Wow...I get it. I really do. I retired at 51, to our home on 2 acres in California that needed landscaping, a poolhouse, a shop, and a few other things done. Did them. Was busy most of the time, and enjoying it. In 2018, we decided to leave California because of 1) the political climate, 2) taxes on my upcoming deferred income distributions that would have put me in an 11% state tax bracket for those distributions.
We bought a nice home in AZ, about the same value as our California home. Property tax is 1/3. My marginal income tax is about 40% of what it would have been in California on the above distributions. Everything else is cheaper, from car and home insurance to food, electricity, to gasoline. But, the home we bought is on a city lot, not 2 acres. And, I’m now bored to tears.
So, I’m considering going back to w*rk. But the prospect scares the crap out of me. In my career, I was a regional chief executive over Asia Pacific, with several billion dollars of revenue and several hundred million in operating profit responsibility. I have ZERO desire to return to that lifestyle...away from home two weeks out of the month, constantly battling corporate over targets that were often set ridiculously for our markets, and over legal and cultural implications for our services that Corporate could never understand.
And...we like to travel...sometimes deciding just the day before to go to a Hawaii, or Disneyland, or wherever. So we do have some things that are enjoyable, so don’t get me wrong...I like the freedom of retirement.
So, that’s where I’m coming from...retired sr executive, still young at 58, had something to do that I enjoyed most days, but no longer have that, and still have a very high marginal tax rate.
One of my hobbies has been tinkering with my guns. My local gun store is always looking for help...in fact, every company and store around here is hurting for help. So, I considered applying for some part time work there and enquired. The going rate seems to be $15 an hour, and they want people who will work full time, on a fixed schedule. So that’s out. First, since my marginal fed rate on my deferred income is 35%, and my AZ rate will be 4.54%, and SS/ Medicare taxes will be 7.62%, add in a percent or so for disability, and I’m paying the government just as much as I earn myself for trying not to be bored...and that at a very low hourly rate. So this is out both from a pay and a schedule perspective.
The other thing I’ve always had an interest in is being a real estate agent. Now, this one might work, and I’m still doing the research and trying to network a bit to see if it would work. I also consider myself INTJ, but I’m able to pretty efficiently get around the introvert to get the job done. On top of that, I’m quite competitive. I like to win. I won all the time during my career...always found a way to reach or exceed targets. So, the tax question aside, real estate may work for me if my wife and I figure out how to better plan our travels in advance, so I can schedule work with clients around that. On top of this, in the past 3 years, we’ve bought and sold several homes, and have had the opportunity to observe agents who were great, and some who really can’t call themselves agents, and I have ideas based on those observations that would help me be a better agent.
So, what I’m trying to say here is, there is probably something out there that you could do and enjoy, but you may need to do some research into it to find out if it is really for you. The hard part is done. You are already FI. Once that is achieved, RE, or not RE or semi-RE is really up to you. Cheers!