Hello from Toddtheaccountant

[Toddtheformeraccountant]

I've been watching this great group for about a year, and posted a couple miscellaneous threads from which I got great advice and feedback. You guys are great!

I've learned a ton and reading what all you folks have done has made me ready to pull the ripcord!

So, thought I'd go ahead and do my "howdy."

Me, 52...DW is 53. DW is FT Mom.

Three kids....one out of college and (mostly) on own...one in college, another in high school.

Assets:
$1.9M in various flavors of tax-advantaged (401K, IRA's, etc.),
$5.1M in garden variety taxable brokerage.

AA Target 50-55% equities, rest in fixed income. Simple simple...VOO, VEU, and VTI (mostly VOO) for equities....BND, VCIT, LQD for fixed income.

Also house, $1.1M value, fully paid for. Too big for the two of us...will downsize to smaller/less expensive house once youngest is off to college.

Liabilities - kids, probably another $400K to spend on college and "supplementation" (as well as incremental costs of supporting extra humans living in the house, for food, clothing, etc) before they completely fly the coop.

I've dialed in our expenses, looked at historical for the last two years on MINT, properly segregating the cost of kids. In terms of identified expenses, looking at about $125,000 per year for me and DW....that includes $25,000/year for medical. Even if I pad another $24000 on top of that, and factor in expected taxes on investment income (ran a pro forma on Turbotax) plus 10% of income to charitable....WR is 2.5%. Excluding a dime from social security or medicare.

If I factor in social security and medicare, "reserving" from assets what me and DW would collect between now and 70 y/o....WR is about 2%. I figured the annual "value" of medicare is about $12,000 per year. Figured SSI through a model I calculated and history of income.

I've been at Megacorp for 21 years....Bored as heck at work....no challenge, getting more and more irritated with corporate silliness. Blech. But I'm probably up for some type of promotion and/or bump in comp in the next month (long story as to why).

Unless raise is super dooper massive (which it won't be), I'm about to say "sorry guys it's time for me to move on with my life" after March 31. I'll tell them I'm willing to stay up to a year until they replace me and bring someone up to speed.

Also that I want some type of a "stay" agreement where they don't cut me loose on December 31 of 2018 and I just worked for just a base salary for 9 months. So I think that covers that.

I think the finances are solid, best I can tell.

The part of my plan that is not as well planned out...what the heck to do when retired. I'll definitely restart some hobbies I had earlier before I was consumed with work and family - photography and piano/music, and get involved in some type of charity/ministry. I think I'll have to learn as I go. That part concerns me, but I think I will be OK...but a tiny bit nervous.

I figure as a backup plan for "oh my god I'm bored and I can't stand it" I can work part time, or possibly full time for a smaller company with a business or purpose that fascinates me, with little concern on how much they pay me. But I'm not expecting that...just a backup.

Any suggestions, thoughts, "hey you bozo you forgot...'s" would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Ready]

Welcome, and congratulations on achieving FI and being ready to go whenever you choose.

Since you have more than enough to stop working, it seems your biggest concern is what to do with your free time. It's a step each of us has to ponder before we make the big move.

Perhaps switching to part time work, and having more free time to test the waters might be a good way to ease into ER. I did that for four years and had a chance to discover new things to spend my time doing while still keeping a toe in the working world. It's not for everyone, but some people find it hard to quit cold turkey.

No other suggestions, but do let us know how it works out for you!

 

[OldShooter]

Congrats on your great financial situation. Good job!

Re what to do after retirement: If there is a SCORE chapter near you I'd suggest that you check it out. SCORE is sponsored by the SBA and provides free mentoring to small business wannabes and clients. Many of us are former small/medium company CEOs and entrepreneurs of various stripes but many are also former corporate guys. Our clients often need coaching on business plans and accounting questions. Our chapter also offers a number of training courses with accounting content. Finally, there are opportunities on the administrative side and in chapter management. https://www.score.org/

 

[Toddtheformeraccountant]

Congrats on your great financial situation. Good job!

Re what to do after retirement: If there is a SCORE chapter near you I'd suggest that you check it out. SCORE is sponsored by the SBA and provides free mentoring to small business wannabes and clients. Many of us are former small/medium company CEOs and entrepreneurs of various stripes but many are also former corporate guys. Our clients often need coaching on business plans and accounting questions. Our chapter also offers a number of training courses with accounting content. Finally, there are opportunities on the administrative side and in chapter management. https://www.score.org/

Thank you oldshooter, that actually sounds awesome... I was thinking of something like that and it would be right up my alley!!

 

[pb4uski]

Why wait? Unless your raise is super-duper, tell them that you have decided to retire but are flexible on your leave date but you want to do it in a way that both you and mega feel good about how you left.... then let them figure out transition... if it is sooner than you think then great... if they try to stretch it out too much you can always say... nah, I didn't have staying that long in mind.

As far as what to do... that wasn't an issue for many of us... rekindled hobbies, new hobbies, travel and volunteer work fill in the gaps easily in many cases.

I did part time for many years... at first 80% then 50% then back up to 80% for a special project for an important client that wanted me then back to 50%. It was great... much better than working full time... but I still didn't have big chunks of contiguous time to golf with friends, etc. work/client needs/demands just kept getting in the way of what I wanted to be doing... so I left in the way I described above... I told them I was leaving but wanted to do it in a way that we would both be happy about.. it worked out great.

 

[Red Badger]

Along with the other great suggestion, you can also consider working at a not-for-profit, or volunteer for a charity whose mission aligns with your values. There is a world of need out there and the reward is soul lifting.

Best of luck in pulling the ripcord!

 

[slv1]

You have 7 million and after you downsize the house you will have more. If you are bored start you own accounting company and just take the clients that you like. You can be picky and work part time. You can do business accounting consulting. Work as much or as little as you want.
When you get sick of it you can retire fully or retire fully now.

 

[rodi]

Congrats on doing so well.
I was worried I'd be bored so I signed up for classes at the local college (Italian language).... By the third semester I had filled the rest of my time so thoroughly that school no longer held the same allure. The hobbies and activities I thought I'd want to take up are completely different than the hobbies and activities I now do.... It's all good.

Trust me you'll find ways to fill your time and not be bored.

 

[eastnortheast]

Can only echo what others have said. Obviously, from a financial standpoint, you are more than good to go. Agree with what pb4uski said - tell them you are retiring but flexible on the date (within reason). That allows YOU to control the timing and end date.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Wow- I am so impressed! You have prepared well- enjoy yourself. Don't worry about finding things to do- you sound like work kept you from some of the things you liked to do. Start there, and you'll figure it out as you go.

 

[street]

If I had your money I would throw mine away. LOL You are in great shape and it didn't just happen without hard work.

 

[firewhen]

Every now and again I read a post and think that is me. Very similar here--financially, age, family status. My 2 major concerns are what will I do with myself and health insurance. Health insurance I can pay for; not happily but I can. It seems like everyone manages to keep busy and be happy, so I am sure I will find my way. But it is hard to stop doing something after 30+ years, 20+ years at the same company. What is happening is that I am getting more annoyed with work, and it is harder to deal with since I know I do not need to. When the financial need is not there, in some ways it is easier to not get upset about work, but it still is something to deal with. That is probably the key question, why am I making myself deal with something? I keep saying I am one bad thing away from quitting. It is a slow iterative process, but I do think after many years I am getting there. Lets us know how it goes with you and what you do or do not decide. I certainly am interested in knowing!

 

[Toddtheformeraccountant]

Ok so I had the conversation... And I was offered enough $ to where ill stick around for a few more years...itll be worth it and worse case if I hate it I'll leave earlier than that. All in all a good outcome!

 

[StuckinCT]

Your're in great shape. Unless you plan to leave a huge inheritance for the kids, your biggest problem maybe what to do with it in 30 to 40 years. I would suggest a higher withdrawal rate, at least 3%, enjoy life, and it sounds like you can dial it back. I might also have a little more of an equity allocation, 120 minus your age as a starting point to equities.

 

[exnavynuke]

With $7M you can take ~$245,000/year and never run out of money most likely. As such, only go to work ever again if you want to be there, you have no use for the money you'll earn there other than to give it away unless you drastically increase your spending. Why waste another day working for others in exchange for money you don't need?? You've got plenty of money, you're days are slowly disappearing though.

 

[ERD50]

Ok so I had the conversation... And I was offered enough $ to where ill stick around for a few more years...itll be worth it ...

That's hard to understand. How can some extra $ that you don't seem to need be worth a few more years of your life?

Now if you are one of those fairly rare people who absolutely loves the work they do, that might be different. But it looks like you are the same person who said:

Bored as heck at work....no challenge, getting more and more irritated with corporate silliness. Blech.

Same guy?

Don't underestimate the "worth" of being able to retire in your 50's. People slow down with age, health problems can crop up. You can't get those years back - no amount of money can do that.

-ERD50

 

[Finance Dave]

As far as what to do... that wasn't an issue for many of us... rekindled hobbies, new hobbies, travel and volunteer work fill in the gaps easily in many cases.

+1

We're not retired yet, but will be this year...and the above is our plan. "Visit" a club or two as a guest to see if you can strike up a new hobby. Or, volunteer or crusade for something you wish to fix (I hate criminals, so I'm looking into volunteering at a forensics lab).

Good luck with the future!

 

[Toddtheformeraccountant]

Thank you all for your replies! I appreciate all the advice.

A little more info...I was shocked how much money they threw at me, a gigantic increase to what I was making (leading me of course to realize that perhaps I was underpaid, but whatever...water under the bridge). So that makes me want to stay a bit longer.

Could be maybe two years (one year FT and one year PT on a glidepath) or three at most. However...

ERD50: Your sharp comments make a ton of sense and are really appreciated! I am clearly a bit nuts I think...I do not "just love what I'm doing" clearly....I may have earlier in my career, but it's an eye roller now...but the huge money makes the same issues a little more bearable, just because it adds pretty substantially to the buckets. But I think there is a good chance I'll be in the same place, mentally, that I was before. And I will grant you "I told you so" rights if a few months from now I'm still ready to run out the door

 

[Dawg52]

Some people enjoy running up the number. My guess is.....the OP will be joining the dough blowing thread in a year or two.

 

[travelover]

Keep working until you don’t want to work anymore. I loved tacking on another ten years of carefree retirement while I’m fit, but we are all different.

 

[ncbill]

Make sure you have something to retire into doing.

My old accontant retired around age 60, but with no spouse, children or living parents he was back at work at a different firm within 6 months.