Into the ER "Pool"

[Tekward]

I'm finding that my transitions have been gradual as I have progressed towards ER. I have moved from hi pay/hi stress & travel mega corp, to mid pay/min stress university, and in February to independent consultant (goal <50%of time).

Have others taken the steps to enter the ER "pool" gradually or have most jumped right in?

 

[Whisper66]

I jumped right in. DW and I had always lived within our means so that I could ER if I wanted to but hadn't really planned on doing it. Every couple of years I would think about the future and if I wanted to retire early. Last year, I decided that the time was right....several years earlier than i expected. After letting the idea soak in a bit, I made the decision one weekend to retire, notified my organization the next week and retired fully about 1 month later.

I did give some thought to a gradual transition as you have done. Guess I liked what I was doing and didn't feel the desire to change. When I finally decided to retire, financially didn't need the gradual change. Mentally, my current plan is to stay 100% retired but always feel I can jump back into some sort of part time work if desired or needed.

 

[outdoorgirl02]

I am in a gradual transition as well. I own a small business and was the primary consultant and owner for the first 7-8 years while gradually bringing on a few contractors to take some of the consulting work. Then I slowly transitioned out of the consulting to just run the business and do some training online for others in my industry. The slower pace is a great fit for me now and gives me a lot of free time while still saving for full ER.

My next step will be to sell the consulting company and just do my online work before fully retiring in about 10 years.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Gradually. It's been wonderful and not such a shock. Now I'm done; each day feels like a day off, but there are so many days off it's wonderful.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Travelwanted]

Per advice, I am going part-time. While I think I am FI, another year (OMYS) or so gives me a chance to test the waters without completely jumping in. This transition gives me extra time to prepare mentally and financially.

 

[travelover]

Thrown in. Thank you MegaMotors!

 

[Mo Money]

Wading in quickly. I am going to be part-time starting in March, but my intent is only to work on those files/matters that are (were!) mine, as I transition the wo*k to others. The plan is to fade away from the off*ce rather quickly, over a few months. I am going to avoid new assignments -- or even politely reject them outright.

 

[scrabbler1]

I worked part-time at MegaCorp for 7 years before I finally ERed in 2008. In those 7 years I had 3 different part-time arrangements, starting with 20 hours per week in a mostly telecommuting deal (1 day per week at the office), then 20 hours per week but with no telecommuting (3 days per week at the office), then 12 hours per week with no telecommuting (2 days per week at the office). I had to stick around long enough so the booming company stock price would hit my "number" and enable me to cash it out and ER, which is what happened.

 

[MRG]

When I was done, I was 100% done. I don't think there's any right or wrong way, that's just how it worked for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[aim-high]

I'm finding that my transitions have been gradual as I have progressed towards ER. I have moved from hi pay/hi stress & travel mega corp, to mid pay/min stress university, and in February to independent consultant (goal <50%of time).

Have others taken the steps to enter the ER "pool" gradually or have most jumped right in?

I'm about to go independent consultant at <50% from home office. 48 years old, 2 kids in college, DW a career homemaker.

 

[H2ODude]

Sorta jumped then pushed. Was FI for some time, long term career lost its pleasure (no, really, I had enjoyed until last few years; things and I changed) and a milestone was reached that triggered a pension. So I was happy to be recruited to private firm. Unfortunately their plans for me were not well thought out (I was suspicious but figured what the heck?) so I withdrew gradually going from 40 to 32 (to keep bennies) and then just a couple of hours a week, and after a year or so just quit showing up. Money was not an issue (we're using tremendous discipline to spend in ways we previously wouldn't) but after ~3 years I'm happy to report that doing nothing but exercise, cooking good food, eating good food, woodworking, traveling, reading, and entertaining our two hound dogs with long treks in the woods is a really good life. I'm no longer niggled by the feeling that I need to "be doing something with my life." I also enjoy watching neighbors go to work in the morning. Bwaaahhhhaaahhhaaa!

 

[flyingaway]

I worked 12 months per year before I was 45. I now work 8 months per year (at a university). The younger child goes to college later this year and we will start an extensive travel life for the next few years. Since we are not FI yet, quitting is not an option, but budgeting four months a year for travel looks more than enough for me.

 

[Spudd]

I don't even know. I quit my job (effective Jan 30, so still there for now), and I have vague plans to learn programming and/or build some special-interest websites once I'm gone. I was in IT for my whole career but they outsourced the programming piece so I haven't been able to program for about the last 10 years or so. I really loved programming back when it was part of my job.

I think we have enough $ to get by without working, but it's not a slam-dunk by any means. I figure if we can pull in a few extra bucks creating mobile apps or websites, that would help, and it would also be fun and up my alley. We'll see what happens.

 

[Tekward]

Lots of great replies and a lot more gradual transitions than I expected. I'm glad no one has made a "belly-flop" entry onto ER.


I'm looking forward to the consulting gig and having complete control of my schedule (Florida Spring Training is next stop, Kodiak AK in the summer). The amusing thing is how many people are trying to find me more w*rk. Friends are making referrals and the university is offering a part-time position now. But I don't trust the new director to make it worthwhile and the non-compete would constrain my consulting.

 

[Which Roger]

I cut the cord when the time was right and never looked back. It was sort of like getting over a bad relationship. Make a clean break and heal rather than letting things drag out.