General Economic chit chat/updates.

[D Griff]

I also feel like knowing when to draw the line on things is important, those who chase the absolute highest pay may wind up miserable.

Since my boss left a few people have suggested I apply for his gig… but the politics of it, the difficult people/teams he had to manage, scrutiny from executives…. It’s all a no from me, I know why he left in the first place and it’s not worth an extra $50k.

[golftdibrad1]

Working in theory is at least productive. Commuting is generally not.

All relative. If real estate costs 2x what it does for a 1 hr commute how do you pick what’s better ? You either give up life in the car or get a worse standard of living

and this is how real estate works

[razr390]

The thing is, you need to do something to survive. If it’s something that is interesting/fun, even if it’s not a passion project that is a bonus. In an ideal world we could all be Wall E obese and never doing shit but consuming; people value different things but yeah, time is not valuable for the sake of time itself. (As in I have X more hours than you). It’s valuable for what you do with it when you have it. And it’s not always about having fun doing a hobby, it’s about securing your own future, your family’s etc etc. different strokes for diff folks

[Valkyrie]

I am beginning to realize this is the spread. I just went on vacation with someone who took early retirement from an unknown telecom company @ age 50 because sounds good. After 5 days I wanted to to shoot X in the face. Such doldrums, much boring, WOW. If you have game, retire. If you do not have retirement game, DO NOT RETIRE. I have no retirement game at this time. My jerb allows me something between 100% and fired. This is the way, if you can do it. I understand that working for the man is oppressive. If you can find a way to negotiate somewhere between that and sitting on your ass, DO EIT. Russian Vodka Bar. Kauai. Let me know.

if you have a lot you’d like to do and the resources to do it, cool. If you’re retiring but have to just kind of sit around being cheap to make it last, meh.

There’s something out there for everyone that at least provides opportunity for some interesting experiences, challenges, and life balance. You have to find it and it sucks some days, but everything sucks some days, just have to make the most of it and try to make it mostly not suck.

When I was in inside sales going to the office everyday and being prodded by management about call volume, having my calls listened in on and getting feedback, working with other cucks, yeah that job blew ass but I was able to learn and grow into something better. Most of the jobs I’ve had have been legitimately interesting to me and sometimes even enjoyable.

I'm just bitter that everyone else has more hours than I do and thus part time jobs are not a thing outside of entry level retail/food service in this country. I physically can't do a full time job, period.

[golftdibrad1]

In an ideal world we could all be Wall E obese and never doing shit but consuming;

see my post about the universe 25 experiment in OT that refutes this notion of an ideal world. Very interesting stuff

[wap]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

[razr390]

if you have a lot you’d like to do and the resources to do it, cool. If you’re retiring but have to just kind of sit around being cheap to make it last, meh.

There’s something out there for everyone that at least provides opportunity for some interesting experiences, challenges, and life balance. You have to find it and it sucks some days, but everything sucks some days, just have to make the most of it and try to make it mostly not suck.

When I was in inside sales going to the office everyday and being prodded by management about call volume, having my calls listened in on and getting feedback, working with other cucks, yeah that job blew ass but I was able to learn and grow into something better. Most of the jobs I’ve had have been legitimately interesting to me and sometimes even enjoyable.

I'm just bitter that everyone else has more hours than I do and thus part time jobs are not a thing outside of entry level retail/food service in this country. I physically can't do a full time job, period.

Not trying to be a dick but what is the physical limitation? Is it a diagnosis? Is it something that cannot be accommodated under ADA?

[SAWCE]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

Curious what you mean by downward arc at work doe.. energy/desire to keep performing, or actually being shoved off into less important roles by your employer?

[razr390]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

You sound like the type of person who would be miserable being at home doing nothing but “being retired”

I’d recommend once you do formally retire from your current company, you start up your own business/LLC doing consulting for shit that you did your entire career. Work at your own pace with no pressure to make $ due to the retirement you have, but continue to keep yourself busy as-needed.

[Valkyrie]

I'm just bitter that everyone else has more hours than I do and thus part time jobs are not a thing outside of entry level retail/food service in this country. I physically can't do a full time job, period.

Not trying to be a dick but what is the physical limitation? Is it a diagnosis? Is it something that cannot be accommodated under ADA?

Nobody's figured it out yet, but I take 12-16 hours in bed to get the same amount of rest a normal person gets in 6-8. Normally I just live as a grumpy zombie on 6-8 hours because the world expects folks to be awake doing stuff all day, so I have aged at a crazy rate mentally and physically over the past few decades.

The doctors so far just say that I'm lazy. Now that I am back to having no insurance, any further attempts to get help will have to wait.

[SAWCE]

It would be interesting to spend a week or two in Val’s body to see what you experience compared to what I’m used to in mine.

[razr390]

Not trying to be a dick but what is the physical limitation? Is it a diagnosis? Is it something that cannot be accommodated under ADA?

Nobody's figured it out yet, but I take 12-16 hours in bed to get the same amount of rest a normal person gets in 6-8. Normally I just live as a grumpy zombie on 6-8 hours because the world expects folks to be awake doing stuff all day, so I have aged at a crazy rate mentally and physically over the past few decades.

The doctors so far just say that I'm lazy. Now that I am back to having no insurance, any further attempts to get help will have to wait.

If you are chronically lethargic that might be due to depression/anxiety as well.

You’re a pretty tech savvy gal* (thanks SAWCE*) why don’t you look into making your own company with the state and you do freelance tech work/etc. worth a shot??

[SAWCE]

Nobody's figured it out yet, but I take 12-16 hours in bed to get the same amount of rest a normal person gets in 6-8. Normally I just live as a grumpy zombie on 6-8 hours because the world expects folks to be awake doing stuff all day, so I have aged at a crazy rate mentally and physically over the past few decades.

The doctors so far just say that I'm lazy. Now that I am back to having no insurance, any further attempts to get help will have to wait.

If you are chronically lethargic that might be due to depression/anxiety as well.

You’re a pretty tech savvy gal, why don’t you look into making your own company with the state and you do freelance tech work/etc. worth a shot??

:ftfy:

[wap]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

Curious what you mean by downward arc at work doe.. energy/desire to keep performing, or actually being shoved off into less important roles by your employer?

Well, let's see. Here are a few highlights:

-I used to be part of bossbro's inner circle. He'd routinely ask for my opinion about work-related shit, share funny stories, emails, etc, come to my office to at the end of the day, etc.
-Now, his posse is younger, including a couple of newer outside hires with waaay less company experience than me but more outside experience.
-For the last year I've been working at this remote office 3 days/week so I rarely see or communicate with him.
-3 times in the past couple years I've been given additional responsibility with zero pay upgrade.
-I used to be involved in weekly strategy meetings about materials purchasing, my deep, 30 year knowledge about our products, services, and customer usage being particularly helpful, but I've been uninvited to them through the end of the year.
-Some inventory management tasks I used to do are now being done by aforementioned newer hires.
-We're months in to transitioning over to a new ERP system with several training sessions per week. I have not been invited to any of them.
-Decreasing, shitty raises the past 2-3 years. IE, the same flat dollar amount each year which translates to smaller %-ages.

Etc.

All in all, it's not terrible here. I am pretty much left alone, have 5 weeks vacation plus 1 week of sick time, can come in late/leave early as needed without getting , etc. I also genuinely like most of my coworkers, which is .

[wap]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

You sound like the type of person who would be miserable being at home doing nothing but “being retired”

I’d recommend once you do formally retire from your current company, you start up your own business/LLC doing consulting for shit that you did your entire career. Work at your own pace with no pressure to make $ due to the retirement you have, but continue to keep yourself busy as-needed.

Definitely not interested in starting a business. If anything, I'd rather work part time at a local hardware store or some such jerb. But I think I could find plenty to keep me busy day to day. I'm kind of a lazy fuck at heart, but I also like to do various projects around the house. And living in a that is over 117 years old, there is no shortage of them, lol.

[SAWCE]

Curious what you mean by downward arc at work doe.. energy/desire to keep performing, or actually being shoved off into less important roles by your employer?

Well, let's see. Here are a few highlights:

-I used to be part of bossbro's inner circle. He'd routinely ask for my opinion about work-related shit, share funny stories, emails, etc, come to my office to at the end of the day, etc.
-Now, his posse is younger, including a couple of newer outside hires with waaay less company experience than me but more outside experience.
-For the last year I've been working at this remote office 3 days/week so I rarely see or communicate with him.
-3 times in the past couple years I've been given additional responsibility with zero pay upgrade.
-I used to be involved in weekly strategy meetings about materials purchasing, my deep, 30 year knowledge about our products, services, and customer usage being particularly helpful, but I've been uninvited to them through the end of the year.
-Some inventory management tasks I used to do are now being done by aforementioned newer hires.
-We're months in to transitioning over to a new ERP system with several training sessions per week. I have not been invited to any of them.
-Decreasing, shitty raises the past 2-3 years. IE, the same flat dollar amount each year which translates to smaller %-ages.

Etc.

All in all, it's not terrible here. I am pretty much left alone, have 5 weeks vacation plus 1 week of sick time, can come in late/leave early as needed without getting , etc. I also genuinely like most of my coworkers, which is .

Ah yeah that’s shitty for sure.

[Valkyrie]

Nobody's figured it out yet, but I take 12-16 hours in bed to get the same amount of rest a normal person gets in 6-8. Normally I just live as a grumpy zombie on 6-8 hours because the world expects folks to be awake doing stuff all day, so I have aged at a crazy rate mentally and physically over the past few decades.

The doctors so far just say that I'm lazy. Now that I am back to having no insurance, any further attempts to get help will have to wait.

If you are chronically lethargic that might be due to depression/anxiety as well.

You’re a pretty tech savvy guy, why don’t you look into making your own company with the state and you do freelance tech work/etc. worth a shot??

I'm 90% sure by now that the anxiety/depression causes the lack of (quality) sleep which causes the other physical issues. One of these years I'll find someone who figures it out.

Don't worry, be happy. Sounds simple.

The whole DIY/freelance route is one that I tried for some years. Turns out it's at least as much work as a regular full-time job, usually more. Kind of like with music stuff now: A "4 hour" show typically requires 8 hours that day plus however many hours of practice/rehearsal/marketing/booking. There's no free lunch.

I've got ideas for some music education stuff that might turn into something but that's all 5+ years out. 20+ years if I have to work a regular full-time job at the same time as trying to develop it.

[Desertbreh]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

You don't have to sit too long with your financial guy to run the math on you and the Mrs. monthly financial burn rate. Add on to that the amount of money each month you need to have fun/be free. I assume for you that means travel, yes?

Next up, I assume your wife has quit working for good? What happens when Ron and the wifepiece are looking at each over ham sandwiches at lunch every day? Is that good or bad? If it's bad, you need a part time gig, preferably one with some subsidized health care. Or she does. Or both of you do. Going to be honest with you, I'm with my wife all the time but it is with the backdrop of work, chores, or vacation from the same. I don't think we're ready for 24/7/365 ham sandwiches bro.

[Valkyrie]

I find it that some people can't come up with anything to do with their time besides work. The lack of inspiration/satisfaction in anything besides getting money is fascinating.

[wap]

Man, retirement talk. The Big "R" has been looming LARGE in my thoughts the last few months. I know I'm closer than most (all?) here to hanging up the oar for good, but I'm still not quite sure how I'll know when it's "time". Those days where I think maybe in another year or 2 are starting to way outnumber those days where I think I can go 5-8 more years as I watch my once-rising star slowly sink toward the horizon at work. After 30+ years here I'm now definitely convinced that I'm on a downward arc here, career wise. It's inevitable, I guess, but I confess to being a bit surprised at how quickly it's happening. wap:
I have to sit down with our financial guy and have a serious convo regarding my financial situation. Probably do that next year then .

You don't have to sit too long with your financial guy to run the math on you and the Mrs. monthly financial burn rate. Add on to that the amount of money each month you need to have fun/be free. I assume for you that means travel, yes?

Next up, I assume your wife has quit working for good? What happens when Ron and the wifepiece are looking at each over ham sandwiches at lunch every day? Is that good or bad? If it's bad, you need a part time gig, preferably one with some subsidized health care. Or she does. Or both of you do. Going to be honest with you, I'm with my wife all the time but it is with the backdrop of work, chores, or vacation from the same. I don't think we're ready for 24/7/365 ham sandwiches bro.

Financial dood manages most of our investments outside of our 401k's, and he doesn't charge for advice so why not have a sit-down? I've never put together a spreadsheet of monthly expenses. I suppose I should start, but I'm exactly what that spreadsheet should look like. Open to suggestions from the collective DFD mind on this. Roughly, I know that we survive just fine on my take-home pay so that's what we'd most likely aim for to retire on.

Most definitely on the bolded.

Wifepiece is passively looking for work. Thing is, she hates lawyering but that's the only thing she's qualified to do. She's recently done a few things here and there which she's enjoyed, but there hasn't been much money in it. She'd like to work for a nonprofit of some sort, ideally close to home for short commute reasons. She's earned the right to be selective in her search, IMO, so it'll be what it'll be. I just hope/want her to find something with health care, which is probably the single biggest hindrance to retiring early-ish. 'Murica...

We have shared interests and plenty of our own shit to keep us busy and out of each other's hair day to day, I believe. Won't know for sure until the time comes,

[wap]

I find it that some people can't come up with anything to do with their time besides work. The lack of inspiration/satisfaction in anything besides getting money is fascinating.

My FIL retired about 8 years ago and he's maybe the happiest person I know. Every day he walks, gardens, naps, watches sports on TV, does various projects around the house, gardens for his neighbor, keeps in touch with his family, does some traveling, etc,. and he couldn't be happier. Simple pleasures are all he needs. I want a retirement like his, but earlier, lol.

[MrH42]

You don't have to sit too long with your financial guy to run the math on you and the Mrs. monthly financial burn rate. Add on to that the amount of money each month you need to have fun/be free. I assume for you that means travel, yes?

Next up, I assume your wife has quit working for good? What happens when Ron and the wifepiece are looking at each over ham sandwiches at lunch every day? Is that good or bad? If it's bad, you need a part time gig, preferably one with some subsidized health care. Or she does. Or both of you do. Going to be honest with you, I'm with my wife all the time but it is with the backdrop of work, chores, or vacation from the same. I don't think we're ready for 24/7/365 ham sandwiches bro.

Financial dood manages most of our investments outside of our 401k's, and he doesn't charge for advice so why not have a sit-down? I've never put together a spreadsheet of monthly expenses. I suppose I should start, but I'm exactly what that spreadsheet should look like. Open to suggestions from the collective DFD mind on this. Roughly, I know that we survive just fine on my take-home pay so that's what we'd most likely aim for to retire on.

Most definitely on the bolded.

Wifepiece is passively looking for work. Thing is, she hates lawyering but that's the only thing she's qualified to do. She's recently done a few things here and there which she's enjoyed, but there hasn't been much money in it. She'd like to work for a nonprofit of some sort, ideally close to home for short commute reasons. She's earned the right to be selective in her search, IMO, so it'll be what it'll be. I just hope/want her to find something with health care, which is probably the single biggest hindrance to retiring early-ish. 'Murica...

We have shared interests and plenty of our own shit to keep us busy and out of each other's hair day to day, I believe. Won't know for sure until the time comes,

Just look at the past few months of expenses. Assume a 2.5%-3.0% annual withdrawal rate and see if it lines up or exceed what you're spending.

[MrH42]

If you are chronically lethargic that might be due to depression/anxiety as well.

You’re a pretty tech savvy guy, why don’t you look into making your own company with the state and you do freelance tech work/etc. worth a shot??

I'm 90% sure by now that the anxiety/depression causes the lack of (quality) sleep which causes the other physical issues. One of these years I'll find someone who figures it out.

Don't worry, be happy. Sounds simple.

The whole DIY/freelance route is one that I tried for some years. Turns out it's at least as much work as a regular full-time job, usually more. Kind of like with music stuff now: A "4 hour" show typically requires 8 hours that day plus however many hours of practice/rehearsal/marketing/booking. There's no free lunch.

I've got ideas for some music education stuff that might turn into something but that's all 5+ years out. 20+ years if I have to work a regular full-time job at the same time as trying to develop it.

Not sure if you’re already going, but from an outsiders perspective, sounds like you need a psychiatrist.

[max225]

You don't have to sit too long with your financial guy to run the math on you and the Mrs. monthly financial burn rate. Add on to that the amount of money each month you need to have fun/be free. I assume for you that means travel, yes?

Next up, I assume your wife has quit working for good? What happens when Ron and the wifepiece are looking at each over ham sandwiches at lunch every day? Is that good or bad? If it's bad, you need a part time gig, preferably one with some subsidized health care. Or she does. Or both of you do. Going to be honest with you, I'm with my wife all the time but it is with the backdrop of work, chores, or vacation from the same. I don't think we're ready for 24/7/365 ham sandwiches bro.

Financial dood manages most of our investments outside of our 401k's, and he doesn't charge for advice so why not have a sit-down? I've never put together a spreadsheet of monthly expenses. I suppose I should start, but I'm exactly what that spreadsheet should look like. Open to suggestions from the collective DFD mind on this. Roughly, I know that we survive just fine on my take-home pay so that's what we'd most likely aim for to retire on.

Most definitely on the bolded.

Wifepiece is passively looking for work. Thing is, she hates lawyering but that's the only thing she's qualified to do. She's recently done a few things here and there which she's enjoyed, but there hasn't been much money in it. She'd like to work for a nonprofit of some sort, ideally close to home for short commute reasons. She's earned the right to be selective in her search, IMO, so it'll be what it'll be. I just hope/want her to find something with health care, which is probably the single biggest hindrance to retiring early-ish. 'Murica...

We have shared interests and plenty of our own shit to keep us busy and out of each other's hair day to day, I believe. Won't know for sure until the time comes,

So how does he get paid if he doesn't "Charge you" anything ? these cocksuckers usually take a 1-3% fee annually from all your investments. It's buried in the financial products that they "sell" to you.

[Desertbreh]

Financial dood manages most of our investments outside of our 401k's, and he doesn't charge for advice so why not have a sit-down? I've never put together a spreadsheet of monthly expenses. I suppose I should start, but I'm exactly what that spreadsheet should look like. Open to suggestions from the collective DFD mind on this. Roughly, I know that we survive just fine on my take-home pay so that's what we'd most likely aim for to retire on.

Most definitely on the bolded.

Wifepiece is passively looking for work. Thing is, she hates lawyering but that's the only thing she's qualified to do. She's recently done a few things here and there which she's enjoyed, but there hasn't been much money in it. She'd like to work for a nonprofit of some sort, ideally close to home for short commute reasons. She's earned the right to be selective in her search, IMO, so it'll be what it'll be. I just hope/want her to find something with health care, which is probably the single biggest hindrance to retiring early-ish. 'Murica...

We have shared interests and plenty of our own shit to keep us busy and out of each other's hair day to day, I believe. Won't know for sure until the time comes,

So how does he get paid if he doesn't "Charge you" anything ? these cocksuckers usually take a 1-3% fee annually from all your investments. It's buried in the financial products that they "sell" to you.

Man you've been salty lately.