Early-retirement wannabe

bugslet

michaels wrote: »

Hmm - I had assumed the timing of your departure might be related to the B word and that you would want it to be someone else's problem if/when the shtf so are now getting perilously close....

I'd have gone at the start of April if that was the case. Timing is to to do with Insurances running out in May. My Waste Carriers License has already run out, and my ISO 9001 runs out in Feb. I can manage without those, but Insurance I would have to re-negotiate.

Most importantly, it gets me into the next tax year.;)

JoeEngland

gadgetmind wrote: »

This is a journey rather than a destination.

It is for those of us still schlepping to work until the day of liberation arrives 😀

Mr_Costcutter

gadgetmind wrote: »

This is a journey rather than a destination.

Almost the same words used by my father on the day of my marriage

Kit_Katt

All very quiet on here its my favourite read as well!

Marine Life did you take the plunge and hang your boots up or still doing a few days per week?.

Meanwhile seen some nice gains in my pot since the start of 2019 (3.9%+) so hopefully all those cheap units purchased in 2019 will help further fuel aome good growth.

Marine_life

So here’s the thing…I did get monumentally messed around but finally managed to secure a 12 month contract which achieves pretty much what I wanted in the first place i.e. three days a week with maybe a little bit of working from home (paid) either side of that.

From a psychology point of view, it’s actually quite a nice deal. I have three says away from home each which but more importantly only two nights that means that once I’m through the first day (and night) then the next day I get into “going home tomorrow” mode. So it doesn’t feel like very long at all. I have Friday’s and Monday’s at home and five nights a week sleeping in my own bed. Overall it feels like a nice arrangement.

For me the last year has also been a nice transition arrangement. I always felt like a hard cut off from five days a week down to nothing would be a really big step but being at home five nights a week has helped in getting used to being at home and while I still think about work, on my days off I am enjoying the time. Taking a step from full time employee to contractor has been a (surprisingly) big change. As an employee its easy to get swept along by the corporate merry-go-round of bravado and !!!!!!!! but as a contractor – and effectively part of the gig economy – I am more isolated which I think will make it easier when the end finally arrives.

Financially the deal is very good – I have looked around at other part time jobs locally but one day a week at my current rate is paying me more than most local jobs pay for full time positions. So although I could get hit by a bus tomorrow its almost too good to stop (if that makes sense?). Nevertheless, I will stop and (almost) certainly this year 😉. Interestingly, I was recently offered an opportunity to go back to full-time work with an extremely lucrative contract (and tax free) in the Middle East. I won’t deny I was tempted but the fact that I turned it down shows how far I have come.

mgdavid

That all sounds pretty good, thanks for the update. Only partly tongue in cheek, how is Mrs ML coping with the changes?

gadgetmind

I'm also at the "Am I retired or not?" stage.

I gave up full time work at age 55 (56 next month!) but straight away got pulled into sweat equity as a Director of a start up. I keep being asked to work more than my current two days a week, but really don't want or need full time employment again. In year one, we've turned over £18 million, so it's a nice little business, but BTDT and don't need the stress, but also don't want to let other people down.

Tricky.

Marine_life

mgdavid wrote: »

That all sounds pretty good, thanks for the update. Only partly tongue in cheek, how is Mrs ML coping with the changes?

She's still undecided.
Its a difficult balance between how much I am away and how much she still like to see the bank balance increasing....


Its a bit more nuanced than that but being away just two nights is definitely the right side of acceptable.

atush

Thanks for the Update.

My OH is going down to a 4 day week this year.

agent69

gadgetmind wrote: »

but also don't want to let other people down.

Tricky.

Life's too short to be living it to somebody elses agenda