I cannot express how.....

[RunningBum]

2 working half-days left. I'm down to single digit hours!

[dessert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum 2 working half-days left. I'm down to single digit hours!

Congratulations RunningBum! I'm almost right behind you. Enjoy those last two days.

[East Texas]

If I quit laughing long enough, I might be able to decide which of these answers I like the best....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I am using Outlook to tell me each time I knock off another 10 days - that is, Outlook at work...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan During my last couple of years I had to complete an Excel spreadsheet and turn it in every week to book all my time against projects etc. I had a non-printing cell that calculated the number of days left so I saw it 2 or 3 times a day as I booked my time.

[martyb]

23 months left, so too long to do a countdown calendar yet. I sure wish I was closer...

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack $18-22K for a months work seemed worth it...

Definitely reasonable. When DH was retiring last year we found that he had to do some fine tuning to determine the optimum financial time to retire. First, he needed to retire after the first quarter (that made a huge difference for a bonus), then he worked out it had to be after May 1st so that he had another year of service for his pension. He was all set to retire in May but then found out that if he retired after June 1 he would be paid not only his unused paid time off for that year but half of it for this year as well.

So he was going to retire sometime in June. But then his boss wanted his help on something and asked him to retire in July. DH was willing to do it but found out that his pension lump sum would be $8000 less if he retired in July instead of June (go figure).

So with all that he ended up retiring in late June which was the absolute moment of maximum financial benefit.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack $18-22K for a months work seemed worth it...

For that kind of cash, I'd go back to my Megacorp for a month and sit at my desk - surfing the RE forum, heh, heh. Talk about getting paid by the post!!

[East Texas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyb 23 months left, so too long to do a countdown calendar yet. I sure wish I was closer...

I started with over 1,000 days on my countdown clock... the last 30 were sweet....

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyb 23 months left, so too long to do a countdown calendar yet. I sure wish I was closer...

I'm still a little over two years away from my target date, so I don't have a calendar yet, but my password to log in at my work computer includes the number of months left. I don't know if I'll use an E-R related password next time I have to change it. I think I'm giving myself premature short-timer's syndrome.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco How many of you had a short-timer's calendar? I am diligently marking off the days!

I started mine in my Excel file named "retirement", at about 2650 days left. Every morning when I got to work (or as soon as I could get a break), I'd update it, and record how my TSP and investments were doing, and so on. In my case, this did not cause me to suffer or to neglect my work, but instead helped me to maintain a clear focus on what was important. I didn't inflict my countdown on the ER Forum until around 200 or so, I think (though I don't exactly recall). During my last six months or so, I updated a red number down at the bottom of my whiteboard, which was the same number. I don't know if others figured it out.

So was I excited when I got down to the last 30 days? YOU KNOW IT! Congratulations to Running Bum and to all of you who are just now on the verge of taking this momentous step. I am so happy for you.

[KingB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack $18-22K for a months work seemed worth it...

I used to love my work that I would say "I can't believe I am getting paid to do this". Work conditions changed and turned my job to a drag that made me say; "No amount of money can delay my ER". So I ER'ed last Jan 31 and did not wait for the bonus that might come March. I said "might" because it is tied to company performance (which did not do very well) and also to my performance (which was not appreciated).

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingB I used to love my work that I would say "I can't believe I am getting paid to do this". Work conditions changed and turned my job to a drag that made me say; "No amount of money can delay my ER". So I ER'ed last Jan 31 and did not wait for the bonus that might come March. I said "might" because it is tied to company performance (which did not do very well) and also to my performance (which was not appreciated).

I know exactly how you felt. I couldn't actually ER until March 1st but was so keen to go I left end of January last year, taking the month of February as vacation. HR told me that if I delayed by one more day I would pass 25 years service and get an extra week of vacation so that was a no-brainer and got an extra week's pay by making it March 2nd.

Mid March I got a very nice e-mail saying that the company was paying a bonus, first time since 2007, and it turned out to be their biggest ever, so I got a lovely check worth 20% of 2009's salary.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco I have w*rked my butt off and saved over the last 35+ years. Being able to FIRE while still relatively young and healthy is a fabulous feeling.

Have you really been saving for this since birth?

This post has you retiring at age 35

Exciting times no matter what age you are

[misanman]

I know a guy who plans to retire 12/12/2012 at 12:12PM. At any given moment he seems to be able to tell you how many days/hours he has left.

[walkinwood]

How about doing a count-down on ER.org by writing about various aspects of your ER plan each week? It may be of use to people who follow in your footsteps. Financial plan, health-insurance plan, plans to notify your work colleagues, friends, family. Reactions etc.

[veremchuka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by misanman I know a guy who plans to retire 12/12/2012 at 12:12PM. At any given moment he seems to be able to tell you how many days/hours he has left.

wow what a shame, he'll only have 10 days before the world comes to an end on 12/21/12. those darn mayans.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by veremchuka wow what a shame, he'll only have 10 days before the world comes to an end on 12/21/12. those darn mayans.

The only thing worse than Mayans are Urines...

[Gone4Good]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyb 23 months left, so too long to do a countdown calendar yet. I sure wish I was closer...

Nah, marking off months works pretty well.

[flyfishnevada]

I had a 24 month calendar that I put big red X's on at the end of every month. Before that I would only speak in terms of years. I used my toddler rule to come up with 24 months. You should only express you child's are in month until they reach 24 months and then its years only. I hate when you ask how old someone's kid is and they say 43 months old. Way too much math and I probably didn't care that much anyway.

I used the same logic for my calender. It was satisfying to check off each month and people could stop by my office and look instead of asking. However, it had a negative affect. Everyone knew and wouldn't let me forget. I was getting 2 or 3 people a day stopping by to ask about my upcoming retirement. It really made it hard to just go to work and do what I had to do and try not to think about how many months or days left.

[dessert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco Thankful I am to have prepared for FIRE and blessed that the plan is coming together. I have w*rked my butt off and saved over the last 35+ years. Being able to FIRE while still relatively young and healthy is a fabulous feeling.

Wow, Chinaco according to the "Class of 2011" list, you are retiring at the age of 35? If that is correct then I and others would be curious to know how you managed to accomplish so much at such a young age?
Care to share with us or tell me that I misunderstood your age?

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dessert Wow, Chinaco according to the "Class of 2011" list, you are retiring at the age of 35? If that is correct then I and others would be curious to know how you managed to accomplish so much at such a young age? Care to share with us or tell me that I misunderstood your age?

and Midpack is only 29 (which may be true).