Spontaneous ER

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i retired not spontaneously but with minimum thought (yikes, huh?). i used to think i'd work until i was 55. then i thought i'd work until mom died. but then my dog died. and that was just a year after my best friend died (he was 52). i got real depressed and kept asking myself, why am i waiting for the next being i love to die before i quit?

i ran numbers sans benefit of this board's knowledge or firecalc. i had no idea about the 4% thing and i was planning on 5-6%, not from any knowledge, just an intuitive sense. i worked out the numbers and decided i'd retire on my 49th birthday in january, a present to myself.

but that june there was too much nonsense at work. the place had become rife in backstabbing & finger pointing for years already. i had a manager who insisted on a phone conference for an hour once a month and i just couldn't listen to that miserable sob anymore. i had too much misery in my life and i couldn't breathe.

i couldn't call back my dog. i couldn't resurrect my friend. i couldn't stop my mom from dieing. so i did what i could do to get at least some of the misery out of my life. so on july 4th, 2005 i sent the email: i quit. the country was so happy for me they now set off annual fireworks on that very day.

immediately my life got better. i have readjusted my future plans to include 4% - 4.5% withdrawal rate. if real estate busts in florida, screw it; i'll move to thailand for the next 10 years and let the portfolio grow.

had i known all the stuff i'm learning now, i would have done much more planning and been that much more spontaneous even sooner.

"there exists an obvious fact that seems utterly moral; namely, that a man is always a prey to his truths. once he has admitted them, he cannot free himself from them."~~albert camus

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy Maybe. My supervisor lit into me two weeks ago and I terminated my contract the next day. If I can't find another job, by default I will be retired. No regrets. I refuse to work for offensive people anymore. I would do it again tomorrow. She is anxious. So am I.

You are tough.

BTW, I love your e e cummings quote: "...listen: there's a hell
of a good universe next door; let's go "

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Martha said,

Quote:

You are tough.

Maybe. Maybe just dumb as a brick.

I did get a nice offer this morning to work in Houston, though, so I do have a safety net. Still looking in Calgary as I like it here.

That ee cummings quote is one of my favorites, too. That and Bob Dylan's "Tambourine Man" and The Byrds' "Wasn't Born to Follow" and a whole lot of Jimmy Buffett these days. I don't think I was meant to work for anybody, but dang it is hard to live on nothin'.

Got to go. "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"!

Cheers,

Gypsy

[bookman51]

I did this spring after some jerks falsified information on evaluations and supervisor too lazy to follow up to verify.* When truth came out, he was too embarassed to admit it.* I decided I had enough.* Sure, would not minded working a few more years under good conditions;* did not want to work one more minute under those conditions.* Not looking back.*

[VoyT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan * I know a team of software developers at my company (6 of them) who also share in the their weekly lottery gamble.* The fear of being the one left should the others hit the jackpot compells them to cough up to that most risky retirement plan.

* Funny, that's the same reason I throw a $ into the pot when my office buys tickets for the big Powerball jackpots.*

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Nuts. I ain't sharing my Powerball with ANYONE!

(mutter mutter)

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookman51 I did this spring after some jerks falsified information on evaluations and supervisor too lazy to follow up to verify.* When truth came out, he was too embarassed to admit it.* I decided I had enough.* Sure, would not minded working a few more years under good conditions;* did not want to work one more minute under those conditions.* Not looking back.*

So how is the ER going?* What are you doing all day?

[AltaRed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VoyT * Funny, that's the same reason I throw a $ into the pot when my office buys tickets for the big Powerball jackpots.*

Same reason I did as well (but would refuse to ever buy a ticket on my own).

[Arif]

Spontaneous ER is as fun as jumping out a plane spontaneously.

Airplane....check
Help......check
Parachute.....ummmm

[bookman51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha So how is the ER going?* What are you doing all day?

Doing just fine and busy as ever, largely doing what I want to do.* Market makes me a little nervous but I can deal with that better than some people trying to make me into something I was not and would not let myself become.