FIRED??? in three weeks at 39???

[Steve O]

I've been lurking here for awhile know, dreaming of of quiting my job and retiring and relocating down south...

I will be leaving the job I've had for the last 19 years on July 18

Only 14 more working days

Its a steel forge shop thats 100 % employee owned. Hot dirty boring manual labor that paid very good...

I will be getting approximately 1.9 million

Unfortunately the only way to get the $$$ out of the ESOP is to quit

But I really hate this job anyway...

On the 18th they sell my shares back to the ESOP and deposit my $$$ in my 401K.

Then they hold the $$$ for 1 year before I can get it.

Im pretty sure it will be in a money market fund hopefully earning more than 2 % interest

I have 15K in allready taxed $$$ to get me most of the way through this year. And 52K in an IRA and 401k to tap for next year while Im waiting for my $$$

I currently live on 75K a year.

I think I can do OK on 60-65K a year, but inflation is getting outta hand

I plan to spend the next year getting rid of a lotta junk (I can sell a lot of it for more tax free $$$) and fixing up my house so I can sell it.

I also plan to do some traveling down south looking for a good place to move to.

Im single and have no kids, I would like to have a kid or two and be a stay at home dad in the future once I get relocated...

I have been down to the northeast corner of Louisiana and I liked it there.

I still wanna check out The Dallas/Ft Worth area and North and South Carolina. Maybe southern Georgia, north Florida, I've been to Tennessee and Kentucky, I like these also...

I havent ruled out never working again but if I do it will be an easy low paying part time deal for the health insurance...

Im not sure how Im gonna react to not having to work anymore, but Im sure looking forward to finding out

It will also be interesting when someone asks me what I do for a living, Im 39 but I look and live like Im 30!!!

With the way things are going though Im really worried about the future of the good old USA

 

[W2R]

Congratulations!! I wish you the best.

 

[militaryman]

Sounds like you've done VERY well for yourself! Congratz

1.9 mill 4% draw is 76,000 .... Right where your used to spending ...

 

[CitricAcid]

Love the idea of retiring and moving to the South, could fit into my plans in a hundred years.

 

[jclarksnakes]

Steve O,
....Way to go! Very impressive to be FIRED at 39.
Jeff

 

[Steve O]

I got a 2% raise today

It had already been put through before I gave em notice, it usually takes 2 weeks to see a raise there, I might see it on my last two weeks of vacation checks

My last day is the day my crew goes on vacation, they said they were gonna pay me for vacation, WOHOO!!!

 

[firewhen]

Steve O,

Just be careful. $1.9M is not that much, especially over hopefully 50+ years. Over that time horizon, 3% might be safer, which would be about $60,000 per year.

But as you said, you can clearly do some part-time or short stint work if you need to for extra dollars here and there.

Congratulations on a wonderful accomplishment.

 

[Steve O]

I agree, and I cant imagine not working ever again at 39...

I just cant do this kinda work anymore...

I will be unemployed in a couple weeks

My biggest concern is getting outa Illinois.

I hate Chicago, winters and a lot of other things suck here...

Im gonna take some well deserved extended time off and figure something out

I plan on talking to as many "advisors" as I can as long as thier "free"...

I need to give myself some financial education, I've been obsessed with it lately...

72T SEPP I really gotta get a good grasp on...

I have more info on how the ESOP deal works...

I quit on the 18th of July

Our stock price gets refigured every 1/4, I showed up for work today on the 1st day of the 3rd 1/4.

The stock price is announced on the 15th of April/July/Sept/Jan.

As of today I get the 3rd 1/4 stock price, I hope they work hard and do good for the 3 months after I leave

On Oct 18th my stock gets sold back to the company at the Oct 15 2008 price...

They put it in my 401K and hold it until July 18 2009, one year from the day I quit...

I can control the investments for that time in the 401K.

After 7-18-2009 I can roll it over to whatever I want and its all mineO0

So in Oct. I gotta decide where to put all this $$$ in the limited 401K investment choices I have until I can roll it over into my own plan.

Kinda gives me a headache

But life is good

 

[Steve O]

Been almost 3 days, so far, so good

 

[brianinsf]

Steve,

Congrats and I can understand about getting out of Chicago. I don't miss the winters. It's a great city in the spring and fall.

I've got 2 months and 4 days to go (but who's counting)

 

[ziggy29]

I havent ruled out never working again but if I do it will be an easy low paying part time deal for the health insurance...

Part time for health insurance? Good luck. Very few employers offer that deal. Starbucks has been known for it, but (a) they are laying off a bunch of people and closing 600 locations, and (b) with the aforementioned problems I suspect health insurance for part-timers would be one of the first expenses on the chopping blocks.

 

[citrine]

SteveO....congratulations....how are you enjoying your retirement so far?

 

[Walt34]

Part time for health insurance? Good luck. Very few employers offer that deal. Starbucks has been known for it, but (a) they are laying off a bunch of people and closing 600 locations, and (b) with the aforementioned problems I suspect health insurance for part-timers would be one of the first expenses on the chopping blocks.

Home Depot offers it for 20+ hours a week, I think CVS drugstores do too, and Lowes. Admittedly hard to find but not impossible.

 

[ziggy29]

Home Depot offers it for 20+ hours a week, I think CVS drugstores do too, and Lowes. Admittedly hard to find but not impossible.

Which is why I said "very few" employers offer it, not none.

Even so, I would think this would be one of the first things almost any employer will cut out when they hit a significant rough patch.

 

[barker]

SW

Steve,

If you're looking for someplace warm to live, many people from the Chicago area head down to Arizona. It's not too far, and nice and warm. The desert SW is completely different; many people find the location, dry air and warmth appealing. We moved to Tucson Az after early retirement from Connecticut.

Bill

 

[Dawg52]

Congrats! 1.9 mil by 39 is very impressive. Depending on where you move, you can probably live on less than 75k and still be able to travel. Plus a part time job will help reduce your w/d rate. Looks like your all set. Good luck with it all!

 

[FinanceDude]

Steve,

If you're looking for someplace warm to live, many people from the Chicago area head down to Arizona. It's not too far, and nice and warm. The desert SW is completely different; many people find the location, dry air and warmth appealing. We moved to Tucson Az after early retirement from Connecticut.

Bill

It's also a shock from the Midwest, totally different climate. I would suggest something like North Carolina or Tennessee..........

 

[Steve O]

I like Tennessee, Im gonna go check out the Hendersonville/Nashville area

http://www.city-data.com/city/Hendersonville-Tennessee.html

How am I enjoying being ER'ed??

Well I have a lot of work to do around the house...

I got Health insurance yesterday...

Just trying to let it all soak in and not work too hard

 

[Jeb-NY]

Which is why I said "very few" employers offer it, not none.

Even so, I would think this would be one of the first things almost any employer will cut out when they hit a significant rough patch.

I know people that have tried the part time for insurance jobs. The places they worked didn't cut the benefit, they hired enough part time people that very few got enough hours to qualify. Interesting way to have a nice benefit that costs you almost nothing. They used it as a carrot to get the really good employees to sign up for full time or at least more than the minimum, it usually lead to less flexible hours.

Jeb