Early-retirement wannabe

MallyGirl

I suspect that carrying on working in the corporate world will get harder and harder once I pass 55 and have more choices. 3.5 years from now. By then DD will be in uni even if she has a gap year. The next couple of years are going to be expensive (chose to move her to fee paying school for 6th form) but we will be much clearer on outgoings once she is out in the big wide world - no more music lessons/stagecoach alone would reduce costs by about £4k pa. We will need to top up her maintenance money but I suspect the incidentals of having children at home is more than we think.

uk1

The thread continues to provide interesting reading. The thread that keeps on giving!

For what it's worth I think the writing on the wall concerning corporate life in my view seemed to coincide with the change of name of the "Personnel Department" to "Human Resources". It was a warning that perhaps few had noticed. Some time after that I realised that the very reason why the Corporation chose and employed me were the very reasons why I think I was possibly more an irritation than an asset in my own direct line's eyes. At that stage I became disenchanted and found I really didn't want to spend the next twenty off years having my life, career and feeling of well-being and contentedness decided by others without seemingly much input from me and I left an extremely well paid job to start my own company which was thankfully successful in that it enabled me to retire early with sufficient acorns buried to keep us going as long as we didn't live too long.

A failing of human nature is wishful thinking in that often the reality is so miserable we ignore the reality and instead cling on to sometimes misplaced optimism. The reality is that companies aren't people but are collections of people who largely see others as a means to their own personal ends and the enviornment where people "matter" is often an illusion created to get more from people than is reasonable on the promise that loyalty is quid pro quo and goes both ways. The problem is that one only realises all that illusion stuff once one becomes disillusioned - or as I prefer to say realistic, and it is largely then too late to make other plans like self-employment where one is essentaily almost entirely in control of one's own destiny and need no longer concern oneself about what others are saying about oneself behind closed doors. It is often when those life choices are no longer seemingly viable that the sense of feeling cheated and trapped sinks in.

My best wishes to all who have made the jump into retirement whether semi or not and into the adventure of self-employment.

kidmugsy

MallyGirl wrote: »

I suspect the incidentals of having children at home is more than we think.

Especially paying a manservant to follow the beggars around turning the ruddy lights off.

kidmugsy

itwasntme001 wrote: »

Looking at comments on here it really makes me think that ultimately you should really do what you enjoy, stop focusing on your "net worth" and take some risks in life so you don't regret not doing anything later on.

As the baby boomers die and, many of them, leave valuable houses to children or grandchildren, I suppose many of those beneficiaries will just chuck in work early. Or, at least, with a well provided "get stuffed!" fund, will prove a bit harder to regiment.

Marine_life

I suspect there will be less cash available than you think if you look at the growth in the equity release market

"In 2017, the market reached £3.06bn, a growth of 42% over the year in a trend that has continued since 2011, when the market stood at £789mn"

happyandcontented

I keep musing about the truth behind the saying that your job will be advertised before your Obituary is published!

cfw1994

uk1 wrote: »

For what it's worth I think the writing on the wall concerning corporate life in my view seemed to coincide with the change of name of the "Personnel Department" to "Human Resources". It was a warning that perhaps few had noticed.

LOL! Very true....we called them Human Remains over 20 years ago:rotfl:
I’ve taken to trying to appreciate those around me as much as I can....I enjoy the team I am in, even if some of the Corp nonsense (particularly a Stalinesque approach to data security that makes many tasks nigh impossible!) is galling.....I figure I need to enjoy the last years (months!?) so I ultimately leave in a positive frame of mind!

DairyQueen

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

I could have told you that I learned that within a few years of being in the corporate world. The problem with the corporate world (like the public sector world as well from what I have seen) is that it is full of people. While there are many good people, there are also plenty that are not so good, and the corporate world can encourage their bad behaviours.


It's easy to think that big employers "care" for you. They do as long as it helps their profitability and ability to please shareholders. But even well-paid people in the corporate world are still wage slaves and they shouldn't forget it. Only the ones at the very top (ie the exec team) are not slaves. They will get paid off for failure. 40 years a wage slave, me......

You are not a mercenary, I think you are being realistic. The company will carry on without you quite happily once you are gone. So best of luck for the future. Personally, I am loving not being a wage slave.

Excellent post OMG.

I was only 40 when I was fortunate to see the writing on the corporate wall but, unfortunately that insight was gained at others' expense. T

hen still the 'right age' with the 'right skills' I saw just how the corporate world treated those older and (much) more experienced) than me whenever a 'rationalisation' occurred. People who had worked for corporates for many years were fortunate to retain their jobs into their 50s. I can't recall one person who chose to retire before rationalisation got them.

Lightbulb moment back then: "that will be me in 10 years".

I escaped into self-employment and I never regretted it.

Bravepants

I've spent my career in academia or in civil service, so I've not had the misfortune to work for "The Man" in the corporate world. I've never felt like a wage slave, and at least I'm doing something for the public good and not just making profits for companies and shareholders - although I'm also a shareholder of course, dirty little capitalist scoundrel that I am!

Moby

uk1 wrote: »

The thread continues to provide interesting reading. The thread that keeps on giving!

For what it's worth I think the writing on the wall concerning corporate life in my view seemed to coincide with the change of name of the "Personnel Department" to "Human Resources". It was a warning that perhaps few had noticed. Some time after that I realised that the very reason why the Corporation chose and employed me were the very reasons why I think I was possibly more an irritation than an asset in my own direct line's eyes. At that stage I became disenchanted and found I really didn't want to spend the next twenty off years having my life, career and feeling of well-being and contentedness decided by others without seemingly much input from me and I left an extremely well paid job to start my own company which was thankfully successful in that it enabled me to retire early with sufficient acorns buried to keep us going as long as we didn't live too long.

A failing of human nature is wishful thinking in that often the reality is so miserable we ignore the reality and instead cling on to sometimes misplaced optimism. The reality is that companies aren't people but are collections of people who largely see others as a means to their own personal ends and the enviornment where people "matter" is often an illusion created to get more from people than is reasonable on the promise that loyalty is quid pro quo and goes both ways. The problem is that one only realises all that illusion stuff once one becomes disillusioned - or as I prefer to say realistic, and it is largely then too late to make other plans like self-employment where one is essentaily almost entirely in control of one's own destiny and need no longer concern oneself about what others are saying about oneself behind closed doors. It is often when those life choices are no longer seemingly viable that the sense of feeling cheated and trapped sinks in.

My best wishes to all who have made the jump into retirement whether semi or not and into the adventure of self-employment.

I suppose it's also part of human nature to believe the fantasy that you are part of something bigger and you are 'really valued' when you are young and ambitious. It takes time and experience to realise that really the bottom line is you are an asset to be sweated. Despite this, (I'm on the verge of early retirement as are many on here), I realise it's now important for me to try and make it a positive change rather than one I feel angry or resentful about, because I'm the only one affected if I have a bad exit. I think the best way of doing this is to understand that the corporate crap is not directed at you personally and to make sure you have as much control as is possible over the manner and timing of your exit.