Hi all,
This is the start of my journal. It's funny sitting here writing this, I've read a fair number of other people's journals but writing one feels far less natural.
I am in my mid thirties, work in finance (more on this later), am happily married to a great wife (who has a job she genuinely loves). We have 1 child with another on the way. I am lucky and have made a significant amount of money in my career, currently we own our home outright and have approx 55x current expenses (and expenses are not that low so could be reduced).
So I KNOW that I am already FI by any reasonable (and most unreasonable) measures. However I find that I can't yet bring myself to break away from my job.
This is despite the fact that my best years in finance are probably (likely?) behind me. First of all the area that I work has shrunk in size and opportunity after the financial crisis and secondly I believe I no longer have the hunger to succeed. I just drift along, earning a good salary and the odd bonus (smaller than the peak years).
I would say my expected post tax earnings are now approximately 4-6% of my current savings - i.e. I could probably expect to make as much from investing our current savings as from continuing to work. So even economically it would seem pointless to continue working.
When i started out I would regularly work 8am to 11pm 5 days a week (easy when single!) but I don't have that desire any more. I prefer to exercise, spend time with my family, read, cook, research personal investments. My work just bores me and I'm not a great fan of some of the people I have to work with as well. Attitudes can be aggressive, people can be territorial, facetime is prevalent. I probably have some form of imposter syndrome as well at this point as the industry has been pretty rough over the past few years.
Yet I can't yet break away. So why am I still working? I think that I am still responding to insecurities from my childhood (when money was tight and my parents fought to find the money to give me a great education) and at work that is exacerbated as the whole focus of the job is on money, the focus of the people in the industry is money and London has become an area of increasing wealth disparity. There is always something more to chase, even if you know you don't want to chase it - the job and the city conditions you to do so. Also even with a 50x multiple of expenses I still have a nagging fear that if I pull the trigger and quit my job so young then I will screw up investing our savings - a severe case of One More Year Syndrome. Maybe I still crave the recognition that success would bring and crave the highs of years ago?
I know it is not right to stay in finance, working with people whose values I feel I share less and less but it is all I have known and reprogramming 15 years of working in this way is not easy. Leaving means overcoming (and not caring about) 3rd party perceptions (why is he quitting? he's crazy!), perceptions of my parents (although my wife would be happy for me to leave - as long as I didn't sit around watching tv on the sofa all day!) and trying to actually figure out how to spend the 60 hours a week that I currently waste staring at my computer, doing minor pieces of work and having coffee and lunch with various work acquaintances.
Overall I know I am in a truly blessed place and despite the rant above I am happier, calmer and more self aware now than the frenzied guy of 10 years ago. Some people may read what I have just written and think this is a crazy self absorbed non problem - but I hope to write down some fears and figure out a next step. I know that there is a better way if I can be brave enough.
I would love to hear people's thoughts and comments - especially to understand how other people broke the chains of a well paid job and 3rd party perceptions and found a better way. Thanks for reading such a long and rambling first entry.
pd22
pd22's journal
Re: pd22's journal
Congratulations on taking a good step and starting a journal. And congrats on making (and keeping) such an impressive nest egg. There might have been some luck in the earning as you claim, but not spending it is still an accomplishment.
The psychological barriers to ERE seem as big an obstacle as the financial ones. I doubt you will find many here who find your struggles with this a self absorbed non issue.
The psychological barriers to ERE seem as big an obstacle as the financial ones. I doubt you will find many here who find your struggles with this a self absorbed non issue.
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Gilberto de Piento
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Re: pd22's journal
It sounds like the finances are not the problem - you know what your expenses are and that you have enough saved to cover them. How long have you been thinking about getting out? Maybe you just need more time to talk yourself into it?
Maybe you need something to move to rather than away from. What else would you like to do besides finance? Maybe another job, something you find interesting?
Maybe you need something to move to rather than away from. What else would you like to do besides finance? Maybe another job, something you find interesting?
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jacob
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Re: pd22's journal
The solution to one-more-year is a dry-run. Actually setting up your finances as if you're FI and then just sending your entire paycheck straight to savings. It also helps to diversify a bit and develop some other incomes >$0 to take the worry away from financial performance. The latter can be part of the web of transitioning to another self-identity, which I suspect might be your largest issue, as well. For example, self-identifying as a blogger instead of a physicist by realizing that my blogging impact was vastly larger than my research impact was a big step for me to letting go. The last push was in co-founding a non-profit which provided a sufficiently impressive title for everybody else as well. Get all this started while you still have your regular career job and at one point, you can transition smoothly because you're just letting go for 25% of your income streams or 20% of your identity (personal and public) at that point.
Re: pd22's journal
Dear all,
Thanks for your kind welcome. Just been woken up by the dog so thought I would dash out a quick update!
Today I sold a decent chunk of stock in an ex employer that had reached a recent high. It was an overweight position that I was holding onto for prideful (it had previously been underwater) reasons and wasn't paying much of a dividend.
I'm not super happy with where the equity market is right now but do intend to keep putting money into my primary strategy which is a self invested equity income portfolio.
Current asset allocation (post the above sale) is roughly:
23% cash
9% p2p lending
9% inflation linked bonds
40% equity income
19% other (including a rental and some more illiquid investments)
To Jacob's point around setting up finances as if FI I have been moving down that path for a while - I guess I have been aware for years that I was headed down the road I am on. In fact cumulative dividends for the past 4 years from Equity Income have exceeded our cumulative expenses so in a way proof of concept has occurred as the gap is only going to grow as I shift more heavily into the strategy and reinvest any excess.
I intend to ultimately move to around 78% equity income, 10% rental, 10% inflation lined and 2% cash in the long term as I think a diversified (>40 names heavily diversified across sectors) equity income portfolio offers the best long term, low hassle income prospects (both current income and growth). 2% cash and 10% inflation linked bonds would represent about 6 years "cash" buffer which is probably overkill but should provide strong peace of mind that pretty much any stock market volatility could be ridden without the need for forced sales.
Tonight I had a thought while talking future possibilities over with my wife about doing a second degree (either 2nd undergraduate or masters) as a means of transitioning away from work. I think that is an interesting possibility that I have briefly thought about previously and feel it could tick a number of boxes. It would be genuinely intellectually interesting in a way work hasn't been for years, allow for personal growth, allow me to meet a whole bunch of people outside of the world of finance, provide a strong sense of routine to replace the work routine, be outwardly "respectable" as a choice to make, perhaps open up future "job" (not in the same current stressful sense of the word) opportunities.
So overall a positive day.
Thanks for your kind welcome. Just been woken up by the dog so thought I would dash out a quick update!
Today I sold a decent chunk of stock in an ex employer that had reached a recent high. It was an overweight position that I was holding onto for prideful (it had previously been underwater) reasons and wasn't paying much of a dividend.
I'm not super happy with where the equity market is right now but do intend to keep putting money into my primary strategy which is a self invested equity income portfolio.
Current asset allocation (post the above sale) is roughly:
23% cash
9% p2p lending
9% inflation linked bonds
40% equity income
19% other (including a rental and some more illiquid investments)
To Jacob's point around setting up finances as if FI I have been moving down that path for a while - I guess I have been aware for years that I was headed down the road I am on. In fact cumulative dividends for the past 4 years from Equity Income have exceeded our cumulative expenses so in a way proof of concept has occurred as the gap is only going to grow as I shift more heavily into the strategy and reinvest any excess.
I intend to ultimately move to around 78% equity income, 10% rental, 10% inflation lined and 2% cash in the long term as I think a diversified (>40 names heavily diversified across sectors) equity income portfolio offers the best long term, low hassle income prospects (both current income and growth). 2% cash and 10% inflation linked bonds would represent about 6 years "cash" buffer which is probably overkill but should provide strong peace of mind that pretty much any stock market volatility could be ridden without the need for forced sales.
Tonight I had a thought while talking future possibilities over with my wife about doing a second degree (either 2nd undergraduate or masters) as a means of transitioning away from work. I think that is an interesting possibility that I have briefly thought about previously and feel it could tick a number of boxes. It would be genuinely intellectually interesting in a way work hasn't been for years, allow for personal growth, allow me to meet a whole bunch of people outside of the world of finance, provide a strong sense of routine to replace the work routine, be outwardly "respectable" as a choice to make, perhaps open up future "job" (not in the same current stressful sense of the word) opportunities.
So overall a positive day.
Re: pd22's journal
Random thoughts:
Market feels like it's getting ready to break downwards, I need to set some hard targets for when to increase equity allocations. I've always found it easier to have a level in mind in advance as it can otherwise be difficult to pull the trigger. Somewhat more unhealthily I do keep rerunning various retirement scenarios (testing cushion in calcs), even though I know I have a huge cushion and the main unknowns are truly unknown. I think this habit will lessen as I move to the final portfolio allocation as we will be "locked in" at that point.
Went for a good run at lunchtime today. I've been training for a marathon before suffering a minor hip flareup - nothing that a bit of physio and a small change in running style can't fix (and is already improving). I do love running, it's one of my favourite pasttimes and once you get into the habit gets you very much in tune with your body - you can tell the difference between minor changes in exertion and can feel the difference that sleep, good eating habits, hydration etc make.
Work veers between a mix of frustration and interest. Some of the trade ideas that I analyse are genuinely interesting, but the company has a heavy mix of bureaucracy and autocracy (ie a CEO that sometimes asks for work to be done even when it is obvious that the committee will reject it). I have one angle that could make the job more interesting but it would be early next year before we would be in a position to make that shift.
Market feels like it's getting ready to break downwards, I need to set some hard targets for when to increase equity allocations. I've always found it easier to have a level in mind in advance as it can otherwise be difficult to pull the trigger. Somewhat more unhealthily I do keep rerunning various retirement scenarios (testing cushion in calcs), even though I know I have a huge cushion and the main unknowns are truly unknown. I think this habit will lessen as I move to the final portfolio allocation as we will be "locked in" at that point.
Went for a good run at lunchtime today. I've been training for a marathon before suffering a minor hip flareup - nothing that a bit of physio and a small change in running style can't fix (and is already improving). I do love running, it's one of my favourite pasttimes and once you get into the habit gets you very much in tune with your body - you can tell the difference between minor changes in exertion and can feel the difference that sleep, good eating habits, hydration etc make.
Work veers between a mix of frustration and interest. Some of the trade ideas that I analyse are genuinely interesting, but the company has a heavy mix of bureaucracy and autocracy (ie a CEO that sometimes asks for work to be done even when it is obvious that the committee will reject it). I have one angle that could make the job more interesting but it would be early next year before we would be in a position to make that shift.
Re: pd22's journal
Great journal. Thanks for sharing. You're in an interesting mental spot.
In my experience, habitually checking your retirement calcs even when you rationally know it's not even close is not going to help. You're not looking for reassurance you can leave -- you're looking for an excuse to stay where you are. Step one is to come to terms with the fact that you can financially retire today. It's not about money.
The next step is figuring out what you're really getting out of work that keeps you there when money isn't the issue. That's hard -- especially untangling the core items from the filler. But if you can isolate them, you can either replace them elsewhere or simply be happy where you are.
Just an observation -- you seem to really value the respect of others. Do you think that part of your personality was inherent at birth or conditioned by a career in finance? I guess what I'm getting at is that sometimes our fears are more nurture than nature, and simply leaving the reinforcing environment will help more than you realize.
In my experience, habitually checking your retirement calcs even when you rationally know it's not even close is not going to help. You're not looking for reassurance you can leave -- you're looking for an excuse to stay where you are. Step one is to come to terms with the fact that you can financially retire today. It's not about money.
The next step is figuring out what you're really getting out of work that keeps you there when money isn't the issue. That's hard -- especially untangling the core items from the filler. But if you can isolate them, you can either replace them elsewhere or simply be happy where you are.
Just an observation -- you seem to really value the respect of others. Do you think that part of your personality was inherent at birth or conditioned by a career in finance? I guess what I'm getting at is that sometimes our fears are more nurture than nature, and simply leaving the reinforcing environment will help more than you realize.
Re: pd22's journal
Since you recognize the core issue, you can explore your post-FI options while you are staring at the computer. It takes time to feel comfortable with changed mindset but it is possible. I have for the most part shunned recognition/titles however I like (and am) getting top wages, and I would rather get it with my work ethics, rather than socializing with execs, making myself visible in right meetings etc.pd22 wrote:Leaving means overcoming (and not caring about) 3rd party perceptions (why is he quitting? he's crazy!), perceptions of my parents (although my wife would be happy for me to leave - as long as I didn't sit around watching tv on the sofa all day!) and trying to actually figure out how to spend the 60 hours a week that I currently waste staring at my computer, doing minor pieces of work and having coffee and lunch with various work acquaintances.
Parents? unless you are anxious to get your share of inheritance, this one is real easy – it is just a matter of growing back bone. Your parents need you more than you need them – that's the whole point of having children.
BTW, Congratulation on your FI, and good luck with your journey!
Re: pd22's journal
It's been a few days since I posted.
Had a great weekend spending time with family and friends, including one who was over from New York. It's obvious but always good to remember how people make the occasion - it's somewhat of a shame that work and life tends to scatter your closest friends.
On the work front I have actually been more engaged than I have been for a while as I have been tackling a couple of interesting projects. It seems to me that it's the work I enjoy (exploring the transaction, discussing and explaining with colleagues in a collaborative way) and the people interactions (particularly aggressive "machine gun style" questioning) that I tend to dislike. I think the market sell-off, if it continues, will actually make life quite interesting - particularly if there is not the stress of needing to be successful because of a dependence of salary/bonus. Just as a rising market covers a multitude of sins, so a falling market provides more realistic investment opportunities - particularly if you've kept powder dry which is true of both my work and my personal finances.
Speaking of personal finances I had mentioned that the market felt like it was going to break down and the combination of worries about ebola, economic indicators (including inflation) and god knows what else is pushing prices down. The UK FTSE 100 started the year at 6750 and peaked at 6900. Today it closed at 6210. It's time to think a bit more clearly about an entry point - the main benefit I find of setting a hard number is it prevents second guessing when the time comes. While this is somewhat arbitrary I like the idea of entering after a minimum 10% correction - that would point to 6075 if we measure from the beginning of the year or 6210 (i.e. now) if we measure from the absolute peak. I had been intending to drip money in monthly in any case so will wait until month end, but will make the purchases early if the selloff continues to 6075.
On the exercise front I went for a decent run today - the weather is perfect for proper training right now. Cool and overcast without being freezing cold. It's the first run I had done since Friday as the weekend and work was so busy, but I intend to keep it going - particularly as my hip niggle appears to be clearing up.
Finally I want to thank everyone that has taken the time to read and reply - I feel that the comments have been incredibly helpful and insightful. Tyler - your comments about work and valuing 3rd party respect do resonate. I like to explore ideas in depth and make myself an authority on niches of the market, and I do like it when that is recognised and produces results (i.e. makes money for the firm). Vice versa I don't like getting bogged down with what I see as work done to satisfy pointless whims or the posturing/politics that does tend to be part and parcel of the finance industry. There is a core activity that is very interesting - the question is whether the bad part can be appropriately stripped out and whether the hours can be controlled enough to address the other priorities in life (wife, children, exercise, health, cooking, friends, intellectual curiosity).
It's interesting reading some of my earlier entries - just a matter of a couple of weeks ago I was far more frustrated. This coincided with a period of inactivity. The more recent activity has clearly calmed me down - it feels good to be intellectually engaged. I suspect this is because the hours have not been too all consuming - if it got much busier then I guess frustration would creep in again. We shall see.
Had a great weekend spending time with family and friends, including one who was over from New York. It's obvious but always good to remember how people make the occasion - it's somewhat of a shame that work and life tends to scatter your closest friends.
On the work front I have actually been more engaged than I have been for a while as I have been tackling a couple of interesting projects. It seems to me that it's the work I enjoy (exploring the transaction, discussing and explaining with colleagues in a collaborative way) and the people interactions (particularly aggressive "machine gun style" questioning) that I tend to dislike. I think the market sell-off, if it continues, will actually make life quite interesting - particularly if there is not the stress of needing to be successful because of a dependence of salary/bonus. Just as a rising market covers a multitude of sins, so a falling market provides more realistic investment opportunities - particularly if you've kept powder dry which is true of both my work and my personal finances.
Speaking of personal finances I had mentioned that the market felt like it was going to break down and the combination of worries about ebola, economic indicators (including inflation) and god knows what else is pushing prices down. The UK FTSE 100 started the year at 6750 and peaked at 6900. Today it closed at 6210. It's time to think a bit more clearly about an entry point - the main benefit I find of setting a hard number is it prevents second guessing when the time comes. While this is somewhat arbitrary I like the idea of entering after a minimum 10% correction - that would point to 6075 if we measure from the beginning of the year or 6210 (i.e. now) if we measure from the absolute peak. I had been intending to drip money in monthly in any case so will wait until month end, but will make the purchases early if the selloff continues to 6075.
On the exercise front I went for a decent run today - the weather is perfect for proper training right now. Cool and overcast without being freezing cold. It's the first run I had done since Friday as the weekend and work was so busy, but I intend to keep it going - particularly as my hip niggle appears to be clearing up.
Finally I want to thank everyone that has taken the time to read and reply - I feel that the comments have been incredibly helpful and insightful. Tyler - your comments about work and valuing 3rd party respect do resonate. I like to explore ideas in depth and make myself an authority on niches of the market, and I do like it when that is recognised and produces results (i.e. makes money for the firm). Vice versa I don't like getting bogged down with what I see as work done to satisfy pointless whims or the posturing/politics that does tend to be part and parcel of the finance industry. There is a core activity that is very interesting - the question is whether the bad part can be appropriately stripped out and whether the hours can be controlled enough to address the other priorities in life (wife, children, exercise, health, cooking, friends, intellectual curiosity).
It's interesting reading some of my earlier entries - just a matter of a couple of weeks ago I was far more frustrated. This coincided with a period of inactivity. The more recent activity has clearly calmed me down - it feels good to be intellectually engaged. I suspect this is because the hours have not been too all consuming - if it got much busier then I guess frustration would creep in again. We shall see.
Re: pd22's journal
Well that's annoying - the market unexpectedly hit my purchase level this morning - quicker than anticipated! Unfortunately our compliance function has to approve personal trades and by the time that got done we had rallied all the way back! Time to reluctantly sit on my hands again...
Re: pd22's journal
Had an interesting experience at work late last week.
As the end of the year approaches thoughts of everyone in finance turns to year end bonuses. Anxiety levels are high as in essence the entire measure of your worth (literally!) to the firm is boiled down to a single number. For many it's a small step from there to interpret that number as a measure of your worth as a person in life.
So not entirely unexpectedly I was called into a room and asked how I think things are going. Already knowing the answer I jump straight to the point and say that I've been a bit underutilised this year (i.e. not very busy!). And, via a lot of words and some explanation that I'm very smart and they love my analysis when I sink my teeth into a project, they agree and explain how difficult that will make it to pay me this year. By which they mean that instead of a really large amount of money they can only give a smaller amount of money.
And I sit there and think I really don't care. In fact I quite like not being too busy, avoiding face time at work and am happy to be "underpaid". The money is more than enough and I like being a bit lazy and want time for my family and for other things in life! Of course it's not going to be acceptable to have that conversation - for some reason in finance it's all or nothing. So it's likely at some point we may agree it's mutually acceptable to part ways.. but I may as well stick around for a few more weeks to collect this bonus.
Analysing this whole episode made me realise (again) that it's not really money keeping me in my job as the "low" bonus didn't induce any financial stress whereas some years ago I would have reacted very differently. An interesting lesson.
My slow motion divorce from my financial career would appear to be continuing...
As the end of the year approaches thoughts of everyone in finance turns to year end bonuses. Anxiety levels are high as in essence the entire measure of your worth (literally!) to the firm is boiled down to a single number. For many it's a small step from there to interpret that number as a measure of your worth as a person in life.
So not entirely unexpectedly I was called into a room and asked how I think things are going. Already knowing the answer I jump straight to the point and say that I've been a bit underutilised this year (i.e. not very busy!). And, via a lot of words and some explanation that I'm very smart and they love my analysis when I sink my teeth into a project, they agree and explain how difficult that will make it to pay me this year. By which they mean that instead of a really large amount of money they can only give a smaller amount of money.
And I sit there and think I really don't care. In fact I quite like not being too busy, avoiding face time at work and am happy to be "underpaid". The money is more than enough and I like being a bit lazy and want time for my family and for other things in life! Of course it's not going to be acceptable to have that conversation - for some reason in finance it's all or nothing. So it's likely at some point we may agree it's mutually acceptable to part ways.. but I may as well stick around for a few more weeks to collect this bonus.
Analysing this whole episode made me realise (again) that it's not really money keeping me in my job as the "low" bonus didn't induce any financial stress whereas some years ago I would have reacted very differently. An interesting lesson.
My slow motion divorce from my financial career would appear to be continuing...
Re: pd22's journal
one potential benefit of feeling less attached to compensation outcomes is that it allows more freedom to continue experimenting with ways to make the experience more enjoyable for you for as long as you choose to stay (e.g. less facetime, minimizing boring/confrontational meetings, etc.) - a useful shift in the power dynamics between you and the employer.
Re: pd22's journal
I have been in a bit of a slump in December.
- Exercise has slowed down as I couldn't shake off my injury - approx 3-4 weeks of total rest seems to have done the trick but I feel less fit and also out of the habit of regular running
- Christmas seems stressful this year. What with having a young child our time and attention is stretched - both having to keep the kid entertained and also the demands of grandparents/relatives all mean that it's hard to find "we time" as a couple and "me time" as an individual
- On top of that there seems to be a high level of domestic tasks to complete, ranging from needing to finish decorating rooms through to needing to organise tax returns
- If I'm honest, the busy home life makes me appreciate the mental break that I get at work - the ability to organise and control my own time. That does make me wonder if a full ERE might actually be more stressful. I can't help but feel that a 3-4 day work week would be optimal.
Investing wise things have obviously been OK. I did a bit of buying when the market took a recent mini swoon over oil and that has worked out OK. I took a more conservative look at our finances and still see us at 48-52x annual expenses. I would anticipate investment income next year (dividends + interest) to more than cover our annual expenses, so the retirement option is still there.
I'm hoping that after Dec 26 when the family stuff is out of the way that we will settle down into a less frenetic routine for the next week so that we can get some real downtime before work begins again in early Jan.
- Exercise has slowed down as I couldn't shake off my injury - approx 3-4 weeks of total rest seems to have done the trick but I feel less fit and also out of the habit of regular running
- Christmas seems stressful this year. What with having a young child our time and attention is stretched - both having to keep the kid entertained and also the demands of grandparents/relatives all mean that it's hard to find "we time" as a couple and "me time" as an individual
- On top of that there seems to be a high level of domestic tasks to complete, ranging from needing to finish decorating rooms through to needing to organise tax returns
- If I'm honest, the busy home life makes me appreciate the mental break that I get at work - the ability to organise and control my own time. That does make me wonder if a full ERE might actually be more stressful. I can't help but feel that a 3-4 day work week would be optimal.
Investing wise things have obviously been OK. I did a bit of buying when the market took a recent mini swoon over oil and that has worked out OK. I took a more conservative look at our finances and still see us at 48-52x annual expenses. I would anticipate investment income next year (dividends + interest) to more than cover our annual expenses, so the retirement option is still there.
I'm hoping that after Dec 26 when the family stuff is out of the way that we will settle down into a less frenetic routine for the next week so that we can get some real downtime before work begins again in early Jan.
Re: pd22's journal
I'm currently on a work sponsored "away weekend". The opportunity is actually quite fun (ski weekend), but the behaviour of colleagues is fascinating. Those career driven individuals feel free impelled to act within the herd, whether it be by drinking or otherwise being controlled by senior members of the firm.
It's actually a lot of fun enjoying the weekend on my own terms. Early to bed last night because I want to ski without a hangover? People just couldn't understand it. Abstaining from vodka shots tonight - how could you when the boss is handing them out? Because if you don't care about the money then they don't have the power....
It's actually a lot of fun enjoying the weekend on my own terms. Early to bed last night because I want to ski without a hangover? People just couldn't understand it. Abstaining from vodka shots tonight - how could you when the boss is handing them out? Because if you don't care about the money then they don't have the power....
Re: pd22's journal
Earlier in the journal you mentioned possibly going back to school and doing a masters. Do you have a specific degree or field of study in mind? Or were you thinking more along the lines of substituting structure in your life?
Re: pd22's journal
I haven't posted for a while - to be honest I'm not sure why, the time just seems to have gone by quite quickly.
Henrik - I don't have a specific field of study in mind. Previously I have studied maths and I have toyed with something that explored a broader human condition, eg PPE (politics, philiosophy and economics) for the world at large or PPP (psychology, philosophy and physiology) for a more introspective degree. However I must be honest that I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to such a challenge with a second child about to arrive. I have been reading the journal written by My Brain Is Itchy and I am somewhat in awe of his commitment to solitude and stoicism. I'm not sure that I'm looking for the same degree of "friction" that he describes - although maybe 2 kids (and committing to being truly present for them) is quite high friction already!
In terms of general goings on I would report as follows:
Exercise - I have thrown myself back into marathon training about 4 weeks ago and have got through those 4 weeks (just about!). Initially I had to nurse the injury niggle I have had almost constantly but I think it is beginning to lessen (e.g. I don't feel the need to ice so much any more and don't need ibuprofen either!). I had to commit as the marathon is now in 8 weeks (so 12 from resuming training) and 12 weeks was the minimum time to get into some sort of race shape. Fingers crossed that things hold together!
Family - Baby due in 1 month, very exciting! A little anecdote - on Monday our usual childcare arrangements fell apart and I had to take the day off work. I have to say what a blessing that was - one of those days where the weather was great, my son was in a great mood and we spent a great day together. Somehow time spent together on a workday is so much more relaxed than time spent on a weekend. Of course that can't be extrapolated to infinity but it was a great sign of how the slower pace of retirement could be savoured. My wife continues to enjoy her work and is looking forward to the next baby. She plans to take a year of maternity leave and then return to work (possibly part time) after that time.
Work - Very slow, not a lot interesting happening but I'm not unhappy with that. It gives me time to get out at lunch to do my training run and do some investment research during office hours! I am musing about whether I could set up a specific sort of financial business as a kind of startup. Without going into detail it would be an asset management business and would require the involvement of at least a couple of business partners with complementary skill sets. I plan to tentatively explore this to test possibilities, but also personally need to decide if I would be ready to commit to such a project. As stress levels are so low (management is massively distracted by corporate M&A activity) I don't feel any real "push" to leave but I accept that could change. However it feels that to change things it is more likely to be a "pull" of finding something I definitively prefer to do.
Financial - Of course markets have been favourable so I'm sure all of us that are invested feel good right now. I have added some additional equity income stocks and also moved more heavily into some prime P2P lending. Per the idea discussed above for a "dry run" approx 125% of YTD expenses are covered by the equity income strategy with room for further investment from cash and from P2P (which I view as quite close to cash given how quickly it amortises). It is company reporting season in the UK so a bunch of dividend declarations are happening over the next couple of weeks which a good opportunity to do a health check of the portfolio (and hopefully feel good about dividend growth). On the expense front we still spend way too much but I have reviewed and cut out some of the waste (e.g. a spotify subscription that we never use, an online newspaper subscription whose price just kept rising. I might talk about expenses more in a later post.
So overall feeling is that things are good right now - the lack of friction at work is putting me in a better mental place and the calm at home (post Xmas insanity) is nice as well.
Henrik - I don't have a specific field of study in mind. Previously I have studied maths and I have toyed with something that explored a broader human condition, eg PPE (politics, philiosophy and economics) for the world at large or PPP (psychology, philosophy and physiology) for a more introspective degree. However I must be honest that I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to such a challenge with a second child about to arrive. I have been reading the journal written by My Brain Is Itchy and I am somewhat in awe of his commitment to solitude and stoicism. I'm not sure that I'm looking for the same degree of "friction" that he describes - although maybe 2 kids (and committing to being truly present for them) is quite high friction already!
In terms of general goings on I would report as follows:
Exercise - I have thrown myself back into marathon training about 4 weeks ago and have got through those 4 weeks (just about!). Initially I had to nurse the injury niggle I have had almost constantly but I think it is beginning to lessen (e.g. I don't feel the need to ice so much any more and don't need ibuprofen either!). I had to commit as the marathon is now in 8 weeks (so 12 from resuming training) and 12 weeks was the minimum time to get into some sort of race shape. Fingers crossed that things hold together!
Family - Baby due in 1 month, very exciting! A little anecdote - on Monday our usual childcare arrangements fell apart and I had to take the day off work. I have to say what a blessing that was - one of those days where the weather was great, my son was in a great mood and we spent a great day together. Somehow time spent together on a workday is so much more relaxed than time spent on a weekend. Of course that can't be extrapolated to infinity but it was a great sign of how the slower pace of retirement could be savoured. My wife continues to enjoy her work and is looking forward to the next baby. She plans to take a year of maternity leave and then return to work (possibly part time) after that time.
Work - Very slow, not a lot interesting happening but I'm not unhappy with that. It gives me time to get out at lunch to do my training run and do some investment research during office hours! I am musing about whether I could set up a specific sort of financial business as a kind of startup. Without going into detail it would be an asset management business and would require the involvement of at least a couple of business partners with complementary skill sets. I plan to tentatively explore this to test possibilities, but also personally need to decide if I would be ready to commit to such a project. As stress levels are so low (management is massively distracted by corporate M&A activity) I don't feel any real "push" to leave but I accept that could change. However it feels that to change things it is more likely to be a "pull" of finding something I definitively prefer to do.
Financial - Of course markets have been favourable so I'm sure all of us that are invested feel good right now. I have added some additional equity income stocks and also moved more heavily into some prime P2P lending. Per the idea discussed above for a "dry run" approx 125% of YTD expenses are covered by the equity income strategy with room for further investment from cash and from P2P (which I view as quite close to cash given how quickly it amortises). It is company reporting season in the UK so a bunch of dividend declarations are happening over the next couple of weeks which a good opportunity to do a health check of the portfolio (and hopefully feel good about dividend growth). On the expense front we still spend way too much but I have reviewed and cut out some of the waste (e.g. a spotify subscription that we never use, an online newspaper subscription whose price just kept rising. I might talk about expenses more in a later post.
So overall feeling is that things are good right now - the lack of friction at work is putting me in a better mental place and the calm at home (post Xmas insanity) is nice as well.
Re: pd22's journal
Wow, I can't believe it has been 4.5 months since I last posted. What has changed since then?
Work - I ended up leaving the job that I was in - they were going to lay me off but at the same time a previous employer approached me and asked if I wanted to return. This ended up being fortuitous as it meant that I was able to have a clear conversation upfront about trying to achieve a better work/life balance. To that end I now have the ability to work from home, and to manage my commute so that I can travel outside of the rush hour. Additionally I am back working in a small firm (total employees about 60, and only 4 in our local office) with colleagues that I actually like! So far it feels like this has moved me well towards the balance that I think I have been seeking. I'm in a job that I enjoy and know how to do well, but also can cut out many of the major stressors (commute, pointless office face time) and manage to spend quality time with family as well, which is a good thing as...
Family - Baby arrived at the end of March, a little girl! Family life is a blur of activity but it's great - seeing our older one grow and develop and also interact with the baby is wonderful.
Exercise - I ran the marathon, in the end off little final training. The last few miles were tough but I got there in under 4 hours and had a great day! Since then I've tailed off quite a lot as family life has been so busy, but I plan to get running again soon.
Financial - Still fine despite the recent market volatility. UK taxes went up in the budget, hitting dividends - but there's relatively little I can do about that beyond ensuring that our tax affairs are arranged as efficiently as possible.
So overall I think the key is balance. I feel a good sense of equilibrium right now and will strive to maintain it!
Work - I ended up leaving the job that I was in - they were going to lay me off but at the same time a previous employer approached me and asked if I wanted to return. This ended up being fortuitous as it meant that I was able to have a clear conversation upfront about trying to achieve a better work/life balance. To that end I now have the ability to work from home, and to manage my commute so that I can travel outside of the rush hour. Additionally I am back working in a small firm (total employees about 60, and only 4 in our local office) with colleagues that I actually like! So far it feels like this has moved me well towards the balance that I think I have been seeking. I'm in a job that I enjoy and know how to do well, but also can cut out many of the major stressors (commute, pointless office face time) and manage to spend quality time with family as well, which is a good thing as...
Family - Baby arrived at the end of March, a little girl! Family life is a blur of activity but it's great - seeing our older one grow and develop and also interact with the baby is wonderful.
Exercise - I ran the marathon, in the end off little final training. The last few miles were tough but I got there in under 4 hours and had a great day! Since then I've tailed off quite a lot as family life has been so busy, but I plan to get running again soon.
Financial - Still fine despite the recent market volatility. UK taxes went up in the budget, hitting dividends - but there's relatively little I can do about that beyond ensuring that our tax affairs are arranged as efficiently as possible.
So overall I think the key is balance. I feel a good sense of equilibrium right now and will strive to maintain it!
-
Gilberto de Piento
- Posts: 1948
- Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm
Re: pd22's journal
Good to hear you got a new job. It's great that a layoff that would normally be a source of stress or worse became an opportunity.
Re: pd22's journal
I've been lurking but now I see it's been a year since I posted. How time flies. So where do things stand?
Finances
In line with Jacob's suggestion of Oct 2014 of setting up a dry run.
Cashflow (dividends + interest) was approx 4.5% of current assets.
Actual expenditure (Jul 15 to Jul 16) has been 1.7% of current assets.
Work
I am still in the same role, working from home on average 3-4 days a week.
I have slightly mixed feelings about continuing to work, on the one hand it's comfortable and relatively easy - I could never have another job that provides me so much autonomy, decent pay and flexible working conditions. On the other hand it is still an obligation. On balance I think that I am happy to continue given the current workload etc but I am monitoring this.
Family
Linked to above, my flexible job allows me a great amount of time with my family. I don't think I want to be a 100% stay at home parent (being sole care giver is hard work done 7 days a week!), so combined with my work situation I feel like this is a best of both worlds situation.
Diet/Exercise
I adopted a healthier eating regime in an effort to complement my running. There has been a bit of backsliding over the past couple of weeks, partly due to being on holiday. I'm not obsessive about this but I would like to get back to the better habits that I had.
Other
I waste too much time on video games (eg hearthstone) - need to cut this out and put the time to better use. I have stopped reading books - time to try to ingrain a new habit I think.
So in summary, I'm not early retired but I am taking more control over my time. Balance and compromise would be how I would summarise it. I don't miss the more high powered roles that I used to do and I think I am slowly weaning myself off the need for a positive perception in the eyes of others. I don't have a great revelatory story to tell about the past year but I can say that I am happier than I was (and indeed happy on an absolute
Life is good!
Finances
In line with Jacob's suggestion of Oct 2014 of setting up a dry run.
Cashflow (dividends + interest) was approx 4.5% of current assets.
Actual expenditure (Jul 15 to Jul 16) has been 1.7% of current assets.
Work
I am still in the same role, working from home on average 3-4 days a week.
I have slightly mixed feelings about continuing to work, on the one hand it's comfortable and relatively easy - I could never have another job that provides me so much autonomy, decent pay and flexible working conditions. On the other hand it is still an obligation. On balance I think that I am happy to continue given the current workload etc but I am monitoring this.
Family
Linked to above, my flexible job allows me a great amount of time with my family. I don't think I want to be a 100% stay at home parent (being sole care giver is hard work done 7 days a week!), so combined with my work situation I feel like this is a best of both worlds situation.
Diet/Exercise
I adopted a healthier eating regime in an effort to complement my running. There has been a bit of backsliding over the past couple of weeks, partly due to being on holiday. I'm not obsessive about this but I would like to get back to the better habits that I had.
Other
I waste too much time on video games (eg hearthstone) - need to cut this out and put the time to better use. I have stopped reading books - time to try to ingrain a new habit I think.
So in summary, I'm not early retired but I am taking more control over my time. Balance and compromise would be how I would summarise it. I don't miss the more high powered roles that I used to do and I think I am slowly weaning myself off the need for a positive perception in the eyes of others. I don't have a great revelatory story to tell about the past year but I can say that I am happier than I was (and indeed happy on an absolute
Life is good!
Re: pd22's journal
Hi all,
Coming to the end of the year now - that went fast!
Things are in a good place.
I'm still working but with a huge amount of flexibility. One of the main things I've taken away from this is how much commuting is a negative life experience. Avoiding it is huge, both in terms of time and mental and physical effort saved. I can normally do everything I need in 20-30 hours a week of work.
This arrangement has led to me be able to spend a lot of time with the kids. Per my last post I'm even more convinced of the need for balance. Just enough work to stay engaged but also lots of time for the family (and also for myself which I think is another important aspect of balance).
My line of work has a discretionary bonus culture. I felt that they were actually quite fair this year. However despite not needing the money that still proves a mental irritant. You do the work in advance and then need to hope you get rewarded "appropriately". Ironically it can be demotivating as the more success you have the more time you want to spend advertising it rather than getting on with the job. The firm I work at is open to discussing a more formulaic approach, that is a goal for early next year - resolve this and remove a further potential stressor.
I'm managing to keep up with my running and am decently on track with training for a marathon in April next year. Regular exercise is amazing - especially during daylight! Goes hand in hand with escaping the office obligations - flexible working rocks! Knowing I can't stick to a healthy diet for long I plan to get serious about diet in the 2 month lead up to the marathon - losing a little weight is a good cheat's way of running faster!
I'm getting interested in trying to move towards more self-knowledge. Am currently reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - interesting concepts and resonant with what I have observed in my own behaviour and others in my line of work.
Financially we're running at around a 1.6-1.7% withdrawal rate. Although my current job means we don't rely on the portfolio it's clearly well within any reasonable SWR. Interestingly I'm still not sure how i'd feel completely relying on the portfolio despite the obvious cushion there - but I suspect that is something that you quickly adjust to when it becomes your everyday reality.
(Obvious) Conclusions:
- TIme is precious
- Balance is necessary (for me roughly 1/4 sleep, 1/4 self, 1/4 family, 1/4 work)
- Commuting is not work - it's just a waste of time and energy
- Ideal work combines autonomy and transparency
- Exercise! It really does make everything feel easier!
- Enjoy your family, make memories - it changes everyday even if that sometimes gets lost in the daily grind
Thanks for reading - happy new year to all!
Coming to the end of the year now - that went fast!
Things are in a good place.
I'm still working but with a huge amount of flexibility. One of the main things I've taken away from this is how much commuting is a negative life experience. Avoiding it is huge, both in terms of time and mental and physical effort saved. I can normally do everything I need in 20-30 hours a week of work.
This arrangement has led to me be able to spend a lot of time with the kids. Per my last post I'm even more convinced of the need for balance. Just enough work to stay engaged but also lots of time for the family (and also for myself which I think is another important aspect of balance).
My line of work has a discretionary bonus culture. I felt that they were actually quite fair this year. However despite not needing the money that still proves a mental irritant. You do the work in advance and then need to hope you get rewarded "appropriately". Ironically it can be demotivating as the more success you have the more time you want to spend advertising it rather than getting on with the job. The firm I work at is open to discussing a more formulaic approach, that is a goal for early next year - resolve this and remove a further potential stressor.
I'm managing to keep up with my running and am decently on track with training for a marathon in April next year. Regular exercise is amazing - especially during daylight! Goes hand in hand with escaping the office obligations - flexible working rocks! Knowing I can't stick to a healthy diet for long I plan to get serious about diet in the 2 month lead up to the marathon - losing a little weight is a good cheat's way of running faster!
I'm getting interested in trying to move towards more self-knowledge. Am currently reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - interesting concepts and resonant with what I have observed in my own behaviour and others in my line of work.
Financially we're running at around a 1.6-1.7% withdrawal rate. Although my current job means we don't rely on the portfolio it's clearly well within any reasonable SWR. Interestingly I'm still not sure how i'd feel completely relying on the portfolio despite the obvious cushion there - but I suspect that is something that you quickly adjust to when it becomes your everyday reality.
(Obvious) Conclusions:
- TIme is precious
- Balance is necessary (for me roughly 1/4 sleep, 1/4 self, 1/4 family, 1/4 work)
- Commuting is not work - it's just a waste of time and energy
- Ideal work combines autonomy and transparency
- Exercise! It really does make everything feel easier!
- Enjoy your family, make memories - it changes everyday even if that sometimes gets lost in the daily grind
Thanks for reading - happy new year to all!