Retire vs making more money?

[JDARNELL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DogGone Once you realize you can FIRE, commuting and the bullshit at work become exponentially painful.

This is so true. I sometimes think wow I could go back and make x. But then I quickly realize screw that!

[horfield]

The emotional part of being ready (as well as financially) is so important and you have to be honest with yourself. I was just about to semi-retire when I hit 60 last month, I thought I was emotionally ready, I am financially ready, both my parents have passed on, my children are now establishing their lives...

...and then a recruiter contacts me with a new opportunity that is highly paid, covers my health etc, I can work full-time from home when I want, I get fully expenses paid travel to Europe 4-6 times a year and in a field that I am an authority in and I continue to enjoy. Essentially a "life style" job that fits my definition of semi-retirement. I interviewed, was offered the role (VP level) and I start next week.

I realize that I am not yet ready. There is going to come a time when these opportunities will cease to come in but for the moment I will keep on going. However going forward I now apply the filter of "enjoy what you do and you will never work another day in your life" and as soon as that is not the case I know I will be emotionally ready. Meanwhile just another a couple of years gives me additional finance/spending options in future.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by horfield The emotional part of being ready (as well as financially) is so important and you have to be honest with yourself. I was just about to semi-retire when I hit 60 last month, I thought I was emotionally ready, I am financially ready, both my parents have passed on, my children are now establishing their lives... ...and then a recruiter contacts me with a new opportunity that is highly paid, covers my health etc, I can work full-time from home when I want, I get fully expenses paid travel to Europe 4-6 times a year and in a field that I am an authority in and I continue to enjoy. Essentially a "life style" job that fits my definition of semi-retirement. I interviewed, was offered the role (VP level) and I start next week. I realize that I am not yet ready. There is going to come a time when these opportunities will cease to come in but for the moment I will keep on going. However going forward I now apply the filter of "enjoy what you do and you will never work another day in your life" and as soon as that is not the case I know I will be emotionally ready. Meanwhile just another a couple of years gives me additional finance/spending options in future.

Congratulations! It's not every day one gets offered the perfect job. I hope it works out for you!

[gerntz]

We retired & are making more money. Need to return to work to keep taxes down.

[nancyfrank232]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz We retired & are making more money. Need to return to work to keep taxes down.

I have no interest in keeping taxes down. I want to pay a hell of lot of tax!

[RetMD21]

I am still working at age 63 and slated to be finish in 7 months. I passed the FI mark a long time ago but liked the money, enjoyed some aspects of the work, and there was no external push to retire. I now find that I have less patience with bs aspects of the job and since I have other interests and no financial concerns I am slowly transitioning to gone. I don't know what I'll think in 5 years but at this point waiting seemed to work for me.

[a60dan]

I'm anticipating a hard time switching from saving all my life to spending.

In ~2 years, I'm planning to propose part time, and dropping the supervisor headaches.

As long as I work 30 hours, benefits still apply.

After that, I may phase myself out 1 day per week at a time.

I have a co-worker who has retired twice alrerady, is 77, and doesn't age at all.

This morning I asked him how his retirement is going :-)

[Retired Expat]

Retired 7-8 years ago and am now 60. Sure there were days where I was bored since I retired. I can distinctly recall 3 of them. On the other hand I can remember many more days where I was miserable at work. YMMV of course, and sure I could have stayed another few years and banked another few hundred K. But in retirement I don’t need that extra money and am much happier for having done what I did..

Of course I changed my life around in a big way when I retired and my priorities too, bought my first used car ever, downsized to a smaller home without a pool (which cost a fortune to maintain and hardly was used) my gym had 2 if I feel the need. Honestly, you can find happiness in whatever you choose to do, work or retire,it is just a matter of point of view.

Good luck

[Jollyquick]

LINYbob,

I was in a very similar situation: I had grown bored with my job but it was very secure and paid extremely well. For me what pushed me over the edge was the commute. I was sitting in rush hour traffic, when it dawned on me there was no financial reason for me to be miserable, sitting in traffic at O’Dark thirty. Came down to how much is my time worth to me.

I’m in my second year of retirement now and haven’t had a single bored day yet. They may be coming but they will be mine to own. I still wake up early, but now I sip a coffee and Baileys and watch those less fortunate ebb and flow on the human tide.

On the other hand a colleague of mine in a similar situation retired and went batshit crazy with boredom. He’s now back at work with an even higher paying, higher stress job. He loves it!

So to each their own! In the end it’s you that has to be happy. Life’s too short to play it safe if you’re not happy.

[Wincherr]

I am not sure I have ever read a thread on this forum and agreed with every response that has been written. You got some really good advice here. While I saw one person hinted at this, I never saw the suggestion that perhaps you go to a part-time status. Pretirement. This is my plan in about a year. We get full benefits including health care as long as we work 20 hours/week.

I really enjoyed reading this sage advice. Great forum.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wincherr I am not sure I have ever read a thread on this forum and agreed with every response that has been written. You got some really good advice here. While I saw one person hinted at this, I never saw the suggestion that perhaps you go to a part-time status. Pretirement. This is my plan in about a year. We get full benefits including health care as long as we work 20 hours/week. I really enjoyed reading this sage advice. Great forum.

ur lucky - we have to be 30 hours for benefits - made my decision real easy

[Wincherr]

I am suspicious they may change this rule. One more reason to quit messing around with this decision as I’m sure if I was already part time I would be grandfathered.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wincherr I am suspicious they may change this rule. One more reason to quit messing around with this decision as I’m sure if I was already part time I would be grandfathered.

they can take away health benefits any time - i don't think those are projected unless you are covered by a cba

i'm going variable hourly after 1/3 - i get to decide when and how much time after that. Cobra is only $700 a month to continue active medical - at age 55, way better deal than any plan on the exchange

[Wincherr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter they can take away health benefits any time - i don't think those are projected unless you are covered by a cba i'm going variable hourly after 1/3 - i get to decide when and how much time after that. Cobra is only $700 a month to continue active medical - at age 55, way better deal than any plan on the exchange

True, but I don’t they would do that.

[Huckleberry]

Is there ever the perfect time to "retire"? At a seminar a few years ago the speaker used quite a visual representation to help those unsure.
Taking a 25' 1" wide tape measure, extending it upward to the average life expectancy of a man i.e. 87 years, he extended the tape to the 87 inch mark, placing his left thumb on your current age i.e. 65 years and his right thumb on the 87" mark.
He then described the portion of the tape from 1"-65" as the portion that you have lived and the remaining 66"-85" as the life you have remaining.

Seeing it in that manner makes you think twice...or three times, as to whether it is time or not.
That being said, I continue to work because it is personally fulfilling and I enjoy helping others, but that vision of the tape measure has become more
pronounced in my mind as time moves on!

[FREE866]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrugarber Is there ever the perfect time to "retire"? At a seminar a few years ago the speaker used quite a visual representation to help those unsure. Taking a 25' 1" wide tape measure, extending it upward to the average life expectancy of a man i.e. 87 years, he extended the tape to the 87 inch mark, placing his left thumb on your current age i.e. 65 years and his right thumb on the 87" mark. He then described the portion of the tape from 1"-65" as the portion that you have lived and the remaining 66"-85" as the life you have remaining. Seeing it in that manner makes you think twice...or three times, as to whether it is time or not. That being said, I continue to work because it is personally fulfilling and I enjoy helping others, but that vision of the tape measure has become more pronounced in my mind as time moves on!

That's a great way to look at it.



We all have our own path, but I never "loved" working and found that I feel just as much fulfilled if not more doing activities I care about in retirement. I think we all have been so conditioned to be working that breaking that attachment can be a challenge initially, but damn does it have rewards.

[Hillbilly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LINYbob I'm at the verge of retiring - maybe by year end. My financials are fine - every model I run gives me confidence. But I could stay at my job and make more money and preserve my retirement funds, and grow them more. What things do you think of when it is time to make the decision? I don't really love my job, it is ok at best. But it pays well and it is not too stressful. And I'm worried that the fun of retirement will wear off in a few months. I'd like to get some input on how people decide to give up certain income vs time to do whatever you want.

Good job! It sounds like you have the finances in place.

I'd suggest that the next step is what to you want to do (and not) with whatever time you have left.

Over time, my work required travel to over 40 states. Near the end, I was tired of living out of a "bag" and not sleeping in my own bed. I still hate to travel overnight to this day.

So, the reward for getting your finances in place, has grown into an opportunity to "paint the canvas" the way you want to. Think of it as what you want to do rather than what you need to do. It opens so many doors that were never there before. Good luck to you.

[DogGone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hillbilly I'd suggest that the next step is what to you want to do (and not) with whatever time you have left.

This ^

Most studies on happiness have shown the key point is to remove the things that make you unhappy, not pile on things that make you happy while you suffer in other areas.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DogGone Most studies on happiness have shown the key point is to remove the things that make you unhappy, not pile on things that make you happy while you suffer in other areas.

I like that, a slight but significant shift in thinking. Very relevant to ER.

[Retired Expat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wincherr I am not sure I have ever read a thread on this forum and agreed with every response that has been written. You got some really good advice here. While I saw one person hinted at this, I never saw the suggestion that perhaps you go to a part-time status. Pretirement. This is my plan in about a year. We get full benefits including health care as long as we work 20 hours/week. I really enjoyed reading this sage advice. Great forum.

I tried the part time withdrawal from work. Went to 4 days then 3 days but it has nothing to do with the change when you are truly done! You still read emails, are on the hook to make decisions and worry. I worried all the time about what was happening so while I went in less days I didn’t feel any less connected just more stressed.

30/35 some years of struggling to wake up in the dark to be at work by 7 or before. In my field we started early. I knew I was done when I could wake up at 5, roll over and snuggle my wife and go back to sleep for a few hours. Then my head was clear to plan and organize things for us and do things I wanted to do without work worries slipping in..