It's hard to believe..

[MRG]

Six years+1day ago I walked out of Megacorp for the last time!

Since that time Megacorp is no more! Many of my peers, managers, mentors are retired, many RIFed. A couple permanently retired from life, RIP. My world is completely different than I expected, if you folks told me I'd enjoy jogging and lifting weights I'd have laughed. And what would I do all day?

Financially we have more than when I left. Mentally, wow! To really understand peace and the enjoyment of life is amazing. We moved to a great, for us, location where AC is optional and a snowblower is required.

Thanks to all for the great advice and happy ER to all.

 

[Montecfo]

Great post MRG, congratulations. It sounds like you have learned a lot about yourself. Good for you.

 

[Rianne]

Love your description. I'd say those first 2 weeks after RE (although DH still consults on the side b/c he likes keeping in touch with his industry) we felt like Alice in Wonderland. Amazed, yet a little confused, weight lifted from our shoulders, yet what to do next? We figured that out pretty quickly.

There's no way we can explain or encourage FIRE anyone. Every experience is a little different. I know some neighbors and family members think "what do they do all day?" That makes me ))

 

[EarlyBirdly]

"what do they do all day?"


Whatever we dang well please...!


Isn't that the point of this whole exercise?


Good Luck to those who have not yet seen The Light....

 

[Sojourner]

Financially we have more than when I left. Mentally, wow! To really understand peace and the enjoyment of life is amazing.

True for me too... I could have written those very words. Occasionally I think back to—or have a dream about—the days at Megacorp (actually, for me, "Microcorp"), and I can't imagine ever going back to that kind of life. All the commuting to and fro, the meetings, the performance reviews, the office politics and infighting, the constant worries about 24/7 up-time.... Just the thought of all that makes me cringe and shudder. Incredibly glad that I woke up and decided to take control of my life, and that I had the courage to walk away and really start living on my own terms.

 

[chris2008]

True for me too... I could have written those very words. Occasionally I think back to—or have a dream about—the days at Megacorp (actually, for me, "Microcorp"), and I can't imagine ever going back to that kind of life. All the commuting to and fro, the meetings, the performance reviews, the office politics and infighting, the constant worries about 24/7 up-time.... Just the thought of all that makes me cringe and shudder. Incredibly glad that I woke up and decided to take control of my life, and that I had the courage to walk away and really start living on my own terms.

Me too ;-))

 

[Chuckanut]

Interestingly, the two MegaCorps I worked for in the 70's and 80's are both gone. Both times people told me I was foolish to quite Mega-Corp with its good pay, benefits and chance to move around and advance myself. They were both gone more than a decade before I retired.

 

[WestUniversity]

Awesome post MRG. Thanks for sharing!

 

[street]

Outstanding and keep having fun. Lol

 

[Lcountz]

There are only so many springs and summers in one's life....




Out since Jan 2013....Not ONE day did I regret leaving!

 

[Bamaman]

I'm at 10.5 years R/E. Never had time to work anyway. I never remembered how much work Spring cleaning can be.

But it's nice to be able to work 2 hours a day--and no more.

 

[foxfirev5]

Congrats. I retired 3 years +1day ago and share your sentiments. Likewise I'm grateful for the generous market returns of the last few years. My health is considerably better and there certainly isn't any problem filling the days. However it's not all roses like anything else. DW and I have slipped into the mode of backup babysitters and runners for three generations of family. So far we're adapting by recently realizing that travel is again an enjoyable escape.

 

[mystang52]

It's been 6 years - plus 2 months - for me. And I'm just as elated as you are! As I say all the time, the novelty never wears off. Glad to read about another happy retiree! Life is great.

 

[mistershankly]

Inspiring post!

Do any of you who have FIRE'd ever look back at the preparation and OMY-like thinking and ask yourself what were you ever worried about? Would you have FIRE'd slightly earlier in hindsight if you knew then the overwhelming life benefits of not w*rking?

From my standpoint in the accumulation phase, I suspect that my concerns (even fears) of not saving more than enough outweigh the life gains (health, emotional well-being, etc) I'm shooting for. Maybe my approach should be the reverse of this from what I'm reading in this thread.

 

[rk911]

in august it’ll be 14-yrs for me and 13-yrs for my wife and those FIRE years have sped by so fast. we vacation in a motorhome (and have since 1986). the day after my retirement party we took off on a 13-week motorhome trip through the upper midwest. life is good. no, scratch that. life is great!

 

[TDub]

What an inspiring post. Thanks for sharing.

 

[brucethebroker]

6 years (in Sept.) for us, also. Apparently, 2013 was a very good year! Nice post.

 

[gauss]

Indeed 2013 it was! Signed off for good in January of that year. 6+ years now in RE. Yipee.

-gauss

 

[MRG]

Inspiring post!

Do any of you who have FIRE'd ever look back at the preparation and OMY-like thinking and ask yourself what were you ever worried about? Would you have FIRE'd slightly earlier in hindsight if you knew then the overwhelming life benefits of not w*rking?

From my standpoint in the accumulation phase, I suspect that my concerns (even fears) of not saving more than enough outweigh the life gains (health, emotional well-being, etc) I'm shooting for. Maybe my approach should be the reverse of this from what I'm reading in this thread.

In hindsight I would have loved to found this site earlier and used the collection of knowledge to leave a year earlier. We probably could have accumulated a little more earlier if I had tried. My original plan was to leave for my 57th birthday, my VP inadvertently convinced me to go a year early.

Of course one factor was insurance and I have preexisting conditions so 2013 allowed me to use COBRA and walk into ACA the following year. Prior to that it was a crapshoot on what parts of your body got insurance.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[CoolRich59]

Well done. Great post.

 

[ckelly78z]

This post gives me some hope for the future. My DW and I are both 54, and slogging through overtime, long meetings, DD wedding planning, DS last semester of college, and what seems like no money or time to enjoy it if we had $$.

I am certain that things will smooth out, and calm down for us, and get into the groove of retirement in 8 years.

 

[Sojourner]

Do any of you who have FIRE'd ever look back at the preparation and OMY-like thinking and ask yourself what were you ever worried about? Would you have FIRE'd slightly earlier in hindsight if you knew then the overwhelming life benefits of not w*rking?

In my case, no, I don't think I waited too long. I pulled the plug at the right time, both financially and mentally. I was burned out at work, so I down-shifted to part time for a year (3 days/week), then resigned but continued to do occasional consulting work for several years. This worked out well for me, as it was a nice, gradual transition to full retirement. Since I was only 44 when I embarked on the transition to FIRE, I think I probably would regret having done it earlier. I could have, financially speaking, but I wasn't quite ready mentally.

By the way, I love your user name @mistershankly. The Smiths were one of my favorite bands in college!