One More Year vs. Get Me Outta Here!

[urn2bfree]

There is a lot of talk on these forums about the One More Year syndrome wherein you delay retiring to get just a little more $$ or certainty about pulling the plug. I get that and feel that sometimes. But I have not seen as much about what I think I feel much more often which is a mixture of One More Year now swamped by wanting to pull out NOW! Once I saw that I am close, most of my thoughts are how can I get out sooner. Can I accept less certainty, or lower spending just to get the heck out ASAP. ? It is like a snowball effect, but is a FIREball instead, that once it got started rolling it just keeps picking up speed and momentum. Little things at work seem to bother me both more than ever and less at the same time as I realize they can't bother me too much longer. It is a very strange mix. I am ready to LBYM in any way shape or form (spouse not on board ,for that)
Knowing that my wife intends to keep working for 10 more years and that we can probably live off her salary without touching our savings the whole 10 years, and get Health Insurance thru her employer makes it that much easier to contemplate pulling out earlier than my original hopes and plans. But I hate the idea that she would HAVE to keep working...and Really only the uncertainty about costs of health insurance give me serious pause in this regard.
Be careful opening the FIREbox because once let loose, tolerance for the work grind can really be diminished. Anyone else relate to this?

[pb4uski]

Is dialing down to part time work a possibility? I worked 80% and then 50% part time for 5 years prior to pulling the plug and it was very good.

[traineeinvestor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by urn2bfree Once I saw that I am close, most of my thoughts are how can I get out sooner. Can I accept less certainty, or lower spending just to get the heck out ASAP.

Late last year, I fell victim to "one more year" syndrome - the numbers still added up and made sense BUT a substantial fall in some of my investments (heavily weighted to HK/PRC) made me somewhat nervous and I postponed for a year to give myself that additional financial cushion.

Why? Because I would rather front end load any additional time in the work force and sleep well at night (not that I do that much anyway - insomnia) than worry about whether I would have to look for (lower paying) work much later in life and/or have to reduce our standard of living. Once I FIRE I did not ever want to be compelled to rejoin the ranks of the wage slave.

[urn2bfree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Is dialing down to part time work a possibility? I worked 80% and then 50% part time for 5 years prior to pulling the plug and it was very good.

Not really possible and would not sove my problem as I feel work is like defusing mines in a minefield every day. Part time or full the stress is the same.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by urn2bfree There is a lot of talk on these forums about the One More Year syndrome wherein you delay retiring to get just a little more $$ or certainty about pulling the plug. I get that and feel that sometimes. But I have not seen as much about what I think I feel much more often which is a mixture of One More Year now swamped by wanting to pull out NOW! Once I saw that I am close, most of my thoughts are how can I get out sooner. Can I accept less certainty, or lower spending just to get the heck out ASAP. ? It is like a snowball effect, but is a FIREball instead, that once it got started rolling it just keeps picking up speed and momentum. Little things at work seem to bother me both more than ever and less at the same time as I realize they can't bother me too much longer. It is a very strange mix. Be careful opening the FIREbox because once let loose, tolerance for the work grind can really be diminished. Anyone else relate to this?

You're carrying two buckets in your hands as you go through the workplace. One is labeled "FI" and the other is labeled "BS". As your financial independence bucket starts to fill up, the BS bucket usually begins to fill up at an ever-accelerating rate.

Is it possible for you to exit this career for some other type of part-time labor?

Your spouse would probably prefer to have you unemployed and supporting the home front than to have you stressed out, on the edge, bitter, cynical, exhausted, and full of BS. Or in even worse health.

[67walkon]

It's a tough one. For what its worth, I tried the working less thing this year and it didn't work out. The deal was I would work 75% of what is considered a full work schedule and take a 25% cut in compensation; we're a small professional service business, so one would think that would work. The reduced compensation part worked just fine, but the extra time off hasn't. Some people resent and make cracks about the extra time off, one guy is pretty close to matching the time off but without the reduction in compensation and cash flow for the business has suffered. And I'm not going to end up taking quite as much time off as I planned.

So my wife has been telling people that April 1 next year is when I'm retiring, but we haven't discussed it at the office.

I don't think cutting hours works real well. Like the original poster, I'm thinking about moving it up to January 1 and don't really feel like doing this for another 6 months. But I probably will out of my sense of loyalty to the folks I have worked with my entire adult life.

[David1961]

It's a tough balance, because from a financial point of view, it is better to work that one more year. But keep in mind that is a year you will never get back. This is true whether you are 30 or 80. It's also easier to decide if you have had a certain $$ in mind for years - once you reach that goal, unless your situation changes, it's time to go.
I'd make sure you discuss this with your wife and make sure she is behind your decision 100%. Is she OK working 10 more years while you will be retired? Will you be OK with that?

[Animorph]

It might be useful to track your remaining life expectancy (or maybe the number of healthy active years you expect) as well as retirement income. One is going down while the other is going up as you work. Both have some risk since you could die early or you could run out of money. It might be easier to find a personal balance if you consider both sides and not just finances.

[sunnysideup]

Yes I do relate to your situation. My situation is different in that my DH has been in and out of work over the past few years, and if he could get steady employment, I could easily get out of the grind in 1-2 years. However, since he is not employed right now, I am grinding away and not thrilled at being a 9-5-er anymore. I'm ready to slow down but I can't unless he gets a job with benefits.

The good news is I have a healthy salary and we haved LBYM so we are saving at a good rate even with one salary. The bad news is we need to keep one of us working for about 5 more years to keep medical. We do not think that any federal healthcare will be as cheap as employer healthcare, and we have too many years until we are Medicare eligible and that may change too! HOwever, we are so close to 2014 that soon we will see what really will happen.

The truth is we can probably retire tomorrow, but with the costs of healthcare such an unknown, we want to keep going and adding to the accounts so we don't end up feeling pinched in our 5th year of retirement and having to go back to work then!!!

Hang in there. My coping strategy is I am trying to stay positive and not let the BS bucket overflow on me. I am delegating more, and picking and choosing my battles more than ever. Try to make small changes that will have a positive effect on your workday!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2moreyears I'm ready to slow down but I can't unless he gets a job with benefits. The bad news is we need to keep one of us working for about 5 more years to keep medical. We do not think that any federal healthcare will be as cheap as employer healthcare, and we have too many years until we are Medicare eligible and that may change too! The truth is we can probably retire tomorrow, but with the costs of healthcare such an unknown, we want to keep going and adding to the accounts so we don't end up feeling pinched in our 5th year of retirement and having to go back to work then!!!

This is what makes people research the cost of medical treatment at Bumrungrad Hospital...

[traineeinvestor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords This is what makes people research the cost of medical treatment at Bumrungrad Hospital...

DW recently did her annual medical there while we were on holiday and highly recommends it. Since I plan to visit Bangkok sometime next year, I will probably do mine there next year as well.


One more year? Think of it as a form of delayed gratification.

[mystang52]

Wow, the OP's comments and sentiments closely echo my own. I was in serious hate-my-job doldrums a short while back, but now the light at the end of the tunnel is getting close. March1 2013 can't come soon enough for me...and I'm now entertaining thoughts of getting out a tad earler than that.
So, urn2bfree, boy o boy can I relate!!

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords This is what makes people research the cost of medical treatment at Bumrungrad Hospital...

Probably the only thing cheaper is treatment at a CSH unit (assuming you are eligible after triage ).

[sunnysideup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords This is what makes people research the cost of medical treatment at Bumrungrad Hospital...

DH and and I have discussed the possibility of traveling for medical/dental work. (We even looked at retiring abroad.) The problem is that this may work for planned/single events, it woulnd't be so easy for medical emergencies.

So, we are taking the conservative route and planning for US healthcare costs.

[antmary]

Please know that many people are in your situation - and support you. It is one more year, and perhaps you can find an outlet for your stress...such as an exercise you like, a hobby, yoga, etc. It seems that right now you need to strengthen your inner sense of strength and serenity, and whatever feeds that - do it. The older person that emerges over the years will be thankful that you shored up your financial "moat."

[racy]

For me it's Get Me Outta Here! Up until about 3 weeks ago it was One More Year, but the work load has increased including now spending hours at night talking to colleagues on the other side of the world. Besides that our pension plan is changing from a defined benefits plan to a cash balance plan on January 1. Working one more year really doesn't get me much besides headaches and stress. I am outta here!

[Andre1969]

I can relate to the get me outta here sentiment! My problem though, is that I watch the stock market too much, and with this recent run-up we've had, I think it's starting to swell up my head a little.

My job is a bit dull, but at least it's steady. Health insurance is good, pay is decent. They're pretty flexible with vacation time. The commute home is 2.5 miles. One time the car broke down and I was able to walk it in 38 minutes! And the people I work with are pretty good. Most of the drama queens I used to work with have either retired, been fired, or got left behind when I moved to another project.

In my case, I think I'm just looking forward to the prospect of total freedom...something that I don't have as long as I'm working. No matter how good the job is.

[rodi]

I could have written the OP or 2moreYears post.

I like Nord's analogy of 2 buckets. And definitely the BS bucket is full on my side, but the FI one is only 90% full.

I know the safe thing to do is to work for 2-4 more years... that gives us more than enough to cover the medical insurance. But the BS bucket being full, and stinky, makes it miserable in the meantime.

It's bad when you start getting that feeling of dread on Sunday night, knowing that you have to go back to work on Monday... and then it moves to Sunday afternoon, then Sunday morning...

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2moreyears So, we are taking the conservative route and planning for US healthcare costs.

A combination of this and medical tourism would let you carry a catastrophic health insurance policy with a very high deductible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi I like Nord's analogy of 2 buckets. And definitely the BS bucket is full on my side, but the FI one is only 90% full.

Just to be clear, the credit for this analogy goes to Dory36-- the founder of this board.
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post381043

[obgyn65]

I can relate to this also. Have been thinking of retiring this summer. However, it is a bit more difficult in my situation because I have worked many years abroad (hence no SS yet), I am 47 (so I need a longer term plan), and I am very conservative with my investments (hence a lower SWR). Three good points though : I can work part time or reduce my hours drastically, I have a significant financial cushion in cash, and I always live below my means.

Quote:

Originally Posted by urn2bfree Anyone else relate to this?