Did you have a ''defining moment'' where you just knew you were done? (supplement, financial advisor)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
#30 post is very significant, IMO. We are not promised a tomorrow. Years ago I came to realize that time is more important than money.
You can lose time and never get it back. I wasn't going to waste any more of it.
Although I actually enjoyed my work, I found myself getting tired in late afternoons. From 3-6 was a real drag.
So I planned to gut it out until FRA, for me 66. Then suddenly, the company offered a bonus of 6 months pay to retire. So I took it and retired 2 months short of 66.
Now I recommend people retire as soon as they are financially able to swig it. For most, it's Medicare age, 65.
I did. I knew I was going to retire in March, but I planned to keep working part-time. But then it happened. This over-powering thought came over me that I was DONE. I did not want to work for anyone any more. Even contract work. I just wanted total freedom from anyone's schedule other than my own. Just a quiet, inner voice said, ''No''.
If I bring in a dime other than SS it will be from my own resources. Maybe this is a phase or at some point I may have to return to work. But for now it feels right and so good!
Did you have a ''defining moment'' where you just knew you were done?
Edit to add: Oops, I didn't realize this was the "retirement" forum, when I posted this. (I had clicked the "active forums list to the right") So it may not be appropriate. But anyone who is retired but still interested in working for themselves may find something interesting in it, I don't know. I'll check the forum before I post next time, promise.
For me it came during an incident at my workplace. I will need to be a little vague about my work, because I don't really want to put it out there on the internet, but I had been doing the same kind of work for 20 years at that point (5 years for this company), and I considered myself (perhaps pompously) to be not only very knowledgeable about how to do the work, but also one of the best workers in my field. But, I was always an hourly wage earner at companies.
I initially had a great boss at my last company, and things were great for the first 3 years. Then, he moved on to greener pastures, and a new boss was promoted from the ranks. This boss had been very mediocre at the job at best, and had frequently come to me when there were problems. I considered this person unfit for promotion.
From that day forward, everything went to hell. The new boss was meddlesome and interfering, and was also somewhat paranoid and quick to draw erroneous conclusions. Almost everything I did at work (which was praised by the old boss) was misinterpreted by the new boss. After one particularly dumb misunderstanding, I had had enough and quit on the spot. The boss begged me to stay, and I relented.
A couple of months later, we had another "misunderstanding" in which the boss had made an assumption that was purely crackpot, and I finally quit for good.
I had the option at that point of looking for another company in my field. But then I decided, screw it. I don't need a company to do the work I do. I will just find my own clients myself and contract with them directly. No more being a wage slave, working for hourly pay while the company enriches itself off of the clients I was serving. From now on, my take of the revenue would be 100%.
It was not easy to start from scratch though. Getting clients was definitely not easy at first, and I had to live on about $15K a year (in Southern California!) for the first two years. I had zero social life at all. Couldn't afford one. A lot of my friends gave up even calling me. So the price I paid was more than just monetary. I was tempted to give up, and go crawling to some company with my tail between my legs.
However, the joy of being my own boss and the freedom it afforded me to work when I wanted and follow my own instincts was too much to give up. It was worth 2 years of mayonnaise sandwiches, clothing from Goodwill, having no friends, and buying four bucks of gasoline at a time (and sacrificing lunch in the bargain).
By the third year, my income had risen to about $23K, which was still pretty dirt poor for SoCal, but I was able to live on it and even treat myself to a movie or dinner out once in a while.
By the fourth year, I was up to $40K, which for me was living large after the spartan three years that preceded it, even if it is still substandard in SoCal. I upgraded my car and apartment.
By the fifth year, I managed $70K, which was more than I had ever earned working for somebody else. When I was doing my taxes and realized that, I felt the most incredible sense of vindication I had ever felt in my life. Hah! I thought to myself. I knew best after all.
I've now been doing this on my own for 9 years. My income now flirts with six figures (just shy, but I'll get there eventually), I have a social life again, I have investments, and I am thinking of buying some property for the first time.
But most important of all: I feel like my destiny is wholly in my own control. No longer do I have to entrust it to an idiot who does not have my best interests at heart. I am freed from the 9-5 grind. I can take time off whenever I please, work or not work depending on my mood,
So: there may be no greater joy in life than being able to support yourself 100% from the fruits of your own labor, without needing to involve anyone else. However, it certainly was not an easy road to take for me, and if I could go back and do it again, I would have prepared for it much better. I could no longer blame any failures on the company, they were my own. I had to give up my social life and all fun for three years. I was always broke for three years. I honestly believe that not everyone is cut out to survive on their own; many people are much better off at a company, with the network and reliability they provide. However, I needed to do it myself. I am fortunate that it worked out in the end. But I always had confidence in the quality of my work; that confidence led me to believe that eventually, I would succeed.
If you really are determined to go the independent route, I salute you. It is a brave move, and I hope it works out for you. Keep a goal in mind, recover from failure quickly, be willing to make some sacrifices...and it can be the best decision you ever made. Good luck!
For me, I had been vaguely thinking of retiring to Colorado at some point. As I described in an earlier post, it came to me sooner. The timeline has been that, at 64 and eight months, more time in will not add to my pension, my new house will be finished, and I will have some time to rest up from shift work and stress and move when the weather is improving by April (2018).
A kicker for me was learning that my long-time receptionist at my vet hospital was moving to Arizona and had figured that she and husband could afford to do so on Soc. Sec. on her part and his contribution. It awakened all of my "I wanna go West" feelings, if even Merry (low-paid) could do it. Then I ran into her after I thought she had left. She was getting a "therapy dog" vest for her pit bull at the store because her husband has PTSD disability from war. The dog was going to fly in the cabin with him. I don't look for signs, but there was Merry again, the day before she left.
I called the broker in CO and told him to go ahead and bid on the lot we had discussed.
I had planned to get the surgery I discussed earlier when retired (breast reduction to ease nerve pain in my neck) but the nerve pain had begun to affect my left arm function, which was very alarming. I didn't want anyone at work to know because they might have been able to say that I was unable to work (which was getting close to reality) so I took off and got the surgery Feb. 10. I will likely return to work March 17 and my arm is almost completely back to normal.
However, I had already factored into my retirement date the possible surgery and recovery, so am mentally committed to retiring four months before Medicare, either Jan. 1 or Feb. 1. I will have to have COBRA and work out the sale of my house but I think those dates can work. I have not missed working during my recovery (at all) and am in touch with people I want to be in touch with online.
Last night the wind was howling and I was in some pain and couldn't sleep and felt like, how can I move from my security here. Today the pain med is kicking in, the sun is shining in the windows of my lovely house, and it could be a morning in Colorado- sunny, cold, dogs snoring, same furniture, internet. I can do this (I say).
My company offered a package about 2-3 years before I had intended to retire. The job had been incredibly boring for a number of years but I had just barely enough $$$ to make a go of it so I took it with the idea to work as an independent contractor for part time projects with others for the next year, a very doable situation. This would make up a lot of the shortfall.
Well I retired Dec 31 & then followed one of the worst winters in years, blizzards almost every week until April. I contacted people who might be interested & checked industry listings &, as the weeks went on, I was making my return criteria so narrow - part time only, no managerial responsibility, no physical hardship, etc... that by the time the spring flowers & birdies beckoned me outside I finally realized I had really no interest in returning to pulling the plow again. Ever.
So my euphoria was delayed a few months until the good weather when I had my "enlightenment" moment. I just tightened my belt financially & so far so good...
My defining moment came when my body and mind said that nope, you are not doing another night shift. I just got tired of feeling like crap every day. That and a scary breast cancer wake up call. It was time to take care of me for a change. Why be a wage slave workaholic for money you don't need to survive? I thought it was pretty stupid to possibly put myself in an early grave and leave everything I had worked hard for behind so John could spend it on some other woman. Um, NO!
My "defining moment" came in stages after I retired. I wasn't sure if I was mentally ready to retire when my pension was maxed out (I was early 50's) but the boss had asked me when I was retiring. Not trying to kick me out, just inquiring. I retired and came back part-time. It took me about 6 months to realize that part-time was MUCH better than full-time. Now after 4 years of part-time, I can see where I'll be ready to be completely retired in a few more years. I will have all my financial ducks in a row then and will be ready to fully retire. I still enjoy my job but can see a point where I'll be ready to do something else or not do anything and be quite happy to have that choice every day.
My movement was in stages too. Last full-time job lay-off in 2009...long-term UNemployment from profession...then long-term UNDERemployment from profession...then contract work in my profession...then contract and part-time work outside my profession. I was aiming for SS at age 62 by this point last year and then just realized within the last few months that I don't want to be on anyone else's schedule after going for part-time interviews. At least for now. I may change my mind later, but I am enjoying the present moment of pure freedom and hope to maintain it indefinitely.
Yup!
When my a-hole young Turk boss
put me on the cut list at my IT
company.
Did me a huge favor but the
ego suffered a bit, nonetheless.
I was going to sneak one in
on them by retiring in April 2016
and they WFR'ed me in February
with severance.
Good riddance.
Never felt freer or happier
in my entire life and I don't
need to commute, meet, satisfy
the deadlines and bottom line
nor cowtow to a gaping
rectum of a boss who
had no respect for older
workers!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
