How did you handle the period from FI to FIRE?

[Mdlerth]

I'm in the same boat. FI, mostly... but lingering in the sweatshop to pay off the legacy debts from raising our children. TMY will erase all that.

Also, DW likes her j*b and is in no hurry to retire, so I'm hanging on until she's ready to leave. After all, what's the point in me retiring if the 5 A.M. alarm is going to wake me too?

But it has become much harder to get energized about w*rking for a living. This forum is a godsend for me! A couple of times a day I have to breathe the air of freedom here before submerging back into the choking smog of commercialism. A few more months and I can start my countdown calendar...

[flyingaway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HadEnuff Again, my situation was like that. Are you self-employed?

I am teaching at a university. As many said, they would volunteer teaching after they retire, not me.

[flyingaway]

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Originally Posted by CaliKid The biggest thing I do different is I minimize headaches at work. For example, I had a client who became difficult while still owing a few bucks on an unfinished project last week. I fired them and told them I'd write off the balance owed. Not worth the money to deal with headache people. Life is too short. Now I have time to come on here and read all of your great success stories!

A similar thing happened to me this year. It involved in work credits to some student supervision and publication. I just told them to do what is convenient as those things (work credits, performance review, etc.) are no longer important to me.

[FIREmenow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mdlerth A few more months and I can start my countdown calendar...

I keep mine on one of my phone's home screens:

[Bigdawg]

Using a strict definition of FI (enough to cover the bills) I was FI the day I went over 20 years in the military. That was 6 years, 11 months and 4 days ago. I stayed in the military a few years past that to maximize retirement from the Military and match up with DD graduating from HS. I worked a civilian job for 18 months then tried ER. Failed after a few months. My mind wasn't ready to retire. I have ben back at it for 23 months in a job that pays me too much and I enjoy. One reason that I continue to work is that I am not a strict budgeter. Haven't decided for sure when to ER. My position is funded through Sept of 2018. I am on the class of 2018 for June. We'll see. I can touch 401K in Jan of 2020 so maybe wait until then.

[enjoyinglife102]

One thing I would be cautious about that I don't see mentioned often is that you could easily work the next few years and end up with a portfolio that has a much lower value than today. Sequence of return risk in retirement and/or leading up to retirement is a killer. I became very conservative the last few years of corporate life for exactly that reason. Missing upside was a lot easier for me to accept than struggling to get to the finish line and realize I did it all to now have less money.

[Danmar]

For me reaching a FI didn't happen at a moment in time. Was a more gradual realization that I was "there". "There" moved a bit over this period as well. If having $x dollars meant I was "there", wouldn't if be better to have 1.5$x?

This happend in my early 50's and one thing happened for sure. It became more difficult to get motivated at work. Took about 3 years to effect retirement at 56.

[googily]

I'm there now, and I fluctuate wildly between thinking that it's just fine to keep going to a remarkably well-paying job where I don't really do all that much versus trying to figure out if my desire for "flexibility" beyond what I have (more vacation time, long weekends, etc) is worth upsetting the current apple cart.

The biggest problem I have is *knowing* I can walk at any time, because while some days that allows me to let everything just slide off my back, on other days if things are aggravating and I'm loaded for bear I have to be very careful that I don't lose my temper and just pull the rip cord right there.

[ikubak]

Like a lot of other people, I felt much more at ease expressing my opinion and taking time off for things I want to do. I frequently take an hour or two off to play tennis during the day and I take longer vacations than I used to. During this time, I also downsized my job within the same employer to a less stressful job with (usually) plenty of time to read and research my own tax issues and RE issues. I consider it a semi-retirement and will be wrapping it up at the end of the year. It's been a good transition time.

[someguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enjoyinglife102 One thing I would be cautious about that I don't see mentioned often is that you could easily work the next few years and end up with a portfolio that has a much lower value than today. Sequence of return risk in retirement and/or leading up to retirement is a killer. I became very conservative the last few years of corporate life for exactly that reason. Missing upside was a lot easier for me to accept than struggling to get to the finish line and realize I did it all to now have less money.

Maybe I don't fully understand sequence of returns risk. Assuming that one doesn't spend any part of the nest egg during those few extra years of work and doesn't make any AA shifts, isn't it mathematically impossible to end up with a worse outcome than retiring a few years earlier? Can you explain?

[enjoyinglife102]

Simple, here's an example. You bank on stocks returning say 8% annually but those last two years of working stocks tank and suddenly your million dollar portfolio is worth 700k. Add say the 100k of additional savings over two years but now your portfolio is worth 800k, not the million of two years ago. Obviously that can happen at any time and in this case you will end up with 100k more than if you stopped working but for me, I would have had a tougher time dealing with struggling through work all that time and ending up having less money.

[someguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enjoyinglife102 Simple, here's an example. You bank on stocks returning say 8% annually but those last two years of working stocks tank and suddenly your million dollar portfolio is worth 700k. Add say the 100k of additional savings over two years but now your portfolio is worth 800k, not the million of two years ago. Obviously that can happen at any time and in this case you will end up with 100k more than if you stopped working but for me, I would have had a tougher time dealing with struggling through work all that time and ending up having less money.

I must be totally dense or we must live in different universes! In your first scenario (retire 2 years earlier), you're actually at $620K NW (assuming 40K/year expenses). That requires either a nerve-wracking 6.5% WR or going back to work having been out of it for 2 years. Versus being at $800K NW and (critically) still having a solid job and having the clear option to wait out the downturn?

I'm saying I understand that basic concept of sequence of returns risk, but how would that ever logically translate into what I took as an implied recommendation to hurry up and retire before a big crash happens? I think that only makes sense in atypical situations -- for example if someone necessarily had a lot of NW in a single stock or direct equity that could only be unlocked and/or diversified upon retirement.

[CoolChange]

No insights to help; just giving you more evidence that you are not alone.

I have been FI (net worth currently over 65X expected expenses) for a while but continue to put in my time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski +1 It was a very good time in my career. I felt free to speak up and say the things the entire team was thinking but that management or clients did not want to hear.... after all, the worst that could happen was that they would fire me and so what....... and they loved the candor and I was in more demand than ever.

This was me a few years ago; now, I no longer care enough to make many waves.

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Originally Posted by flyingaway I don't think there is anything that is as easy as I have and pays me close. If I retire, I have to retire for good and never think about working again.

Ditto.

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Originally Posted by CaliKid The biggest thing I do different is I minimize headaches at work. For example, I had a client who became difficult while still owing a few bucks on an unfinished project last week. I fired them and told them I'd write off the balance owed. Not worth the money to deal with headache people. Life is too short. Now I have time to come on here and read all of your great success stories!

This is where I am now. I have actually told my leadership that I am ready to retire any time they want to eliminate my position. It is amazing how much busy work has disappeared from my life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by googily I'm there now, and I fluctuate wildly between thinking that it's just fine to keep going to a remarkably well-paying job where I don't really do all that much versus trying to figure out if my desire for "flexibility" beyond what I have (more vacation time, long weekends, etc) is worth upsetting the current apple cart. The biggest problem I have is *knowing* I can walk at any time, because while some days that allows me to let everything just slide off my back, on other days if things are aggravating and I'm loaded for bear I have to be very careful that I don't lose my temper and just pull the rip cord right there.

Again, ditto.

[flyingaway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikubak Like a lot of other people, I felt much more at ease expressing my opinion and taking time off for things I want to do. I frequently take an hour or two off to play tennis during the day and I take longer vacations than I used to. During this time, I also downsized my job within the same employer to a less stressful job with (usually) plenty of time to read and research my own tax issues and RE issues. I consider it a semi-retirement and will be wrapping it up at the end of the year. It's been a good transition time.

I am doing just differently. When I liked my work and wanted to do something, I spoke my opinion loudly and forcefully. Now I am silent and don't say anything as I don't care anymore.

[Mdlerth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googily ...on other days if things are aggravating and I'm loaded for bear I have to be very careful that I don't lose my temper and just pull the rip cord right there.

This is so colorfully written I keep reading it out loud to myself over and over! The clever wordplay is one of my favorite features of this forum. Good job, googily.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enjoyinglife102 Simple, here's an example. You bank on stocks returning say 8% annually but those last two years of working stocks tank and suddenly your million dollar portfolio is worth 700k. Add say the 100k of additional savings over two years but now your portfolio is worth 800k, not the million of two years ago. Obviously that can happen at any time and in this case you will end up with 100k more than if you stopped working but for me, I would have had a tougher time dealing with struggling through work all that time and ending up having less money.

I think anyone would have an even tougher time retiring, watching the portfolio take that hit, and not have the option to continue working. For many, that means simply working until they have that safety net where if the worst possible sequence of returns happens, they're comfortable.

Is it hard to watch your port shrink while you're still working to make the finish line? I'm sure it is. The alternative is worse. That's why establishing a realistic finish line in the first place is so important.

If your expectations are set that you need to get to $1M to retire and make ends meet, and you drop to $700K, that's going to be a hell of a lot more stressful than knowing you need $1M to make ends meet, set your goal at $1.3M and then it matters a lot less. Market tanks 30% right before you pull the trigger, and you're still good to go.

[JustCurious]

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Originally Posted by someguy I must be totally dense or we must live in different universes! In your first scenario (retire 2 years earlier), you're actually at $620K NW (assuming 40K/year expenses). That requires either a nerve-wracking 6.5% WR or going back to work having been out of it for 2 years. Versus being at $800K NW and (critically) still having a solid job and having the clear option to wait out the downturn?

I think the assumption is that when you retire, you "lock in" the gains in your portfolio by going to a more conservative AA than when you are working. That way, in the first scenario, you would lock in the conservative AA at the $1 million mark, so it would not tank as much after you retire.

[Teacher Terry]

I worked for the state and some people would slack off their last 2 years knowing they would retire before being fired. That was not my style and I worked hard until I retired. I love teaching my uni class but it is taught online so it does not prevent me from traveling as long as I have internet. They asked me to add a 2nd in-person class and I said no. One online class is perfect.

[SumDay]

I have become VERY vocal about the idiocy that abounds at my megacorp job of 30+ years. We just had a big RIF, and darn it, I was hoping my mouth would land me on the list. But noooooo, I'm getting all kinds of praise and thanks for my honesty and ideas for fixing the issues, even talk of a promotion. I'm pulling the plug next year, so more responsibility and conference calls happen to be the last things I'm looking for. I may have to start wearing a muzzle and quit caring.

[Carpediem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumDay I have become VERY vocal about the idiocy that abounds at my megacorp job of 30+ years. We just had a big RIF, and darn it, I was hoping my mouth would land me on the list. But noooooo, I'm getting all kinds of praise and thanks for my honesty and ideas for fixing the issues, even talk of a promotion. I'm pulling the plug next year, so more responsibility and conference calls happen to be the last things I'm looking for. I may have to start wearing a muzzle and quit caring.

I too have become more vocal and express my opinions about the stupidness of some of the decisions made. Of course, my co-workers love it because it's exactly what they'd LIKE to say. Even my boss seems to appreciate it and I'm starting to feel like they're relying on me more, which isn't what I want. This 'phenomenon' reminds of the Seinfeld episode when George kept trying to get fired and instead, he kept getting promoted.