The Other Side of the (FIRE) Coin

[FIREd]

Another thing I wanted to add. Maybe my definition of FI is not quite the same as other people's, I don't know. As far as I am concerned, I will reach FI the day I can continue my current lifestyle without having to work for it. That currently includes more than $25,000 a year for things that make life either easier, more fun or more secure. Once we pay off the house it would go up to more than $35,000 a year. For me being FI does not mean having just enough to pay the bills, otherwise I'd be almost there already!

 

[Nords]

Being married can cost you a bunch too. If I were single I would not have incurred some significant expenses over the past few years and who knows what in the future.

I've never had a date that involved a multi-thousand $$ home-improvement project...

 

[rogersteciak]

But for those of you who are FI and still working, any advice on how to keep your head in the game (at work)?

When I hit entry-level FI, I took a sabbatical that lasted a few months, not by preplanned intent, but because of burnout (I work as a contractor at a temporary help agency and some clients can be too unreasonable for my tastes). Then I found out that getting up late every day with nothing that has to get done that day got old in a hurry. So I went back to work, but on a selective basis -- I won't take a contract that I consider to be too stressful for me. I continue to work, but because I want to rather than because I have to. I also have control over the assignments I will accept, which mitigates some of the frustration of working in Corporate America. One of those restrictions is that I will only accept assignments where I can work mostly at home rather than going on site all the time. That further reduces some of the work-related tensions I have to face.

 

[HFWR]

Of course I would, another $million would drop the average age of my dates 10 years.

Ha

Yeah, I wish I could afford younger hookers, too...

God bless...

 

[Andre1969]

Here's one little mind trick I've started doing, which often helps me get through a boring workday, at least. When I look at the clock and see what time it is, I think about how many hours it is until I get off. Then I think back on what I was doing that many hours ago.

So for instance, right now it's 9:00 AM. I get off at 4:00 (although tonite I'm probably putting in some OT). Anyway, that's 7 hours away. Well, 7 hours ago, it was 2:00 AM and I was sound asleep.

Now if I look at the clock again at 10:00 AM, that's 6 hours to quitting time. But 6 hours ago, it was 4AM. Still sound asleep. At 11:00 AM, it's 5 hours to quitting time. 5 hours before, it was 6AM, and I was just starting to get up. So while 2 hours have passed in real time, when I look back, 4 hours have elapsed.

Now it may not work for everyone, and a lot of people may just think it's plain dumb, but I swear on a slow, boring day, it does make the time seem to go by faster.

 

[dm]

I worked part time for a few month's after I reached FI. My former boss asked it I would stay around for a few months to help with the transision. I didn't hate my job and I was able to leave at 11:00 to go golfing so I said sure. I figure I only have so many summers in my life and I didn't want to spend them at work.

Ive been fully retired now for around 6 months and even with the downturn in the market, I am still happy that I did it. I would rather cut back my spending than go back to work. The free time is worth so much more.

 

[CuppaJoe]

....
Now it may not work for everyone, and a lot of people may just think it's plain dumb, but I swear on a slow, boring day, it does make the time seem to go by faster.

Yeah, I do that sort of thing. Years ago when I was working my way through school, I spent 8 (count 'em, eight months) working on an assembly line putting Q-Tips on a conveyer belt. I'm not kidding.

Every morning at 7:00 a.m. I picked a location. I knew the AMTRAK schedules well enough to follow them by heart. The wrapping machine sounded a lot like a train and I would figure where I would be after eight hours. Next day, where did I leave off, which train will I transfer to. Funny, that never ruined my love of trains.

 

[hoping]

ha ha, you are hurting my feelings.

 

[ESRBob]

Midpack,
Do the math to make sure your budgets are in order based on expected expenses, safe withdrawal rates etc.

If you are expecting some sort of big-ish payout at work by sticking it out another x months etc then weigh all that and generally people in your situation find its worth gutting it out for the payoff.

But if there is nothing on the reward front beyond the same old paycheck, and you are asking the questions you're asking, my suspicion is your days there may be numbered. At some point you've got the FI part covered, you don't have any real reason to hang around, it isn't fun anymore... and one bad day or month or even one bad meeting followed by a nice walk outside gives you that sense of Freedom that makes you say, "I want to feel this way every day for the rest of my life" and you just go and never look back.

That's been my path anyway since 2001. I'm so used to that sense of Freedom now that I couldn't imagine living without it.

 

[Ronstar]

Well said! It is the "I want to feel this way every day for the rest of my life" feelings that matter more than making more money when FI is reached.

 

[Walt34]

Years ago when I was working my way through school, I spent 8 (count 'em, eight months) working on an assembly line putting Q-Tips on a conveyer belt. I'm not kidding.

Yow. And I thought pumping gas and unloading trucks was boring....

 

[Midpack]

In retrospect I gave too much background which led quite a few to question my "when." My question is really how do you stay engaged between FI and RE when you've chosen to delay RE? Sorry for the poorly written original post.

 

[ESRBob]

Same way you stay at any job after the point when you're bored with it:
1) convince yourself you like it ("find the fun in it" is what I tell my kids about school stuff they complain about.)
2) Set up a little spreadsheet that tells you how much an hour or a day or a month of extra work is going to give you in terms of extra annual income for the rest of your ER life. (Salaried worker's form of watching the clock)
3) Pick fights with co-workers to keep your adrenaline up and your attention engaged (sorry, being facetious on this one)
4) Ignore the whole thing for awhile and just keep slogging away until another year is past.
5) Disengage mentally in stages by pursuing other stuff that is along the lines of what you'll be doing in ER, so that work is done with less and less of your real attention.
6) Take longer lunches, leave earlier, goof off more, take advantage of more of the discretionary travel, training, conferences etc. (Post here from the office)
7) Look for a sinecure -- a new job within the organization that is interesting but not too challenging.
8 ) Reinvigorate your career with a promotion and new challenges -- as long as you're there you might as well do it really well and gain the maximum amount of experience, income, excitement.
9) Try to figure out something really good for the organization that no one else has the time or talent to figure out -- a way of saying thanks, or ending on a high note and giving them something useful before you go.

But the way I personally did it was to just make myself go numb every day on the way to work -- 'suck it up', I told myself. I actually used to have these involuntary visions of injecting myself with some sort of 'numb syrum' to just go in there, do the job for another day, and go home. It sucked, and it was very bad for my health, but it got me through the last year or two prior to ER. I was kind of a physical basket case by the end, though! If you have a way to leave earlier than that, I'd say it's worth considering.

 

[Rambler]

In retrospect I gave too much background which led quite a few to question my "when." My question is really how do you stay engaged between FI and RE when you've chosen to delay RE? Sorry for the poorly written original post.

I guess that is very similar to how I am feeling now, except that I am only entry level FI now, and want to be "solidly" FI...and there is already light at the end of the tunnel. So sometimes it is difficult to stay engaged. I try to remember that there are some 3000 people counting on me for their livelihood, who have supported the goals that I have set, and have helped me achieve them and thus the level of FI that I have, and who continue to support me through the tunnel. Yes, there are those who are not supportive. There are days that you want to toss in the towel, but in my case anyway, being able to summon up the "attitude of gratitude" as well as my desire to see this business unit continue to succeed even after my departure, are the things that help me stay engaged (even if my level of engagement is marginal at times). Hope this helps, I know it won't be of use to all on the board...
R

 

[RunningBum]

If you have a good relationship with your boss, talk to him/her. Maybe there is something they can do to liven things up for you or at least improve things.

A year or so ago our group had joined another group and picked up some of their work since theirs was increasing, and ours is tailing off. I hated it for a number of reasons, and it was really difficult to learn the new stuff while telecommuting. I strongly considered leaving. So I went to my boss.

He said he really didn't want to lose me. He asked if I was happy working on the old stuff, and offered to let me stay on that full time and not worry about the new stuff. If there were lull times when there was not so much to do there, don't worry about it. So I haven't. With the pressure off of learning something new, which really isn't important to me since I don't plan on hanging around too much longer, work got more enjoyable. It's not all roses, but it's pretty bearable.

You never know, maybe there is an assignment up your alley that your boss has to offer you to keep you interested.

 

[rogersteciak]

You never know, maybe there is an assignment up your alley that your boss has to offer you to keep you interested.

An established company that manufactures stuff usually has a product line mix that can be categorized as follows:

• rising stars: new products being introduced to the marketplace (the company's future)
• cash cows: existing money makers (the company's present)
• dogs: former cash cows to be obsoleted someday (the company's past)
• problem children: products that aren't commercially successful (heads will roll if they can't be turned around)

The rising stars, cash cows, and problem children are the most stressful because they are in the spotlight. These areas are the fertile ground where corporate politics thrives the most.

The dogs are the least stressful because they will gone soon (which means they are the least likely to be on someone's political radar screen). FIRE-seeking people biding their time until they are ready to pull the trigger might enjoy this area of the company sandbox if they want to reduce their stress level while working for Corporate America.

 

[RunningBum]

An established company that manufactures stuff usually has a product line mix that can be categorized as follows:

• rising stars: new products being introduced to the marketplace (the company's future)
• cash cows: existing money makers (the company's present)
• dogs: former cash cows to be obsoleted someday (the company's past)
• problem children: products that aren't commercially successful (heads will roll if they can't be turned around)

The rising stars, cash cows, and problem children are the most stressful because they are in the spotlight. These areas are the fertile ground where corporate politics thrives the most.

The dogs are the least stressful because they will gone soon (which means they are the least likely to be on someone's political radar screen). FIRE-seeking people biding their time until they are ready to pull the trigger might enjoy this area of the company sandbox if they want to reduce their stress level while working for Corporate America.

There's a ton of truth in that. I was split between a rising star (with some potential to be a problem child), and something between a small cash cow and a dog. I stayed with the latter and dropped the rising star work, and the stress is very low. Plus I know the technology well so there's not much to learn.