What do you get from being FI?

[Lakedog]

Flexibility. Choices. And, yes, stress reduction. There is a certain ease in life if you don't have to think of money knowing you have "enough".

+1

Having no schedule or time requirements makes life much more enjoyable.

 

[foxfirev5]

As many have stated FI gives you flexibility and freedom. For example I had some outpatient surgery done on Friday which didn't go as planned. Today I cancelled my trip reservations for the coming week and will give myself time to recover. That would not have happened ten or fifteen years ago.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

...And, I have the students write TPS reports! Someday one of them will figure out the movie connection!
...

Great! What do you tell them (if anything) the TPS acronym is, "Testing Procedure Spec" or something like that? This is too funny!! You should give extra credit to the first one who gets it!

 

[Major Tom]

Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the front garden in my pajama bottoms and a t-shirt waiting for the mail carrier. It was a beautiful day. The weather was warm, and the slight breeze was causing the leaves to rustle in the trees. I sat down on the garden path while my neighbor's cat, Stephen, lay on his back next to me and went to sleep. I casually studied a very long line of busy ants, and took in the pattern of the bricks in the garden path, and the wild grass and ivy growing around me. It was one of those afternoons when time stands still and life seems perfect. It felt as if I had everything I needed right there.

A bit later, the mail carrier arrived and Stephen the cat scarpered. He makes himself scarce around people he doesn't know, which is a smart trait for a cat who spends time outdoors in an urban area. The mail carrier brought the packages I was expecting (vintage radio parts and a custom chassis for a new receiver I am building, as well as an unexpected gift from a friend).

Granted, yesterday was a Saturday but

a) I used to work every Saturday, and
b) even if I hadn't worked on Saturday, my general work schedule wouldn't have afforded me the luxury to pass the time in such a leisurely and thoroughly enjoyable way on my day off.

In ER, I am answerable to no-one, except for the occasional expectations of my SO (and she doesn't ask for much, bless her) and my cats, who wait on the bed every morning to remind me that they need to be fed. So to answer the question, this is what I get from FI. It's a high-stress life, I tell ya

 

[rockyj]

As others have indicated, the "I" in FI can really make a difference at work. Once you realize that employment is no longer required to maintain your financial well being, it's very liberating to realize that whatever you do is a choice you can make based on life metrics other than financial survival. When you no longer feel trapped at work, your approach can become more matter of fact - perhaps even more honest. I became more comfortable contributing my opinions about how things were going, what we should or shouldn't be doing, etc. - always toward positive outcomes and with respect. I think I became a better and less stressed employee. I probably could have done more of the same before FI, but it was much easier after, and my last couple of years at work were much more tolerable because of it. When a reorg came about in which I realized I wasn't going to see eye-to-eye with new management on some things that mattered, and that there would be even more bureaucratic "goo" layered onto my existence, it was very easy to step aside into FIRE without any angst about whether I would land on my feet. They deserved to have someone who was "all in" and by that time I was ready to become someone who was "all out". Now I do what I want, and so far that's working out fine.

 

[mtheulen]

7/29 I become eligible for 2 pension checks per month.With that and the multiple investments, I guess I too have become FI.I do plan to work a couple more years to shore up the fortress, however I could go in 9 days if desired.That option is what FI means to me.The ability to leave tomorrow if I so desire.I now will be in all area's "steering my ship"
Mike

 

[dunkelblau]

I'd say it's job satisfaction that is extending my working career. My personality is a terrible fit for supervisory roles and in my line of work most of my age cohort has made the jump from technical into management. The alternative is an early ceiling on salary. FI removed the conflict of interest so I've felt comfortable declining those opportunities.

I'd also echo the comments to the effect that I'm more productive at work as a result of being FI. I can exercise my own judgment about what parts of the job are and aren't adding value. My management has supported my independent streak by requesting my permission in advance before giving me any assignments in meetings. In exchange I'm very supportive of management. I would certainly let them know offline if I thought they were making a mistake, but so far it's all looked good to me.

So I guess the downside of FI is that it has effectively kept me away from RE.

 

[ziggy29]

I'd say it's job satisfaction that is extending my working career. My personality is a terrible fit for supervisory roles and in my line of work most of my age cohort has made the jump from technical into management. The alternative is an early ceiling on salary. FI removed the conflict of interest so I've felt comfortable declining those opportunities.

I can relate. I spent the second half of my career exactly where I wanted to be on the "corporate ladder" -- on the highest rung below management. Yes, it limited my upward mobility and potential for salary increases since I was "maxed out" in the non-management career track, but for the last few years I was cracking into the low six figures and that was enough, especially since our expenses were maybe 1/3 of our income while I was still working in that role. The hassles and headaches of management weren't worth the raises to me.

 

[FUEGO]

I do what I want, when I want, how I want. I'm the boss now. Control. Certainty. Freedom.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

I have 7 more weeks of work left. I expect this time to drag agonizingly. My current (and last) project with my company is particularly unpleasant. Yet now, with the end in site I am sitting here on a Sunday with a very limited sense of angst about work tomorrow. Usually, the Sunday Night Dread would have it's nasty hooks into me by now.

I only expect the wonder of stress free life to increase once I clock my last shift. Stress really is one of the most insidious things in our lives. Future stress for me now will probably have something to do with not being able to do all the amazing things my job prevented me from doing. I'll deal with it the best I can.

 

[AnIntentionalRoad]

Freedom to invest my time into my school aged children, time to rebuild my relationship with DW after too many high stress years of work, and time to pursue hobbies in earnest, not just when I could fit them in.

I feel very fortunate.

 

[pb4uski]

For those of you who are LESS then 62 (working or not) and ARE FI.

What do you think FI gives you?

What did you feel when you become FI?

When I was working and FI it gave me the ability to be more candid with colleagues and clients as to my views on business issues knowing that if they didn't like it I could just say "Ok, have a nice life" and walk out the door. I guess I did it right because they actually ate it up.

I felt I was FI when I knew I no longer needed to work but was workign because I wanted to.

A few years ago, I stopped wanting to and am now happily retired.

 

[MBAustin]

Learning I was FI gave me the idea to RE (which I did 6 months later) and unloaded a lot of stress.

+1 - except I only waited 3 months

 

[goodguy1_64]

It gives me the most precious resource that exists.. Time

goodguy

For those of you who are LESS then 62 (working or not) and ARE FI.

What do you think FI gives you?

What did you feel when you become FI?

 

[Ronnieboy]

I even fill out creative writing SMART Goals when they ask for them, knowing full well the "annual" goals will be abandoned, forgotten or replaced in three months. Somehow these things are no longer bothersome, but are more like theater of human foibles. With FI, I can choose to be amused by the absurdities of work instead of stressed.

I've started changing the dates on my old "anal" reviews and turning in the old ones since it seems they aren't read in the first place.....

 

[FUEGO]

I quit doing annual reviews 2 years before ER. No one noticed (yay state government!). Not having a boss helped.

 

[Calico]

I've started changing the dates on my old "anal" reviews and turning in the old ones since it seems they aren't read in the first place.....

So I'm not the only one! Turned in my annual review two days ago. Copied and pasted last year's word for word, then changed about 10% of it. You are correct - they didn't read it last year and won't read it this year.

 

[brett]

At work, for megacorp, a company that had been downsizing for 18 years, my attitude changed from being somewhat concerned to "bring it on baby". To the point where I knew what the separation settlement should be and who to represent me if necessary.

At home, more relaxed and a much larger focus on deciding where we wanted to travel and how we wanted to downsize in order to simplify our lives.

Increased respect for money and investments as the knowledge that we were FI sunk in as well as the knowledge that we had to invest wisely since it could not be earned again.

 

[FIREd]

FI gives me a lot of freedom.

 

[dtbach]

FI gave me the opportunity to actually laugh out loud when the last boss I worked for told me he was letting me go after my 90 day trial period.

It wasn't a bad job but was far below my skill level. The "boss" was a total AHole (everybody disliked him intensely). I could tell he wanted me to kow tow to him, but 1) I knew I was FI and 2) I hate martinets. I apparently didn't show enough fear of him or grovel enough. So he called me into his office after 90 days and said that he was letting me go as I "just wasn't working out". I could see the pain in his face when I just laughed and said "yup, it wasn't working out was it".

And believe it or not, they let me have unemployment insurance!! And this was in 2009 when I could get it for like 92 weeks!! Didn't really need it but it sure as heck it helped with the SWR. Only had a 25 week span between when the UI stopped and my military retirement pay kicked in.

So yeah, FI rocks!!!

 

[Options]

27 Tuesdays to go (don't work Mondays/off every other Friday). This 3-day weekend has been absolutely lovely and next weekend is a 4-day weekend, a pattern which will continue until I FIRE next January.

Boy, has FI changed my attitude/presence at work. At most, you could say I'm "vacant".

Case in point: dinner plans Friday, boss comes in with someone to meet at 4:30, at 4:50 I interrupted the guy who had been speaking without taking a breath for the prior 15 minutes, and said I'm sorry, but I've got an engagement and I've got to go.

I got up. And left.

 

[John Galt III]

For those of you who are LESS then 62 (working or not) and ARE FI.

What do you think FI gives you?

What did you feel when you become FI?

I am modestly FI. I am not working now, and consider myself retired. My former job requires me to have a certified medical fitness card, and my card was up for renewal recently. I decided I would renew the card just to maintain my ability to go back to the job if I desired. So I went to get the physical exam. But when I started the physical the tech said my blood pressure was off the charts (160 over 110) and that I would fail the exam if it didn't drop significantly in a few minutes. They had me lie down for 10 minutes in a dark room, and then someone else came in to retake the BP. Still 160 over 110 !! Luckily they refunded my money.

But there I was, left wondering why my BP was so high. I later came to the conclusion that my unconscious mind was trying to fail me in the physical so I would not have the chance to re-endure the toxic personnel in that job again.

The good news is that I did pass the physical a few days later, with a much lower BP, at a different medical facility. I think the trick was convincing my unconscious mind that I was really not going back to that job.


So, in conclusion, and to answer the second question, FI gives me the freedom to not be around toxic people in the work environment !

 

[Euroland]

FI meant l could say enough of the 12 hour shifts every other weekend on my feet with no lunch break. I could say enough to the corporate crap that was turning my profession into a glorified sales position to increase profits. FI lead to ER!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

FI gave me the opportunity to actually laugh out loud when the last boss I worked for told me he was letting me go after my 90 day trial period.

It wasn't a bad job but was far below my skill level. The "boss" was a total AHole (everybody disliked him intensely). I could tell he wanted me to kow tow to him, but 1) I knew I was FI and 2) I hate martinets. I apparently didn't show enough fear of him or grovel enough. So he called me into his office after 90 days and said that he was letting me go as I "just wasn't working out". I could see the pain in his face when I just laughed and said "yup, it wasn't working out was it".

Yes, FI does give you this luxury. Not to diverge from the thread, but it's funny how many managers seek to impose their will (or take advantage of people) through fear of job loss. While I understand the need for performance-based terminations, in some cases such actions are often subterfuge for personality conflicts based upon a refusal to <Cartman voice> "respect mah authority" (or worse ).

 

[gcgang]

Being FI gives me the ability to not sweat the cost of things, although out of habit I still am pretty frugal.

I felt relieved/relaxed once I fully realized I was FI.