Ready to launch, then chickened out...

[Go-NoGo]

“Now, because I had been a football star, and a war hero, and a national celebrity, and a shrimpin' boat captain, and a college graduate, the city of fathers of Greenbow, Alabama, decided to get together and offered me a fine job. So, I never went back to work for Lieutenant Dan. Though he did take care of my Bubba Gump money. He got me invested in some kind of fruit company. And so then I got a call from him saying we don't have to worry about money no more and I said, "That's good. One less thing. "Now, Momma said there's only so much fortune a man really needsand the rest is just for showing off. So, I gave a whole bunch of it to the Four Square Gospel Church and I gave a whole bunch to the Bayou La Batre Fishing Hospital. And even though Bubba was dead, and Lieutenant Dan said I was nuts, I gave Bubba's mommy Bubba's share. And you know what? She didn't have to work in nobody's kitchen no more. And 'cause I was godzillionaire and I liked doing it so much, I cut that grass for free.”
Forrest Gump

+1

Wins the internet post of the day - love it!

 

[Dtail]

It is time Dawg. IIRC, you have a Fatfire budget and an impressive NW.
Lots of wiggle room.
The water is clear. Jump in.

 

[MBAustin]

While I agree that FI is all about giving you the power to decide when to retire on your terms, I would say that what I enjoy about retirement far outweighs what I miss from w*rk.

Since you haven't experienced it, you don't know how it will be for you. Any chance of taking a solid month off (sort of a mini-sabbatical/trial run)? If you are a valued employee then there's a good chance they'll treat it as though you were out for a month for a medical reason and not stress about you coming back. If at the end of the month you want to stay retired, either just do it or negotiate your transition. If you want to go back to w*rk, do it. Or maybe go back part-time. Just a thought...

 

[harley]

+1 One doesn't retire, voluntarily, just for the sake of retirement.

Sometimes one does. At least this one did.

 

[audreyh1]

Sometimes one does. At least this one did.

Agreed. I was totally taken with the 19th century concept of gentleman/woman of leisure. I had so much I wanted to do that work kept me from doing.

 

[travelover]

The beauty of FI is that one can take on the w*rk environment on your own terms. If they treat you poorly, you can tell them so.

What are they going to do, fire you?

 

[flyingaway]

Well, I just could not do it. The RE plan I implemented since my early 20's played out on paper above all my expectations. End of 2019, at age 55 was it... 2019 income was supersized, RE assets grew above my "number" thanks to Mr Market and real estate investments, and paid off the house... man, I was ready to go! BUT, I just cannot cut the cord yet. I feel like I am caught in a vortex! On one hand, I want to dive into the pool of freedom and just let the next chapter of life play out, but on the other hand, I have a job that has been very lucrative, generally enjoyable and very flexible that is not stopping me from really doing any travel/other things I would do in RE, and should be relatively profitable until the economy tanks so why not ride the wave until it crashes... it seems logical that I should ride it out, right? None the less, I didn't expect to feel this tension which frankly has me waking up each day asking the same question... "What do you want to do today?" I feel like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day! I have spent my whole life "accomplishing", checking off daily to-do lists, moving the ball forward and the fear of not replacing this with something in RE has me somewhat paralyzed. I think this is less about OMY syndrome or even ego, but more about how to reprogram myself.

Anyone else walk up to edge of the pool and just stare at it?

So you are waiting for the next crash? If it does come, I am sure that you will be waiting for the next recovery.
I'm not criticizing you, since I am on the same boat. If I want any reason for not quiting, that is just to tell other people.

 

[mystang52]

+1 One doesn't retire, voluntarily, just for the sake of retirement. You seem to have the best of all worlds - financially independent so you do not have to work, you enjoy working, and you feel you have enough vacation time to do what you want. You don't need our "permission" to continue working. When you're ready to take the plunge, you'll know.

Sometimes one does. At least this one did.

Agreed. I was totally taken with the 19th century concept of gentleman/woman of leisure. I had so much I wanted to do that work kept me from doing.

My bad, a typo of omission. I meant to write: One doesn't HAVE TO retire, voluntarily, just for the sake of retirement.

 

[RobbieB]

Me too. I retired without having anything (except numerous hobbies) to retire too. I did know that I didn't want to work anymore nor did I have too, but that was about it. I'm cool with a loose schedule with nothing planned.

Maybe I'll plan something...

 

[pb4uski]

Me too. I retired without having anything (except numerous hobbies) to retire too. I did know that I didn't want to work anymore nor did I have too, but that was about it. I'm cool with a loose schedule with nothing planned.

Maybe I'll plan something...

+1 In fact, some people who knew me very well thought that I might be climbing the walls within a year.... a part of me thought that perhaps they were right, but as it turns out.... not! I was pleasantly surprised how content I could be puttering around and not doing much of anything.

 

[DrRoy]

I sort of did 9 extra months for DW to get comfortable with the idea, but then dove in and its been great. I was not as happy with w**k as you though. Still, if you have things for your time then you should go.

 

[eytonxav]

You need to just work on your plan of how you would spend your time if you were not working. When that plan outweighs the work enjoyment factor, and if the finance side is a green light, it will be time to go. I never realized how much I missed work when I retired at 54, but got bored and went back to work, finally retiring at 63.

 

[ckelly78z]

+1

Wins the internet post of the day - love it!

I have seen that movie so many times, and loved the reference. I was chuckling the entire time I read it !.

 

[Perryinva]

I was basically in the same boat and probably would still be OMYing it, if the ERP offer wasn’t too good to refuse. I was ready 2-3 years before the offer, but couldn’t make the change. But I knew I would be kicking myself forever had I not taken the ERP offer. Sometimes it takes an external influence.

 

[HI Bill]

I, too, have walked up to edge of the pool and just stared at it. Four extra years. But in those years, we doubled our planned travel budget, and went from being able to afford a condo to a house. At 54, my BS bucket is full, and I hear the call of travel. Going to New Zealand for a month, next month, then returning for six or so weeks to wrap up the loose ends before heading to Europe for a month, then Japan for two. I ran out of vacation time, or I might have w$rked longer!

 

[Time2]

+1 One doesn't retire, voluntarily, just for the sake of retirement. You seem to have the best of all worlds - financially independent so you do not have to work, you enjoy working, and you feel you have enough vacation time to do what you want. You don't need our "permission" to continue working. When you're ready to take the plunge, you'll know.

+1, you like your work. You get up anticipating what your doing at work and not dreading getting up to go to work. You still have freedom to do some of the bigger things you want to do.
Why would you quit.
You might start jotting down things that you can't do because of work, and things that want to do but work interferes, someday that list might have enough important stuff on it, that the decision is easy.
Until then enjoy your work, it is more fun when you don't have to do it.

 

[2retireearly]

If you want to work, work.
If you don't want to work, don't work.
Easy.

That's it..nothing else to it..if you like working,then keep doing it. If you don't then stop. I dont get the issue. But..if you wait after age 64 then you're not doing EARLY retirement..Just, retirement. Do what you feel like you want to do! Enjoy whatever!

 

[gooddog]

Knew someone that had the same problem as you. His solution, after I talked him into it, was to go to contract work for the same company at about half time for a year. He reevaluated after that year, and lightened the load up the next year, then completely retired after that. He still says it was the best decision he ever made (was in 2012), and calls once or twice a year saying 'thanks'.

 

[imnontrad]

Nothing wrong with that. I was financially secure and not ready to pull the plug. Then I got sick and (that jerk of a company) fired me. I took some months off to finish recovering my health and went nuts. I really liked working in that field.Then I put out my resume and went back to work. A year later when that job was moved to another state, I was finally ready to walk away - and have not missed it. When you get to the point where you have something else you want (or need) to do, you'll have little trouble walking away.

 

[watchman3135]

I can be honest with myself. With the numbers where they should be, I was planning to ER at 55 but was instead laid of in June 2019 at age 53 1/2 and decided to use it as my spring board. In the back of my mind, I could envision myself struggling with walking away from my cushiony IT Support role of 18 years making $78k per year though. It was easy money because it was poorly managed for a long time. I along with other staff literally did about 3 service tickets and surfed the internet the rest of the day and this went on for years. Six months later, I am happy it happened this way because in all honesty, I'd probably have ended up working their until my early 60's because of fear. I now appreciate the push and will rely on my decades of planning. I think it boils down to being able to trust yourself that you can do this and stand on your own two feet without relying on someone or something else to give you a bi-weekly pay check. You can't put a price on your own time.

 

[Murph]

Well, I just could not do it. The RE plan I implemented since my early 20's played out on paper above all my expectations. End of 2019, at age 55 was it... 2019 income was supersized, RE assets grew above my "number" thanks to Mr Market and real estate investments, and paid off the house... man, I was ready to go! BUT, I just cannot cut the cord yet. I feel like I am caught in a vortex! On one hand, I want to dive into the pool of freedom and just let the next chapter of life play out, but on the other hand, I have a job that has been very lucrative, generally enjoyable and very flexible that is not stopping me from really doing any travel/other things I would do in RE, and should be relatively profitable until the economy tanks so why not ride the wave until it crashes... it seems logical that I should ride it out, right? None the less, I didn't expect to feel this tension which frankly has me waking up each day asking the same question... "What do you want to do today?" I feel like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day! I have spent my whole life "accomplishing", checking off daily to-do lists, moving the ball forward and the fear of not replacing this with something in RE has me somewhat paralyzed. I think this is less about OMY syndrome or even ego, but more about how to reprogram myself.

Anyone else walk up to edge of the pool and just stare at it?

JUST DO IT, GIRLY-MAN!

 

[ERhoosier]

OP seems to have the best of all worlds with $$$ and plenty of free time.
I would ride that wave as long as I could.

 

[SpinDoctorTX]

You might look at it this way, DawgMan. As long as work is enjoyable for you- well, hats off to ya! Why not stick around? You already have the freedom now to do as you please, when you please. If you expect to have a lot of years left in you (and can do what you want when you want for the most part), no harm in waiting until the day comes that it just isn't doing it for you anymore. I was ready a couple of years before I pulled the trigger myself, and I knew with absolute certainty when it was time to exit stage left and get on with my next phase. Good luck!

 

[tn3sport]

I have a little different opinion on the "if you enjoy your work, keep doing it..." philosophy. You might consider exchanging that office time for getting healthy time...I"ll explain..



I know its anecdotal, but my neighbor (lead partner in a fancy Atl lawfirm) worked a few more years because he "really enjoyed the work..." He was FI ready in his mid 50's. But, he was caught up in the OMY syndrome. He was able to build a nice $2m beach house with the extra cash he accumulated in those ++ work years... He enjoyed one season of the beach house before he croaked of a heart attack at age 63.



My question is: are you healthy? Do this quick test: Sit on the floor indian style. Can you stand up without using your hands? This is a simple test with remarkable life expectancy prediction results.



My suggestion. FWIW... is put your health situation into the decision and see if it changes the decision.


BTW, loved the analogy of staring at the pool. I'm picturing Cameron Frye "Ferris Buellers Day Off" staring into the pool....

 

[gooddog]

"Can you stand up without using your hands? This is a simple test with remarkable life expectancy prediction results." Wouldn't put too much stock in that.