Another one bites the dust

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:49 am

http://lackingambition.com/
I'm happy for everyone. I truly am. But I feel out of step or something--yesterday was my LAST day of work.

Hoplite · Post by **Hoplite** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:05 am

jennypenny,

Congratulations on your last day of work! I'm sincerely happy for you; reading that makes my day. And now welcome to the world of being out of step; it takes getting used to, but it's well worth it! I once tried to explain to a permanently employed friend what it's like to be outside, not really knowing what I would be doing next month or how much money I might bring in. The only response he could muster is "How can you stand it?!" Easy, I say, given the alternatives.

I read MikeBOS's entry, and it really shows the benefit of being independent. You can choose what to do with a genuine cost benefit analysis, even if the benefit is not having to shave too often or not having to wear a tie

Again, warmest regards to you in your new freedom!

mikeBOS · Post by **mikeBOS** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:12 am

@jennypenny congrats on quitting work. As I said in my post, I haven't worked for over 2 years so it's all new to me again. I'll be back on the wagon with you (unemployed, that is) in another 12-18 months. I was just given an opportunity for an easy gig, and I want some extra cash to buy up a few more houses, so I went for it

BPA · Post by **BPA** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:22 pm

Congratulations, Jenny! Very exciting. Just remember: we all need to forge our own journey in life. Sounds like you've made the right decision for you.

palmera · Post by **palmera** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 7:31 pm

jennypenny congrats!
and congrats to MikeBOS.
listen, MikeBOS demonstrates the beauty of FI/FIRE/ERE, and why I am working my butt off to achieve it. Mike had the FREEDOM and the flexibility to fall into this opportunity. He's not desperate (as with dating, employers can smell and be repelled by desperation), he wasn't worried about his electricity being cut off, or where is next meal is coming from. This gave him the flexibility of DECIDING if/when/how he should work, based on his exact needs (night hours, minimal responsibility, health insurance, etc).
Plus, he won't have to resort to debt to finance his growing real-estate business.
Now THAT is what ERE is all about

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:50 pm

I'm happy for Mike and everyone here who's doing exactly what they want to be doing (or moving toward that goal).
And thanks for the congrats on quitting. It's the second time I've stopped working (the first time was when I had my son because he was sick). I went back to work thinking it was what I was supposed to do. It started as part time but by last year it was 3-4 full days per week, plus a ton of emails and phone calls 24/7. Add that to the editing jobs I take (because I like those) and raising the kids by myself most of the time (DH in DC mon-fri), and I was burned out. I told work at the end of last school year that I was leaving but they never got anyone to replace me. I kept cutting back my hours this year, but it became clear that they wouldn't replace me as long as I was there. So I'm not going back. They are arguing that they'll have to shut the program down (which would be a shame after building it into a huge success) but I'm not caving in. They've had almost 6 months to find someone. I'm tapping out.
I thought I'd be elated, but I was very quiet when I got home that day. Not sad, maybe nervous? I think that's how I knew this was for real this time. Of course, 2 hours after leaving my DH called to say he'd been in a car accident. He's fine and home now, but it reminded me of my priorities.
FYI...DH is not quitting. There are things that he wants to pay for that I don't, so he is working to pay for those. He is ok with it.

Dragline · Post by **Dragline** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:00 pm

Congratulations, J! Just in time for the holidays!

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:15 pm

Thanks Dragline. Miss you around here.

FrugalZen · Post by **FrugalZen** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 12:21 am

Congrats Jennypenny!
Its nice to be able to follow "retirement" in whatever fashion you wish to do so.

pooablo · Post by **pooablo** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 2:19 am

Everyone has said it already! But I might as well chime in. Congratulations!

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sun Dec 25, 2011 2:36 am

Congratulations jennypenny! The more people actually reach FI/RE the better!
MikeBOS: Will you keep updating your blog? I really enjoyed some of the more philosophical posts and it would be a loss for the ERE world if you stopped posting for 12-18 months...

mikeBOS · Post by **mikeBOS** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:24 am

Of course wanderer. When I started writing the blog four years ago I was working full time as a utility lineman plus was finishing my Bachelor's full-time and still found time to write.
Heck, if anything with this new job I'll be writing more. It's basically a mandatory 32 hours/week of solitary quiet time. I've slowed a bit because exams have been taking up a lot of time the past month or so. But they just finished up, so I'm in intellectual recovery mode right now which means lots of light reading and movie-watching for a few days.
Of course, the bar exam coming up in July doesn't help anything...

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:47 pm

So, work just called. She said "aren't you coming in at all anymore?". I said no, I gave notice several times and said I was done as of Christmas. She said "but we haven't replaced you yet"
I have to admit I was a little nervous about our new budget these last 2 weeks but that phone call reminded me why I needed to get out of there.

Mirwen · Post by **Mirwen** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 9:18 pm

Sweet,

Congrats Jenny. I must have missed this post the first time around.

C40 · Post by **C40** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:57 am

Congrats Jenny. Awesome!!

DutchGirl · Post by **DutchGirl** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 12:38 pm

Well done, Jenny. They will probably step up their search for a replacement now, and that's ok. It is not your problem anymore. Congratulations on your independence&freedom!

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 12:33 am

Well, heard from work again. They are scrapping the program. Four years of work up in smoke. The program had over $1M in gross revenues and almost $100K net for the school. I'm so sad. It feels like it was all for nothing. They'd rather sit around waiting for handouts then hustle for the money (I was the only one working most of the time and managed to bring in that much--not that hard!!)
Glad I'm in the jennypenny business now.

Debbie M · Post by **Debbie M** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:30 am

Aw, that really stinks. They did get that money while you were there, though. And this is just another one of their bad decisions. You've got a much better boss now!