Lame Duck at work!

[Tailgate]

Hi.. have posted a few times before but am now on the glide path and am hoping to be more active with this great group...

62
Retiring 12/31/13
Just announced to staff last week! Press release, etc...
DW retired from education in August.. she's loving it!
FireCalc and Fidelity says we're ok for 30 years with 450k, 50/50 in various places (IRA, 401k, 403b.. soon to be Vanguard ETF to lower costs)
Pensions, SS for me.. DW is 57, so will get her SS in 2018
Expense proj to be 60k comfortable, 50k in a pinch
Discretionary funds about 34k annually all after taxes
Lucky to get on here good health insurance.. teachers usually have good stuff!
No kids or debt
Still scared of markets in early years of being independent

Lame Duck at work.. new guy from Megacorp already transitioning. Good guy, will be good for great folks here at my property (70 people) when he takes control in 1/1/2013.
Feeling invisible already after only a week, but still hands on with budgeting for 2014 expenses and revenue for the new duck in the water.
Won't miss a lot of the stuff at work, but afraid I'll miss the action of running the show, and the good people here.

Worried about relationship with DW and getting in each others way early on. I know it will work out, but she's always on the move and I'm more laid back.
Planning several short trips, nothing spectacular. Actually going to ride Amtrak to see the in-laws cause it sounded fun. Want to do Wine Festivals in California and see the USA in our Chevrolet.

So.. moving on no matter what.. no turning back! Excited, apprehensive, tentative, happy and sad in equal amounts, hopeful, planful, thoughtful and a little crazy.... is how I feel right now..

I liked some remarks from a newsletter received recently.. writer is named R. Williams...:

I've always been simpatico with the writer of Ecclesiastes.
I think I understand him. He said,
I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift

or the battle to the strong,

nor does food come to the wise

or wealth to the brilliant

or favor to the learned;

but time and chance happen to them all.

Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times
that fall unexpectedly upon them.
It is not my goal to bring you down or give you melancholy. I hope only to broaden your perspective. I want you to enjoy this adventure called Life, regardless of the scenery that surrounds you. You made it here. You exist. You're alive. How cool is THAT!
We choose our destiny with every choice we make.
We create our reality with every action we take.

And Time and Chance happen to us all.


cheers everyone! We're all here!

 

[CherylGrrl]

Love the idea of Amtrak! My DH and I have taken only one overnight trip on the train and loved it. So relaxing, and nice opportunity to meet people with similar interests in the dining car! Most of our travel is of a more "strenuous" nature. A month of driving around the UK, 2,000-mile camping extravaganza, 12-day Mediterranean cruise with different stops every day...

I'm looking at a February 2014 date, but have working part-time for 15 years and my husband has been retired for 3 so we've been "practicing" for awhile. No matter how compatible, I think every couple needs to make time for some separate activities. I think my DH would glue us together at the hip if he had it his way, but I find that much of our conversation ends up being about things we do on our own -- if we spent 24/7/365 together, we'd probably stop talking completely!

Once you're away from Megacorp, you might find you aren't as "laid back" as you have been. Work takes a tremendous amount of energy, and once you recharge your batteries a bit you might find yourself racheting up your own activity level.

There's a "Class of 2014" thread I'm going to join, you might want to look it up too!

Good luck!

 

[martyp]

I became a lame duck very early into my 3 month glide to ER. They transferred my employees to other groups in the first 3 weeks. It was OK with me but the next 3 months were pretty slow and boring. I kept a low profile so as to not make it too obvious. It helped to have an office where I could shut the door and pull the blinds.

 

[LazyErik]

Jees you make it sound like being a lame duck is fun. I can't wait until I get to that stage. I probably have about seven years though.
I liked the idea of a few small "warm up" vacations.

 

[RockyMtn]

I had a six month glide path. The company split my duties among two people. They were both very competent...one was in house, the other a former exec who returned to the company. I basically tried to stay out of their way. Gave some input on certain issues and helped out with the budgeting but that was about it for those last months.

Spent my time visiting offices around the country and overseas saying good byes. Also, burned up a lot of vacation as they didn't pay execs for unused vacation time.

All in all it was a perfect transition for me and the guys who took over my responsibilities.

 

[travelover]

Go in late, take long lunches, leave early.

 

[LinCella]

Understand completely. I'm 9 weeks from my last day but even two months ago my boss was bypassing me to ask my intended replacement questions! Really burned me up and then I started to realize, I don't care! It's hard to let go when you hear people start to plan for things that won't concern you because you have suggestions and a wealth of experience. My boss thinks of me as the old guard with old ideas. Problem is she is not an A to Z thinker - never thinks of any of the in between stuff.

 

[seraphim]

You'll be fine. DW and I in a very similar position. We keep a 60s/40b AA, since we can mange off our pensions if need be. Keep investments for quality of life purchases, which can be scaled down or eliminated, if need be. $60k net is very doable in an average COL area. So dont sweat it. Enjoy!

 

[Dcharles]

Understand completely. I'm 9 weeks from my last day but even two months ago my boss was bypassing me to ask my intended replacement questions! Really burned me up and then I started to realize, I don't care! It's hard to let go when you hear people start to plan for things that won't concern you because you have suggestions and a wealth of experience. My boss thinks of me as the old guard with old ideas. Problem is she is not an A to Z thinker - never thinks of any of the in between stuff.

I am getting the same treatment at work. It is hard to stay motivated and keep a positive attitude when your boss has already written you off.

 

[LinCella]

Yes, apparently there is no money for my retirement party according to my
boss!

 

[MRG]

Yes, apparently there is no money for my retirement party according to my
boss!

That's mostly about the times we live in not you. In the past Megacorp put on big things for ER folks and picked up the tab. Not now, someone sent out an email and reserved a section of my favorite downtown establishment, the new standard. Doesn't matter you get to ER, they get to w*rk!

MRG

 

[LinCella]

I don't really care, everyone will brings things in for a nice afternoon tea and then I'll booze it up with my friends from work after. And you're right - I'll be enjoying my free time too much to worry about it. The boss is hating me right now, can't do or say anything right by her, but I keep smiling and that burns her up even more!

 

[DocRock]

I crossed an Amtrak ride to Chicago off my bucket list a few months after I FIREd in 2011. Bar car, dining car, sleeper car....the whole nine yards. Had a blast...highly recommend it!

 

[Tailgate]

I crossed an Amtrak ride to Chicago off my bucket list a few months after I FIREd in 2011. Bar car, dining car, sleeper car....the whole nine yards. Had a blast...highly recommend it!

Thanks for the recommendation. I just priced out tickets and sleeper car for the 18 hour trip from central to west Texas and came up with $33 a hour.. with about 8 of those hours spent sleeping, that's a pretty pricey experience and not much time to enjoy the trip, so looks like we might save our Amtrak trip for a little longer jaunt out to left coast and spend a couple of days and nights on the train.

Just signed my DW and I up for memberships at the local gym. I was a member there about 50 lbs ago. Now, with 2 months left at work and not too much to do, I can easily work out over a lengthy lunch hour and get a jump on losing some of this baggage I've picked up. Wife already retired so she will enjoy the flexibility of going when she wants. When we were both wo*king, and were members, we would do the gym thing at 530am and then go to work. Looking forward to early afternoon workouts in the future with no particular place to go afterwards.

Invisibility powers at work keep growing daily...

cheers...

 

[Co2012]

I was never treated like a lame duck. I wish. Treated more like a Hebrew slave. At first no one really believed I was going to retire when I said I would. Then when I submitted my letter of resignation, the onslaught started. they wanted me write everything down, show everybody this and that, do this before you, go that, what's this. It was pure hell. They even followed me out to the parking lot to just look at one more thing.