Unexpected Dithering

[mamadogmamacat]

Greetings, all. It's been a couple yrs more or less since I last posted, and much has changed. I was planning my RE for early 2016 (sometime in first qtr). Yet I dither, and have not given notice yet, although I am very open with my wishes and have no further ambitions and really have a very low BS tolerance.......I openly comment about this in ways I never would have prior to FI). Will be eligible for a modest DB pension, so my initial, pre-SS WR will be between 3.0% and 3.7% depending on how much discretionary spending I do such as travel and charitable contributions. It may be even less as i have assumed 10% inflation for health care expenses, including premiums. This will drop to less than 1% once SS begins. Yet i dither with unreasonable financial fears. Anyone else who experienced this?

 

[JoeWras]

Nope. Absolutely nobody on this board has any problems, ever, with OMY (or TMY, or FMY). Never. You are the only one.

Of course! I am one of many of us currently in OMY. You are not alone. I say to myself I dither because I want to sync my ER with DW's. But truth be told, every time I have to pay for something unexpected (like having to buy plane tickets unexpectedly on short notice for a sick family member), I say to myself: "Joe, good thing you are working, you can afford this." Come on! I could afford it if I were ER'd. Just an excuse to continue my OMY.

It is insidious. mamadog: you just have to put your foot down and do it. Easy for me to say, but I have a hard plan: March 31, 2018. We'll see where I am then.

 

[Mo Money]

Jump. The net will appear. (It will appear because you have likely been weaving it for decades....)

 

[Souschef]

Help!

Help! Is there a list of all the acronyms and abbreviations??. Every board has it's own set. I am pretty good at figuring out TLA's (three letter acronyms), but I am stumped on some. For example:
WR
OMY
TMY

 

[REWahoo]

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

 

[Car-Guy]

It would seem by your comments that you not only haven't posted for a while but you haven't been reading many of the post here or you would know the answers.

OMY syndrome, BS tolerance and fear of jumping into retirement are very common themes on this board.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Thanks

Thanks, all especially JoeWras, who hit on exactly one of my unreasonable fears. have had an unexpected house and car bill this yr, yet even so expenses have been within my planned range of spending during ER. Just like they were during 2014, when i had two out of state weddings to attend, in back to back weeks, one in Canada (Toronto is a beautiful city by the way, very walk able, much like my birth place NYC, but less crowded, more like the NYC of my childhood). Another unexpected part of the dithering is emotional attachment to some colleagues, more than I expected to have. i was hoping the excitement of anticipating the freedom of ER would overshadow that, but it hasn't.

 

[Jerry1]

I went so far as to print out and bring the form home but I have yet to fill it out. I never thought it would be this hard. I think you pointed out one thing that makes it even harder. All of a sudden, the BS at work is a lot different. Once you can retire financially, a different attitude comes into play. I've already told my assistant not to book any meetings on Friday unless it is urgent and/or initiated from one of the leaders I report to. This allows me to actually work on a few of the things that interest me and that I've been wanting to get to but never could.

The bottom line however is that it's tough to walk away from the security of a job and the money it brings. Part habit, after working over 30 years (close to 40 for me) and part financial.

Good luck with the mental challenge. It's harder than I thought it would be.

 

[Souschef]

It would seem by your comments that you not only haven't posted for a while but you haven't been reading many of the post here or you would know the answers.

OMY syndrome, BS tolerance and fear of jumping into retirement are very common themes on this board.

I am sorry you feel that way, but I just started on this forum less than a week ago.
I find your response insulting and condescending.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Please don't take offense, Souschef, especially since the comments were directed toward me (as the OP or original poster of this thread) and not you and i chose to not take offense and by the way welcome to what is generally a very enjoyable and often informative site for sharing the ER anticipation and eventually for us ditherers, the ER experience.

 

[Souschef]

Please don't take offense, Souschef, especially since the comments were directed toward me (as the OP or original poster of this thread) and not you and i chose to not take offense and by the way welcome to what is generally a very enjoyable and often informative site for sharing the ER anticipation and eventually for us ditherers, the ER experience.

Thank you so much for your comment. I have thoroughly enjoyed my short time here. It is wonderful to read about people who are on the same page as I am as far as financial decisions.
That being said, I once got a bonus, and could have put it in the bank, but instead chose to take a once in a lifetime flight in a fighter jet that I was flying. There are some experiences that are worth more than money.

 

[Turn_the_Page]

I'm at the same place, spring 2016. It's hard to pull the trigger. Thoughts of "can we really live without a paycheck" when we'll be just fine at maybe 3.5% initial WR. There's the good days at work when you feel needed and that's you've contributed. Then all it takes is a couple of days when i feel like my head is going to explode with the lunacy and I'm READY.

 

[JoeWras]

I am sorry you feel that way, but I just started on this forum less than a week ago.
I find your response insulting and condescending.

Please don't take offense, Souschef, especially since the comments were directed toward me (as the OP or original poster of this thread) and not you and i chose to not take offense and by the way welcome to what is generally a very enjoyable and often informative site for sharing the ER anticipation and eventually for us ditherers, the ER experience.

I hope both of you hang with us. Generally, people here are kind and are glad to repeat. Every now and then, one of us "has a day" and rattles off a curt response. It happens. I've even done it. Just forget it about it for now.

As for OMY: it is very well known on this board and constant topic. It is constantly on my mind. You may not find "TMY" or "FMY" because they don't fit well and most people don't use them:

• TMY: two more years
• TMY: three more years
• FMY: four more years
• FMY: five more years

It is kind of a joke. But not really, because OMYs become TMY and FMY all too often.

 

[Markola]

DF retired as a full time engineer on Friday - at age 76. Not sure what that acronym is but son will not be like father!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[JoeWras]

df retired as a full time engineer on friday - at age 76. Not sure what that acronym is but son will not be like father!


Sent from my ipad using early retirement forum

bswnblf

 

[growing_older]

WR=Withdrawal Rate

often cited as SWR=Safe Withdrawal Rate

The landmark Trinity study of historic returns determined that for thirty year retirements, a WR of 4% (adjusted for inflation) was safe in all periods studied. It is a matter of some debate on the board what is a SWR for longer periods or if returns going forward could be worse than the historic data used in the study. This gives rise to all sorts of other ways to calculate a WR that may or may not be safer for longer retirements.

 

[Jerry1]

I hope both of you hang with us. Generally, people here are kind and are glad to repeat. Every now and then, one of us "has a day" and rattles off a curt response. It happens. I've even done it. Just forget it about it for now.

Also remember that the written word doesn't translate emotion very well. Imagine yourself in a group of friends and you're talking "smack". It's all good, but taken the wrong way or out of context, and it doesn't seem too good. In this case, imagine a friend telling you if you'd come around more, you'd be up to speed on things. It may sound harsh, but it's really someone hoping you'd be around and be more involved.

I try to give the benefit of the doubt to things written in a forum and remember that in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing that really affects me. This is a very good board. The ones that are not, are easy to tell very quickly.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

A fellow engr retired last yr at 77. This after moving halfway across the country for the job 2 yrs before. He truly did not know what else to do with his time but work. I found this both sad and hard to believe until i chose to help him pack his office for the move and found out he was quite the control freak, so for his DW's sake perhaps working that long was best overall. I still find it sad, but that's me, and we are all different. I hear golf is his current obsession, so hopefully both he and DW are happy. I do not expect I will do OMY or mutliples thereof. There is much i would like to do outside of work before this life ends, and longevity is an issue based on family history. Got surprised a bit last week as someone else is "retiring" end of Jan 2016 and coming right back part time. Now I'm wondering if such an option is possible for me, so more dithering there as well.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

thinking a series of OMM (one more month) will be what likely plays out in my case, definitely in class of 2016 somewhere

 

[flyingaway]

One you can walk away (FI), your tolerance of work BS changes. I have the same experience.

 

[dirt_dobber]

I had 4 years of just OMY'ing. Just didn't have the courage to tke the leap. So glad I am a Class of 2015 member. I feel amazing and it's only been since Oct.13th Wow!

 

[dunkelblau]

Thanks, all especially JoeWras, who hit on exactly one of my unreasonable fears. have had an unexpected house and car bill this yr, yet even so expenses have been within my planned range of spending during ER. Just like they were during 2014, when i had two out of state weddings to attend, in back to back weeks, one in Canada (Toronto is a beautiful city by the way, very walk able, much like my birth place NYC, but less crowded, more like the NYC of my childhood). Another unexpected part of the dithering is emotional attachment to some colleagues, more than I expected to have. i was hoping the excitement of anticipating the freedom of ER would overshadow that, but it hasn't.

I can relate to feeling reluctant to leave a team I've worked with for decades. Even though we have minimal connections socially (like I know whose kids do which school sports but I have no idea how any of them vote), we've been through a lot together. Some of my best work over the years was my contribution to our team's response to an unexpected business crisis. I was considered a world-class expert in my professional niche, but outside of my work environment, nobody I know would have any understanding of or interest in the stuff I'm very good at.

Being FI came in handy when family constraints pulled me out of the game, but thankfully my management got creative and set me up for a remote assignment that meshes well with my time and location needs. So I guess if you're thinking about hanging onto both worlds, my advice is to not assume your choice has to be binary, there might be a way to structure a partial RE, and it may be worthwhile to bring up this possibility in case they don't think of it first. OMY could become something quite different than what you've done.

 

[Bir48die]

Went part time in Sept. Thought I could make it a year or two. Last week I decided I'm out at the end of March after I get my bonus for 2015. I have found that my fuse is short and my patience thin. All of the things I thought I could avoid by going P/T are still here. I still have to deal with those who think they are kings/queens.

You will see my Year Of 2016 post at that time. So as of now 3 1/2 months and counting.

 

[Midpack]

WR=Withdrawal Rate

often cited as SWR=Safe Withdrawal Rate

The landmark Trinity study of historic returns determined that for thirty year retirements, a WR of 4% (adjusted for inflation) was safe in all periods studied. It is a matter of some debate on the board what is a SWR for longer periods or if returns going forward could be worse than the historic data used in the study. This gives rise to all sorts of other ways to calculate a WR that may or may not be safer for longer retirements.

Not to pick nits, but WR and SWR are not interchangeable, some here use the term SWR erroneously. One is historically "safe" (with a 95% confidence over 30 years for Trinity) while WR may be otherwise - more or less than theoretical "safe." WR should be used when the writer is knowingly trying to convey other than SWR.

FWIW, most studies have concluded the indefinitely safe withdrawal rate (unlimited vs 30 yrs for Trinity et al) has historically fallen between 3.0-3.3%.

 

[sengsational]

I went so far as to print out and bring the form home but I have yet to fill it out.<> .

A form to fill-out to quit? What's in it for you? I just told them that if they couldn't/wouldn't give me 25 weeks unpaid vacation, I wouldn't be back on Monday.