Op,
It might extract a high price from you to stay in your current job for 3 to 8 years longer, so it behooves you to reflect and weigh up such a cost benefit - yes even at the expense of your dream of retiring at 50/55 and/or presumably having not reached “a number” you may have had in mind.
Seems you are proactively working towards finding another job before pulling the plug, which is common sense, but ultimately there is a lead-time involved that simply needs to run it course.
Perhaps silly, but is there anything preventing an experiment in “pretend FIRE” for the remainder of 2024? You continue as is for now (seems you might be considering anyway) but see how you actually fair living solely off your wife’s income?
- Given your progress thus far, the remaining 6 months of 2024 is not an unreasonable data set in which to extrapolate from. You might find you could do an additional 6 months, thus providing better insight.
- During this period, given your current income, you could significantly boost your savings/investing. Plus no immediate changes to current health ins.
- Sure, during the exercise you may find you have to use some of your monthly income for daily living but then at least you know from real world evidence what’s possible for you going FIRE. It could be a monthly cash flow management issue you hadn’t thought of vs not having enough annual income from your wife.
- Provides a pragmatic framework to seek buy in from your wife if she’s uncomfortable, time for both of you to experience and get a sense of living on her income with whatever adjustments good/or bad and simply figuring if/how to make it work.
- Only you and your wife need to know what you’re doing. You might find during this exercise a strange calmness as the work stress either reduces or washes right off you, lightening your daily load and maybe you find you can continue as is to 50+ having boosted your savings/investments each year.
- Having the above experience, when applying for different jobs. You might find a job that really suits you but pays significantly less, yet working conditions are more amenable. Perhaps your “original number” and/or “original timeline” have been reframed and such a job now fits the revised plan. Or you find a job that ticks more boxes than not but can still get you within reason of your 50 to 55 and number goals.
- Having the above experience, when applying for different jobs but seemingly faced with the same #$%! albeit at a different place, your actual X months of experience provide more assurance than not FIRE + one salary can work, so it's a much easier decision for your both that you can really FIRE albeit ~48.
Note #1 - Not sure if reading correctly, but if you FIRE "today" you wouldn't loose the pension (it might be reduced somehow). Loosing the pension would be tough after all the time you've put in.
Note #2 - Retirement Healthcare. I appreciate this is an expensive cost in retirement but given your assets, other options and if the current work situation is untenable now, then I wouldn't trade 8 more years to qualify for the employer healthcare.
All the best.
It might extract a high price from you to stay in your current job for 3 to 8 years longer, so it behooves you to reflect and weigh up such a cost benefit - yes even at the expense of your dream of retiring at 50/55 and/or presumably having not reached “a number” you may have had in mind.
Seems you are proactively working towards finding another job before pulling the plug, which is common sense, but ultimately there is a lead-time involved that simply needs to run it course.
Perhaps silly, but is there anything preventing an experiment in “pretend FIRE” for the remainder of 2024? You continue as is for now (seems you might be considering anyway) but see how you actually fair living solely off your wife’s income?
- Given your progress thus far, the remaining 6 months of 2024 is not an unreasonable data set in which to extrapolate from. You might find you could do an additional 6 months, thus providing better insight.
- During this period, given your current income, you could significantly boost your savings/investing. Plus no immediate changes to current health ins.
- Sure, during the exercise you may find you have to use some of your monthly income for daily living but then at least you know from real world evidence what’s possible for you going FIRE. It could be a monthly cash flow management issue you hadn’t thought of vs not having enough annual income from your wife.
- Provides a pragmatic framework to seek buy in from your wife if she’s uncomfortable, time for both of you to experience and get a sense of living on her income with whatever adjustments good/or bad and simply figuring if/how to make it work.
- Only you and your wife need to know what you’re doing. You might find during this exercise a strange calmness as the work stress either reduces or washes right off you, lightening your daily load and maybe you find you can continue as is to 50+ having boosted your savings/investments each year.
- Having the above experience, when applying for different jobs. You might find a job that really suits you but pays significantly less, yet working conditions are more amenable. Perhaps your “original number” and/or “original timeline” have been reframed and such a job now fits the revised plan. Or you find a job that ticks more boxes than not but can still get you within reason of your 50 to 55 and number goals.
- Having the above experience, when applying for different jobs but seemingly faced with the same #$%! albeit at a different place, your actual X months of experience provide more assurance than not FIRE + one salary can work, so it's a much easier decision for your both that you can really FIRE albeit ~48.
Note #1 - Not sure if reading correctly, but if you FIRE "today" you wouldn't loose the pension (it might be reduced somehow). Loosing the pension would be tough after all the time you've put in.
Note #2 - Retirement Healthcare. I appreciate this is an expensive cost in retirement but given your assets, other options and if the current work situation is untenable now, then I wouldn't trade 8 more years to qualify for the employer healthcare.
All the best.
Statistics: Posted by RedCabin — Mon Jun 03, 2024 2:02 am — Replies 29 — Views 3838