nanannjen
Recycles dryer sheets
I have been lurking here for quite a while, and I figure that it's time to introduce myself. DH and I have been planning an ER for a while - it was supposed to be this year, but....well....the market intervened. Then my job...well, that's another story, but I worked in IT for one of those CA S&L's that got taken over by the FDIC, then bought by megabank. Guess what - megabank doesn't need us any more, now that the conversion is complete! So my last day of work is tomorrow. So even though we had planned on retiring, (and we still hope that DH will follow next spring!), it's still hard to take when it's on "their" terms and not mine! There's a lot of us forced out - these are people that I've worked with for almost 20 years. Some can retire, but the majority can't. It's tough to see everyone struggling - there's just not a lot of IT jobs out there right now unless you're a young pup!
If you want the whole sob story, then I have to add that my youngest graduated from HS this year. I was extremely active at the school - PTA president, that type of thing - so now that part of my life is over also! I've completely lost my identities all in the last three months.
Anyway, it's not all bad. I can now spend the time needed to fix up the house - we want to put it on the market and move - we live in Orange County, CA, so we want to take what little money we can get out of it and run (preferably before the next earthquake!). We are probably heading to San Antonio - not 100% sure, but that's where we're leaning towards. We love Texas (lived in Houston in the early 80's), but I want to get to a little bit smaller metropolitan area.
Financially, I think that we'll be okay - health insurance will be a big issue, of course. I am in the process of trying to re-allocate our portfolio away from stocks - and I'm finding that to be a little challenging right now. I've never been comfortable with bonds (never had time to fully understand them). I guess that I have time now!
At some point I'll post our info and ask opinions. Right now I'm just venting a little (sorry about that!) and feeling a little sorry for myself. I have truly enjoyed the reading that I've done so far and I look forward to spending more productive hours here!
If you want the whole sob story, then I have to add that my youngest graduated from HS this year. I was extremely active at the school - PTA president, that type of thing - so now that part of my life is over also! I've completely lost my identities all in the last three months.
Anyway, it's not all bad. I can now spend the time needed to fix up the house - we want to put it on the market and move - we live in Orange County, CA, so we want to take what little money we can get out of it and run (preferably before the next earthquake!). We are probably heading to San Antonio - not 100% sure, but that's where we're leaning towards. We love Texas (lived in Houston in the early 80's), but I want to get to a little bit smaller metropolitan area.
Financially, I think that we'll be okay - health insurance will be a big issue, of course. I am in the process of trying to re-allocate our portfolio away from stocks - and I'm finding that to be a little challenging right now. I've never been comfortable with bonds (never had time to fully understand them). I guess that I have time now!
At some point I'll post our info and ask opinions. Right now I'm just venting a little (sorry about that!) and feeling a little sorry for myself. I have truly enjoyed the reading that I've done so far and I look forward to spending more productive hours here!