Class of 2020

lampshade said:
A bit of a spur of the moment decision; but, I'm giving notice on July 27th I'm leaving on August 28th.

I feel beat up. I need to get out.
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Congrats. Sure you can’t give 2-3 weeks notice? I gave two weeks notice on Thursday and it already feels like a glacial wait in this Zoom environment where departing people just wink out one by one.
 
Congrats to all the newly retired and those that have added their names to the 2020 list!

I am nearing the six month mark (retired at 51 in January) and am loving life despite all of this Covid mess. Covid has certainly made it an interesting/unforgettable first six months though....

I had planned on spending a good deal of these first six months helping my sister with caring for my parents in OH, but Covid put an end to that. I had expected very quiet days at home, but Covid forced my kids home from college to finish school online. My wife was also sent home from her j*b to work remotely. So instead of being alone most of the time, I have the whole family home most days.

All in all, retirement has not been what I planned/expected, but it has been great. My stress level has dropped immensely, my blood pressure is down 15 points, I have lost 15 pounds, I sleep better and life is awesome!
 
So this is the month I originally planned (pre-COVID).... Mostly teleworking but really not doing that much as I need to be in the office for anything even semi-productive. I like "w*rking" more in my underwear at home but still am not free to do what I want during work hours. I liken it to being in in-school-suspension or house arrest. Still, better than commuting and being in the office.


I feel like valuations are still high in the market given the COVID mess.My WDR at current prices and based off 12 mo trailing expenses is 2.5% but with increased health premiums would be closer to 3% at current spending levels (should qualify for subsidy though which would get me back to 2.5%). I'm sort of pessimistic about the short/mid term future so having earned income now is good and bolsters my position a bit and with the shutdowns, I wouldn't be able to do many of the things I wish to do post-FIRE and would likely still feel stuck at home more than I'd like if I FIREed myself immediately.


I'm really fed up with w*rk though - my section is reorganizing even as we are all out of the office (and in a very stupid way at that... I'm almost up to Peter Gibbon's 7 bosses) and feel like I am very much at will in my employment and could see myself making a quick (rash?) decision to give notice at any time (optimism of my FI battling my pessimism of the state of the world). Still considering myself Class of 2020 for this reason but will wait till the end of the year to decide/see how the world is in 6 months with COVID and the election. I may give notice in Dec and w*rk into the first quarter for a smooth transition with ~100% of pay going into my tax deferred account.


Sort of where I am and my internal battles... Anyone else in the Class of 2020's mind running amuck?


FLSunFIRE
 
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I'm extremely frustrated. I've given my notice and I cannot back out (not that I want to) but my final task has been delayed till I can meet with clients. And I can't thanks to coronavirus. No ETA on when that will happen. At the moment I'm in limbo working a couple of hours a day with no end in sight. Aargh!

The bright side is that there isn't much else to do, (it's not like I could be travelling in Europe) and part time is much better than full time.
 
ugeauxgirl said:
I'm extremely frustrated. I've given my notice and I cannot back out (not that I want to) but my final task has been delayed till I can meet with clients. And I can't thanks to coronavirus. No ETA on when that will happen. At the moment I'm in limbo working a couple of hours a day with no end in sight. Aargh!

The bright side is that there isn't much else to do, (it's not like I could be travelling in Europe) and part time is much better than full time.
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Just a speed bump. You’ll get there.
 
FLSUnFIRE said:
Mostly teleworking but really not doing that much as I need to be in the office for anything even semi-productive. I like "w*rking" more in my underwear at home but still am not free to do what I want during work hours. I liken it to being in in-school-suspension or house arrest. Still, better than commuting and being in the office.

Sort of where I am and my internal battles... Anyone else in the Class of 2020's mind running amuck?
Click to expand...

I was where you are. With the Covid stuff, I could have easily put off retiring until January, but as I looked at all the stress and drama being created at work, I decided it I would rather do what *I* want to do while stuck at home. I'm three weeks into my retirement, so I am still on the "vacation" feeling stage. But I am much happier not stressing over w*rk and all the issues and frustrations that come from it.
 
I had planned for end of June. Now, as OP pointed out, many of things I had planned to do upon quitting aren't possible for the moment (travel, certain home improvement projects). There's also the question of if my tenants will keep paying rent, which I will need initially to help cover expenses. So for now I'm still w*rking, though now I'm remote. It's OK for now, not stressful and I'm taking time to learn some new skills that could be useful for possible PT freelancing if I want to explore that. Also discovered a great online workout site (FitnessBlenders.com) and have started a strength training regimen, which makes me feel great physically. Thinking of asking to go PT soon, to transition to FIRE once things have opened up a bit more and I can do more of the things I'd planned.
 
Dalmore said:
I was where you are. With the Covid stuff, I could have easily put off retiring until January, but as I looked at all the stress and drama being created at work, I decided it I would rather do what *I* want to do while stuck at home. I'm three weeks into my retirement, so I am still on the "vacation" feeling stage. But I am much happier not stressing over w*rk and all the issues and frustrations that come from it.
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I feel exactly the same way!

Just retired end of April. Was teleworking for a couple months prior to retirement. Could have drawn out my time by teleworking a little longer, but why? Didn’t need the stress and frustration of trying to meet quarterly division performance and financial benchmarks with a team operating at 50% efficiency, on a 10% pay cut, and spread out in living rooms and spare bedrooms all over the state. Lived through that hell back in the economic downturn of 2008 and the stress ages you fast.

Now it’s someone else’s “challenge”.
 
No second thoughts here. As a matter of fact, late last year I found that HR only accepted applications for retirement up to four months out. So, my date is 11/1. Yesterday was 7/1. I did the math (4 months) and sent my request for my retirement package to HR and copied my boss.

I have to admit, it was weirder sending that email than I expected, but I pushed the button anyway! :D

I believe my boss has also finalized his selection of my replacement. If so, I think I can put up with the guy for a couple more months while I "train" (HAHA!!!!!) him.
 
Tomorrow I start my last week of w*rk. Next week at this time, I’ll be FREE!
 
JakeinChina said:
I'm not officially on the list because I didn't think I would retire in 2020 at the age of 41, but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, I was forced to move back to the U.S. with my family in Feb of 2020. I resigned from my job as I couldn't manage the Asia operations of the company while sitting in the U.S.

We moved to PA, and live comfortably off our rental income that we purchased out of Florida in 2009 and 2010. I have two young daughters and our family of 4 are very happy we made the move. I will never work a full time job again. I hated the corp world and all of the politics and fake personalities. I'll dabble in Real estate investing as I sold much of my portfolio in Feb right before we moved.
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That's pretty cool, Jake! I wasn't sure where to put you, so I just put you in a 3/1/20 slot and pointed to the post quoted above as your announcement.

Welcome to the 2020 family! :)
 
pdxgal said:
I had planned for end of June. Now, as OP pointed out, many of things I had planned to do upon quitting aren't possible for the moment (travel, certain home improvement projects). There's also the question of if my tenants will keep paying rent, which I will need initially to help cover expenses. So for now I'm still w*rking, though now I'm remote. It's OK for now, not stressful and I'm taking time to learn some new skills that could be useful for possible PT freelancing if I want to explore that. Also discovered a great online workout site (FitnessBlenders.com) and have started a strength training regimen, which makes me feel great physically. Thinking of asking to go PT soon, to transition to FIRE once things have opened up a bit more and I can do more of the things I'd planned.
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Understandable!

I moved you to 12/31 (December's getting crowded!), but keep us updated as you know more.
 
The world keeps changing around this pandemic. We're learning more and more every day and still don't seem to be a whole lot closer to knowing how this all ends. But, I'm hopeful our brilliant scientists will figure this out and the world will find some level of normalcy.

On a brighter note, Your LIST update is here! We have lots of updates (i.e. December's getting busier! :) ) and a handful of additions to the 2020 Class, so please welcome them aboard the train! We also have a couple in danger of becoming 2021 grads!

PLEASE NOTE: I went back through the forum and added "Announcement" links to all who notified us of their successful retirement. If you find an error, please let me know as this is a bit of a tedious cut & paste task! Also, if you'd like your Announcement to point somewhere else, let me know - I can do that, too! LoL - I also just found out that there is a limit of 15 emoticons per post - so no more smilies from me!!

Congratulations to everyone that's "Made It" so far! Livin' the dream (although likely in isolation)! :dance:

Class of 2020 (Un)Official List... (I like lists! :) ):
Trivia Item: (The Birth of The List)

  • dingo - 1/2/2020 (Congrats! (snuck in front of Ergragg1)) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Erbragg1 - 1/3/2020 (Early bird... Teacher's pet... ;) ) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Octogirl - 1/3/2020 {CHECK} (Completing part-time assignment 7/24/20) (Announcement) (Update)
  • INTJ10 - 1/9/2020 {CHECK} (W*rking an overpaid temp job) (Announcement)
  • Out_the_Door - 1/24/2020 {CHECK}(Announcement)
  • idledancer - 1/27/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • nobodyspecial - 1/31/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • AS2019 - 2/14/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Third Son - 2/29/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • target2019 - 2/28/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • JakeinChina - 3/1/2020 {CHECK} (41!) (Announcement)
  • HighFlight - 3/4/2020 {CHECK} (but not the easy way!) (Announcement)
  • nobody - 3/6/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • 51notout - 3/6/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Maenad - 3/13/2020 {Waiting for Update...}
  • Go-NoGo - 3/16/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • georgemoe - 3/20/2020 (after 43 years!) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • CoastboundPNW - 4/1/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Grimelowe - 4/3/2020 (45yo - Nice!) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • TN Jim - 4/10/2020 (Earlier than expected; nice!) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Born2Fish - 4/16/2020 (Hey, I'm here and retired!) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • jaharrer - 4/30/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • 1242Vintage - 4/30/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Dalmore - 6/11/2020 {CHECK}(Announcement)
  • Lucie's Husband - 5/9/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • RobLJ - 5/19/2020 (Retiring the rest of the way! :)) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Mountain skier - 5/21/2020 {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • Ger0n1mo - 5/31/2020 (Hoping...){Waiting for update...}
  • mattwallace24 - 5/2020 (Placeholder){Waiting for update...}
  • kingkarmann - 6/5/2020 (Accelerated!) {CHECK} (Announcement)
  • roadtripper - 6/30/2020 (Left 6/19 or 6/12?){CHECK} (Announcement)
  • firewhen - 7/1/2020 (Finally got the nudge they needed!){Waiting for update...}
  • Lienlord - 7/1/2020 (fuzzy - due to pandemic!){Waiting for update...}
  • DRC726 - 7/1/2020 (Placeholder - pandemic delay){Waiting for update...}
  • COcheesehead - 7/10/2020 (Countdown is on!!)
  • wmackey - 7/10/2020
  • OTDasap2020 - 7/31/2020 (A sap? :LOL:)
  • brainsagolfer - 8/1/2020 (PTO started 6/24)
  • fishnfool - 8/7/2020 (guesstimate from "35 working days" from 6/23)
  • lampshade - 8/28/2020
  • free2020 - 8/31/2020
  • FlyFisher - 9/1/2020
  • L Carlisle - 9/1/2020 (MOSTly retiring...)
  • albireo13 - 9/4/2020 (Sounds like the best of the dates you've proposed so far!)
  • spikeykiller - 9/10/2020 (Say "NO!" to OMY! :))
  • GoBugGo - 9/25/2020
  • bada bing - 9/30/2020 (Landed a great package!)
  • Unpaintedhuffhines - 10/1/2020 (RSU's FTW! :))
  • Draggon - 11/1/2020 (Leaving 9/23/2020 w/PTO - maybe?)
  • Mr. Vacation4us - 11/2/2020
  • f35phixer - 11/12/2020 (Not committed - likes their J*B!?)
  • ugeauxgirl - 11/15/2020 (Class ringleader :))(Corona delay!)
  • ohiodep and the DW - 12/1/2020 (Leaving work 9/17/2020 on vacay!)
  • tinlizzy - 12/1/2020 (deferred from 6/1 - i.e. Plan B!)
  • Mrs. Vacation4us - 12/15/2020 (Mr. V cut in front of her!)
  • FLSUnFIRE - 12/31/2020 (date taken from "the end of the year")
  • HNL Bill - 12/31/2020 (deferred due to pandemic :( )
  • cnocmmz - 12/31/2020 (deferred due to pandemic :( )
  • Magoo30 - 12/31/2020
  • pdxgal - 6/30/2020 (COVID delay)
  • retire202052 - 12/2020 (I may have figured out the pattern of your UserID ;) )
  • Marita40 - 12/2020
  • gamboolman - 12/31/2020 (g-man says 1/1/21, but I'm giving him 12/31 to keep him in our class!)
  • RxMan - ??/20?? (Class of 2020 Official Stalker) :LOL:


Anyone else want to post their target? Also, lemme know if I miss one.
 
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delay

Octogirl said:
Congratulations to all in class of 2020.


I'm finishing my part time work on May 12 th. So glad to be retiring but it feels odd now with stay at home orders in my state. We had plans to be camp by mid May but that may not happen. Feeling a bit bored without the plans. Anyone else making new plans ?
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So, I agreed to stay (2 days/week) until July 24 .
"Covid, team work, blah, blah, blah "

I already feel relaxed knowing that it's just 3 weeks away.
 
Draggon, you are a most royal updater! It is so great seeing all those {CHECK}s. Class of 2020s, you've had a lot of challenges, but I'm sure you are all feeling the relief and freedom!
 
Octogirl said:
So, I agreed to stay (2 days/week) until July 24 .
"Covid, team work, blah, blah, blah "

I already feel relaxed knowing that it's just 3 weeks away.
Click to expand...

Heh - I came back in time to Edit my update post, so your update got updated... :D
 
I completed the first stage of eventual retirement on 7/1. The new owners assumed control of my worksite then. My employment was transitioned from the now defunct division of my employer Megacorp to their North America office in Houston. 1st payment of severance (the handover completion bonus) is supposed to show up in the 7/15 paycheck, with the remainder paid on severing. I now work as a "secondee", reporting to and paid by someone I'll never meet face-to-face, but working for Acquiring-corp. My retirement is contractually locked in for 9/30, so less than 3 months to go.

I'm still sort of pinching myself over the good luck that all this corporate turmoil is happening about the time I planned to pull the plug anyway. It has resulted in some pretty good windfalls for severance. As long as I can keep it on the straight and narrow for 3 more months :dance:. Only downside is that it's not looking to be the easiest 3 months, work is in a hell of a transition turmoil right now. Won't be the best time to be the captive "subject matter expert".
 
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