Anyone Financially Independent, but still working?

OK, I can retire now but am still having fun. In two years I will effectively be working for free. At that point I think I will retire and DW will go back to work (her idea, can you believe it)?

I could do it all now but two more years will add more to the IRA's and give me something interesting to do. Not sure what I will do then at 56, but thinking about it.

SM
 
If you get those expenses down, you can retire much earlier than planned.

Do you want to work for the man forever.

The good life awaits you.
 

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ikubak said:
FI but still working. A couple of reasons I keep working....vesting in a nice pension in 3 years....a son with 2 1/2 years of HS left....the majority of my liquid assets are in IRAs and 401ks...I could take some from there but dont really want to. In a strange way, I feel like the walking dead, awaiting rebirth when I retire. Things that used to seem important at work just dont matter anymore :)
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Very similar but without the child.

Our two biggest issues are:
Insurance and self doubt that we've actually achieved FI.

At 52 and 50 we're taking more time off now, still not enough off though. What we decided was to plan for full ER in 5 years to give us a goal rather than jump all in now. But the closer we get to that the more time we'll request off whether work likes it or not.

I'll probably try for a 4 day work week next year, plus vacation time. After that maybe contract jobs and work from home rather than commute. We've had several engineers ease into retirement at work like that. No reason I can't be the next one.

As for insurance we haven't explored any outside options yet.
 
Am inching closer to being FI, but still single (hoping to find "the one" not too far in the future :) ). Because the future Mrs. is unknown, and our combined goals/budget/balance sheet are unknown, I assume we wouldn't quite be FI post-marriage, compared to my current state.

But, if I lost my job today and was unable to find another source of employment, I could meet my expenses - with a pretty generous budget for fun/travel - given my current stash, and have a 2.5% WR. However, given my age, I'd definitely still work for a few more years to pump up the portfolio and make it virtually shock-proof (and make that post-marriage portfolio closer to FI than it is now).
 
I tried not working once I did my 7 year stint taking care of a dementia'd mother. It was fun for awhile. I got bored after about a little over a year of going to happy hours with groups and eating out with others--not that I didn't enjoy it--but it wasn't enough to make me feel fulfilled.
So, now I am fulfilling my dream of doing nothing but studying the stock market. I love it. It gives me purpose and something I am really enjoying doing.
And, yes, I have waaaay more than enough to retire, sit on my can and daydream. Just not for me.
People work--when they don't have to at all--for personal satisfaction and a sense of self-worth. At least, for me that's true.
I save my weekends for getting together with friends now except on rare occasions. I am sooo much happier than I was before.
Different strokes?
 
Sambuca said:
I'm FI, I've sworn off this board.
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Yet you continue to troll...
Sambuca said:
In short, this is not the place where I want to waste my time anymore, and this is (wait for the applause) my last post...
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If you were really serious you wouldn't waste a minute of your 'driven' time telling us - unless this is how you classify doing something for which you are "truly proud".

Please be careful of the doorknob on the way out...
 
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Sambuca said:
I'm FI, I've sworn off this board. I have many things that I want to accomplish in life. I am driven. I love to tackle impossible tasks - marathons, novels, and hopefully things that put me in an elite class - to understand where the leaders are taking the world. I want to read 'thinking fast and slow' and gainfully employ that in my life. In short, this is not the place where I want to waste my time anymore, and this is (wait for the applause) my last post... until I'm ready to be old and refective on life, like most of these 'Early Retirees'. I came here for inspiration, and mostly found people talking about the riches of time, but not optimization - what I would hope the goal of every human life (being that we are a rational species) - the optimization of time and resources. When I am powerless in this sense, I am happy to comfortably fade and die - like during a marathon prepared inadequately for, these people should not be offering advice, unless they are doing something they are truly proud of, that leaves the world better than they found it. But as I said, I am driven, I am relentless, I do not get excited by being here...
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Wow, I am sooooo jealous !
That is what you were going for, wasn't it ?
 
Sambuca said:
I'm FI, I've sworn off this board. I have many things that I want to accomplish in life. I am driven. I love to tackle impossible tasks - marathons, novels, and hopefully things that put me in an elite class - to understand where the leaders are taking the world. I want to read 'thinking fast and slow' and gainfully employ that in my life. In short, this is not the place where I want to waste my time anymore, and this is (wait for the applause) my last post... until I'm ready to be old and refective on life, like most of these 'Early Retirees'. I came here for inspiration, and mostly found people talking about the riches of time, but not optimization - what I would hope the goal of every human life (being that we are a rational species) - the optimization of time and resources. When I am powerless in this sense, I am happy to comfortably fade and die - like during a marathon prepared inadequately for, these people should not be offering advice, unless they are doing something they are truly proud of, that leaves the world better than they found it. But as I said, I am driven, I am relentless, I do not get excited by being here...
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Thank you for sharing your elite greatness and drive with us; good luck, you'll need it:greetings10:
 
Sambuca said:
I'm FI, I've sworn off this board. I have many things that I want to accomplish in life....

But as I said, I am driven, I am relentless, I do not get excited by being here...
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That explains why you read this thread, visited this site and posted here.
 
This isn't how I want to start my Saturday...

S. is leaving to do the impossible: run a marathon and read a novel? Now, if you want the impossible: try using Aqua Velva for over 51 years like I have. Bet you can’t do it. (O.K maybe this isn’t the best example).

But maybe you actually have already accomplished the impossible: you said your last post would be your last post and then, miraculously you created another post. How did you do that? Could you teach me?

Anyhow, I can’t believe you’re leaving: Where else are you going to read about my faulty furnace (don’t read too much into that) and personal hygiene aboard a submarine (I have a hunch those two things may somehow be related—but, I hope not).

Anyhow (once again), if you leave now, you will miss out on my book review of “The SPY” by Clive Cussler. Funny thing, I was going to dedicate the review to you. Now, I may have to re-think this.

Best wishes…

redduck (should that be two words)?
 
redduck said:
...Anyhow (once again), if you leave now, you will miss out on my book review of “The SPY” by Clive Cussler. Funny thing, I was going to dedicate the review to you. Now, I may have to re-think this....
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Umm, no one's ever dedicated a book review to me, even though I am old AND reflective per Sambuca's requirements....
 
I was FI about 5 or 6 years ago and choose to keep working. The job eventually became part time and last September my position was eliminated, thus I retired. I figured that I would hang in with the part time gig as long as it lasted as it provided free health insurance and the work was easy.
 
FI, now age 58, still working. Target is 62 but if the BS gets to be too much, I'm outta there.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Umm, no one's ever dedicated a book review to me, even though I am old AND reflective per Sambuca's requirements....
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First off, it's hard to believe that no one, not even once, has ever dedicated a book review to you. Is this a bucket-list thing of yours? I'm sure that this oversight will be remedied.
Lsbcal and Moemg review lots of books. I bet either one of them would be willing to help you out here--especially when it's called to their attention that you are old AND reflective.
 
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Sambuca said:
OK, what I acutally wrote in my journal about this board, is that it is a 'poison on my soul' and with that, I bid adieu
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Gone? I hope you know noone will really miss you.
 
Sambuca said:
I'm FI, I've sworn off this board. I have many things that I want to accomplish in life. I am driven. I love to tackle impossible tasks - marathons, novels, and hopefully things that put me in an elite class - to understand where the leaders are taking the world. I want to read 'thinking fast and slow' and gainfully employ that in my life. In short, this is not the place where I want to waste my time anymore, and this is (wait for the applause) my last post... until I'm ready to be old and refective on life, like most of these 'Early Retirees'. I came here for inspiration, and mostly found people talking about the riches of time, but not optimization - what I would hope the goal of every human life (being that we are a rational species) - the optimization of time and resources. When I am powerless in this sense, I am happy to comfortably fade and die - like during a marathon prepared inadequately for, these people should not be offering advice, unless they are doing something they are truly proud of, that leaves the world better than they found it. But as I said, I am driven, I am relentless, I do not get excited by being here...
Click to expand...
Sambuca said:
OK, what I acutally wrote in my journal about this board, is that it is a 'poison on my soul' and with that, I bid adieu
Click to expand...
So you have all these goals you want to accomplish with your life, just as soon as you finish your weekday shift work. Good luck to you and your fellow elites with that.

I had to re-read your posts to remember what you've been talking about, and now that I recognize the theme I have to admit that we've seen these flounces more than a few times from your type. Just make sure you get yourself a new IP address before you sign up for a new account.

But you have a nice life now, and don't let the door hit you in the assets on the way out. "Warm regards".

Oh, and say "Hey" to Ted for us, will you?
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/retirement-vs-perfect-job-14369.html#post264916
 
I am FI, although quite with the buffer I want, and I work. Most days I like my job, so it's hard to leave. I don't think, apart from this job, I could use the skills I've spent a long time developing. I hope I can find a way to cut down to part-time. I think I could do that indefinitely...
 
sunsnow said:
I don't think, apart from this job, I could use the skills I've spent a long time developing.
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I have plenty of long-developed skills that happen to be illegal unless backed by the federal government's authority, but I've been quite happy to put them aside in favor of developing new (legal) skills.

Kidding aside, retirement is a chance to forget about who you were and to start working on who you want to be. If you're already happy with your working persona then you have no reason to retire.
 
Any time I use one of those online calculators it tells me I have enough to retire now. But my wife gets a full pension in 3 years that makes that the earliest realistic target. Then I'll probably work for another 2-3 because she want to do something related to a perk of my job...

I have quit working twice in the last 15 years, once for 3 years and once for about 1 year, both times to complete a graduate degree. Both times I had saved for the time off and expected to live off savings plus a tiny bit of consulting and teaching. Both times I ended up going back to work with more saved than I started with, not intentionally, it just worked out that way. But during those periods I could not save significantly for an early retirement.

I am gradually coming to grips with the idea that we are FI. That if we had to retire tomorrow we could. But it still seems like it would be a bit of a stretch if we really did it now but realistically it probably would not involve much sacrifice. We need a few more years of savings but more importantly, a few more years of not drawing on what we have already saved.

Sometimes being in this position makes it hard to come to work. I really wish I could just buy 1-2 days off every week! It's not that I don't like my job, it's just that there are other things I'd love to do. My wife pretty much feels the same way.

But she is heading up a major new project in her job that will be complete about the time she can retire. I'd say there is at least a 50% chance that she will want to stick around another year or two to complete the "weaning" process.

So I guess we are in the category of FI but not ER yet. It's great some days because I can think "Oh, I really don't have to put up with the BS, I just want to get things done" while other times I think "Why do I put up with this BS when I don't have to?" The funny thing is, I started planning for ER shortly after I started working. My goal was never to stop working but was instead to be in a position where I COULD if I wanted to. It sounds like that is where you still are. When you get to that point I bet you'll be seeing that greener grass much more clearly.
 
Nords said:
I have plenty of long-developed skills that happen to be illegal unless backed by the federal government's authority, but I've been quite happy to put them aside in favor of developing new (legal) skills.
Click to expand...

You itchin to put your finger on the launch button:LOL:
 
Sambuca said:
I'm FI, I've sworn off this board. I have many things that I want to accomplish in life. I am driven. I love to tackle impossible tasks - marathons, novels, and hopefully things that put me in an elite class - to understand where the leaders are taking the world. I want to read 'thinking fast and slow' and gainfully employ that in my life. In short, this is not the place where I want to waste my time anymore, and this is (wait for the applause) my last post... until I'm ready to be old and refective on life, like most of these 'Early Retirees'. I came here for inspiration, and mostly found people talking about the riches of time, but not optimization - what I would hope the goal of every human life (being that we are a rational species) - the optimization of time and resources. When I am powerless in this sense, I am happy to comfortably fade and die - like during a marathon prepared inadequately for, these people should not be offering advice, unless they are doing something they are truly proud of, that leaves the world better than they found it. But as I said, I am driven, I am relentless, I do not get excited by being here...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I needed that kick in the butt to jump start my life again.:D

 
Boy, with Sambuca gone this thread really dried up. I guess everyone is out getting ready for their Marathons? [Background alert: I've run 7.]

I am a long time reader, infrequent poster. I retired in the Spring of 2009 at 51 (remember what the market was doing then? :eek: ), but figured that I still had enough, as long as the trend of the time didn't continue forever. I had 30+ years, a frozen but traditional pension, and enough money in cash and stock to allow me to sleep. I have a child, still under 10, so that made me work the numbers over and over. My j*b involved a lot of travel, and I decided that time with my child was more important than extra $ being accumulated...especially since I felt I was FI given a decent but modest lifestyle.

I took a year off, no work except for a few projects around the house. First vacation longer than 2 weeks since high school (I attended college year round to get done earlier). After a year, I took a short term consulting contract with a former customer of my employer. I also applied for and got a part time j*b teaching at a local college. Since then, I've continued the teaching thing, not for the money (part time adjuncts get paid pretty little), but for the fun of it, to keep my mine occupied and partially because I didn't want my child to see a lazy slob sitting around all day (that's me) as a role model. Life is still pretty good, as I have a good amount of free time and the summers off, and I spend some of my time brewing good quality beer to drink. :)

I've been asked to teach 4 classes in the fall...uh oh...I agreed to do it...watch what your doing or the next thing you know you will be working full time.
 
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