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I did it - FIRE September 1, 2017!
Old 09-12-2017, 07:32 AM   #1
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I did it - FIRE September 1, 2017!

It is really interesting what seemed so important just a few short months ago, now seems silly and falls into the category "why did I care so much"? Anyway I digress. This post is to let all of you know that are hanging on for OMY or are afraid to make the leap...do it. Do not be afraid. Life is waiting outside of those office doors. Here is my short story....

DH and I discussed retiring a couple years back and he said sure when we are 65. I let him know that may be good for you but I have no intention of waiting until 65 to enjoy life. It was a huge lightbulb moment for him. We buckled down and he started doing major research and of course found this amazing site and we put a plan in place. We have always been great savers with no debt for years so that was not the hard part for us. It was getting on the same page that took a bit of time. I had intended (like all best plans) to work at least 2 more years and DH would retire early next year. Well things changed; work changed; and I found myself leaving in September. At first I was scared: what would happen? Would I regret it? Would I become obsolete? Well I am only a few days into FIRE and I am so happy! I went for a bike ride in the middle of the day yesterday and for the first time of riding my mind was focused on what was around me (I secretly race everyone out there...they just don't know it!) and was able to have an amazing, fast ride. In fact I did 114 miles in my first week of retirement. I am still working quasi part-time (10 hours a week) which I have to talk myself into doing but I told them I would help with the transition. And as a smart person notated in an earlier post - there is ALWAYS someone behind the curtain ready to take your old job and probably make it better! May be a shot to the ego but there is so much more outside of the cubicle wall that it no longer will matter.

The point of this post is to say...time is short....life is short...so no matter where you are in the cycle do not be afraid. Life is really about deciding what YOU want to do during any given day and it is worth whatever you had to do to get there. Trust me I was a ladder climber and thought I was heading for the proverbial brass ring. But then I looked at those that were there and, well they did not look happy.

Funny, I had to go to the office yesterday for a meeting. I met with my former boss for a quick extra meeting at 1:30. She asked if I could stay until 3:30 to meet my replacement for an interview. I was like...ummm no I will meet her later. The thought of staying around the office for 2 hours just was in no way appealing! The humor is that a month ago I could not imagine leaving the place even when my time came. Yep life is one interesting journey!

Thank you to everyone on this forum with great advice, wonderful insight and just a great community of like-minded people. I cannot wait to see what this next chapter has in store as I wait for DH to reach his date!
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Old 09-12-2017, 07:48 AM   #2
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Congrats- enjoy!
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Old 09-12-2017, 07:51 AM   #3
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Congratulations and thank you for the inspirational post, especially for someone (i.e., me) currently doing the OMY thing.
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:10 AM   #4
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Congrats! So happy for you.
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:47 AM   #5
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Lovely! Congratulations...hope to see more of your posts.

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Old 09-12-2017, 09:47 AM   #6
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Congratulations! Well done.
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And can't sustain like one half could
It's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees" - John Mayer
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Old 09-12-2017, 10:04 AM   #7
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Congrats and welcome aboard the FIRE Express! Your story (both before and after components) is almost verbatim of ours.
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Old 09-12-2017, 10:59 AM   #8
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Congratulations! When I retired it was a sad moment-I thought of all the years I spent earning my degrees, taking state and national boards, working-and how I felt I was throwing that all away.
That lasted all of a couple of minutes, and I now couldn't be happier....glad you have joined us!
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Old 09-12-2017, 11:27 AM   #9
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1st Congratulations! I am about 6 months away (I think) and your post was great timing. Do I have enough, will I be bored, will I regret it, etc.
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Old 09-12-2017, 12:20 PM   #10
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Well, I can say you have found your way. When I was reading your post I could relate to every word you said to a T. I was the poster in another thread that said there will be waiting behind the curtain to take over your job when you leave. And yes it is an ego downer or what ever you may want o call it but it is reality.

Good for you and once people get it you wish you would of done it earlier.
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Old 09-12-2017, 12:43 PM   #11
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Congratulations !!!! And WELCOME to the club..... 3.5 years for both my DW and I, Living Forward and enjoying life to the fullest
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Old 09-12-2017, 01:23 PM   #12
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Congratulations! I'm still a few weeks away (in transition mode, both at work and at home)
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Old 09-12-2017, 01:40 PM   #13
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Congratulations, I have been lurking in this group for over a year now and I am in the TMY phase.
I have to get to that age/years of service to qualify for retirement benefits before I can pull the trigger. Some days time goes by very slowly
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Old 09-12-2017, 04:28 PM   #14
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Congrats.

Don`t look back. Just keep moving forward and enjoying your new life.
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Old 09-12-2017, 05:28 PM   #15
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Very inspirational. Everything OP said is true. Thanks for posting and congratulations.
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Old 09-12-2017, 07:49 PM   #16
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congrats- and thanks for the story. Keep us posted!
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Old 09-13-2017, 01:55 AM   #17
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Congratulations! You'll be amazed at how fast the time goes now that you can really enjoy every day!
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Old 09-14-2017, 06:55 AM   #18
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Thank you for your post. Very inspiring! Would love to know if you were in a financial position where $ was not even part of the equation in deciding to retire. OR did you have to weigh your current financial position and dealt like we are close enough and just going to do it.

Thanks again, I think there are a lot of us out here trying to find the "right time" to take the leap and stories like yours are helpful.
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Old 09-14-2017, 07:00 AM   #19
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Typo = felt not dealt.
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Old 09-14-2017, 07:18 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beachfire View Post
Thank you for your post. Very inspiring! Would love to know if you were in a financial position where $ was not even part of the equation in deciding to retire. OR did you have to weigh your current financial position and dealt like we are close enough and just going to do it.

Thanks again, I think there are a lot of us out here trying to find the "right time" to take the leap and stories like yours are helpful.
Actually DH and I discussed my situation extensively before I made the decision to leave. So before we got to the decision to leave, we had to make sure we would be ok as a team. If the answer had been no then I would have stayed. So to answer your question we both did a ton of research (DH more than me!) regarding our 'safe' number to reach to say we are FI. It is hard as everyone on this forum knows, to know what is the right number. No matter how many times you put the number into FIREcalc there are still a ton of unknowns. And trust me, stepping into the retirement world is very scary at first. Money being the number 1 worry and healthcare future is worry number 2 and goes hand-n-hand with money worry. My suggestion is to keep reading forums like this and put together a realistic budget and be prepared for the unknowns as much as you can. There was a post earlier that spoke to figuring out when to increase spending as they had been tight for so long. That most likely will be our issue too. DH and I have always been excellent at living below our means but not at the sake of living. What I mean by that is you have to live your life. We have traveled, bought nice cars, bought a nice house etc. However, I also know that in retirement we cannot do quite as much 'buying' as we have in the past and that is ok. What we like to do is relatively cheap: hiking, biking, reading, napping, etc. That does not mean we won't travel again - just not as often as we did before. As we get used to living on a budget I am sure we will loosen up a bit as the years go by.

But I cannot say enough about freedom. Now to be fair I am still working about 10+ hours a week for my transition but it feels good to be able to go outside when I feel like it or going for a bike ride in the middle of the afternoon!! There is something to say for your health, mental and physical, that you cannot put a price on. However, my biggest bit of advice is to make sure you are ready financially. It will not make any sense for you to step out and worrying everyday about money and whether you will have enough money to live well.

Hope this helps answer your question! Feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions. Being RE now was not in my plan but then again life is not planned out for us as all of you know. Sometimes you have to look at your situation and go "ok so now we are going in this direction...let's go and see what it holds for me"!
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