taxes.

If your marginal tax rate in retirement is higher than you expected when you deferred that income then you have been more financially successful than you thought you would be. Congratulations!!

OTOH, if your marginal tax rate in retirement is less than your marginal tax rate when you deferred the income then everything worked out as planned and you have saved some in tax. Congratulations!!

Either way.... you win!!

Now on yet another hand, if neither your marginal tax rate when you deferred the income or your marginal tax rate in retirement crossed your mind when you deferred that income and you did it just because everyone else was doing it then you deserve whatever you get.