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Originally Posted by kenpoed
What are your thoughts? What will you do? If you work part time will it be to psychologically help you knowing there is still some income flow? Stay active mentally or physically? A combination of many factors?
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Honestly I don't know what I'll do when the time comes. Originally I wanted to retire in April 2015, when I turn 45, but pushed that back a bit to April 2016 when the "Great Recession" took its toll. And now, I'm thinking about pushing it back to 2017 even though Firecalc says I have a 98% chance of making it. Partly because I want a little more cushioning, but partly because 2016 is coming up too darned fast!
And now, more and more, I think about cutting back to part time rather than taking the full plunge. However, I discovered that with part time jobs, when I'd start cutting back my hours, it only made me dread going in more and more. Back in college I worked as a waiter, and from 1996-2001 I worked part time after work delivering pizzas. In both cases, as I started cutting back my hours (waiting tables because I was starting to flunk out in college, and pizza delivery because I was needing the extra income less and less), it just started making me hate the job even more, and in the end figuring why bother, and end up quitting.
Only time will tell how I'll feel if I start to phase out the full-time job. I have tried taking off a Monday or Friday here and there, giving myself a 3-day weekend and a 4-day workweek. My only problem there is that the 3-day weekend felt like it went by just as quickly as the regular, while the 4-day workweek went by quicker, so it actually made it feel like time was accelerating! Now, maybe if I went to a permanent 4-day workweek, I'd get used to it, who knows?
I've also tried simply taking off an afternoon here and there, usually a Monday or Tuesday. I'd rarely do it on a Thursday or Friday, because there I'm already psyched up for the weekend, so I figure I'd rather break up the earlier part of the week a bit. That would seem to help, as I'd really get a chance to accomplish some tasks in the afternoon, or just get away someplace for a few hours to relax.
I think I can cut back to 30 hours per week, and still get health insurance and other full-time benefits, although that could be subject to change. Once I'm FI, I might give that a try first, before totally retiring, just to give myself a transition period.