What income did you give up?

[aaronc879]

I'm not retired but I left my full time job at age 31. After 11 years of working 4:54pm to 5am doing hard manual labor the whole time, my body couldn't take anymore. I was making around $48-49K/yr plus 2.5% company match and average of 2.5% profit sharing which went directly into 401K. I took a full year off to rest my body then started doing contract work. I now work just enough to have an AGI of $12-15K/yr which covers my expenses and lets my investments grow. I sometimes miss the high(to me) income but don't miss the horribly hard work. I don't regret going to part time.

 

[Hermit]

Thanks for this perspective, which is where I think I'll find myself in 8 years when eligible to pull the plug and enjoy a moderate retirement or continue to work and impact other folks lives and get much satisfaction from it. If it were only about me it would be a no brainer as far as I'm concerned to retire when eligible as my investments would cover the lifestyle I anticipate living.

But it is not only about me, so I'll be facing a dilemma also -- Really though I see it as a win -- win -- If I have an early retirement -- WIN If I decide there are worthwhile "causes" that push me to work a few extra years -- WIN -- even if I die shortly thereafter

Although one of the main reasons I retired was that I couldn't do overnight shifts anymore, another major factor was so that I could move closer to the kid's camp I have chosen to support with my my time as well as my money. Like the director of the camp told me when I was contemplating this move, "Its not just about the money."

 

[karen1972]

Almost everyone I know thinks I'm insane as I walked away from $180k + benefits and additional retention bonuses. I believe that put me in the top 1% of female income earners in the US. Reality is I worked hard with a goal in mind and when I met that goal it was easy to walk away from the BS. I could write volumes on why women are not staying and exceeding in STEM jobs.

 

[travelover]

When I quit my paper route, I was making about $12 a week. I still can't believe I just walked away from it.

 

[jkern]

I walked away from $110,000 per year at age 51 about 7 years ago. Not having to work outweighs leaving a lot of money on the table. (only if you can maintain your standard of living)

 

[brett]

$250K plus car, benefits, options, etc. Got a 22 month severance package and decided to call it quits. Best thing I ever did. Thought about another position/consulting but just wanted out.

We were financially independent. The Gov't took a big chunk. Sometimes I wish I had the income, but only for a split second.

Now back to planning for our upcoming two month trip to Asia.
Nope...do not miss work, do not miss the IT industry, do not miss quarterly sales, revenue, and PBT. Do not miss the politics, my former boss, or being a senior manager. I miss a few work colleagues but that is as far as it goes. Nor do I miss the 10-12 hour days and the business travel.

 

[Theseus]

When I quit my paper route, I was making about $12 a week. I still can't believe I just walked away from it.

Now, aren't you the boastful showoff!

What I gave up was relying on someone else's assessment of my worth as my source of income. Now the market balanced by my conservative AA determines my income potential, and I'm quite OK with that. Really don't feel like I "gave up" anything.

 

[jjquantz]

Never made 6 figures, although DW will just sneak into that realm this year. Except for the first few years right out of college when I worked for BigOil I never had a job that required more than my nominal 40 hours/week, either.

The best thing that happened to us was moving to the DC area - our income more than doubled and our expenses only went up about 25%, no lifestyle inflation for us. We were able to put aside a LOT of $$ in my last 6 years of w*rk.

 

[Sunset]

I just received my review, bonuses and raise this week. Annual salary and bonuses are right at $122,500. (4 weeks vacation, 4% 401K match, etc.) Not much different than past years. When I look at that number, I wonder if I am a fool to give it up. (I am giving it up, that thought just runs through my head a bit.) ....

Yes you are a fool to give it up!
Hopefully a happy fool

My number was nearly the same as yours, and I really had to come to terms with the fact that I was giving up income that is far greater than many folks will earn (but obviously not folks here ).

However my spending was low, so the extra cash didn't really do anything extra.
I still do a small amount 6->7 wks a year contracting as I like it, and of course I raised my rate and still just bank the cash

 

[youbet]

Although I was laid off in 2006, I made the decision to remain unemployed when I had job offers in the very low six figures (2006 dollars). I calculated that I was FIRE'd and didn't need to start another job at 58 yo, collected unemployment for two years and walked over the horizon to another life.

During my working life, I shared Senator's zeal for building wealth. However, somewhat to my surprise, since then it's been easy to focus on living life with another focus. It's turned out to be a very pleasant change. Despite opportunities, I've chosen to participate in zero money making endeavors in retirement other than watching the portfolio and budget and it feels good.

 

[DrRoy]

I'm going to RE in about a year. Current total Megacorp income $140K, 6 weeks vacation, pension will be 35K, plan to live on 85K.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We had two tech worker incomes. What helped us was realizing we were at the point where cutting annual expenses X 50 years had a lot more impact on our retirement numbers than even both of us working another few years. With more free time we had a lot of unoptimized expenses we could review, reduce or eliminate with a neutral or even improvement in our basic lifestyle. It has been several years now and we still have a full slate of projects for the coming year that will reduce our annual run rate.

Now DH has to remind me to run the retirement spreadsheet to show that even working a few more years does not make that big of a change in our long term plan. The older we get the more people we know die each year so that is also a good reminder not to work too much, though we still do have some hobby jobs for extra income.

 

[foxfirev5]

I won't be giving up as much as some of you when retirement comes at the end of April. For my mental wellbeing I am constructing a monthly transfer of funds that nearly duplicates the current paycheck.
As I ease toward retirement I am not seeing it as a trade off, but rather an opportunity. After saving a considerable portion of my paycheck for decades the time has come to cash in.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I did not ever earn much (under 30) so I guess that was one reason it was so easy to walk away. My job was easy but my co workers just drove me crazy. I also believe we are not around as long as many say. I saw four neighbors die around 60.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I could write volumes on why women are not staying and exceeding in STEM jobs.

I'm in a STEM profession and it's a great one for women.

 

[calmloki]

Almost everyone I know thinks I'm insane as I walked away from $180k + benefits and additional retention bonuses. I believe that put me in the top 1% of female income earners in the US. Reality is I worked hard with a goal in mind and when I met that goal it was easy to walk away from the BS. I could write volumes on why women are not staying and exceeding in STEM jobs.

Like the combination of excelling and succeeding into exceeding!

 

[lem1955]

Almost everyone I know thinks I'm insane as I walked away from $180k + benefits and additional retention bonuses. I believe that put me in the top 1% of female income earners in the US. Reality is I worked hard with a goal in mind and when I met that goal it was easy to walk away from the BS. I could write volumes on why women are not staying and exceeding in STEM jobs.

I would love to hear more, karen1972, about why women are not staying in STEM jobs. I serve on the board of VT Works for Women whose mission is to help women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue, and excel in work that leads to economic independence.We think STEM jobs are a great way to get to economic independence. What has to happen in order to make continuing in STEM jobs more appealing to women?

 

[Rustic23]

DW and I walked within three months of each other. We walked away from a combined $150,000 +. (does not include any benefits) The interesting thing is we have more disposable income now than we did then. Take out the cost of working, two cars, meals, travel etc, SS Tax, and other stuff and we find that we spend less, save more, and have close to the same after tax/saving income.

 

[hnzw_rui]

I would love to hear more, karen1972, about why women are not staying in STEM jobs. I serve on the board of VT Works for Women whose mission is to help women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue, and excel in work that leads to economic independence.We think STEM jobs are a great way to get to economic independence. What has to happen in order to make continuing in STEM jobs more appealing to women?

The pay is great. Unfortunately, it's still a male dominated field at the moment and sometimes, there's discrimination and politics involved. Having more women studying and going into STEM fields should greatly help.

 

[MRG]

The pay is great. Unfortunately, it's still a male dominated field at the moment and sometimes, there's discrimination and politics involved. Having more women studying and going into STEM fields should greatly help.

As a male retired IT management I agree. Many woman are passed by and overlooked on the field. I recall a guy just freaking out when I told him his new manager was female, his argument was in a previous job his female manager was difficult to work for! Just my experience but I've seen it occur too frequently.

 

[Mulligan]

As a male retired IT management I agree. Many woman are passed by and overlooked on the field. I recall a guy just freaking out when I told him his new manager was female, his argument was in a previous job his female manager was difficult to work for! Just my experience but I've seen it occur too frequently.

Different field but your comment about not wanting to work for female bosses was heard often by me. Except it never came from men, but only from women... As I guy I always thought that was a bit humorous.
The reasons were always the same...generic stereotyping worries.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[6miths]

Agree on karen1972's assessment of women in STEM. DW is outstanding and twice passed over for the top job to have a XY brought in above her. She continued to run the place while they messed things up and slowly self-destructed. I am trying, trying, trying to get her to see the error of her ways and to come join me on the beach.

I am so happy that I left the big paycheck behind. Only an occasional fleeting regret which is quickly replaced by overwhelming warm and fuzzy feelings!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Almost everyone I know thinks I'm insane as I walked away from $180k + benefits and additional retention bonuses. I believe that put me in the top 1% of female income earners in the US. Reality is I worked hard with a goal in mind and when I met that goal it was easy to walk away from the BS. I could write volumes on why women are not staying and exceeding in STEM jobs.

Perhaps because more women think that "leaning in" to high stress work and crazy hours does not bring happiness? It is hard to build up hobbies and relationships working 60+ hours a week. This Harvard researcher on happiness says to be happy lean in to relationships instead:

https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_wa...om_the_longest_study_on_happiness?language=en

 

[NW-Bound]

It all boils down to a person realizing at some point that he has less time than money.

So if one is a big spender and does not have much saved, he will feel that he always has less money than time, or perhaps has no choice, and will have to keep working. LBYM'ers can afford to retire earlier than their peers whether they like to work or not, and that is true across different income levels.

I often mentioned that I liked my work, and that was very true. It was the megacorp idiocy, the jealousy, the red tape that canceled out the fun. Still, I am greedy, and would have continued if they paid much more to make up for the aggravation. But I guess they were too chintzy and did not want to bribe me, and I just had to walk.

I can also see how people who enjoy their work and do not have the aggravation that most workers do can go on for a long time. For example, if you were Buffett, would you quit?

 

[Shanky]

I walked away from 6 figure tax bills.