The when thread

AlanP_2

bugslet wrote: »

I guess I'll just make it up as I go along as usual. I do find some of the posters on here terrifyingly organised!:o

A lot of Self-Selection Bias though to be fair.

If you aren't interested then you are probably not posting on here and if you are you are probably the type that has spreadsheets coming out of your ears.

bugslet

I've got the back of a fag packet coming out of my ears:p:D

westv

I have too much hair coming out of my ears.

gadgetmind

I love my job. It's pretty much perfect, so why am I thinking of retirement?

Pros:
I'm very well paid (top 1%, if you believe these things)
My commute takes 20 mins on a bicycle.
I get to work in jeans, T-shirt and a beard.
I don't have to suffer much corporate rubbish as I'm pretty senior and our CEO acquired my team pretty much because he knew/knows what I can do. I recently compared him to an elephant seal and got away with it despite him just having got a knighthood!

Cons:
12 hour days, pretty much non-negotiable as my team is across four continents, I work with people even more widely spread, and that's just the way it is.
I'm an engineer, but chances for direct engineering kicks are limited with a team approaching 100 people. It's great when I do bottom big issues myself (mostly in my sleep!) but this is now once a month, if that.
Not enough time to do my own stuff.
This includes cooking. It's great fun, and lets me unwind, but not much chance when still on calls (as I am when typing this) at coming up to 8pm/9pm/10pm.

I think it comes down to having been pretty good at the wealth building, wanting more time to do other stuff, and wanting to get more time to use my engineer's brain.

I've already got 4 day week agreed, so maybe next step is 2 days being Mr Vice President, and 2 days being hairy hacker in a corner making some silicon sit up and do tricks?

richy999

gadgetmind wrote: »

I think it comes down to having been pretty good at the wealth building, wanting more time to do other stuff, and wanting to get more time to use my engineer's brain.

I've already got 4 day week agreed, so maybe next step is 2 days being Mr Vice President, and 2 days being hairy hacker in a corner making some silicon sit up and do tricks?

I think this raises a good point... retirement doesn't necessarily mean never working again.
Perhaps a better question would be, at what age will you be financially independent... i.e. having enough stashed away so that you don't have to work if you don't need to.

chiefie

richy999 wrote: »

I think this raises a good point... retirement doesn't necessarily mean never working again.
Perhaps a better question would be, at what age will you be financially independent... i.e. having enough stashed away so that you don't have to work if you don't need to.

Good point.
I'm not sure I want to stop doing something forever, whether it is starting my own hobby business, doing voluntary work or other work on a p/t basis, but being financially independent helps with the choices.,

bugslet

TheTracker wrote: »

An alien looking down on earth might wonder why someone would spend 20 years preparing to work 35 years straight with just a few weeks off a year and then suddenly stop and spend the next 35 not working at all.

Snakey wrote: »

My driving force is awareness of the following:

1. Within my lifetime the concepts of company loyalty (in either direction) and the "job for life" have been eradicated,.

One of the reasons for not either taking significant time off or finishing the business has been loyalty to my staff. They are very loyal to me and I need to repay that by providing them with a job for as long as I can. I've had people work for me for over 20 years and I've seen their kids grow up and have children of their own.

Unfortunately I do believe we are a diminishing type of business in terms of how we perceive our staff.:(

redmalc

Bugslet
I like your comments and wish more people had a similar view.
I worked for a family business for twenty years and out of the blue three years ago i got a call from the owner who i have to say was very friendly and we used to socialise together for a meal,beer or two asking if i could meet him at a railway station that night.
I enquired why and was told it will become relevant when we chat,we met and the news was he had been contacted by a large competitor with a view to selling the business and the staff would be Tupe over.
The issue was i was a very big cog in the business and the sale was reliant on me agreeing a four year contract with new co,he offered me a ridiculous low offer as a sweetener which i rejected and negotiations stalled,the offer was increased and i duly accepted and the deal was i would be paid twelve months after purchase.
Cut a very long story short he refused to pay me because he got dismissed from the new co for reasons i will not elaborate on but i did not know new co had withheld 40% of the sale proceeds back,after hearing that i tended my resignation with new co up to date with what i was doing in forcing him to pay,which he duly did.
But what a snake he became and a very greedy one at that !!

chiefie

bugslet wrote: »

One of the reasons for not either taking significant time off or finishing the business has been loyalty to my staff. They are very loyal to me and I need to repay that by providing them with a job for as long as I can. I've had people work for me for over 20 years and I've seen their kids grow up and have children of their own.

Unfortunately I do believe we are a diminishing type of business in terms of how we perceive our staff.:(

Methinks we could do with more of you bugslet. Seems nowadays it's all about the shareholders and the capital markets and not about the employees. We have lost the balance and we need someone to help get the country off the treadmill and back into ensuring people are dealt with with morals and not money first. My dad worked for the same company for 43 years, his loyalty and hard work were reimbursed with job security and a pension. Pity he became Ill a month after he retired at 65, the main reason why I want to get to some level of financial independence sap

robin61

chiefie wrote: »

Pity he became Ill a month after he retired at 65, the main reason why I want to get to some level of financial independence sap

That is very sad and it focuses the mind on what' s important when you hear things like this. My brother' s father in law worked until he was 62, retired and 2 weeks later had a heart attack which he didn' t survive. I think most of us need to be reminded that these things can happen otherwise we can focus too much on having just a bit more in the bank.