Early-retirement wannabe

atush

mark88man wrote: »

I'd like to see him try


*gets popcorn* :rotfl:

He tries already when he ahs a day off lol. He finds a reason to come into a room where I am, to comment on what I am reading/watching/doing. The comments are very old git type

mgdavid

atush wrote: »

He tries already when he ahs a day off lol. He finds a reason to come into a room where I am, to comment on what I am reading/watching/doing. The comments are very old git type

Could this be the theme of another reality tv series?


<another fortune to be made>

happyandcontented

Marine_life wrote: »

I don't think it's necessarily hard to understand, it depends very much on the job. E.g. someone who has a valuable role in the community (doctor, nurse, etc.) might actually enjoy being defined by their job as it gives a sense of responsibility and perhaps of being needed (we all want to be needed in some way, don't we?).

Outside of that, I tend to look at jobs as sitting in one of four categories:
- low pressure, low pay
- high pressure, low pay
- low pressure, high pay
- high pressure, high pay

I would actually be very interested to see the split between the number of jobs within each category. I suspect that increasingly there are a lot of jobs in category 2 ("high pressure, low pay") and very few in category 3 ("low pressure, high pay"). "Pressure" in this context can be defined in a number of ways i.e. it could either be boring, physically or emotionally demanding or just plain difficult.

For some (like me) the big challenge (and some would say "nice challenge to have") is actually sitting in category 4 ("high pressure, high pay") since there is not only the challenge of being in a difficult job but also the social/psychological challenge of not wanting to give up the high pay. That isn't so much necessarily about 'keeping up with the Jones' but more about want to give your family a good life and - admittedly - the satisfaction that comes from not having to worry about money.

To (try and) get back to some sort of a point - I would argue that the reason I am still working is that I've managed to navigate from category 4 to category 3. There no pressure either in the job or in the potential of losing it (i.e. I don't need the money). Therefore while I contemplate the next stage of life actually sitting tight does not harm me one iota.

My OH did exactly this, due to a restructure he was offered a promotion (and if he didn't accept redundancy was available)so would have remained very much in cat 4 as he has been for all his working life. He was 57, and a decider was that his dad died at 59...he took the money and ran, straight into cat 3 and although this has taken serious adjustment, he now loves it.

It is very low pressure and he was just not used to that, but he has adapted. I think he did miss the 'status loss' initially as he was a high flyer with international travel as part of his role, but it was taking its toll and sapping his energies and he knew that continuing would damage his health.

A downside is that he is a contractor and so has no benefits. So we now pay for them out of income. Last week he had emergency surgery for a detached retina so he will have no income now for a few weeks! Fortunately, we are in a position to cope with that, but we are kicking ourselves that an income protection policy was not sourced earlier. It will be now!

He is 58 now and fully intends to retire at 60.

mgdavid

Triumph13 wrote: »

I think one of the key takeaways from some of the recent posts is 'Know thyself'. Some people very clearly need something external to give them a sense of purpose and/or status. Combine that with a job they actually like and they can be happy as Larry and never retire. Others have no such needs (or minimal) and, unless they are lucky enough to be being paid to do their hobby, just find work gets in the way of getting on with life. Working out where you sit on this spectrum is almost as important as the financial side when planning Early Retirement.

Possibly the key takeaway from the entire thread;
hammer - nail - head!

michaels

Marine_life wrote: »

I don't think it's necessarily hard to understand, it depends very much on the job. E.g. someone who has a valuable role in the community (doctor, nurse, etc.) might actually enjoy being defined by their job as it gives a sense of responsibility and perhaps of being needed (we all want to be needed in some way, don't we?).

Outside of that, I tend to look at jobs as sitting in one of four categories:
- low pressure, low pay
- high pressure, low pay
- low pressure, high pay
- high pressure, high pay

I would actually be very interested to see the split between the number of jobs within each category. I suspect that increasingly there are a lot of jobs in category 2 ("high pressure, low pay") and very few in category 3 ("low pressure, high pay"). "Pressure" in this context can be defined in a number of ways i.e. it could either be boring, physically or emotionally demanding or just plain difficult.

For some (like me) the big challenge (and some would say "nice challenge to have") is actually sitting in category 4 ("high pressure, high pay") since there is not only the challenge of being in a difficult job but also the social/psychological challenge of not wanting to give up the high pay. That isn't so much necessarily about 'keeping up with the Jones' but more about want to give your family a good life and - admittedly - the satisfaction that comes from not having to worry about money.

To (try and) get back to some sort of a point - I would argue that the reason I am still working is that I've managed to navigate from category 4 to category 3. There no pressure either in the job or in the potential of losing it (i.e. I don't need the money). Therefore while I contemplate the next stage of life actually sitting tight does not harm me one iota.

I see my job as reasonable pay and fairly low pressure and I sometimes think having more pressure would actually make it less stressful and more satisfying.

Security66

Yes it was a typo. Should have read £155 (per week).

PipPip

I also moved from a Cat 4 to a Cat 3 role after redundancy a few years ago. I actually thought my new role would also be a Cat 4 given it’s at a fast growing asset manager and I’d changed from working locally in Hampshire to commuting into the square mile. It was a huge surprise to find my new organisation was actually full of very measured and pragmatic management who do their best to maintain a pleasant, fun and low pressure working environment. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that the bonuses are significantly higher than indicated in interview (they were being very conservative). So I’m happy that at 47 I have the job to see me through to early retirement. I’m definitely in the camp of ‘work gets in the way of all the things I’d rather be doing’ though. I took 6 months off after redundancy and filled every day easily.

OldMusicGuy

mgdavid wrote: »

Possibly the key takeaway from the entire thread;
hammer - nail - head!

Not quite. The key things are know thyself and know thy partner (assuming you have one). There is no point retiring if your partner doesn't support you. Similarly, there is no point trying to pursue the Mr Money Mustache path to FIRE unless your partner supports you.

For example, one of my ex-colleagues was very jealous I was retiring early. However he could not retire because his partner had expectations of a lifestyle that could only be supported by him continuing to work for at least another 5 to 10 years. I suspect their marriage won't survive his retirement.

I am really fortunate that my wife supported and encouraged me to retire early.

Thrugelmir

Outside of that, I tend to look at jobs as sitting in one of four categories:
- low pressure, low pay

Low pressure, low pay.

Excellent pension.
33 annual leave days (plus bank holidays)
Flexitime (allowing 26 additional days per annum)
No unpaid overtime

Who needs stress? When we are all expendable. As life has taught me. Money isn't everything. Happiness is a state of mind.

Tight_Fart

Driving myself mad with this question, 18 months away from 60 with first pension starting Jan 2020. Would pack up now if I could make the numbers work.