[Telly]

Hi Dex,

FWIW, here are my comments:

1. Am I crazy for giving up this job?

Yes, absolutely crazy. At least right NOW you are.


2. Has anyone in my position negociated a severance package from a company? If so, how?

If you quit, you quit. Why would they negociate to give you more $$ to take with you? What's in it for them? Now, if they were laying you off instead, then you have some leverage. Some.


2. What would I do if I quit? I've worked all my life and I can't say I have many interest. The one good thing about work is that it fills up my day.

This is the real meat of the whole thing. Retirement is not for everyone. It may be for you some day, but it sure doesn't look like it now!


3. Do I have enough money to live if I never worked again? (Wasn't there a calculator on this board that was all encompassing?)

FIRECalc can help you answer this question, but you will have to project what your annual living expenses will be once you retire.


4. One of my fear is that I live, work, die and do not enjoy life.

Ah yes. Don't feel like a leper because you think that way. Many people do, at some time or the other. But what is "enjoy life"? It is different things to different people. If we look at commercials and a lot of the media, "enjoying life" means partying. Many younger people that I used to work with seemed to believe that. However, there is a small core of people that think using/learning some skill, acquiring knowledge, etc. is one of their life's purposes. I am one of those! No bottle required! It doesn't have to be something flashy and grand. It can be many little things in parallel. Example: I don't what much TV, but came across a black and white movie on TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Caught the last half of a movie that looked interesting. Well, after watching it, I needed to know the beginning. Went to the library and got the book. Curled up with a book for an hour a day. I enjoyed it much. The book and its descriptions, and my visualizations of them, was much better than the movie. The book was too cerebral for a direct movie translation, even back then.

I could drivel on and on about the multitude of little things that I now have time to experience, and enjoy!

In the posts above there is much good advice. I'll close with a quote here from salaryguru, as I have observed that back in the older folks where I used to work, and in my relatives too:

"Many of the people who seem happiest with retirement seem to have reached a point where work was getting in the way of the things that they valued doing most."

Maybe it's just not your time yet, Dex. Don't force it!