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Old 08-08-2016, 08:17 PM   #1
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Considering ER

Hi All, from NC and 54, wife is 52. Wife retired from Mega Corp a couple of years ago after being there for 30 years. My career has been pretty successful and gave her the freedom to choose. I'm happy about the choice she made and I'm a bit jealous.

I'm still working FT and really detest my work and the thought of going there every day

I started a company back in 2009 and it was very successful.

I did an asset sale of my company in 2015 and it's been mismanaged and downhill ever since. I have a 7 mil note, that is payable upon success of the company which may or may not ever materialize. I also retained 30% ownership with no cash out.

The asset purchase of my company and the stress of what I perceive as mismanagement, has me unmotivated and on the brink of despair non-stop. One of those situations that kind of sucks the life right out of you.

Sorry to be a debbie downer but venting in an optimistic way if that makes sense. I want the company to succeed, but if it doesn't, I'm pretty happy with what I have

I'm feeling like quite a loser for even thinking of bailing on the company I started but also trying to consider the lack of enjoyment that my 12 to 14 hour days are causing me and what's the point of success if you can't enjoy it?

After being self employed for the last 13 years, I don't think I could ever put on a suit and drive downtown to work for the man again so considering ER. I used to do consulting as a software engineer before my start up in 2009.

My wife and I currently have about 940k in cash, 570k in 401k's, 1 mil equity in our current home with no mortgage and no debt. We'll get about 57k yr combined in SS if we wait until 67. 13 years is quite a while though but could start earlier if we had to. I currently earn 160k per year, down from 200k due to pay cuts .

I plan to sell my current home in the next year or two, move further south and buy cheaper. Maybe add another 500 or 600k to the cause.

I'll be honest, I used FIREcalc and all came out good with multiple scenarios but really need to dig a bit deeper to see what our monthly expenses are. We're pretty frugal for the most part but too much work to spend excessively.

My kids each have 2 years left in college and each has 35k in the bank as a starter fund. The rest of their college is on my dime, probably 40k per year or so for the next 2 years.

I know there are many of you in that are or were in the same position and while I hate to pull the trigger too soon, I also don't want to wait until it's too late either. Thinking a career shift at this point will be too tiring and want to kick back for a while if I can pull it off. Finally get to the hobbies I've been dreaming about for years.

Just wondering of you folks had any advice for a dreamer on the verge and to say hello..

Thanks.
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Old 08-08-2016, 09:35 PM   #2
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It has been stated many times, retire when you have had enough and when you have enough. Or the alternate, your BS bucket is full. Seems you are at that point. The one key you need is to figure out the real budget, and then how you will cover those expenses. Running FIRECALC is fine, but are the numbers you put in realistic?

Why sitting on so much cash? If I give credit for the house downsizing, and the resultant cash out from selling, it makes approx 75% of your total assets: $1.5M out of $2M. That is not exactly a recipe for long term financial growth and keeping up with inflation.
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Old 08-09-2016, 05:49 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 View Post
Running FIRECALC is fine, but are the numbers you put in realistic?

Why sitting on so much cash? If I give credit for the house downsizing, and the resultant cash out from selling, it makes approx 75% of your total assets: $1.5M out of $2M. That is not exactly a recipe for long term financial growth and keeping up with inflation.
Thanks 38Chevy454,

FIRECalc runs were based off of educated guessing without getting into nitty gritty. I'll need my wife's help with that. Recent RE transaction has me sitting on some cash and plan to do something with it. I'm just not planning to do anything stupid with it
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Old 08-09-2016, 06:45 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoPats View Post
Hi All, from NC and 54, wife is 52.
...
7,000,000 note

...

My wife and I currently have about 940k in cash, 570k in 401k's, 1 mil equity in our current home with no mortgage and no debt. We'll get about 57k yr combined in SS if we wait until 67. 13 years is quite a while though but could start earlier if we had to. I currently earn 160k per year, down from 200k due to pay cuts .

... really need to dig a bit deeper to see what our monthly expenses are. We're pretty frugal for the most part but too much work to spend excessively.

....
Agree with 38Chevy454. No way to tell without corralling your present and projected spending. Those aren't necessarily the same, and may be quite distinct animals. (Look at the current thread of Health Insurance spending for example of variability by location, too. If your wife has you covered on this, that would be a big plus factor.)

Ignoring the Note and minority ownership, which sound highly contingent, but would remove all worries if it comes in, your assets would have been vastly more than enough for some forum participants at your ages, while nowhere near enough to support the burn rates of others. With downsizing to smaller/cheaper house, you would likely have 2 million though--which would support spending that compares well with the Median Income for families of 2 in most states. https://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcp...come_table.htm But, spending would be half or (more likely) less of your present income. Need to be sure that's doable for you. If not, I'd look at other employment opportunities.
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Old 08-09-2016, 06:57 AM   #5
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Go Pats; Do I understand that your current job is for the company that you started and sold 70% of? And you received no cash up front and carry a $7million dollar note for the sale and you may walk away from it? And if so would you receive any ongoing earnings based on your current 30% ownership. It sounds as though the company was stolen from you. Perhaps a few more details to fill in the gaps?


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Old 08-09-2016, 08:38 AM   #6
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Go Pats; Do I understand that your current job is for the company that you started and sold 70% of? And you received no cash up front and carry a $7million dollar note for the sale and you may walk away from it? And if so would you receive any ongoing earnings based on your current 30% ownership. It sounds as though the company was stolen from you. Perhaps a few more details to fill in the gaps?


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They brought more assets than I did to the current setup and the asset sale of my company plus the capital and retail stores they brought gave us about 80 retail locations. I had 20 locations at the time of the sale and knowing we'd be regulated, it was a strategic move for survival by teaming with the right people. Or a strategic gamble

All the owners in the company are in the same position and if the company is ultimately successful, I get paid out before anyone else, so there is incentive there. But I'm burnt out and looking to bail

I'd never walk away from my ownership, just the day to day grind.

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Old 08-09-2016, 08:55 AM   #7
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For it being such a new company, and new owners writing a $7 million note, it sounds as if the sale might have been intellectual assets more than hard assets.

I just hope the new owners hold it together enough to pay you.

Your idea to move to a less expensive place to live is correct. I know you're burned out right now, but it may be time to step back and punt--so to speak.

What's good is that you still have your job skills and you can always go back into consulting part time for enough to meet your basic income needs.
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Old 08-09-2016, 08:59 AM   #8
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Welcome, GoPats. Sounds like you are in burnout territory. Any chance of taking a sabbatical for a few months, or if not, at least a 3-4 week vacation? You might gain some helpful perspective on what you really want to do with a little space.

Definitely agree that tracking expenses is in order.
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Old 08-09-2016, 10:41 AM   #9
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Burnout is what drove me away; previously found work rewarding but last few years that went away and so did I. You sound more than ready to leave or do something different but the note and the chance of it materializing ... or not... certainly make it a more difficult decision. In my case I held on a few years longer to materialize a jump in pension, even though I really didn't need it to retire. Just couldn't pass up the extra cushion.

As for the financials, you really need to do some reconstruction of where your money's been going and how much you'll need for future. Knowing I'd get to retirement some day I was more than a bit anal about keeping track of where our money went for probably as long as 10-15 years before. And I'll admit I still do. Never had a budget, still don't, but the ability to judge sufficiency for the future based on past experience to me is invaluable.

Good luck. It sounds like you're pretty miserable and I hope you can see your way to comfortably decide that yes, it's time.
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Old 08-09-2016, 04:20 PM   #10
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While you would not have to eat dog food, I have to wonder could you not extract some cash from that 7 M note ?

Surely if nothing else, you could sell the note for some % of the 7M , but perhaps there is a way to get some payment over years from it ?
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Old 08-09-2016, 09:47 PM   #11
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If you need to make a decisive change, could you try getting a different job before retiring? The BS Bucket was sloshing so badly in my last job, I was fantasizing about downsizing our life, if it meant some relief. Instead I got a different job and now I plan to work a few more years and feather the nest, because, heck, it's not that bad compared to where I was. I'm glad at didn't FIRE yet. Good luck.


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Old 10-11-2016, 11:17 AM   #12
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Hi all, as usual, hectic work schedule has caused what seemed like a couple of weeks to go by was 2 months.. My job still sucks and finances are about the same..

Cashing in on part of my note would be possible but probably not in my best interest in the long term as it's either going to happen and I get it all or potentially get nothing.

Again, it was a gamble to join a larger organization in a struggling industry. The industry does have tremendous potential but we face tough regulations from the FDA that may be difficult to overcome if the regulations stand.

I sit here today with the BS bucket overflowing and having a few moments to burn since I really just can't stand the tasks in front of me (conversion from one e-commerce platform to another) and needed a mental diversion after being tantalized by watching a few episodes of Caribbean life last night.

Anyway, didn't want to leave you guys hanging. I'm still on the edge and was nice to come back and see that my original post still made sense to me and wasn't just drunken blabber
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