Great responses here! I was not abrupt at all. I started looking at dates in 2007 when about 50, based on company provided predictions. Age 58 was always earliest due to # of pension years and medical coverage. Met target income goals at 58, but expected a RIF with traditionally excellent payoff. I just COULD NOT let that possible opportunity go by and since w*rk was fun & fine, I decided to wait until age 62 or the RIF. I waited until it finally came in May 2019 @ 61. Got my last full pay severance check last month, while double dipping with pension checks the last 12 months (required). So way ahead of where I thought I would be if I had left of my own accord at 62.
How abrupt was your final decision?
- Thread starter FLSUnFIRE
- Start date
I was fairly abrupt. My employer offered a retirement package that included health insurance and I had received a sobering medical diagnosis. It took six months for me to not feel like I really should be working. Now, four years later, I wish I had retired sooner.
Markola
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I was ready with a FIRE plan to begin January 2021. However, when the Covid recession hit, they cut our operating budget to nothing, then they raised our goals, and when they came to cut my staff, I said, “See ya later starting this July.”
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Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Not abrupt for me at all. Reached FI and kept working, finally decided I'd had enough and we were way past FI, I retired about 6 months later - exactly as I had planned at the time. There wasn't anything abrupt about it. I can't imagine why anyone would retire abruptly unless something changed suddenly - health, surprise retirement package, business failure, unexpected layoff, etc.
THIS! I used to say the hardest part about my job was putting the truck into Drive. Not having to do that has been a godsend!
KarlH
Recycles dryer sheets
My thoughts exactly. I was pondering going to part time with a former coworker and was reminded that I would be driving two hours a day for a part time job I'm not thrilled about... I would rather bike 10 minutes to help out at the brewery twice a week.
HI Bill
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I miss my 15-minute bike ride into the office. It was good for exercise, improved my balance, helped maintain my stamina, and woke me up by the time I arrived. I got to see birds, trees, and a little nature long the way. At the end of a stressful day, the ride home helped me to relax. OTOH, my lazy side does like not having to get dressed twice at home (morning and evening), change at the office (twice), and instead prefers just walking 30 feet to the home office from the bedroom. My physical and emotional sides have suffered a bit, thought.
I ride bike on lunch and take a shower with the conference call running muted. Ive been known to have bad cell reception and competing cell towers on occasions as well
Mine was hardly abrupt. I was probably financially ready years ago but I enjoyed the work. The bs level got too high and family events lead me to think about aging and dying. Gave 12 months notice last summer. It was a long countdown and I am still adjusting.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
I decided to retire, and when, about eight years before I retired. Then I started planning with that timeframe as part of the planning process.
I officially gave my supervisor notice (and a date upon which I was going to retire), six months beforehand. That is not always a wise idea, but in my case it worked out and allowed a clean transition of responsibilities to the appropriate co-workers, and some time to pass on institutional knowledge and training.
A few years before retiring I (very privately) told two close co-workers of my plan to retire and about when. Much to my delight, one of them was promoted and became my supervisor, so when I gave notice it wasn't too much of a surprise.
Until I gave notice I kept it secret from nearly everybody else, though, because I thought they might not take it well. Then once I had given notice I let one blabbermouth know because I knew she'd tell the others so I wouldn't have to do it. It spread like wildfire. Then on my last day I sent the usual broadcast email.
I officially gave my supervisor notice (and a date upon which I was going to retire), six months beforehand. That is not always a wise idea, but in my case it worked out and allowed a clean transition of responsibilities to the appropriate co-workers, and some time to pass on institutional knowledge and training.
A few years before retiring I (very privately) told two close co-workers of my plan to retire and about when. Much to my delight, one of them was promoted and became my supervisor, so when I gave notice it wasn't too much of a surprise.
Until I gave notice I kept it secret from nearly everybody else, though, because I thought they might not take it well. Then once I had given notice I let one blabbermouth know because I knew she'd tell the others so I wouldn't have to do it. It spread like wildfire. Then on my last day I sent the usual broadcast email.
Stormy Kromer
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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When I was 22 I bought a business and promised myself I would work as hard as I could and sacrifice everything til I was 50. When I turned 50 I was out the door, I owed it to the young person that gave it everything for the last 30 years.
I turned on Jerry Jeff Walker singing "LA Freeway" and drove away in my Chevrolet til the tank was empty. That has to be the best FIRED song in the world.
I turned on Jerry Jeff Walker singing "LA Freeway" and drove away in my Chevrolet til the tank was empty. That has to be the best FIRED song in the world.
EllisWyatt
Recycles dryer sheets
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Was financially ready to retire, but There were aspects of the job I was still enjoying. Then I was told I had to fly to Sierra Leone for a meeting during the Ebola outbreak in.... Sierra Leone. Politely demurred, but was told I had to be there.
It allowed me to realise the two critical facts: I had enough, and I'd had enough.
Turned in my retirement that afternoon.
It allowed me to realise the two critical facts: I had enough, and I'd had enough.
Turned in my retirement that afternoon.
Koolau
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
As relayed before, was FI for quite some time, but was actually enjoying what I was doing. Suddenly, I was given an assignment that I didn't want to do. Discussed it with my boss and was informed I had no choice. I almost laughed. Thought about it over the Labor Day weekend. Tues. I informed the boss that Friday was my last day in the cube. His boss and her boss showed up at my desk asking what was up. I told 'em "I'm not mad. I'm not hurt. I just don't want to do (blank) and I don't have to." They seemed pretty stunned, but what could they do? YMMV
Markola
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Well, you COULD still do the bike commute every day, make funny faces in the parking lot, then bike home.
My plan was very long term, but the final execution was quite abrupt! Similar to the sentiments quoted below, I actually enjoyed the w*rk part, but hated all the nonsense and politics that had nothing to do with getting stuff done.
Within the first 5 year of my career, I realized I didn't want the w*rk forever, for these reasons. I maxed out my 401K and realized that wouldn't be enough to retire in my early 50's. So I doubled my saving rate by investing in a taxable brokerage (all stock funds baby!), and planned for an exit around 52.
I eventually married DW and got busy with life, almost forgetting my exit strategy while continuing to save. W*rk continued to go downhill until one day I realized that our combined savings was enough for both of us to exit ahead of plan. We planned an exit within 2-3 years.
A few months later, on an overseas trip from hell, I secretly decided to give my 2 week's notice upon return. A "take this j*b and shove it" moment! I just could take the BS for another minute.
Now years later, absolutely no regrets. If anything, I wish I saved more so that I could have retired 3-5 years sooner.
Within the first 5 year of my career, I realized I didn't want the w*rk forever, for these reasons. I maxed out my 401K and realized that wouldn't be enough to retire in my early 50's. So I doubled my saving rate by investing in a taxable brokerage (all stock funds baby!), and planned for an exit around 52.
I eventually married DW and got busy with life, almost forgetting my exit strategy while continuing to save. W*rk continued to go downhill until one day I realized that our combined savings was enough for both of us to exit ahead of plan. We planned an exit within 2-3 years.
A few months later, on an overseas trip from hell, I secretly decided to give my 2 week's notice upon return. A "take this j*b and shove it" moment! I just could take the BS for another minute.
Now years later, absolutely no regrets. If anything, I wish I saved more so that I could have retired 3-5 years sooner.
Precious! You are my hero!
For decades I put up with crap assignments. The mass layoffs during the 2000's didn't help.
At the end, I too was given another pointless crap overseas assignment, the same week after returning from the last pointless crap overseas assignment. I gave my short notice on the spot! Priceless!
FLSUnFIRE
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I'm glad this thread took off... I'm still floating in limbo but your stories are very therapeutic and offer great perspective. I love this community!
I'm actually slightly more motivated at w*rk on the stuff I view as important but less so on everything else ~90%. Whenever I'm tasked now (almost always by email) I respond back that I was "focusing on X but will re-prioritize if you want me to focus on Y," I really don't care anymore which takes the emotion out of it and it's sort of fun making my four bosses make the decision on what will get done. I think if I keep this up, I can avoid being tasked with almost anything.
I wake up every day thinking, "will this be the day?" So far, "no" but I think one day I'm going to be, "yep!" Might be Monday, might be several months away. It's an irreversible decision so I'm ok waiting till it feels right even if I know it is right.
FLSunFIRE
I'm actually slightly more motivated at w*rk on the stuff I view as important but less so on everything else ~90%. Whenever I'm tasked now (almost always by email) I respond back that I was "focusing on X but will re-prioritize if you want me to focus on Y," I really don't care anymore which takes the emotion out of it and it's sort of fun making my four bosses make the decision on what will get done. I think if I keep this up, I can avoid being tasked with almost anything.
I wake up every day thinking, "will this be the day?" So far, "no" but I think one day I'm going to be, "yep!" Might be Monday, might be several months away. It's an irreversible decision so I'm ok waiting till it feels right even if I know it is right.
FLSunFIRE
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- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 13,949
That's about where I was during OMY. I had little scenes playing out in my head - similar to your being asked to take on something new/extra, saying, nope, and why not. I also enjoyed batting down things I'd have normally just sucked up, it was fun watching my bosses accept my logic on why that new thing they wanted me to do was a bad idea, for me and for them.
I had a fantasy that one day the response would be something like "well you really don't have a choice" and I'd get to say "oh, but i DO, hahahahaha"and give notice.
(didn't play out that way, I ended up with a package, but only because the timing was perfect)
target2019
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
That's a good push-back, to ask for priority from those being paid to set it.
Everyone gets replaced, right? That's business. If you're 100% certain to walk away at any moment, then any reply to a boss would work in your favor.
If a small miscalculation has been made in your plan or expected result, then a game of chicken takes on more risk.
I know that my own negative feelings about the last employer went from 0% in year 1 to a -50% in year 5. Each year you lose some personal advantage on the job. Or maybe my initial thinking wasn't so clear.
In a way you're paying the favor back to the unemployed workers. You leave and it creates 1 or more jobs for the next victim. LOL.
Markola
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I left 5 weeks ago and it is such a relief (detox, really) to not obsess about those toxic little human-against-the-machine coping fantasies. I feel healthier and happier and I hope I’m done with that mental burden forever. Now, if I could just avoid reading the “news.” [emoji86]
FLSUnFIRE
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I was talking with one of the very few co-workers I like (actually, one of my bosses now after a recent reorg)... I told him that he, me, and another fellow should just quit, rent some cheap office space and commit to 4hrs/5days a week to lock ourselves in the room and write a script for a comedy based on our experiences. I swear, if we could get the audience to empathize with the context we could write the next "The Office" or "Parks and Rec"... so much material to work with!
I'm definitely "feeling" the FI but seem to be in a risk averse feedback loop in my mind that keeps me w*rking.... very conservative in my assumptions so it looks risky, so I get more conservative in my assumptions which makes it look more risky........ Just got to break the cycle. From a tax perspective, it makes sense to suck it up until the very end of the year at this point... we'll see if I last that long. So happy I have my HELOC set up so I can disjoint my expenses from income and not get completely screwed by the IRS.
scrabbler1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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My path to ER was abrupt in some ways, not abrupt in others.
ER first appeared on my radar back in 1998 when I was 35. I worked part-time for a few months before returning to full-time. That planted the seed for my eventual ER 10 years later. But in those 10 years, several things happened to either slow my trip to ER or accelerate it.
In late 1999, my company announced it was going to relocate, from lower Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey, in mid-2001. While it was only a few miles away, it was across the Hudson River so my already barely tolerable commute from LI would become slightly longer and more tiring. The sped up my plan to do something big about it.
In early 2001, I was able to negotiate a deal which took me back to working PT and mostly telecommute. This was a big step toward ER. It allowed me to regain control over my personal life and escape most of the awful commute on the trains.
This good deal lasted for 27 months, until late 2003, when the company suddenly ended all open-ended telecommuting. Because of the nature of my work (lots of programming), I was well suited for telecommuting. I was allowed to continue working PT, I just had to fulfill all my hours at the office, bringing back some of the horrors of commuting to New Jersey (3 days a week, down from 5 but up from 1 when I was mostly telecommuting).
I knew this change would be my eventual undoing, and I began ramping up my plans to ER. I was only 40 at the time, but my portfolio was growing, aided by the company's rising stock (ESOP) price.
After 3 1/2 years of commuting 3 days a week, something had to change. By 2007, I was nearing my magic $$ number to be able to ER, so I asked to have my weekly hours reduced again, this time from 20 to 12. This clipped one day off the weekly commute and one hour off each remaining workday, getting me home at 6 PM instead of 7 PM.
I had to forgo my eligibility for company-provided HI, so I went on COBRA. That would last for 18 months, then I'd either have to return to 20 hours (not guaranteed, and not desired), or fend for myself to buy it on the individual market. (This was before the ACA.) There was no way I wanted to work there but have to buy my own, costly HI, so my goal was to be ERed by the end of 2008.
In 2008, the financial and HI pieces of my ER puzzle were falling into place quickly, so by midyear I began looking for a resignation date which would allow me to finish the one main project I was still working on. My other work I had already been doing so I could transition to others. I picked Friday, October 31st, to be my last day. It had the delicious irony of being the exact date the telecommuting deal ended in 2003.
I gave my notice on September 30th, 10 working days before my last day. There was little fanfare, as they probably expected it (I had told only one person at the office whom I trusted). I barely got that big project done on my final day, so that worked out okay. That was nearly 12 years ago, when I was 45.
ER first appeared on my radar back in 1998 when I was 35. I worked part-time for a few months before returning to full-time. That planted the seed for my eventual ER 10 years later. But in those 10 years, several things happened to either slow my trip to ER or accelerate it.
In late 1999, my company announced it was going to relocate, from lower Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey, in mid-2001. While it was only a few miles away, it was across the Hudson River so my already barely tolerable commute from LI would become slightly longer and more tiring. The sped up my plan to do something big about it.
In early 2001, I was able to negotiate a deal which took me back to working PT and mostly telecommute. This was a big step toward ER. It allowed me to regain control over my personal life and escape most of the awful commute on the trains.
This good deal lasted for 27 months, until late 2003, when the company suddenly ended all open-ended telecommuting. Because of the nature of my work (lots of programming), I was well suited for telecommuting. I was allowed to continue working PT, I just had to fulfill all my hours at the office, bringing back some of the horrors of commuting to New Jersey (3 days a week, down from 5 but up from 1 when I was mostly telecommuting).
I knew this change would be my eventual undoing, and I began ramping up my plans to ER. I was only 40 at the time, but my portfolio was growing, aided by the company's rising stock (ESOP) price.
After 3 1/2 years of commuting 3 days a week, something had to change. By 2007, I was nearing my magic $$ number to be able to ER, so I asked to have my weekly hours reduced again, this time from 20 to 12. This clipped one day off the weekly commute and one hour off each remaining workday, getting me home at 6 PM instead of 7 PM.
I had to forgo my eligibility for company-provided HI, so I went on COBRA. That would last for 18 months, then I'd either have to return to 20 hours (not guaranteed, and not desired), or fend for myself to buy it on the individual market. (This was before the ACA.) There was no way I wanted to work there but have to buy my own, costly HI, so my goal was to be ERed by the end of 2008.
In 2008, the financial and HI pieces of my ER puzzle were falling into place quickly, so by midyear I began looking for a resignation date which would allow me to finish the one main project I was still working on. My other work I had already been doing so I could transition to others. I picked Friday, October 31st, to be my last day. It had the delicious irony of being the exact date the telecommuting deal ended in 2003.
I gave my notice on September 30th, 10 working days before my last day. There was little fanfare, as they probably expected it (I had told only one person at the office whom I trusted). I barely got that big project done on my final day, so that worked out okay. That was nearly 12 years ago, when I was 45.
Propelled one year ago when I had a bad annual report experience with a supervisor who called me on an issue that was bogus. I reported it to HR and got an effusive apology, but it took me awhile to get over the shock and, frankly, resentment (after 33 years at this place). I finally decided it was time to go but I still wanted to fulfill several financial goals. Retirement is now set for this December and I haven't been in the office since March due to Covid. So it has been quite the nice slide out of here...
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
That could be fun for him to do! I don't bike, but I drove to my former workplace a few days ago and did the same. I highly recommend it. Very immature but also very entertaining even after almost 11 years.
So glad to be retired now.
MRG
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2013
- Messages
- 11,078
+1That could be fun for him to do! I don't bike, but I drove to my former workplace a few days ago and did the same. I highly recommend it. Very immature but also very entertaining even after almost 11 years.
My first few years I went back to eat lunch with some buddies every week. I had a interesting time waiting outside the building for them to come out. I met a couple of VPs I had reported to in the past who were still working. Including the idiot I worked for when I retired. [emoji4]
