Hi from NC, y'all.
I've been an advertising copywriter for nearly 30 years. For the past 10+ years, I've been an e-commerce copywriter for a huge apparel company. I love what I do (when I'm actually allowed to do it). But, for my entire 10 years here, I have reported directly to a micromanaging control freak who has made my working life miserable and mega-stressful. She's not a bad person--quite the contrary--but she has serious, classic, textbook-case control issues. It's a sickness, and it's not her fault, but the bottom line is that she is impossible to work for. A number of very talented creative folks have left the company because of her--including one who actually let HR and upper management know exactly what the problem was, in vivid detail. Still, nothing happens. There is virtually no way I will ever stop reporting to her as long as I am here. (Long story short: I am really entrenched in a particular team, and so is she.)
I am very seriously considering early retirement, in order to escape an increasingly soul-destroying situation. I don't think I would want to retire completely: I love the e-commerce field, and I would love to keep my hand in it via freelancing.
Here is our situation: Husband and I are in our late 50s. Our house (which we had built 20 years ago on 18 acres) is paid for. Our cars are paid for. We have no debt. We pay off our credit card every month. Husband is very frugal. We have never had a six-figure HHI, yet we have been saving for decades, so we have about $650,000 salted away in government-backed instruments (in our 401K and IRAs). Our house and land are probably worth another $200K or so (conservative estimate). (There hasn't been a huge amount of housing inflation around these parts.)
Husband is already retired. An ex-teacher, he homeschools our two teenage sons. Older son recently aced the PSAT, and colleges are clamoring for him. We hope one of these institutions will offer him lots of $$, LOL! In any case, NC has excellent public universities, with fairly low tuition for in-state students, so, if worse comes to worst, we could go that route.
We plan to continue living in our current house as long as we can -- at least till we're too decrepit to climb the stairs! Right now we're both in great health.
Our main concerns right now are putting the kids through college without thereby blowing our hard-earned savings; and getting affordable health care to tide us over until we're eligible for Medicare. (My current employer offers health insurance, dental, and a vision plan; in retirement, of course, we would not expect to be able to afford anything remotely as rich as that.)
Do y'all think it is safe for me to retire soon? Seriously, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold onto my sanity in my current job situation.
Thanks!!!
Young58
I've been an advertising copywriter for nearly 30 years. For the past 10+ years, I've been an e-commerce copywriter for a huge apparel company. I love what I do (when I'm actually allowed to do it). But, for my entire 10 years here, I have reported directly to a micromanaging control freak who has made my working life miserable and mega-stressful. She's not a bad person--quite the contrary--but she has serious, classic, textbook-case control issues. It's a sickness, and it's not her fault, but the bottom line is that she is impossible to work for. A number of very talented creative folks have left the company because of her--including one who actually let HR and upper management know exactly what the problem was, in vivid detail. Still, nothing happens. There is virtually no way I will ever stop reporting to her as long as I am here. (Long story short: I am really entrenched in a particular team, and so is she.)
I am very seriously considering early retirement, in order to escape an increasingly soul-destroying situation. I don't think I would want to retire completely: I love the e-commerce field, and I would love to keep my hand in it via freelancing.
Here is our situation: Husband and I are in our late 50s. Our house (which we had built 20 years ago on 18 acres) is paid for. Our cars are paid for. We have no debt. We pay off our credit card every month. Husband is very frugal. We have never had a six-figure HHI, yet we have been saving for decades, so we have about $650,000 salted away in government-backed instruments (in our 401K and IRAs). Our house and land are probably worth another $200K or so (conservative estimate). (There hasn't been a huge amount of housing inflation around these parts.)
Husband is already retired. An ex-teacher, he homeschools our two teenage sons. Older son recently aced the PSAT, and colleges are clamoring for him. We hope one of these institutions will offer him lots of $$, LOL! In any case, NC has excellent public universities, with fairly low tuition for in-state students, so, if worse comes to worst, we could go that route.
We plan to continue living in our current house as long as we can -- at least till we're too decrepit to climb the stairs! Right now we're both in great health.
Our main concerns right now are putting the kids through college without thereby blowing our hard-earned savings; and getting affordable health care to tide us over until we're eligible for Medicare. (My current employer offers health insurance, dental, and a vision plan; in retirement, of course, we would not expect to be able to afford anything remotely as rich as that.)
Do y'all think it is safe for me to retire soon? Seriously, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold onto my sanity in my current job situation.
Thanks!!!
Young58