Young & Not Enough Nest Egg - What's your minimum FU Money ?

[cyber888]

I posted this thread under young dreamers, because my target for this question/poll are people who are not yet ready to retire and DO NOT have enough savings or nest egg to retire yet. (This is not for people with retirement savings of $1Million and above.)

But let's say you are very unhappy with your job (or hate it), you hate your boss, you hate your co-employers, and you are just on the verge of walking out of your job and telling your boss 'Fk u .. I'm outta here' even if you do not have any job prospects on the horizon. But you say to yourself "I'll find another job soon, but not that much of a hurry." You're just fed up and nauseated. The only thing that is keeping you from walking out of your job is that you don't have enough savings to say 'Fk u, I'm out'.

So, to be able to walk out of your job and tell your boss 'Fk u', what would be your ideal minimum amount of 'Fk you money' for you to feel safe? And I'm asking for the 'bare minimum' amount .. not like I need $1 Billion or $100 million. Just the bare minimum to walk out of your job without a high level of fear

 

[Ian S]

Assuming you would get a new job in a fairly short timeframe (i.e. months) and can live on <50K a year, I'd say >$200K nest egg. After all, you wouldn't want to pi$$ away the entire amount. Also, if at all possible, I'd NEVER leave a job on bad terms with the employer. There is no upside to doing so and plenty of potential downside.

 

[M Paquette]

That there is what most of us would call our Financial Independence threshold.

 

[cyber888]

Hey Ian, I was only speaking metaphorically. Of course, we never tell our employers 'F U' literally. All these feelings and thoughts are just inside our mind, but in the real world we just say politely 'I'm resigning'.

I'd NEVER leave a job on bad terms with the employer. There is no upside to doing so and plenty of potential downside.

 

[Sarah in SC]

So you mean what would I need in savings to quit a job I hate?

Well, judging by past experience, I've left more than a couple without hardly a thought as to how much. I just left. My BS tolerance can get pretty low. I once walked out of a job on a morning's notice, following my beloved boss who'd just gotten canned. I took him to the bar at 10:30 in the morning, celebrated both of us being free of that particular @$$hat factory, and we all went on to live another day.

But I generally have an emergency fund of about 3 months of living expenses all of the time, so there's that.

 

[growing_older]

As a young dreamer, I had kids to feed and saw plenty of folks laid off at bad times have much much more trouble finding new work than they expected. If my job was so terrible, I made it motivate me to find a better one while still employed. Nothing was so bad I left without having a place to go. I put up with a lot but I was always sure I had a secure place to land before I left a job.

 

[W2R]

I'm no longer young without enough nestegg to retire, so I did not vote but it seems like just yesterday when I was in that situation.

For me it depended on how abusive the situation was:

1) I quit one job without any nestegg at all, because my boss was seriously sadistic and twisted and it was such an unhealthy situation.

2) If it was just a basically awful job with a mean, disrespectful boss and too much work, but not an abusive deviant nutcase for a boss as in the job above, I would get tough and keep working at it until I had a better job lined up. That way my nestegg and career were not in danger.

 

[Legally_dead]

I currently have about $600k in investable assets and I have a little swag at w*ork knowing I could walk out on a moments notice and be okay.


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[cyber888]

Yes, I mean you really hate your job that you would quit without another job lined up, but then you have some savings to tied you over for awhile.

So you mean what would I need in savings to quit a job I hate?

Well, judging by past experience, I've left more than a couple without hardly a thought as to how much. I just left. My BS tolerance can get pretty low. I once walked out of a job on a morning's notice, following my beloved boss who'd just gotten canned. I took him to the bar at 10:30 in the morning, celebrated both of us being free of that particular @$$hat factory, and we all went on to live another day.

But I generally have an emergency fund of about 3 months of living expenses all of the time, so there's that.

 

[hnzw_rui]

Got a job with good benefits, COLA pension and retiree health insurance so my BS bucket is pretty darned huge. Rather than resigning, I'd be looking for promotional or transfer opportunities. I would need to either have a job offer, be financially independent or be eligible for retirement before I voluntarily leave my current employer.

Mind, job is very low stress and right now there's really not much BS since I'm lucky to have good management and supervisors. Unfortunately, a lot of the bosses are eligible (or soon to be eligible) for retirement. Hopefully, whomever replaces them will be equally capable.

My 2 retirement numbers are:
Age 31 (current age): $2.5M in liquid assets (2016 dollars)
Age 55: full pension with medical ($0 needed in liquid assets)

Not eligible for social security. Those numbers are for living in SoCal while renting or paying mortgage (and 2 parents to support). Probably could get by on less if we move to LCOL area, can qualify for ACA credits and/or when parents qualify for Medicare.

There's pretty much no chance of retiring before my 50s. Heck, $2.5M is more than my cumulative annual income for the next 25 years. Age 50 with $1M (in 2016 dollars) is a possibility but I don't think I'll do it even if I have the necessary assets. It's hard giving up 20% increase in pension and full medical.

 

[dvalley]

For me it would definitely depend on how long I think it would take to land another job, in my case, upper middle management it could take a while depending on the market, say a yr or two even. So probably 5-8x the annual living expenses saved up- which would translate to $550k for me.

However, I'd do my best to hang in there reminding myself of the bigger picture and repeating in my head 'keep collecting the paychecks, don't take things too personally after-all this is my main source of retirement income' - until I can say that no more.

 

[dallas27]

You need 2 times the money necessary to cover expenses for the length of time you can expect to spend finding a new job. If you want to take time off too, add the expenses to offset.


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[cyber888]

I know several people who have great bosses. But one day when their bosses retire or leave suddenly, they've got new younger bosses who are nightmares to them. Change happens. And they find themselves in a situation I just described above. I've known a couple of people just quitting and saying 'I'm outta here now.' I always wonder how much savings they had to do that, and I know they ain't retiring because they say they will be looking for other jobs as soon as they can.

I'm lucky to have good management and supervisors. Unfortunately, a lot of the bosses are eligible (or soon to be eligible) for retirement. Hopefully, whomever replaces them will be equally capable.

.

 

[rodi]

I'm to old to participate in the poll, but I only faced this situation once. I had moved to a strange city for the job - had few friends and almost no savings. The job was a horrid fit - and the lead on the project I was working on was a complete a$$hat to me. I quit the next day.

That said - I was fairly certain I could go back to my prior job in my old city, or the employer before that... And I was right. I had a new job lined up well before my 2 week notice was done.

 

[kgtest]

FU I am done working period, is a lot different than F U I am done working for this company/industry/the man etc.

FU to the company, = 6months to 1 year of living expenses

F U forever, about $1.5 to $2.0million

Although I think the older you get, the more you tend to push through the negativity. I have met a few people who refuse to retire until they are pushed out. Its tough for me to see this clearly right now as all I want to do our selfish self-enriching activities other than actual corporate work.

at 34, I've learned to live with a constant 1/2 full BS bucket.

 

[Walt34]

I know several people who have great bosses. But one day when their bosses retire or leave suddenly, they've got new younger bosses who are nightmares to them.

I didn't know how lucky I was at the time but I never had a bad boss as some describe here. Some were better than others of course, and one was a bit of a nutcase, but he was more entertaining (as in "what's he gonna do next?") than a threat or a pain to anyone.

I did hear of some bad ones at other locations so they did exist in the organization but I never had to deal with it. At one station the captain came in and every single officer on one shift had requested a transfer. So they transferred the Sgt.

Like hnzw_rui I had what I thought was a good job with good benefits, COLA'd pension and heavily subsidized post-retirement health insurance so my BS bucket was huge too. But if I'd had a bad boss there were other places to transfer to and I'd have gotten out of the situation that way.

 

[Greencheese]

Maybe the half mil point? I'll admit I'm fairly risk adverse to the idea of no income coming in during what may arguably be the most financially vulnerable point in ones life for a young family. But as someone in finance and below the management level I feel that with a little prepwork I could make a seamless transition out of a crummy job if needed.

 

[FI by 2024]

Got a job with good benefits, COLA pension and retiree health insurance so my BS bucket is pretty darned huge. Rather than resigning, I'd be looking for promotional or transfer opportunities.

Ditto. So for me it wouldn't matter so much how much I have. Instead, how much could someone else offer me? If I didn't have a reasonable expectation that a new employer could offer similar benefits within the same timeframe or high enough pay that I could replace the benefits/pension/healthcare myself, then I'm not leaving voluntarily. Given my timeframe and current pay, I think I'd need a reasonable expectation of earning $250-300K/yr to make up for what I'd lose. That's unlikely, so I'll stick with the job I have. Luckily I love it


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[hnzw_rui]

I know several people who have great bosses. But one day when their bosses retire or leave suddenly, they've got new younger bosses who are nightmares to them. Change happens. And they find themselves in a situation I just described above. I've known a couple of people just quitting and saying 'I'm outta here now.' I always wonder how much savings they had to do that, and I know they ain't retiring because they say they will be looking for other jobs as soon as they can.

Yes, change happens but pension and retiree medical are very, very, very effective retention tools. So is relative job stability (government).

Government is usually a big target for people who want to make a quick buck with frivolous lawsuits so management has the tendency to be careful and by the book. Retaliation is a major no-no and grounds for million-dollar lawsuits. Honestly, I think management has more problems with employees who abuse the system than there are employees who have really horrible supervisors.

 

[RISP]

I would need to either have a job offer, be financially independent or be eligible for retirement before I voluntarily leave my current employer.

This. The job can't be so bad that I'd quit without having something lined up. But then I'm risk averse, having a family to support.

 

[Senator]

This. The job can't be so bad that I'd quit without having something lined up. But then I'm risk averse, having a family to support.

+1. And if you cannot find a better job, odds are you are in the best job you can hope for already.

 

[Jack_Pine]

Whatever cash I eat up in transition hurts my ability to FIRE later in life. I never would or never have left a job without another offer already accepted.

Alos agree with never burn any bridges by making rash statements. JMHO

 

[Sarah in SC]

Dang, y'all must have a higher BS tolerance than me, or more mouths to feed, or something. I've left 4 jobs, and wound up with better opportunities because of taking the leap. But then again, I've also quit a job to go sailing, so apparently I'm both reckless and feckless, lol.

 

[karen1972]

I'm outside the poll window, but the only job I had that put me in that situation, There were serious ethics issues on the job, potentially even criminal, so I ran, not walked out the door. I had 2 years of reserves, but would have walked out with 3 months and just dealt with the consequences.

 

[cyber888]

LOL. I agree. I know some people will tolerate all BS and follow the boss even if it means the boss tells them to jump over the bridge naked. That's because of kids and dependents and obligations, I suppose. I can take some BS, but not to a certain extent that your boss treat you like a pimple on his butt to sit on.

Dang, y'all must have a higher BS tolerance than me, or more mouths to feed, or something. I've left 4 jobs, and wound up with better opportunities because of taking the leap. But then again, I've also quit a job to go sailing, so apparently I'm both reckless and feckless, lol.