What triggered you to retire early?

I put 'This Board'. That was actually a positive answer. We had been saving for retirement, and I have multiple pensions some with COLA some without. I had fun working, but just never put it all together or even really thought much about it. Just generally considered I would retire at 65 or so.

Bored one day at work, I was surfing the web and found this site. It got me thinking, about all the other thinks we could do. DW was a teacher had just gotten a Master in Education and planned on teaching a 'couple more years'

So the short of the long story, after reading this board we decided "Why Wait" and never looked back.
 
W*rkplace political correctness run amok and inhouse political drivel cubed.
 
This thread reminds me of the old saying: "Work sucks, but I need the bucks."

If it sucks badly enough that it sprus you on to "engineer" your financial situation in a way where you have enough bucks without working for a paycheck, you FIRE.

I'm not at all surprised that most people said they retired early because of conditions they didn't like at their work. After all, if you really liked your work, would you have retired? In honesty, there are few people I envy more than those who truly love their work -- people who enjoy what they do, the circumstances under which they do it, AND get paid for it. But that group of fortunate souls is probably a small minority. Even if we enjoy the type of work we do, the conditions, the office politics, the bureaucracy, bad bosses and the like may still chase us out.
 
David1961 said:
Question for the folks that have RE’d. Preparing to RE probably took decades of planning and sacrifice. Was there a triggering event that drove you to actually retire? For instance, the proverbial camel straw at work, reaching your financial ER goal, or realizing you don’t have enough time to spend on your passions? Had you previously determined that you were financially able to RE, but you waited some time to actually RE?
Click to expand...
my decision to FIRE was driven by many things.
long term dissatisfaction and boredom...
personal tragedy and the impetus to stand up and start a new life...
continued injury of upper body and hands from stress and overwork...
politically motivated bashing and bullets fired at me by a well connected antagonist...
extreme negative w*rk environment across the board (no fun allowed)...
stress reduction...
just because i finally could :D
 
ziggy29 said:
This thread reminds me of the old saying: "Work sucks, but I need the bucks."

If it sucks badly enough that it sprus you on to "engineer" your financial situation in a way where you have enough bucks without working for a paycheck, you FIRE.

I'm not at all surprised that most people said they retired early because of conditions they didn't like at their work. After all, if you really liked your work, would you have retired? In honesty, there are few people I envy more than those who truly love their work -- people who enjoy what they do, the circumstances under which they do it, AND get paid for it. But that group of fortunate souls is probably a small minority. Even if we enjoy the type of work we do, the conditions, the office politics, the bureaucracy, bad bosses and the like may still chase us out.
Click to expand...

Ziggy you have really hit the nail on the head. I haven't punched out yet, and like others here, I have in the past truly enjoyed my work. Honestly, the challenge of trying to succeed under the current economic situation is interesting while at the same time devastating (having to lay people off is not fun). But the real problem is as you say, the politics, bureacracy, and bad bosses who can't even remember their promises beyond the time it takes the breath with which they made those promises to pass their lips.:rant: Can you tell I'm fed up this morning? Its a story for another day, when I've cooled down, because

ziggy29 said:
"Work sucks, but I need the bucks."
Click to expand...

R
 
David1961 said:
Was there a triggering event that drove you to actually retire?
Click to expand...

I was temporarily assigned (TDY) for 120 days to Kuwait, working as the supply flight chief in a large squadron. I got to hang out and work with the Airmen who were actually "kicking" the boxes and working on the nuts-n-bolts of the operation. I loved it!

So, I realized that when I went back home, it was back to the day-to-day grind of management and paperwork (OMG - the paperwork!!).

Which caused me to understand that, in reality, I was BORED!

I had plenty of time in (27+ years), so I "dropped my papers" for retirement while I was in Kuwait (told my boss at home what I was doing first). I was gone 5 months after that.

Now - after a year - I've discovered that not only was I bored ... I just don't want to work. And that's been working out just fine for me. :D

Marilyn
 
I was a maintenance programmer for many years, planning on retiring Feb 2008, when I had 30 years.

They made me a manager, BP went up (176/96), weight went up (215#); found REHP, went to a retirement seminar, realized I could live on $25K/yr, took an early retirement offer in Dec '04'.

No longer have to deal with the Frumious Bandersnatch.

BP: 124/76
Weight: 135

Still saving money.
 
Khan said:
....

No longer have to deal with the Frumious Bandersnatch.

BP: 124/76
Weight: 135

Still saving money.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps, Khan.

Bye bye Frumious Bandersnatch, done;

BP down without meds., I'm working on that;

still saving money, I think I can, I think I can.
 
Laid off with package in early October from large telecomm company, after 27 years. Had planned to retire in 2 years anyway and since that was known, contributed to me being the choice to go. Decen package though, hoping to not touch any retirement funds until my original planned date.

I was really tired of the work I was doing, no challenge left, just aggravation which some people confuse with challenge!
 
I call myself "retired but working". I'm 54. Got laid off from programming job at MegaCorp at age 48. Our jobs were outsourced to Bangalore, India and Monckton, Canada. Gave up looking for new IT job after hundreds of resumes sent out.

I now work as a manual laborer. Love the job. Compared to a typical day of computer programming, my new job is like a f***ing vacation, and I'm earning 60 percent of my programming salary for a no-stress job, with health bens. So I consider myself "retired but working". And lucky. :rolleyes:

Had I not been laid off, the reason I would have given for FIRE would have been stress, just plain old stress.
 
John Galt III said:
I now work as a manual laborer. Love the job. Compared to a typical day of computer programming, my new job is like a f***ing vacation, and I'm earning 60 percent of my programming salary for a no-stress job, with health bens. So I consider myself "retired but working". And lucky. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
You do heavy labor? The one time I did that I was still in my thirties, and I got awful tired of getting up sore and tired and starting all over again. Congrats being able to do it at 54.

Ha
 
haha said:
You do heavy labor? The one time I did that I was still in my thirties, and I got awful tired of getting up sore and tired and starting all over again. Congrats being able to do it at 54.

Ha
Click to expand...


Ha,

Thanks.

JG3
 
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