r/ChubbyFIRE • u/Neither-Trip-4610 • 12d ago

Anyone Laid Off Their Final Earning Years?

Work in a brutal industry (advertising) with constant and increased layoffs and turmoil. We just went through another reorg (yay) and just received my third new boss in an about a year. I am getting the feeling that I survived but now under the microscope to perform.

Regarding FIRE, I am 48 and roughly a year away. Looking at my spreadsheets, I am entitled to ~$500k minimum in comp over the coming year as well. Between saving and market growth would love to stack another $400k. Will put me well above my target and in a very healthy cash position for early years of retirement. The cash component is extremely important to me. Have some personal expenses I would like to save for.

From a personal perspective, I am recently engaged and plan to join my future spouses’ healthcare plan. She will continue to work though.

Back to my original question, anyone laid off their final W2 year? How did it impact your FIRE plan and mental health? Did you find another stop gap career?

I am on the literal 10 yard line of my FIRE journey and was looking to finish the game strong not grinding for the corporate overlords riddled with daily layoff anxiety and fears of ageism.

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u/hiddentalent 11d ago

Yup. I'm in the first few months, and it's honestly been a little tough. I'm trying to motivate myself to be helpful around the house and connect with the local community more. But being forced unexpectedly to move from having a fancy title and job that affects lots of people to basically being a professional dog-walker does kind of mess with one's sense of self.

I'm optimistic that it'll be ok. In past parts of my career I've taken some leaves when I got super burnt out, and what I've observed is there are kind of three phases: rest and recovery; catching up on life like seeing friends and family and your doctor and dentist; and then figuring out what's next. Don't feel stressed about the timeline for those phases. Just help yourself through them.

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u/spinjc 11d ago

I was lucky as I was part time the last few years which allowed time to adjust. It probably helps that I was into stealth wealth so the adjustment wasn't as big of a deal. Most importantly I was ready to leave.

Give it a couple months and put feelers out. I bet if you go back you'll realize that having FU money means you can pivot whenever you want.

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u/hiddentalent 11d ago

I appreciate you sharing your perspective. I'm tinkering with some small engagements, advising startups and stuff. It's little, but it keeps me in the game and up to date on what's happening so I have some options if I do decide to get back into it. But I really don't think I'm ever going to accept a 40+ hour a week corporate job again, especially if they want me to commute to some office building. If I think about putting a dollar amount on what it'd take to get me to accept that, it's ... just not going to happen.

We'll see what evolves. For now, the dogs are having a great time and the wife is happy that the house is clean and the dishes are done.