Retirement is sweet!

[angels1963]

On 10/6/2023 at 2:16 PM, Angel Oracle said:

Mine, that is.

35.5 years in IT

Freedom!

Congratulations, retirement is the best !!!!!

[Blarg]

What I love is @Angel Oracle added the .5 to his years in the industry as if 35 wasn't enough but 36 would be fact checked. 

[Slegnaac]

3 hours ago, Blarg said:

What I love is @Angel Oracle added the .5 to his years in the industry as if 35 wasn't enough but 36 would be fact checked. 

When you get to being a short-timer, counting becomes more important.

[Stradling]

I’m 34.5 years in with 10.5 years to go. Then I’ll retire and do whatever I feel like. 

[Blarg]

6 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I’m 34.5 years in with 10.5 years to go. Then I’ll retire and do whatever I feel like. 

I have to ask, what are you waiting so long for? Do the math from the age you will retire at and life expectancy based on family history and current health. You may be cutting too far into those years for how much more spending money? 

I've gone further than I really should have but certain situations that were never planned on cropped up and we are in sort of a limbo waiting for a resolution that changes our retirement. As soon as that is resolved I'm out. 

[Stradling]

10 minutes ago, Blarg said:

I have to ask, what are you waiting so long for? Do the math from the age you will retire at and life expectancy based on family history and current health. You may be cutting too far into those years for how much more spending money? 

I've gone further than I really should have but certain situations that were never planned on cropped up and we are in sort of a limbo waiting for a resolution that changes our retirement. As soon as that is resolved I'm out. 

Those are fair questions so I will try my best to explain my thought process.  If I follow through on my plan I will retire on my 63rd birthday and I celebrate my 45 anniversary with the company the same week.  My new role with the company is mentally challenging but not nearly as physically challenging. My schedule is favorable in the sense of I work mostly Monday-Friday during the day.  My commute to work is 15 minutes on side streets and that won’t change in those 10 years.  As of last year, I have qualified for yearly executive physicals that are incredibly thorough, that take a look at virtually everything, including memory.  If there is any negative results my retirement plan will change. I do have a history of cancer in the family, but virtually all of those are smoking related, which I have never done.  

As for financially, if I decide to move out of California, which is a difficult decision based on having two kids of my own and my wife has two kids and we have 2 grandkids, so moving away from all of that would be difficult.  But if we decided to move I could call it a career at 55-57. As you know I have been divorced and my retirement aligns with the completion of alimony.  I could get out of that sooner, but that isn’t necessary at this time.  If she remarries, I could retire a few years early.  I have been saving into a 401k and other accounts since I turned 21 so money won't be an issue in retirement.

Then there is the work part and the enjoyment I receive from being a part of my company.  They treat me well, value me at a high level and respect what I provide. What I can see myself doing over the next several years is actually taking advantage of my 5 weeks of vacation a year, something I have never really done.  I just took this role last year, and I will take this time to groom the person that will replace me.  I was brought in to create a path for promotion to my level from within, instead of having to go out of my department to find that person.  Turning managers into leaders takes time and it is what I enjoy doing.  As I create and grow the department, then some of the tasks and travel will be delegated off to the new roles I create.  

At 40 years I get a trip anywhere around the US which is cool.  At 45 years I get a first class trip anywhere in the world which will also be nice.  I won't simply stick around for the trip, but it is a nice benefit if I do hang around.  

Lastly, I have no hobbies that I am dying to do right now.  So in the next decade I have to decide what I will do in my free time besides travel. 

Sorry for the long post, but it isn't a real easy answer.

[ten ocho recon scout]

4 hours ago, Slegnaac said:

When you get to being a short-timer, counting becomes more important.

Like when I tell people I have 3 years 51 weeks instead of 4 years?

[Blarg]

Good post @Stradling it explains a lot. I used to love my career but changes in the industry and the way the company became overly top heavy with people that are not qualified for their titles have squeezed the enjoyment out of it. 

Imagine you are trying to make a hamburger and someone steps in to change the condiments, order of lettuce and tomato, when to put the cheese on or if onion should be sliced or chopped, then changes their mind in wrapping so you start over. Then the next order they do the entire indecision process again while the customer waits. Then somehow all of your service providers starts telling you how to finish the burger while their lawyers argue over if the meat meets standards set by vegans and the buns are delivered pre toasted because that would speed up efficiency but they are dried out so they tell you to microwave them. 

That is where my industry is at. 

[Blarg]

18 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Like when I tell people I have 3 years 51 weeks instead of 4 years?

At any given moment my career may end with a 20 minute notice. The time it will take to put all of my work in progress on a server and log out. That was almost Friday night. 

[Slegnaac]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Like when I tell people I have 3 years 51 weeks instead of 4 years?

Or you start counting down the number of months, just 47 to go.

Switch to weeks when you get to 39 weeks left.

[T.G.]

I'm looking at 2 years and five months... maybe sooner.

[Angelsfan1984]

Here you guys are retiring and I’ve added a 2nd full time job! Although testing code blocks for a video game company hardly qualifies as a job lol. 

[Tank]

the way things are going, i'm looking at next june 30. this year and last year have been exhausting physically and emotionally. i'm ready to be done. 

we just expelled our most difficult student yesterday, an 8th grader who decided setting a fire in the bathroom was an acceptable thing to do. this came exactly one week after we met with his parents to talk about his non-stop behavior problems. he made our decision a relatively easy one.

[Jay]

58 minutes ago, Tank said:

the way things are going, i'm looking at next june 30. this year and last year have been exhausting physically and emotionally. i'm ready to be done. 

we just expelled our most difficult student yesterday, an 8th grader who decided setting a fire in the bathroom was an acceptable thing to do. this came exactly one week after we met with his parents to talk about his non-stop behavior problems. he made our decision a relatively easy one.

June 30 is right around the corner, I'll bet you can't wait.

I feel bad for the parents of that problem child.

[Tank]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

June 30 is right around the corner, I'll bet you can't wait.

I feel bad for the parents of that problem child.

they're good people, though this year they've been a bit more confrontational about their son. but his record speaks for itself.

they travel internationally with their kids at least three times each year. last year was costa rica at christmas and japan, korea, and china during the summer. i think there was a pretty good cruise in there somewhere, too.

[Slegnaac]

8 hours ago, Tank said:

the way things are going, i'm looking at next june 30. this year and last year have been exhausting physically and emotionally. i'm ready to be done. 

Will you still be part of the singing group?

[Tank]

1 hour ago, Slegnaac said:

Will you still be part of the singing group?

yes; it's a separate entity from my teaching.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

I retired 5 years ago as an electronic technician, also divorced.

[Stax]

On 10/6/2023 at 2:16 PM, Angel Oracle said:

Mine, that is.

35.5 years in IT

Freedom!

Now have fun