Would you retire early if . . .

[daylatedollarshort]

I would downsize the house and not quit work 100% but downshift the career to something more enjoyable. It is a lot easier to downshift than completely ER at your age plus you will continue to contribute to Social Security for your later years. I went back to school around your age to update my tech skills to something I could do on contract / or self employment from home. It worked out well with the kids in school. I could do all the car pools, be the team mom and volunteer at school yet still bring in an income. In hindsight I wish we had also downsized and brought our kids up in a neighborhood with more middle class spending habits.

Some good reads on the subject, if you have not read them yet, are Plentitude by Juliet Schor (also author of The Overworked American and The Overspent American) and the classic Your Money or Your Life.

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coltsfan53 I am wrestling with this scenario. The pragmatist in me says "relax, you have nothing to worry about. Do it." The part of me with the herd mentality says "keep marching," you have a "good (paying) job, so keep at it." Thanks for any input you might have.

Have you actually taken an inventory on what is so stressful about your job?

Realize that every job is imperfect - if it's not your clients, it's your boss. If not your boss, it's 3 co-workers you have. If not them, it's the commute. Or the horrible 40 year old building it's in. Etc.

If you take a long, soul-searching reflection on your job and just what exactly is stressful, you might come up with ways to reduce or even deflect that stress, and make it more palatable. Also, realize that even if you do get a different, lower-paying job.....would you be happier in having to work twice as long with a different set of aggrivators/stressors? The old "the devil you know is sometimes better than the devil you don't know".

Or, is it possible to get transferred or re-assigned to a different task/department? Might have a slight drop in salary, but if you make up some reason about your future child, wanting to have more time to spend with them, less stress, yada yada, they might go for it. Just be careful in how you word it.