It's nice being rich

[firewhen]

or FI or comfortable or whatever
Still cant bring myself to leave but without going into details I had reason to be upset and went into the big boss and quit. It was a major moment for me and I think they were shocked. They convinced me to stay and some changes were made in terms of workload. Deep down I don't think I really was going to be walking out the door, that they would get me to stay, and I did not squeeze any money out of them but that was not my motivation.
The bottomline is I have been on this site for 10 years and keep getting closer and certainly at this point I don't have to worry about what happens, which definitely gives me more independence at work and I think it shows. It probably is only a matter of time and my wife thinks something will finally "set me off" and that will be it. In the meantime I still work hard and do my job but it is so much easier when you know you don't need to and the clock is ticking. Just wonder how long this will be, but someday is closer than it was...

 

[Ronstar]

Congrats on showing your displeasure. I agree with your DW. Someday something will set you off and that will be it. This instance was just a practice run.

 

[harley]

I was FI for a few years before I left mega. I was holding on for a medical retirement plan, but knowing I was FI was a major turning point. I stopped being as involved in the day to day politics and BS. I quit going to a lot of meetings, which actually increased my productivity so much that they didn't give me too much grief over missing the meetings. I had a really bad boss that would throw projects with impossible time frames at me, then would eventually tell me "never mind". So I quit reacting to those, pretty much ignoring them until I could see if they were real or not. Being FI gave me a tremendous feeling of power, and made the last few years on the job much more tolerable. I was able to work my way into a position to volunteer for a RIF, getting a nice severance and an early medical package. I don't think I'd have been confident enough to do it had I not been FI for awhile already. Very heady stuff, freedom.

 

[street]

Johnny Paycheck - You can take this job and shove it

 

[brucethebroker]

Not needing the job is but one of many perks of FI..................

 

[Danmar]

Once I became FI the "job" lost a lot of its "allure". Agree that there are many advantages associated with being FI. Feeling empowered is probably the biggest one for me. Related, feeling in control is very important to me. Hard to get this feeling without being FI, at least later in life.

Wouldn't use the term "rich" as this is very subjective and for many has a negative connotation.

 

[savory]

I personally do not like to think of leaving a job as retirement since that leaves the impression you will do nothing. FI suggests you could do anything you want, within your means, which might include continuing to work.

The freedom of choice makes such an amazing difference.

 

[Midpack]

It's an interesting sense of freedom isn't it? FI can embolden, as long as you use the power for good.

I was always more candid at work than most, but I'll admit I was even more so in the last few years of my career, after FI. Still held my tongue and stayed considerate/diplomatic more often than not, but there were a handful of folks at Corp who probably didn't think so. You have to use the freedom sparingly, or you're just being nasty and vindictive.

 

[growing_older]

had a really bad boss that would throw projects with impossible time frames at me, then would eventually tell me "never mind".

One of the many benefits of being near FI was I was able to identify that working for a boss like this on projects like this was making me miserable, and I didn't need to be miserable anymore. Earlier in my career, I needed the job, I needed the money to support my family, and I would be reluctant to push back on these kinds of crazy requests. I sucked it up and got the work done. Now, I feel empowered to pushback, nicely, and suggest other ideas or other approaches, such as putting me in a different department where Mr. Terrible Boss has no influence on my day to day workload. I like work so much better as FI when I don't need to jump as much when others make terrible decisions.

 

[target2019]

It is eye-opening to realize you are FI. Work chaos and other items are filtered through FI "glasses."

With a crap boss at megamart, it was hard to see personal goals.

With realization "I am FI" (what a phrase), it really does not matter who minimart names as my boss. And I am on my fourth (to be named later) in 1.5 years.

I have not played any significant cards in this new environment. Everything is going very well.

 

[donheff]

I actually liked my boss and coworkers and largely liked my work. When I turned 56 I became eligible to retire (which combined with our portfolio meant DW and I were FI). I had planned on working two more years but within a month I concluded that "I don't need to wait and I don't want to wait." So I gave a few months noticed and bailed out. Never looked back, never regretted my decision.

 

[fleefromhome]

I am having trouble with being FI and working. We are FI but DH is not ready to pull the trigger, so out of respect and concern for his stress regarding this, I will continue to work while I hope he digests the fact that WE ARE FI.

When there are changes at work, such as, lots of reorgs, unreasonable timelines, poor planning and decision making, now that I KNOW WE ARE FI, I am handling it worse than when I needed the paycheck.

This limbo state is tough on me, while I wait for DH to get on board.

 

[ttvjef]

Great Thread. FI is certainly a empowering feeling, especially related to your career. My spouse and I have been FI for a couple years and are trying to decide when to cut back or entirely stop working. My work colleagues know that I'm more or less FI in that I shared some details with a few close work buds. I am careful not to be smug about my situation, nobody likes a blow-hard . So far my position is ok and yours may get back to being ok again as well.
I'm finding it a bit difficult to walk away from a six figure income even though we are FI. The grapevine at my job is saying that our project is being transferred and I might be out by years end. That would be so great to get laid off and collect UE that I paid into for 40 years. I think it would be easier to finally ER then, I'll be 56.

 

[walkinwood]

Stress and unhappiness can take a major toll on your health and relationships. But it takes time for these effects to unfold.

I chose to avoid the stress and unpleasantness even though I enjoyed a lot of the work I did and the people I did it with.

 

[CaliKid]

Being FI is an amazing feeling. I don't really have a boss but I am not the only owner of my business and I have customers. I fire annoying or high maintenance customers a lot more frequently now.

 

[Fedup]

I used to call it as having the FU money. I refused to go throw with crappy job interviews, walking on on crappy jobs or bosses once I achieved my FU money. That happened in my 30s. But I kept on working with that sense of freedom and didn't retire until I was 55.

 

[Car-Guy]

I never thought of myself as really being rich (I once met Bill Gates, which probably changed/warped my perspective ) but I've been FI (for my lifestyle) for at least 10 years. I don't think I ever really hated my job, but it was work and it's something I would not have done if not for the money. (We are all a bit of a prostitutes, in that sense)

I only had one boss that I really disliked over a 40 year career. Most of them were okay. My last boss was a real interesting fellow. Actually I liked him "as a person" but had very little respect for his business or technical sense. He had all sorts of advanced degrees (including a Phd) but I would often wonder how he found his way to work or back home everyday by himself.

 

[scrabbler1]

I remember the feeling I had when I finally hit my magic number in the summer of 2008 and was getting the final piece of my ER plan into place in preparation for resigning at the end of September with a final work date at the end of October.


I felt like I was someone in a figurative cage who had become too big and powerful to remain caged any more and I was busting out for good! Even in the months before I hit my magic number, I felt I was growing and growing and nearly too big to remain caged and was going to bust out any time now!


Yes, it was nice being rich (and still is).

 

[W2R]

"I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."

 

[Katiek]

There was a certain number I wanted to reach in order to feel a baseline level of security. I also wanted to reach a certain number of years just for the right to buy medical insurance through the group plan until medicare. Once I reached that level, it gave me a sense of security - that I didn't have to worry that I might make a mistake and get fired. I knew I'd be ok, and that was very comforting.

I'm still working because I'd like a bit more security ( I tend to be very risk averse), but I don't worry as much as I used to.

 

[Aerides]

When I was in OMY, basically hanging on for potential RIF/Severance, I routinely turned down new "responsibilities" that basically equated to taking on more work for no benefit.

I had a fantasy in mind that one day I would say no, and my boss would say something like "you don't have a choice here" and I would get to say, Oh, but I do!

 

[DrRoy]

First world problems, folks. DW and I have been FI for a while but I gave long notice to Megacorp last summer for DW's comfort about losing the paycheck. I have been saving like mad for years, lately 25% of pay. We get a modest pension (no Cola) and with a healthy budget only need a 1.4% WR. We have recently been thinking about some distant international travel, and have struggled with maybe upgrading to business class, although the round trip cost would pay for another entire trip somewhere. I added $20K to the budget as a trial balloon, and I still get a 1.9% WR. It is still hard to spend it but we may, at least some of the time.

 

[Vagabond2020]

It is a wonderful thing to be in such a position.

Heck, I'm still a long ways from being FI, BUT having 10X current annual expenses in a portfolio definitely translates to a sense of freedom and ability to take things with a grain of salt as they come up.

 

[firewhen]

Lot of great comments here. One of the few people I know who has a sense of FI said it is like having a permanent job offer you can leave for. Where normally if you get fed up you have to go out and find another comparable job to leave to, with FI you can pick up and leave whenever, and that feeling is very empowering.

I think what is FINALLY clicking for me, after being in this situation for awhile, is that as the assets have kept growing, and being in my mid 50s now, still working is silly unless I want to. I actually find myself happy at work many days now and it shows. Go in, do my thing, office chit chat with my friends, and go home. DD says it is like senior year in high school. You still go to school every day, but you really don't care much and know it is coming to an end. Just have to get past the OMY syndrome but I can picture the promised land.

 

[medved]

I am still working, in a demanding and high stress job, though I am FI. I was complaining to an old friend, who knows my financial situation. I thought he would say "you have the money; if you are unhappy and stressed, you should quit." But he didn't. Instead, his advice was "If I were you, I would keep working because you are making very good money and if you can internalize the fact that you could quit any day and live a very nice life, that should eliminate 90% of the job stress. Then you will have a very highly paid and very low stress job." That is right, I guess. But for some reason its not really working for me. Maybe I am finding it hard to truly internalize the fact that we are FI (despite running FireCalc and similar calculators, which consistently show a 100% chance of success even using spending that is 2x what we currently spend). Or maybe some of the stresses of the job are not related to "needing the job" but instead to just trying to do it well. I'm not sure. The brain is a complicated organ...