Trying to keep from going batty!

[TNBigfoot]

Hi fellow FIRE friends. I’ve settled on a date of Oct ‘19. Have run every FireCalc scenario I can imagine, answered all of the “Are you ready to retire” questions, and reached the point of being comfortable with the decision. Would go earlier if I didn’t have to bridge 4 years to Medicare.

My question for the forum is how do you deal with the period after you have made the decision and up to your FIRE date while keeping your sanity? I do want to “earn my pay” and not go off the radar the next 1 1/2 years but each week, it gets harder.

Hope to hear how you have managed through this period. Thanks!

 

[pb4uski]

I guess I never decided that far ahead so I didn't have to deal with it. I actually still enjoyed my work and the people that I worked with and my clients, so protecting my good reputation and not disappointing them would have been a factor had I decided earlier.... besides... if I was pulling in a paycheck I was going to do my job... just an internal pride thing.

But OTOH, if you have enough to be comfortable retiring in 1 1/2 years wouldn't you likely have enough to retire now? Is the negligible incremental risk of ruin worth 1 1/2 of possibly the best years that you'll have left on this little planet?

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Ha, I’m going through the same thing! Driving me nuts.

 

[COcheesehead]

Same here. 3 years out from “the date”. I have short-timers disease big time. I also have an obligation, morally and contractually so I take it one day at a time.

 

[Just_Steve]

Just put on the skates and skate through the next 18 months. Nothing wrong with an early check out.

 

[Bamaman]

Heck, I just was given a 1 day notice that Megacorp was retiring virtually everyone over 55 in 2008. I had been preparing myself for years for ER financially and otherwise.
Never knew how I had enough time to work at a job in the first place.

 

[DrRoy]

I just took comfort from knowing that my day was coming soon. I liked the lyrics from the Eagles "Already Gone."

 

[IMATERP]

Better you, than me...

I found the last six months to be quite frustrating. I had placed my name in the hat for a buy out and I found out 30 days before-hand that I was approved.

I didn't really like my job, so that made my time even more difficult.

Today I am filled with gratitude that I decided to ER.

 

[TNBigfoot]

But OTOH, if you have enough to be comfortable retiring in 1 1/2 years wouldn't you likely have enough to retire now? Is the negligible incremental risk of ruin worth 1 1/2 of possibly the best years that you'll have left on this little planet?[/QUOTE]


Pb4uski, an insightful question. For me it is more risk mitigation in drawing down the portfolio and suffering through the “catastrophe”
that in my mind is inevitable. Allows me to sleep better at night.

 

[TNBigfoot]

Same here. 3 years out from “the date”. I have short-timers disease big time. I also have an obligation, morally and contractually so I take it one day at a time.

Good luck to us both as we manage through the coming months

 

[joeea]

My question for the forum is how do you deal with the period after you have made the decision and up to your FIRE date while keeping your sanity? I do want to “earn my pay” and not go off the radar the next 1 1/2 years but each week, it gets harder.

Perhaps because I didn't make the decision quite so far in advance, but for me things got easier not harder.

I had been thinking about retiring for a few years, but had targeting age 65. A series of work reorgs made me realize that my company was no longer going to be viable for me going forward. I had to decide to either seek a new job or retire earlier than planned. I was 60.

I decided to retire, but wait until a 2-year project was compete. We were in the middle of a major reorg project and I wanted to try and protect my team as best I could. The completion date was 6 months out, so I decided to just not tell anyone until then. And that's what I did.

Those were some of the most enjoyable 6 months in recent memory. Knowing the end was in sight I could concentrate on the good aspects of work, leave on time each day, and not bring anything home with me - for the first time in pretty much forever.

At the end of the project, I gave 2 weeks notice and retired at 60.5.

If my experience is an indicator, you will be able to enjoy your final months, too.

 

[freedomatlast]

Hi fellow FIRE friends. I’ve settled on a date of Oct ‘19.

My question for the forum is how do you deal with the period after you have made the decision and up to your FIRE date while keeping your sanity? I do want to “earn my pay” and not go off the radar the next 1 1/2 years but each week, it gets harder.

Hope to hear how you have managed through this period. Thanks!

My RE date is also Oct. '19, and I manage by just trying to see the humor in all of the ridiculous MegaCorp politics and policies.

I also enjoy having the freedom to politely and respectfully say what everyone else is thinking but afraid to say during meetings, and watching all the shocked looks as if to say, "I can't believe you just said that".

I also like to count down all of the things I will never have to do again, or only have to do one more time, like budgets, performance evaluations, traveling to work in the dark on snowy winter roads, etc.

I do feel somewhat sorry for some of the poor SOBs that disparately want to retire, yet owe payments on everything they own and have no idea what their expenses are, or how much their investments are worth.

One coworker just announced to me yesterday he wanted to retire in December 2018 and just found out there is a 10% penalty if he withdraws from his 401K before 59.5 years. This was a big surprise to him. I asked him if he looked into the possibility of 72t distributions and he had no idea what I was talking about. BTW, this is one of the most high level people in the building. How's that for planning ahead, lol.

Just try to keep a good sense of humor and know that it will all be over soon enough. Better days ahead!!

 

[racy]

I only waited 6 months between the realization that "I don't need to do this anymore" and retiring from mega corp. I spent the time with a sense of amusement and freedom watching the daily life inside mega corp, knowing I wouldn't be there much longer.

 

[foxfirev5]

My only regret was doing the OMY thing. I gave 4 + months notice and was more or less put out to pasture. However, I was given every crap situation where somebody had to go but it was meaningless.
If you can't go sooner just be sure not to tell anyone.

 

[Amethyst]

Starting 6 years before pension eligibility, I ran numbers to see if the total (investments + pension - liabilities and expected expenses) was going to be enough. The year or two before putting in my papers, I ran those numbers a lot. Obsessively, even. Things were changing at home, and I didn't want to be caught short with no way to return to earning. This turned out to be wise, as our expenses exploded after I retired. It was like the house just started falling down.

Much as I loathe office politics, I like to work. Foxfirev5 gives good advice! I pretended to be just as interested in advancement as ever. Dressed up, kept on top of developments, wrote a blog. People were surprised when I put in my papers, and I was asked to return as a rehired annuitant.

As others have observed, Oct 2019 will be here before you know it. Good luck!

Hi fellow FIRE friends. I’ve settled on a date of Oct ‘19. Have run every FireCalc scenario I can imagine, answered all of the “Are you ready to retire” questions, and reached the point of being comfortable with the decision. Would go earlier if I didn’t have to bridge 4 years to Medicare.

My question for the forum is how do you deal with the period after you have made the decision and up to your FIRE date while keeping your sanity? I do want to “earn my pay” and not go off the radar the next 1 1/2 years but each week, it gets harder.

Hope to hear how you have managed through this period. Thanks!

 

[mystang52]

Thanks to tips from the wise folks at ER.org, I coped by planning - in my case nearly every day -what I would do when finally ER'd. I made it a point to try to come up with one new thing to try or do at least once per week. I also dove down into the details of my ER plans to figure out what exactly the plans would entail. This helped pass the waiting time, somewhat.

 

[exnavynuke]

I guess I never decided that far ahead so I didn't have to deal with it. I actually still enjoyed my work and the people that I worked with and my clients, so protecting my good reputation and not disappointing them would have been a factor had I decided earlier.... besides... if I was pulling in a paycheck I was going to do my job... just an internal pride thing.

But OTOH, if you have enough to be comfortable retiring in 1 1/2 years wouldn't you likely have enough to retire now? Is the negligible incremental risk of ruin worth 1 1/2 of possibly the best years that you'll have left on this little planet?

Not sure I understand this thought. Retiring early requires "enough" money. Retiring earlier = less money. Retiring earlier than your planned ER date could very well = insufficient money available to support spending. Not everyone is working until they're down to a 2.5% withdrawal rate.

 

[street]

My company wanted 1 year notice before I retired. That year was a bitter/sweet and I made it a fun last year. I would say enjoy make it fun because when it is done it is done. I retired 22 months ago and I haven't been back there once and have talked to a few people I worked since that time. I wanted a clean break and didn't want to look back and start a new journey.

 

[Mdlerth]

Hang in there baby

My question for the forum is how do you deal with the period after you have made the decision and up to your FIRE date while keeping your sanity? I do want to “earn my pay” and not go off the radar the next 1 1/2 years but each week, it gets harder.

Hope to hear how you have managed through this period. Thanks!

I'm similarly in the home stretch. I deal with it by porpoising up here to breathe the air of freedom a couple times per day before submerging back into the salt mines.

Also, re-run my numbers every couple of days, check my countdown calendar, and occasionally engage a few co-w*rkers in chats about what we'll do when we burst our moorings.

 

[pb4uski]

Not sure I understand this thought. Retiring early requires "enough" money. Retiring earlier = less money. Retiring earlier than your planned ER date could very well = insufficient money available to support spending. Not everyone is working until they're down to a 2.5% withdrawal rate.

Well for one, IME participants on this forum tend to be pretty conservative so to accelerate your date by 1 1/2 years probably isn't going to increase the risk of ruin very much.... certainly not enough tt make it worth toughing it out for another year and a half.

Secondly, according to FIRECalc using default assumptions which include a 4% WR, the success rate for a 30 year time horizon is 94.9% and the success rate for a 32 year time horizon is 93.0%, so the risk of ruin isn't much different to avoid 1 1/2 year of misery continuing in a job that you hate and giving up 1 1/2 years of doing what you want.

 

[pb4uski]

..... One coworker just announced to me yesterday he wanted to retire in December 2018 and just found out there is a 10% penalty if he withdraws from his 401K before 59.5 years. This was a big surprise to him. I asked him if he looked into the possibility of 72t distributions and he had no idea what I was talking about. BTW, this is one of the most high level people in the building. How's that for planning ahead, lol. ...

Is he sure? Most 401k plans allow penalty free withdrawals if you stay until the year that you turn 55.... and many company HR people are clueless about it.... worth double or triple checking.

 

[HadEnuff]

My company wanted 1 year notice before I retired. That year was a bitter/sweet and I made it a fun last year. I would say enjoy make it fun because when it is done it is done. I retired 22 months ago and I haven't been back there once and have talked to a few people I worked since that time. I wanted a clean break and didn't want to look back and start a new journey.

Just curious, did your company allow the same courtesy when it decided to terminate an employee?

 

[Amethyst]

Holy smokes. I'm sure they have their reasons (hard to replace your skills) but for most of us, that just puts a "lame duck" target on one's back for too long.

HR told me I was entitled to retire the very same day I put in papers, but they didn't recommend it, as there are a lot of boxes to check before you go out the door and 8 hours isn't enough My HR rep said she'd seen it done, once, "in anger." I feel sorry for anyone who's that angry at the workplace. Actually, I'm afraid of them

I gave two months' notice because I don't like to put other people in a bind, let alone burn bridges. Even two months' notice seemed like bending over backwards.

My company wanted 1 year notice before I retired..

 

[Luck_Club]

Same here. I have short-timers disease big time. I also have an obligation, morally and contractually so I take it one day at a time.

+1
My date has flex to it. I've been phoning it in so to speak for the past 1.5 years. My Motivation is zilch. I also feel a moral obligation, so I'm still always on with regard to availability, but not doing any proactive stuff.

My lack of motivation has seeped over to my wife as well.

We are both really looking forward to the next phase of our lives.

 

[street]

They treated me with respect the entire time and I felt no different demeanor them from them.

I am not sure about someone getting terminated we had only one that I can remember. That person was given time to find a new job so the company did show some love to the people that worked for them.