Why aren't I more excited?

[Keim]

TLR: I’ve essentially reached my minimum FIRE number at 54. Why don’t I feel more excited?


In my 30s, I had a serious health issue. I survived, obviously, but it changed my outlook. At the time we had two young kids, and it forced me to think hard about what would happen if I wasn’t around. That experience pushed me to set a goal of being able to retire by 55. I figured frugality was the best way to provide for my family if **** happened — and if it didn’t, having a lot of retirement savings would be a pretty favorable outcome.


My wife and I were always savers and generally debt-averse, but after that we doubled down. We stayed in our first house, drive older cars (currently a 2012 CR-V and a ’93 F-150 are the daily drivers), buy used when it makes sense, and have kept lifestyle inflation in check. We do have a couple of indulgences — a woodstove-heated 1970s cabin in the mountains and a restored 1976 Monte Carlo — but overall we’ve lived pretty modestly.


We’re essentially debt-free now and nearly done cash-flowing our youngest child’s college. My wife is a civil servant, and I run a nonprofit recovery community center that I started 10 years ago. We’ve never made huge salaries, but through steady saving and investing we’ve reached the point where one of us could retire now — and both of us could likely retire within 2–3 years while maintaining our current lifestyle.


So here’s the part I didn’t expect:


I’ve basically reached the minimum number I was aiming for… and I’m not particularly excited.


No fireworks. No big emotional payoff. Just… okay.


Is this what “One More Year” syndrome looks like? Or is this something else?

 

[planuntilthefisthits]

Congratulations!

Me thinks you are too mature to get “excited” about things as much as a youngster would. But, enjoy the satisfaction coming from achieving this milestone!

 

[Al18]

Good job, your end goal is in sight.

I would consider buying a new car while you are still working, and try to bump up the nest egg more.

 

[Keim]

Congratulations!

Me thinks you are too mature to get “excited” about things as much as a youngster would. But, enjoy the satisfaction coming from achieving this milestone!

I dunno. Wife and kids tell me i'm very immature.

 

[Keim]

Good job, your end goal is in sight.

I would consider buying a new car while you are still working, and try to bump up the nest egg more.

Definitely replacing the daily drivers within the next few years.

 

[COcheesehead]

It’s the difference of having a purpose vs just having a goal. Goals get reached. Purpose lives on.

 

[JohnnyPHX]

We went thru the same experience, you think it's gonna feel like this....screaming all around you, celebrations, party!!!

and it turns out it's more of a private win and you humbly tell yourself congratulations...not wanting to seem like you're bragging or rubbing it in others faces...

Then reality kicks in......

You should be very, very, very proud of what you have accomplished in your work and savings.

and you are doing fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Keim]

We went thru the same experience, you think it's gonna feel like this....screaming all around you, celebrations, party!!!
View attachment 61914

and it turns out it's more of a private win and you humbly tell yourself congratulations...not wanting to seem like you're bragging or rubbing it in others faces...

View attachment 61917


Then reality kicks in......

View attachment 61919


You should be very, very, very proud of what you have accomplished in your work and savings.

View attachment 61921



and you are doing fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
View attachment 61922

Fun memes. But I do not think thats it for me. I dont usually seek external validation. My lack of excitement feels more internal.

 

[JohnnyPHX]

I think one more year syndrome feels more like what jumping out of an airplane into the great unknown would feel like. You look at your numbers and where you are in life and it really requires a leap of faith to hand in you resignations and turn off the income streams. You give into the fear and tell yourself I will see how it goes this year. I did it because I liked what I was doing for the most part. It was when they assigned me new daily tasked I dreaded doing that I finally had that push out of the plane. It's pretty great once you do make the leap but do it when you are ready.

 

[Taco]

So here’s the part I didn’t expect:
I’ve basically reached the minimum number I was aiming for… and I’m not particularly excited.

Is this what “One More Year” syndrome looks like? Or is this something else?

First, congrats on hitting your goal!

Second, a few possible reasons for your consideration regarding not being too excited about it...

1. Because nothing has really changed. You've got a new / bigger number on a piece of paper, one that was a goal, and that is awesome, but what in your day-to-day life is actually different now?

2. It is no big surprise. You've been making steady progress toward that goal for years. You were at 90%, then 95% of that goal. Being at 100% is great, but is it really all that different than when you were at 98%?

3. You reached a minimum number, but know there is a bigger number you want to feel more secure about actually retiring. It was more of an interim goal than a final goal. So you are still your pre-retirement journey, same as before.

When you do actually retire, that's a big change, and that will hopefully be quite a bit more exciting for you!

 

[JBTX]

TLR: I’ve essentially reached my minimum FIRE number at 54. Why don’t I feel more excited?


In my 30s, I had a serious health issue. I survived, obviously, but it changed my outlook. At the time we had two young kids, and it forced me to think hard about what would happen if I wasn’t around. That experience pushed me to set a goal of being able to retire by 55. I figured frugality was the best way to provide for my family if **** happened — and if it didn’t, having a lot of retirement savings would be a pretty favorable outcome.


My wife and I were always savers and generally debt-averse, but after that we doubled down. We stayed in our first house, drive older cars (currently a 2012 CR-V and a ’93 F-150 are the daily drivers), buy used when it makes sense, and have kept lifestyle inflation in check. We do have a couple of indulgences — a woodstove-heated 1970s cabin in the mountains and a restored 1976 Monte Carlo — but overall we’ve lived pretty modestly.


We’re essentially debt-free now and nearly done cash-flowing our youngest child’s college. My wife is a civil servant, and I run a nonprofit recovery community center that I started 10 years ago. We’ve never made huge salaries, but through steady saving and investing we’ve reached the point where one of us could retire now — and both of us could likely retire within 2–3 years while maintaining our current lifestyle.


So here’s the part I didn’t expect:


I’ve basically reached the minimum number I was aiming for… and I’m not particularly excited.


No fireworks. No big emotional payoff. Just… okay.


Is this what “One More Year” syndrome looks like? Or is this something else?

My guess is the lack of excitement is

- you don’t hate your job or maybe like it
- you don’t have any things that you are chomping at the bit to do during retirement

Nothing wrong with either but may reduce the excitement.

 

[Keim]

My guess is the lack of excitement is

- you don’t hate your job or maybe like it
- you don’t have any things that you are chomping at the bit to do during retirement

Nothing wrong with either but may reduce the excitement.

Hmm... that seems possible. I made my own job, and its only 30 hours per week. Its not overly burdensome. And i try to only hire people i will like working with.

 

[audreyh1]

Give it time…..

 

[JBTX]

Hmm... that seems possible. I made my own job, and its only 30 hours per week. Its not overly burdensome. And i try to only hire people i will like working with.

I think most people of this generation are used to working pretty much full time non stop for 30-40 years, usually as an employee. To not have to do that anymore seems glorious. In my case over the years I had a couple of layoffs and took extended multi month breaks, and some years, including most of the last 10, I worked part time contract consulting. So retiring wasn’t that big of a transition

 

[MarieIG]

I recall being somewhat excited when I paid off my mortgage.

As far as reaching a minimum number, I didn't notice when it happened. However, "excitement" would not have been the feeling, knowing me, it would have been more like a thought "ok, I'm getting there . . . if push comes to shove I have options." Rather like the cat in #7.

 

[Keim]

I recall being somewhat excited when I paid off my mortgage.

As far as reaching a minimum number, I didn't notice when it happened. However, "excitement" would not have been the feeling, knowing me, it would have been more like a thought "ok, I'm getting there . . . if push comes to shove I have options." Rather like the cat in #7.

Sounds like me

 

[Aerides]

Two reasons:

You mention your "minimum" number. For a lot of us, that doesn't trigger quitting work. We want to get to the actual number, plus whatever life events we might want first. So, you've met a target, but, by itself, it doesn't actually change anything.

This wasn't a surprise. You knew this was getting close for some time, presumably. You didn't wake up one day suddenly up hundreds of thousands. Maybe it was a 10k bump, so it wasn't a huge event in terms of yesterday to today.

I don't think we ever felt excitement until it was all done. Until we both quit and left our jobs and took a nice quick trip to celebrate. Even then, "excited" wasn't really the word.

 

[Koolau]

TLR: I’ve essentially reached my minimum FIRE number at 54. Why don’t I feel more excited?


In my 30s, I had a serious health issue. I survived, obviously, but it changed my outlook. At the time we had two young kids, and it forced me to think hard about what would happen if I wasn’t around. That experience pushed me to set a goal of being able to retire by 55. I figured frugality was the best way to provide for my family if **** happened — and if it didn’t, having a lot of retirement savings would be a pretty favorable outcome.


My wife and I were always savers and generally debt-averse, but after that we doubled down. We stayed in our first house, drive older cars (currently a 2012 CR-V and a ’93 F-150 are the daily drivers), buy used when it makes sense, and have kept lifestyle inflation in check. We do have a couple of indulgences — a woodstove-heated 1970s cabin in the mountains and a restored 1976 Monte Carlo — but overall we’ve lived pretty modestly.


We’re essentially debt-free now and nearly done cash-flowing our youngest child’s college. My wife is a civil servant, and I run a nonprofit recovery community center that I started 10 years ago. We’ve never made huge salaries, but through steady saving and investing we’ve reached the point where one of us could retire now — and both of us could likely retire within 2–3 years while maintaining our current lifestyle.


So here’s the part I didn’t expect:


I’ve basically reached the minimum number I was aiming for… and I’m not particularly excited.


No fireworks. No big emotional payoff. Just… okay.


Is this what “One More Year” syndrome looks like? Or is this something else?

I thought the same thing when I became Financially Independent. I thought there would be a lot more internal "fireworks." It was more like dusting my hands off and thinking "Okay, now what?"

Basically, my pension and company supplied retirement health insurance vested on an exact and planned date. (I already had reached my goal with the retirement stash).

BUT over the next weeks and months, I noticed that I was no longer worried about the usual hassles of w*rk, the Corp. BS coming down, the Division Director being replaced with a Class A jerk or even having 4 weeks of saved vacation being stolen by Megacorp (long story - don't ask).

So it may slowly dawn on you that things really ARE different now. You CAN leave anytime you choose. All is well with the world. It's more of a relaxation of the mind rather than a celebration. Celebrations are fine, but a relaxed attitude is much better and lasts a lot longer!

 

[Diogenes]

You mention your "minimum" number. For a lot of us, that doesn't trigger quitting work. We want to get to the actual number, plus whatever life events we might want first. So, you've met a target, but, by itself, it doesn't actually change anything.

Exactly. It's an achievement worthy of celebration and self-congratulation, but one realizes that it's only an incremental achievement. More remains. Building a financial cushion. Doing the soul-searching to decide if one really and truly is ready to retire. Building a credible and fulfilling life-outside-of-work. And per a thread that we currently have ongoing, figuring out how to preserve workplace friendships once the proximity of the cubicle is no longer there.

The lag between FI and RE can be large. For some folks, it might be nearly zero. For others, years or even decades. For still others, it's infinite.

The younger version of me, spent decades yearning to retire early. I now realize, that yearning was for the option to do so... and not some compelling plan to actually do it.

 

[CO-guy]

I can relate. When I hit my number my reaction was "mild surprise." Then I thought, maybe it's temporary, so I gave it 6 months. After another half-year, I went through the numbers with my better-half and her reaction was similar. We decided to postpone any celebration until after we filed our tax return. So, another nearly 6 months of waiting. At that point, it was even more clear that we were FI.

So what happened? First, we enjoyed a little weekend getaway to celebrate. Over the following weeks we planned the "RE" part of FIRE. For me, my tolerance for BS at the office dropped to zero while my better-half started planning her own exit. For both of us, I'd say the feeling was "relief" more than "excitement." Perhaps it's because it was easier to singularly focus on accumulating wealth compared to the complexities of how our lives might change afterwards.

 

[mystang52]

Many years ago I mentioned to an older coworkers how great it would feel, to be in a financial position where one doesn't have to w*rk but was w*rking by choice. She replied she didn't have to. I was jealous. Years later when that AHA moment came for me, it was comforting but like OP there was no jump-up-in-glee sensation. I guess, as another poster mentioned, it was just an older, mature, response.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

We went thru the same experience, you think it's gonna feel like this....screaming all around you, celebrations, party!!!
View attachment 61914

and it turns out it's more of a private win and you humbly tell yourself congratulations...not wanting to seem like you're bragging or rubbing it in others faces...

View attachment 61917


Then reality kicks in......

View attachment 61919


You should be very, very, very proud of what you have accomplished in your work and savings.

View attachment 61921



and you are doing fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
View attachment 61922

I hope that kid and that cat are swimming in royalties! But likely not :-(

 

[Al18]

Maybe it’s time to reevaluate your plan. I had a good, better and best plans mapped out. The last year I worked, the stock market was down about 4%, so I retired on the better plan. With the stock market increases the past 7 years, I’m now on the best plan. It’s good to maintain a 55%+ investment in equities during an early retirement, in my opinion.

 

[Dalton]

I think most of my guesses were touched on above.
- You aren't desperate to leave your working life, for one of the many possible reasons.

- Subconsciously, you are keenly aware that your number could fall back below that minimum tomorrow, or in 6 months, and for sure would the day after you quit your job, so you want to see it grow enough that the daily ups and downs no longer have enough affect (a subset of OMY). --

-Subconsciously, your torn in that you have hit a big number, while also knowing that taking the next step of retiring is a heavy lift emotionally.

-You may not be mentally prepared yet, for what you want or expect out of your retirement life. If so, it's time to start working on some plans for trips, hobbies, projects, and giving some thought to what you think daily life should look like in retirement. Develop some excitement around the prospect of entering that next stage in life. Start working on a more solid plan of how much you'll budget when you retire, and which sources you'll pull from, and if/how you can make adjustments that could improve your tax bill and/or long-term returns.

 

[Keim]

Many things to ponder. I do not think the fact that i have only hit my minimum number is it. That number maintains my currrnt standard of living. And, while I do not include it in my planning, a substantial inheritance is likely sometime in the next 10 years.

Maybe it is that i havent-yet-planned my retirement life as diligently as i planned my savings. I am beginning that process now-reading Wade Pfau's Retirement Planning Guidebook.