ScriptBunny Journal II

Where are you and where are you going?
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Chris
Posts: 773
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:44 pm

Re: Work malaise

Post by Chris »

scriptbunny wrote: This line of thinking is silly, of course. My work obligations, though growing, are manageable. At baseline spending levels, I could have a secure semi-retirement-- paid off home, college funds for 2 kids, sufficient >65 retirement account, 5-10 years expenses-- in 7 years if I am being optimistic. If I really cut the waste I could probably do it in 5. I'd rather not exchange the daily worry of work for the daily worry of money. Better to leave the worry behind altogether.
Yes, leave the worry behind! But seven years seems like a long time, especially if you are sharing living expenses...
  • Have you projected out salary increases and included them in your forecast?
  • Have you factored in compounding growth for your retirement money? Assuming you don't touch it, $100k over 30 years > $300k.
  • If your ESPP has favorable terms, are you maxing it out?
  • You had some RSUs vest recently, are there more on the way?
  • You work at a larger company now, perhaps with more resources, any room for additional bonus compensation?
  • You work in a city with lots of employment opportunities, have you looked around?
  • What does your company's severance package look like? If you can get yourself laid off in a few years, maybe you can shave 6-12 months off your FI date (-:
scriptbunny wrote: More than anything, I think my brain doesn't want to feel beholden anymore. The mental exertion required for my job crowds out my other thinking. My mental energies are spent by the time I get home. I learn daily, but not of things that pique my interest. Better to work a checkout counter, at least then my thoughts would be my own. And when I look at my coworkers, it sickens me that such smart people are wasting their lives on this fruitless exercise.
I think FI-minded people realize this more. I look around at friends and coworkers -- 15 years ago they were winning awards in science class -- and now they're spending the most productive years working on this? A cog in a wheel, making money for someone else, their work not having any significant positive impact on the world. We discussed this at the meetup last week: if your work output isn't world-changing, GTFO ASAP.

I too used to remember fondly back to my teenage job. Low-paid and manual, it allowed for lots of meandering thinking. And now, for more money, my employer owns my brain. It'd be nice to have that back but... stocking shelves is also a sub-optimal use of human time. It's a mind-body tradeoff, and either way it's a waste. Once FI, you'll have control over body and mind. Flippin' sweet! You'll be able to persue things you're interested in, and be able to use your body before it falls apart. This is what I use to convince myself when I'm hit by "one-more-year-itis". You can always go back to the mind-body trade, but if you want both, you need to use them while both are still in good working order.

Jason

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II

Post by Jason »

Kriegsspiel wrote:Don't sweat it, I think they give you magazines.
I bring my copy of Early Retirement Extreme.

distracted_at_work
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:51 am

Re: Work malaise

Post by distracted_at_work »

scriptbunny wrote:
Because of the work stress, I'm noticing familiar patterns creep up. I think about money and FIRE all the time. I daydream about being laid off-- like suicidal ideation, but for my job. I wonder if I could quit and scrape together a living through odds and ends gigs.
Hi Scriptbunny, thought I'd peek into your journal. This post really caught my eye because I can relate.

I daydream about FIRE and, after the initial shock I think, would embrace a layoff. It would provide some challenge/diversity in my life to do what you've mentioned, living through odd gigs. It would be fun in a way. I always know I tried hard enough, I could find other work in my professional field.

One part that doesn't jive with me is how you manage work stress. You have your act together and would 100% survive being let go. Right there you have nothing to worry about. When you leave the office (or wherever), let work be the furthest thing from your mind. At work, give your best but put everything you do in perspective. The most important bits of your life exist outside of work.

Every time a client pisses me off (often), that's what I remember. In my grand scheme, it does not matter. Then I can go back at them with total honesty and without trepidation.
scriptbunny wrote:
More than anything, I think my brain doesn't want to feel beholden anymore. The mental exertion required for my job crowds out my other thinking. My mental energies are spent by the time I get home. I learn daily, but not of things that pique my interest. Better to work a checkout counter, at least then my thoughts would be my own. And when I look at my coworkers, it sickens me that such smart people are wasting their lives on this fruitless exercise. I, they, we could be doing so much more.
Can't help you here other than nod in agreement.
scriptbunny wrote:
Kriegsspiel wrote:Don't sweat it, I think they give you magazines.
*whoosh* :roll:
:lol:

distracted_at_work
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:51 am

Re: Work malaise

Post by distracted_at_work »

scriptbunny wrote:But as yet I haven't found a way to turn off the part of my brain that couples how good I am at the thing I do eight hours a day with at least a part of how I value my own personal worth.
It's tough. How can we not measure a part of personal worth with career performance? We spend half our waking hours working. Definitely more after including all the preparation/decompression/overtime that goes into it.

If I ever find a way to decouple worth/work completely, I'll let you know. I have a feeling it won't be until retirement. In the meantime, try to minimize the feeling as to not to stress about it. Focus your best energy on the things outside of work.

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jennypenny
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Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II

Post by jennypenny »

My one kid had a terrible math teacher for 5th and 6th grade and I had to teach him on my own. He wasn't keen on me teaching him though, so I used these videos and he liked them.

He also hated practicing fractions so I ended up doing a lot of baking from scratch with him. If you double or halve the recipes, it forces them to adjust the fractions which helps get the point across. I remember one afternoon in particular when we made several batches of cookie dough in varying amounts (doubled, quadrupled, etc). By the time we were done, the freezer was full of cookie dough and he'd gotten over the hump wrt fractions. It was a win-win. :D

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Chris
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:44 pm

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II: April 2017

Post by Chris »

scriptbunny wrote:
Tue May 02, 2017 11:00 pm
I’ve also realized reading lots of pilots how few that I’ve liked. Even for series I’ve liked I’ve found first episodes to be utterly forgettable. Any recommendations for good first episodes out there?
Yeah, even for series I like, pilots usually are lame. Sometimes if I didn't jump in at a later episode, I might not have gotten in at all. Probably because the exposition overwhelms the actual feel of the show. This is true even for series I really like.

British series sometimes have better pilots, due to having fewer episodes per season. And they do a lot of miniseries. When there are only 6 episodes, there isn't a lot of room to waste. Not every time, but more often I think. The Thick of It hit its stride from the get-go.

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Chris
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:44 pm

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II: June 2017

Post by Chris »

scriptbunny wrote:
Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:51 am

Safety net.
A couple weeks ago, my folks helpfully informed me that I'll be sending $1000/month to a relative, possibly for the next year. I'm exaggerating some, they asked and were grateful. But it was expected I'd say yes. Like donations, I will not be including these in my spending updates. Theoretically I should get paid back. I'm not holding my breath though. It reminded me: my mother has no real plan for retirement. Or rather she intends to work until she dies. In practice I'm her safety net. It's not ideal. Never seek a reputation as “the responsible one”, kids. It’ll only saddle you with more to take care of.
I think this forum is full of "responsible ones", like Sclass.

Did you have any indication you would be tapped for up to $12k?
Will you declare the well to be dry once you are FI, or are these transfer payments something you will budget for?

IlliniDave
Posts: 3845
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:46 pm

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II: June 2017

Post by IlliniDave »

scriptbunny wrote:
Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:51 am


Safety net.
A couple weeks ago, my folks helpfully informed me that I'll be sending $1000/month to a relative, possibly for the next year. I'm exaggerating some, they asked and were grateful. But it was expected I'd say yes. Like donations, I will not be including these in my spending updates. Theoretically I should get paid back. I'm not holding my breath though. It reminded me: my mother has no real plan for retirement. Or rather she intends to work until she dies. In practice I'm her safety net. It's not ideal. Never seek a reputation as “the responsible one”, kids. It’ll only saddle you with more to take care of.
I finally capitulated and started including these sorts of things in my spending, categorized as gifts even though there is a possibility I'll be repaid someday. I don't think I'll have much success in the future saying, "I don't work anymore (unspoken: because I'm wealthy enough I don't have to) so don't look at me for money." It comes down to me being too weak and softhearted I suppose. It is like an intra-family progressive tax: hard to avoid when the need is legitimate. Plus it is really hard to avoid a reputation as "the responsible one" when it comes to your kids/grandkids.

It's a good idea not to let worrying about aging parents be a point of stress. It's of of those things where most of us do what we have to do when the time comes. I'm very close to the-future-is-now point and it's one of the things on the scale that weighs towards transitioning sooner. Living several states away distance is an obstacle to what I feel my responsibilities are. With my mom it will probably just amount to helping (non-financially) with whatever hospice arrangements there are at the end of the road. Then I'll need to start looking after my dad to some extent. His health is still good but he's always been the prototype absent-minded professor and at age 78 now it'll be hard for him 2-3 years down the road to keep track of everything living alone I suspect. His pension comes from a shaky state university system retirement fund, and it looks more-and-more likely that I'll have to support him financially at some point too, but I'm still hoping I don't. Just one of the myriad reasons I'm guilty of "oversaving" a little.

ThisDinosaur
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Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:31 am

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II

Post by ThisDinosaur »

I was recently searching for the thread on this topic (having to financially support aging parents) because its becoming an issue for me as well. As uncomfortable as the idea of prolonging the working career is, its equally difficult to tell them to stop spending money on stupid shit. So much so that I haven't got around to doing it yet.

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: ScriptBunny Journal II

Post by wolf »

scriptbunny wrote:
Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:55 am
Sweet potatoes are nature’s perfect candy.
Hi scriptbunny. Great progress so far. I started to read your first post here on this forum and it won't be the last. I gotta read the others of your journal too. I'm curious. How do you prepare and eat the sweet potatoes? Looking for some replacement for all the industrial candy food.

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