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27 year old dislikes working 40 hours a week
Old 01-08-2013, 07:32 AM   #1
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27 year old dislikes working 40 hours a week

I've been lurking here on these forums for about 3 years, regularly reading posts. Lots of good info and good stories. Plenty of great people!

I decided to finally sign up because I had some thoughts on moving to a new home, but I'll get into that in a different thread.

I'm 27 and the wife is 28. We have no kids and are not planning on any. They are too much work and cost too much. Plus, we barely take care of ourselves, how can we care for a kid! We both work full time at the same job with good benefits. We've been saving aggressively for about 5 years, and hope to semi-retire at age 37, and 38. With your help, we will hopefully pull this off.

And a final note. Working stinks. If work was only 2 or 3 days a week, for 5 or 6 hours I would not mind it at all. 40 hours is way too much time. Between the rest of chores and all of the stuff that life is, there is no space for that much work.

Feel free to ask questions! I'll post my other thread about moving shortly.
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Old 01-08-2013, 07:43 AM   #2
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Old 01-08-2013, 10:02 AM   #3
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I agree, work stinks. I think it would suck less if I could work out to get two 4-week vacations a year and am aiming for that goal starting next year. This year I'm taking one vacation, for a bit more than 6 weeks, but I think it would be better to space them out.

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Old 01-08-2013, 11:25 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Too young to work View Post
I've been lurking here on these forums for about 3 years, regularly reading posts. Lots of good info and good stories. Plenty of great people!

I decided to finally sign up because I had some thoughts on moving to a new home, but I'll get into that in a different thread.

I'm 27 and the wife is 28. We have no kids and are not planning on any. They are too much work and cost too much. Plus, we barely take care of ourselves, how can we care for a kid! We both work full time at the same job with good benefits. We've been saving aggressively for about 5 years, and hope to semi-retire at age 37, and 38. With your help, we will hopefully pull this off.

And a final note. Working stinks. If work was only 2 or 3 days a week, for 5 or 6 hours I would not mind it at all. 40 hours is way too much time. Between the rest of chores and all of the stuff that life is, there is no space for that much work.

Feel free to ask questions! I'll post my other thread about moving shortly.
I'm 46, and it seems like yesterday that I was 27 like you. The time seems to fly by. As a guy with two kids and a wife who was a stay at home mom for 14+ years making NO income, all I have to say is that you SHOULD be able to semi-retire in 10 years. Not sure what your income is, but two kids take a LOT of income. With my wife's lost wages over 14+ years and my income that was spent on both kids (kids are now 16 and 12), had all of that been invested, we would be a multi-millionaire family right now. Of course for us, the kids are worth it, but I understand that children aren't for everyone. Point is that you should be able to invest half your income or more and get yourself to be able to semi-retire within 10 years and even finally completely retire soon after that.

I hope you do it! I KNOW it can be done. Hating the work you do is no fun. Good luck!
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Old 01-08-2013, 11:38 AM   #5
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I'm 51 and heartily agree that working 40 hour weeks sucks.

I switched to 32 hours/week a decade ago. That extra day off is GOLD... Definitely worth the 20% paycut. I get all my chores (laundry, housework, groceries) out of the way and can spend the weekend doing things I enjoy, and dealing with the kids.

People talk about how expensive kids are... I'm not sure I completely agree. Daycare is pricey when they're little. (Assuming you don't have a SAHM). But that's temporary. Hand me downs are good. We take full advantage of hand me down toys, clothes, etc. The only big expense with them now is the annual funding of their 529's... Like everything else in your budget - you can spend a lot, or be frugal... even with kids' expenses.
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Old 01-08-2013, 11:44 AM   #6
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Welcome! I also hated working in my 20s, but my perspective changed in my 30s. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I think I became more confident in myself and was able to take more charge of my life at work and make it more tolerable. Plus the more I saw my net worth grow, the more motivated I was to make it grow by adding to it every year.

Hang in there, and develop a plan to reach your goals so that you can have the option to quit early if you want to. Good luck!
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Old 01-08-2013, 09:22 PM   #7
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What do you do that is not so interesting?
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Old 01-08-2013, 10:08 PM   #8
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I think you are too young to have this negative view about work. I would suggest not nurturing this though too much. Try to find the silver lining when you can.

You are almost certain to have long way to do, and by having a negative attitude towards work will make the journey much more difficult.

It is good that you have a plan to FIRE soon. Work towards it but enjoy the journey as well. Best of luck.
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Old 01-08-2013, 11:14 PM   #9
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No disagreement on your notion that working less is a great option to have. I did want to chime in that I do enjoy my work much more in my thirties than I did in my twenties. For most of us, true "financial independence" requires many decades of sustained effort, so finding happiness in your job is helpful.

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Old 01-09-2013, 01:16 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by melion View Post
I think you are too young to have this negative view about work. I would suggest not nurturing this though too much. Try to find the silver lining when you can.

You are almost certain to have long way to do, and by having a negative attitude towards work will make the journey much more difficult.

It is good that you have a plan to FIRE soon. Work towards it but enjoy the journey as well. Best of luck.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:18 AM   #11
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+1
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:18 AM   #12
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What do you do that is not so interesting?
I am a custodian. The job fell into my lap, so it became a matter of convenience. I get paid very well for what I do. Great benefits too! It's not necessarily the work I hate so much, but the amount of time I spend there. That and the fact that you HAVE to be there at a certain time every day without exception. Back when I started part time, work didn't bother me a bit. I like most of the people I work with, but it's also a job where I'm alone for a good portion of the night. It gives me quiet time, which I like, but not so much of it. I'm much happier working an independent job than being surrounded by people the whole time.

40 hours really is a lot of time. We don't have kids and don't plan on any, and yet I feel I have so little time outside of work to actually enjoy life. When you add up all the chores, we're not left with so much time. Work, sleep (I need over 8 hours or I'm groggy all day), packing lunch, cleaning, showering, and all the little stuff really only leaves an hour or two at best each week day. I don't work out right now, an I've tried getting it into my schedule. I end up mentally exhausted each time after a week or so. I feel burned out as it takes even more of that little free time.

Does it seem like I'm lazy or whining? Maybe, but if I can set myself some goals and get out of full time work much sooner, why not? I say early semi retire and then quit after a few years, but I may end up liking working part time and decide to stay much longer than I'm currently anticipating.

Going back to school... Was a thought for a while, but I've come to accept I have issues in which this is not an option. I have a very hard time staying focused and composing my thoughts. School was difficult for me, and the college was too. Ultimately, I decided that saving was a better option than going to school. I don't know what I would really want to do any how.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:27 AM   #13
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How much you will need to spend per month to live.
How much money you will need to retire?

Answer the first question and the second can be estimated.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:29 AM   #14
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If 40 hr weeks are not pleasant, consider the military. On call 24/7, regular hours when I was in the Army were rarely less than 70+. Then all the fun of prparing for IG inspections, parades, alerts will fully round out the week.

Did a few stints on research vessels ar sea, usual fare was 12 hours on 12 hours off, 35 to 40 days at sea, two or three days in port.

Some field work in Alaska for 4 to 5 months at a time, usual days were 10 to 12 hours in the hills, plus prep work before and and cleanup after. Good bit of hiking involved over tundra. You got to do it to appreciate the fun.

Maybe a non-office j*b will be more appealing.

I'm sure Nords can fill in the Navy's casual schedule.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:40 AM   #15
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If 40 hr weeks are not pleasant, consider the military. On call 24/7, regular hours when I was in the Army were rarely less than 70+. Then all the fun of prparing for IG inspections, parades, alerts will fully round out the week.

Did a few stints on research vessels ar sea, usual fare was 12 hours on 12 hours off, 35 to 40 days at sea, two or three days in port.

Some field work in Alaska for 4 to 5 months at a time, usual days were 10 to 12 hours in the hills, plus prep work before and and cleanup after. Good bit of hiking involved over tundra. You got to do it to appreciate the fun.

Maybe a non-office j*b will be more appealing.

I'm sure Nords can fill in the Navy's casual schedule.
Sounds like a nightmare. Thanks for your service!

I enjoy physical work, don't think I would ever do an office job.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:43 AM   #16
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How much you will need to spend per month to live.
How much money you will need to retire?

Answer the first question and the second can be estimated.
I've already estimated the numbers many times. I don't have them with me, but about 2600 to 3000 a month plus health insurance is what I'm looking at right now.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:45 AM   #17
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I've already estimated the numbers many times. I don't have them with me, but about 2600 to 3000 a month plus health insurance is what I'm looking at right now.
36K a year plus taxes so say 40K a year. Using the 4% withdrawal rule you would need 1 million invested.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:50 AM   #18
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36K a year plus taxes so say 40K a year. Using the 4% withdrawal rule you would need 1 million invested.
+1

And please note that studies show you could only withdraw $40,000 + an increase each year to keep up with inflation for 30 years before your chances of running out of money begin to increase significantly. You'd probably do better with a withdrawal rate around 3%, meaning you'd need closer to $1.3 million invested.
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Old 01-09-2013, 08:08 AM   #19
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If work was only 2 or 3 days a week, for 5 or 6 hours I would not mind it at all. 40 hours is way too much time. Between the rest of chores and all of the stuff that life is, there is no space for that much work...
As much as I liked my work, I did not like to do 40 hrs/week either. But I found myself doing 50-60 hrs/week in a self-imposed manner, when I was with a small business of which I was a founder of. When that business folded, I worked part-time doing consulting work with the hours like you wanted, and with a month or two off at a time too. I did that for 7 years. Not too many people have that chance, I know.

Businesses do not like their employees to have that much freedom, however. They want to own your butt, and have you on their beck and call. There have been much talk about people sharing a job, a desk, etc..., but I doubt if that will happen.

So, at the age of 27, you have not paid your dues, and must tough it out. Most of us geezers could not afford to quit until our 50s.

Cheers.
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Old 01-09-2013, 08:19 AM   #20
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Most of us geezers could not afford to quit until our 50s.
Don't think of yourself as a geezer, more of a child or young adult of retirement.

I should mention my pension estimate for 10 years from now will be about 650 to 700 a month if I took it immediately when quitting full time work. I already have close to 8 years of service in. Of course there will be taxes and the 10% penalty, but that will reduce the monthly draw down. My wife should also have a smaller pension at that point too. Maybe 300 to 400.
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