FI verus RE - a Poll

[Moemg]

As of the moment, over 60% of respondents waited more than a year after FI to RE, of whom 2/3 waited over 2 years.

Sometimes we seem like a real "take this job and shove it" group, but the poll suggests that most of us have been more than cautious.

Besides being cautious most of us that waited were not mentally ready to retire . It's interesting that people who work in the health field take longer to be mentally ready . Our jobs are stressful but so rewarding .

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Mia culpa.
Of course I'm hoping my [-]harassment[/-] reverse psychology will [-]goad[/-] influence you in making the move to your next life sooner rather than later...

I understand where you're coming from, buddy.

Hey - you're my hero. You've got both a house and a class A. If it weren't for you I'd have retired years ago.

 

[REWahoo]

Geezee. Now you're using me as your excuse for not retiring. Have you no shame?

 

[Marquette]

Geezee. Now you're using me as your excuse for not retiring. Have you no shame?

Well, it is a class A.

 

[twaddle]

As of the moment, over 60% of respondents waited more than a year after FI to RE, of whom 2/3 waited over 2 years.

Sometimes we seem like a real "take this job and shove it" group, but the poll suggests that most of us have been more than cautious.

I was FI for at least 3 years before RE, but it had nothing to do with being cautious. Pure greed. I believe the technical term is "vesting in peace."

 

[MichaelB]

Hi Rich

I left within 6 months – even though I occasionally wonder if I would have stayed longer if I knew then what know now.

Definitely not! Same conclusion every time.

My motivation for leaving was not financial independence; it was I couldn’t stand my job or the people I worked with. It wasn’t the money. If you really want to go, you can’t convince yourself to stay one day more than necessary. If you really don’t want to, it will be easy to talk yourself into a future date. Another 6 months or year – just to be safe.

This is not about money, it’s about lifestyle.

Michael

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Hi Rich

I left within 6 months – even though I occasionally wonder if I would have stayed longer if I knew then what know now.

Definitely not! Same conclusion every time.

My motivation for leaving was not financial independence; it was I couldn’t stand my job or the people I worked with. It wasn’t the money. If you really want to go, you can’t convince yourself to stay one day more than necessary.
Michael

Right, for sure. I never had a job I hated, but I have had a few jobs where we went through periods I could barely stand (though I knew they were short term so it's not a completely fair comparison).

I don't think I could stay in a toxic job. Either you find another job or you FIRE if you're ready. I realize how fortunate I am to still enjoy my job after 33 years.

 

[SteveR]

Some j*bs are just too toxic to keep for any longer than necessary. I have had more than my share of them. I "retired" at age 50 but made a financial choice of "allowing" a new employer pay to sell my house, move all our stuff 2000 miles and pay closing costs on a new house all while paying me to work fewer hours in a far less toxic environment in a place I was planning on moving to after retirement anyway. I was only going to stay the required year but things change and one turned into 4 before I retired again.

I stayed on the additional 3 years because:
1) Year one my DW passed away suddenly and w*rk kept my mind and body going and doing something productive while I got my head around what had happened.

2) Shortly after DW passed away my boss left and they fired my only peer in the department. That left a HUGE hole in the organization and I was more than able to do the job so I agreed to do so until they found replacements thinking it would only be a couple of months.
Two turned into 8 and by then I was doing much better in life and found the j*b was filling a need both for me and the folks that worked for me. I had almost a free hand at what I did and best of all I was appreciated. That was a first in my 33 year career so I became drunk on appreciation and being a mentor to many younger "kids" in the workplace.

3) I got remarried and DW was not able to leave work unti she reached 55 and would leave paid med. insuance and a small pension on the table. The money was OK and the personal satisfaction was just enough to keep me invested in the j*b.

4) I was going to "punch out" at the end of 2006 but again my boss left, the GM left and several other key folks were on the verge of leaving so top mgt. asked me to fill in for a "couple of months while they found a replacement"...sound familiar? I agreed as DW was by then in deep medical trouble and the extra money was a good thing.

5) After 5 months of doing two jobs I had had enough. I gave them 6 weeks notice and then left. Of course they did not find replacements until after I left.

So now you know the rest of the story. I stayed for personal reasons that eventually evaporated to a point that the lure of not working far outweighed the desire for work-related psychological (Maslovian?) needs.

My advice is to get out when you feel you are carrying an empty bucket of work-related self-satisfaction (if you are lucky enough to have any).

 

[audreyh1]

As of the moment, over 60% of respondents waited more than a year after FI to RE, of whom 2/3 waited over 2 years.

Sometimes we seem like a real "take this job and shove it" group, but the poll suggests that most of us have been more than cautious.

It's a really major life transition, so I am not surprised that most folks took at least a year to do it.

Also, if you are retiring at a relatively young age, you don't feel in such a rush.

Older retirees whose posts I've read indicate that they feel considerable time pressure upon retirement - they've been waiting so long for the opportunity that when it finally arrives they rush out to do "everything" quickly before their health fails.

Audrey

 

[SteveR]

It's a really major life transition, so I am not surprised that most folks took at least a year to do it.

Also, if you are retiring at a relatively young age, you don't feel in such a rush.

Older retirees whose posts I've read indicate that they feel considerable time pressure upon retirement - they've been waiting so long for the opportunity that when it finally arrives they rush out to do "everything" quickly before their health fails.

Audrey

The problem with death is you don't know when it will happen to you. We all live out our daily lives with the belief that tommorrow will come followed by another day and so forth until someday...we die...way way in the future.

My slant on this is colored by real life experiences with friends and family who were alive and happy one day and then gone the next. Some were as young as 4. Some were young mothers or young fathers. Car accidents, disease, home accidents, wrong place at the wrong time, etc.

I don't have a negative view of life or death. I have a realistic one. I spent many hours with fellow widows and widowers discussing life and death and what it means to lose a spouse, a child, a parent or a close friend. Each are different events yet each one become part of who we are and how we view the future. I am more interested in seeing and doing now rather than 10 or 20 years from now. I plan on spending a good deal of my early retirement years being busy but not in a frantic sense. I don't have a morbid fear of death, I have been too close to it to fear it; but I do know that tommorrow is not promised to any of us so each day is a gift.

 

[TargaDave]

As of the moment, over 60% of respondents waited more than a year after FI to RE, of whom 2/3 waited over 2 years.

Sometimes we seem like a real "take this job and shove it" group, but the poll suggests that most of us have been more than cautious.

I think the difference is that many on the forum stayed in a current (long held position) for some time after FI versus a much smaller number who left to do something very different with less hours and pay in a semi-ER scenerio. Both approaches might be considered cautious but I think there are very few here in the second category. Not passing judgement, just making an observation

 

[Buku]

Im not sure of the definitions...but can you really be FI if you cant RE immediately?

And If you are FI and you choose to continue work, thats a personal preference isnt it? Instead of taking up fishing, you keep making widgets.

 

[Eagle43]

I voted more than 2 years. Actually, I never intended to retire. I just thought I would work till I dropped.

So, I could have retired at age 55 but finally retired at 60. MegaCorp had a pension that was higher at 60 than 55 and after much procrastination, I did it. With two pensions, two SS payments, Tricare, Medicare (this year), and a nice Vanguard stash, all I've go to do is enjoy the trip.

If I had it to do over, I'd have retired by 55. I certainly was FI by then.

 

[audreyh1]

The problem with death is you don't know when it will happen to you. We all live out our daily lives with the belief that tommorrow will come followed by another day and so forth until someday...we die...way way in the future.

Yes. I was 34 when my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 62 and died just a year later. This influenced me more profoundly than anything else in terms of retiring early and having no illusions of longevity. It was a massive wake up call, and I have been grateful for being woken up young.

I have always suspected that many ERs have had a close call with mortality and had it strongly influence their lives and decisions.

Audrey

 

[Moemg]

The problem with death is you don't know when it will happen to you. We all live out our daily lives with the belief that tommorrow will come followed by another day and so forth until someday...we die...way way in the future.

My slant on this is colored by real life experiences with friends and family who were alive and happy one day and then gone the next. Some were as young as 4. Some were young mothers or young fathers. Car accidents, disease, home accidents, wrong place at the wrong time, etc.

I don't have a negative view of life or death. I have a realistic one. I spent many hours with fellow widows and widowers discussing life and death and what it means to lose a spouse, a child, a parent or a close friend. Each are different events yet each one become part of who we are and how we view the future. I am more interested in seeing and doing now rather than 10 or 20 years from now. I plan on spending a good deal of my early retirement years being busy but not in a frantic sense. I don't have a morbid fear of death, I have been too close to it to fear it; but I do know that tommorrow is not promised to any of us so each day is a gift.

You put my feelings to words .Thank you !

 

[ziggy29]

Im not sure of the definitions...but can you really be FI if you cant RE immediately?

And If you are FI and you choose to continue work, thats a personal preference isnt it? Instead of taking up fishing, you keep making widgets.

I think that's the point. The poll seems to be asking, how long after you achieved FI did you actually RE? Because you're right, of course, that one can't safely RE until you've achieved FI.

Personally, my dad worked two years after becoming FI. He became FI on his 55th birthday when he became eligible to retire with a pension on top of his other investments. He said those two years were the best of his working life because his boss KNEW he could retire and tell them to stick it if they made his job a pain in the butt. They made sure he was happy because they didn't want to lose him. So as you can see, if your bosses know you are FI and don't want to lose you, it can make work a lot more bearable!

Of course, after two more years they gave early retirement incentives that were too good to pass up: six months' full pay, an extra five years of service credited for the pension, and fully paid health insurance for him and my mom until each turned 65. Needless to say, as much as he was enjoying his job a bit more, this was simply too good to pass on. I, like most in my generation, can only dream of such a thing.

 

[Rustic23]

It was more than two years for us. We were FI long before we decided to retire. The question was how FI did we want to be. We could have RE'd much earlier, however, we wanted more in RE than we had.

 

[friar1610]

What was the time interval between when you decided you were confidently financially independent, and when you actually stopped working (or went drastically part-time)? That is, how long was RE - FI?

I didn't realize it at the time, but I was pretty much FI when I retired from the Navy with 28 years of active duty at age 51. Worked several different jobs (with intentional breaks of several months between each one) for 6 1/2 years before calling it quits at age 58. During that time, I considerably increased my nest egg by using 401K's/403B's and lots of after tax investing/saving. But, in the cold light of morning, I was actually FI the day I was piped over the side.