Work assignment in Delaware - chance to fast track ere

[zork97]

I will try to answer your question and add some updates as well.

I continue to work at my reg day job. If I do this for 2 years then I approximately will have 4+ years of living expenses after I stop . All this while my invested capital in the market remains untouched. In 6 years I expect the corpus to have doubled or thereabouts.

If at that point I have no job, I will probably dip in to my investments to fund our(with DW) living .

What I have realised in the last one year especially in the last 3 months is that I do not and cannot enjoy absolute leisure and I am pretty sure I will be doing something part time in india and that can cover at least 50% of my living expenses if not more.

However , getting to the FI point was all about creating choices and now that I have the choice, I am fancying quitting my job in next 6 months and moving to Germany on a work seeker visa. The newness of the country will keep me working for at least a couple of years during which I intend to travel the countries in the European union on the cheap.

Until now, my employer has been moving me across continents , this will be the first time I will be moving on my own.

I have also opened up a dialogue with my managers to move me back to united states...have to wait and watch how that turns out before taking the germany route on my own.

In about 3 months I will(should) know if I am continuing here in buenos Aires, move back to the US or go to Germany .

My spouse will continue working here and accumulate her own stash until next year before following me.

[wolf]

Where would you like to go to Germany? There are many jobs available, because the economy is pretty good right now. Housing is a problem though. It gets more expensive each months. If you could earn a decent salary you will be able to live pretty good in each city.
Numbeo could help you prepare for that: https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/ ... region=155

[Seppia]

What a remarkable story, big congrats!

I’m wondering how Jacob feels when reading these types of posts.
It is pretty clear he’s impacting people’s lives in a very positive way, but this thread is so amazing in its simplicity/shortness that left me breathless.

[zork97]

@wolf
I am in financial services sector and looking to go to Berlin as I understand its more relaxed compared to Munich and Frankfurt. My research also suggests rents are going to be a challenge. I intend to start with a room share arrangement to buy time before scouting out for an independent apartment.
In Delaware, my balcony used to oversee 80 year old trees and a golf course. I am a sucker for nature and would like to find a similar place in the suburbs rather than living in the heart of the city ( like I do now ). Thanks for the link!

@Seppia

Thanks for your kind words. Honestly, if I had not discovered Jacob a decade ago I would either be a nervous wreck or a stressed out entrepreneur. Maybe for good or not, can't say but surely the trajectory of my life would be very different.

The thousands of small decisions I have made over the years are a result of paradigm shift in thinking about money, frugality and life more from a philosophical perspective rather than tactical benefits. I completely absorbed the framework from ERE book. Over the course of time, I have also derived motivation from the blog discussions here and at MMM's. Lately I have been addicted to "Afford anything" and "Choose FI" podcasts.

[LiberateMind]

@zork97,

I continue to work at my reg day job. If I do this for 2 years then I approximately will have 4+ years of living expenses after I stop . All this while my invested capital in the market remains untouched. In 6 years I expect the corpus to have doubled or thereabouts.

If at that point I have no job, I will probably dip in to my investments to fund our(with DW) living .

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Looks like a solid plan.

Congrats!! Quiet inspirational.

[Lemur]

What a remarkable story, big congrats!

I’m wondering how Jacob feels when reading these types of posts.
It is pretty clear he’s impacting people’s lives in a very positive way, but this thread is so amazing in its simplicity/shortness that left me breathless.

Seppia I feel the same way after realizing the OP has <30 posts and this thread was started Jan 19, 2014. Very cool!

[zork97]

Alright, I did not make it to Germany as continuing in my field of work started to feel like a drag. So I put in my resignation earlier this month and Tuesday (31st march ) is my last day!

Despite seeing my investments getting hammered in the last few days I am still getting out feeling good as I was mentally prepared for a 30 % drop.

My original plan was to travel a bit to celebrate but the COVID situation will not allow that. As part of my post work transition I have been writing a journal , exercising, doing yoga and meditating regularly. I opened a goodreads account and have a personal target of reading 25 books this year. I also intend to play old computer games from year 2000 on wards.

As I provide this update, the countdown app in my android phone says I have 1 day 21 hrs 12 mins left to my RE .

[sky]

Congrats! What type of work did you do?

[wolf]

Congrats!
How do you mitigate against sequence of return risk?

[2Birds1Stone]

Congrats!!!

Sounds like he hit FI years ago with a paid off house back home in India. Overshot of accumulation phase? And likely PT work that will cover a portion of expenses from an older post.

[zork97]

@Sky - Thanks! I worked in financial services for a large US Investment Bank.

@Wolf - Thank you! As 2birds1stone mentioned I had reached FI more than a year ago and I was in a one more year syndrome mode for a while. So
the extra stash should help negate the sequence of returns risk to an extent. After reaching FI,I have come to realize that at some point in future I am going to be involved in some paid part time gig which should also help.

@2birds1stone - Thanks for chiming in!

The countdown now says I have 0 days 18 hours 4 mins to FI. I am going to bed now fully aware that tomorrow is the last day i "have to " work for the man!

[2Birds1Stone]

Huge Congratulations! What are your immediate plans now thet you're free?

[Gilberto de Piento]

Wow, congratulations! Great work meeting your goals.

[zork97]

Hello all, Back here after 3 years. I wanted to make a long pending update to this thread. I visit this thread frequently to see where I have come from as these updates are few and in between. This thread is more of a macro summary of the years while I do have an online Journal to pen my daily thoughts and ramblings. I thank my therapist and a dude on the internet ( @david_perell on twitter) who got me in to writing and journaling.

Now for the actual updates.... I have not had a regular job since I quit my job in March 2020. Since then here are some of the things I have done with focus, intent, energy and time.

Read about 24 books in a year
Drank beer at 11 am on a Tuesday afternoon just because I could
Walked all over the city of Buenos Aires
Experimented with cooking
Played a lot of computer games. Replayed some of my old favorites
Exercised and got fitter
Started to Journal to have mental clarity

Moved back to India in 2021 and did more things

Learning Argentinian Tango
Learning free skates ( not regular skates, google it )
Learning to Swim better
Continued practicing my Spanish
Spent time learning python, started to use Linux and eventually looking to learn cybersecurity
Got a personal trainer and working to get fitter
Travelled by a motorbike, car, rail and air to various places to India and enjoyed stimulants ( coffee or alcohol) in mountains, beaches, jungles and deserts

On the work front...

3 months after quitting my job (July 2020) while I was browsing through the investments thread in ERE forums, I came across a few people who were using financial derivates to hedge their investments or make money. I got curious and started going down the rabbit hole and in to the world of derivatives trading. I put about an year learning all about it, did paper trading for about 6 months and then started to trade with my own money in the Indian capital markets.

Apparently less than 10% of active traders make money in derivatives space and most do not last 24 months in the markets but I had to take a chance because becoming a derivatives trader satisfied the 4 criteria I had in choosing my next vocation...

1) A challenging long term project which would last at least a decade
2) Scalable to allow me to go as big or as small as I want
3) Flexible to allow me to work from multiple geographical locations
4) Working away from office politics

I am happy to report I am still here after 15 months and able to generate regular income. I mostly trade index options with Iron condors generating about 2.5 % ROI per month and it funds my living expenses and then some. All this while my investments remain untouched.

I feel an immense sense of gratitude towards the forces above that I am able to live the life I have. Pursuing ERE was by far one of the best decisions of my life which made all of this possible.