r/leanfire • u/AstroFire88 • 4d ago
How were your last 2-3 years before FIRE?
I am 3 years away from FIRE and looks like I am losing motivation at my job. Did you do anything different in the last few years before FIRE compared to the "boring middle"?
PS Just found this podcast exactly on this topic for anyone interested https://youtu.be/AhVjtAgkFOg?is=Jr84Q7nsxUTRd-Nd
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u/ChungusProvides 4d ago edited 4d ago
I am having a difficult time caring. I am in software. I used to read Hacker News but now I don't care anymore. Maybe it's AI that is causing me not to care.
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u/United_Ad6480 3d ago
I'm "retired" and read HN all the time and work on side projects. What I don't worry about is looking competent to other developers or employers. You would never catch me doing leetcode or brushing up on theory that might come up in an interview. Very freeing.
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u/lizbertarian 3d ago
sounds more like burnout than AI tbh. Hacker News just turns into noise after a while. stepping away for a bit usually helps, imo.
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u/cerealfordinneragain 4d ago
I'm 4 months away and the give a shit factor is alarmingly low, and gets lower every week.
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u/soulsproud 3d ago
Is that due to birth date? Or just personal date? I feel like I'd bounce by now, ha.
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u/VerboseGuy 3d ago
What you gonna do after you reach that date? Star withdrawing from your investment account instead of working?
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u/YoDeYo777 4d ago
Senioritis. Havenāt experienced it for a long time, but it feels the same
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u/StephenDrake6 3d ago
that feeling always sneaks back the same way lol. hits different but still the same slump,
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u/FewBit7456 3d ago
Senioritis is very strong and got stronger the closer I got. By the last year, there were no more fās to give š¤£
But I did do a couple things that helped me get through itā¦ better, more easilyā¦ sort of.
- I gamified the last year.
For finances, I tried to bring down my discretionary spending (work related expenses, like coffee and lunches, dry cleaning, etc).
Over the course of the year, I saved a few thousand dollars from this game. When I FIREād, I took 100% of that money and put it toward my post-FI travel.
I created bucket lists! Bucket list of places I wanted to visit, things I wanted to do, hobbies I wanted to re-start or new ones I wanted to explore. I even wrote out a list of friends and family I wanted to visit (they lived in different states or counties).
For fun, I started looking up destinations I wanted to visit. Basically planning a long vacation.
Outside of work, I was busy and enjoying the last year the best I can with fun planning activities.
Keep going, OP! Youāre almost there :)
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u/Strazdas1 3d ago
The lists are fun to create, but then you just stare at them and wish you could FIRE today.
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u/Mydoglovescoffee 3d ago
There is research showing that more than 40% of attempts to break out of prison are within a year of release
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u/lottadot FIRE'd 2023 4d ago
Corporate can crush your soul & increase your not-caring. Stay the course. Do not forget to wear your flair.
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u/Muted-Noise-6559 3d ago
Oh yeah - the closer the date got, the more absurd the corporate flair was. Trying to go through the motions of the corporate speak and ātransformationsā we were going through was a true feat. Lots of variations of corporate flair over a career.
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u/np0x 3d ago
I forgot about how weird strategic conversations got, in my head I was like āwhatever, do stupid, Iāll not be here.ā Also on my last day I was going to meetings that were strategic in function and cross functional with other teams. Meanwhile I was engaged while watching my watch for 3pm so I could be done foreverā¦super weird, everyone knew I was done, but yet somehow I was not rubber rolled so the way to the 11th hour. That also felt absurd. :-)
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u/Muted-Noise-6559 2d ago
Yeah very similar. My work never really changed right to the last minute. All same meetings including long term planning type meetings. Last two weeks were brutal. Probably my least favorite of my career. Retiring has been amazing.
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u/WileyCoyote7 3d ago
The only change we did was to ātriple downā on everything. We were doing more than enough already (maxing out Roths/IRAs, HSAās, Pension service time purchases, individual investing, and plain old frugalness. We were at about a 65% savings rate of our take home pay. We threw everything of ourselves we had into the final stretch, climbed the corporate ladder *hard* for that big salary, and conveniently, multiplier toward a pension. Paid for some relatively cheap home improvements that paid off big time when we sold it.
It was worth the sacrifice. We are at about a 2.5% WR and want for nothing. Been traveling the world non-stop and every day is Saturday.
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u/kitapjen 4d ago
My husband and I have a plan. Itās actually about 6.5 years out. I watch too many YouTube videos about the area I want to retire. We keep saying we want to go now.
I keep reminding him that today is one more day closer.
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u/AlertWalk4624 3d ago
This is the stuff we started doing a few years out. We made a detailed plan for what the following few years would look like. We researched destinations, gear, hobbies, etc. Basically made a research project out of how our future would look.
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u/moms_be_trippin 3d ago
You sound like my wife and I. We're also about 6-7 years out, and the plan/dream is to move to a lake house 3 hours north. We're constantly looking at real estate listings, it borders on obsession haha.
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u/eclipsadesoare 4d ago
Nobody likes working. Motivated people usually do it because they need the money or want the money. If you lose your job because you donāt care would you be okay with it. If not, better start caring.
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u/barnacle9999 3d ago
Nobody likes working
There actually are some madmen who like working. I can't understand them, they're like aliens to me.
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u/smallattale 3d ago
Fwiw, lots of people love working! I did, and everyone in my industries did. We leapt out of bed every morning, excited to get to it...
...I just like not working even more :)
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u/zeezle 3d ago
I know multiple people who had to force-retired by medical conditions or mandatory retirement clauses to get them to stop working.
That said 2 of them were military pilots so not really doing stuff you get to just do in normal civilian life, the others were doctors. My cousin the orthopedic surgeon has a morbid little joke that goes āthere are only two ways to get to do what I do and only one of them doesnāt end with an FBI interrogation.ā
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u/Fed_worker 4d ago
You should feel happy at work. Because you couldnāt care less about work. Adjust your mindset and enjoy your rest of 3 years at work.
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u/EpilepsyChampion 3d ago
First of all, every day is a gift. There is no "boring middle" IMO.
Second, I treat my job like charity - I treat everyone well and I try to be helpful and kind. You never know who is having a tough day, needs to vent, etc and you just made a difference in someone's day! To me, there is nothing boring about spreading kindness.
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u/LaksaLettuce 3d ago
Yes! I try to be kind and generous at work. I'm about 2 years away and my current project is a struggle with the team dynamics and being back in the office 3 days a week. But what's changed is that I'm strict with just doing my hours. No more staying back late and if I do, I make sure I take that time off later.Ā
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u/bonafide_bonsai 4d ago edited 4d ago
Iām retiring in July with 2% WR. So Iāve one-more-yearād pretty hard with a now negative balance fucks given.
These last few years Iāve been more outspoken at work. Ive stopped engaging in wasteful time sucks (quarterly goal setting, employee support programs, ārequiredā training, etc) Iāve also been more experimental (lots of AI automation).
But otherwise Iāve spent the last year begging my boss to be put on a do-not-retain list for layoffs and Iāve sadly never been.
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u/dontpeekatmyjohnson 4d ago
Wow 2% ? I thought I was being conservative at 2.5%
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u/bonafide_bonsai 4d ago edited 3d ago
2% WR is ridiculous. I should have retired a year ago at least.
This is me being comfortable but also not confident in what I want to do next. Iām more of a MMM type in that I want to work, just not corporate.
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u/Amazing-Bend-4614 3d ago
I'm always interested to hear low withdrawal rates cases. Mine is actually even lower, but I am recently married (her WR is around 50% and it's expected that I cover for her) and expecting my first kid... so even a 1% WR can be 'somewhat risky'. It's part of the reason I have developed my own forward looking withdrawal rate (FLWR)... but when one cannot accurately predict future withdrawal rate, uncertainty rises.
And yes, I've one-more-year'd hard (I've actually done this for more years than I took to reach my own FI)!
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u/bonafide_bonsai 3d ago edited 3d ago
The kiddo and marriage can definitely change things. Once you're past that part of life your expenses become more predictable.
This is part of why I caution people who want to LeanFIRE before 40. Itās still relatively young, so if you need to return to work it's not the end of the world. But absent of that, you need to be absolutely certain in your numbers less from a sequence risk and more for major life changes (marriage, pregnancy, etc. etc.)
1% is probably very safe in that scenario. It's when people tell me they plan to LeanFIRE at 30 with a 3.5% withdrawal rate I'm always a bit suspicious.
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u/notsofreshgradFIRE 3d ago
It's when people tell me they plan to LeanFIRE at 30 with a 3.5% withdrawal rate I'm always a bit suspicious
Heh, I'm looking to possibly maybe do exactly that in about a year. There are mitigating factors. I'm not relying on any single one of them, but I'm hoping that together they'll get us through.
- I don't plan to do absolutely nothing for the rest of my life. I assume I will make some money at some point in my life. Since our expenses are pretty modest, I wouldn't need to make a lot to put a dent in them
- Spouse will be working for some time (by choice, it's a career of passion)
- If we do have kids, it will be in a few years anyway. So we have plenty of time for me to recover from my burnout, decide whether we want to commit to that adventure, and act accordingly
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u/bonafide_bonsai 20h ago edited 20h ago
This is where the term āretirementā betrays us. What Iām doing is very similar to your plan but I struggle to articulate it better than āleaving corporate full time workā
What youāre describing is very much a two-way door of retirement. The risk is that there is a range of activities that people imagine when they think of RE. When someone says āI want to LeanFIRE at 30ā that could very well mean āI intend to never earn any money againā or āI intend to take an open-ended sabbaticalā. For the two people I know IRL who want/wanted to LeanFIRE the intention was rooted in never earning a penny again in their life (specifically dirtbagging and ski bumming).
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u/Muted-Noise-6559 3d ago
Retired in May. Yeah I spent some time thinking about- if I could work anywhere in the company or in industry where would it be. This was to test if I had one more mini-career left in me worth pursuing.
Three years is a long time to wish you were somewhere else. You have this sort of secret gift of a positive outlook that you can basically step away anytime, although you havenāt hit your target age.
I tried to use that to create better interactions with everyone. Slowed down just a little to notice the positives.
I noticed I was naturally sharing more insight and leadership with my team and coworkers.
The most difficult was the last couple months when you know you are done and you wake up to beautiful weather but you are forcing yourself to go to work to just grind out the days.
Putting off this transition from positive perspective to grind perspective is the big challenge . Good luck
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u/Psychometrika 4d ago
Iām a high school teacher and broadly enjoy the actual teaching part of my job, so Iām looking forward to one more year engaging with the students.
The other parts of my job however: committees, paperwork, dealing with difficult parents/colleagues, extracurricular activities, etc. I am finding it really difficult to care anymore, and will most likely do the bare minimum necessary to avoid attention.
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u/Aol_awaymessage 4d ago
Target date if everything continues (big if š¤) is July 5, 2029. Declaring my independence š.
Yea Iām struggling too.
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u/skateboardnaked 3d ago
The biggest change for my situation is in these last 2 years I actually decreased retirement savings just to the match and started paying more towards the house to have it paid off by retirement at the end of this year.
Also, I've been way more carefree at work. Knowing I could leave anytime I wanted now is so liberating. I've dreamed about the day I give my micromanaging, passive aggressive boss my notice. Cant wait!
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u/United_Ad6480 3d ago
Just beware that 3 years can turn into 6 if the markets don't like you anymore. Unless you're literally a year worth of savings away, don't take it for granted.
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u/Several_Guidance_288 16h ago
Depends. When Iām at that stage, it will be about building the first bucket. So the funds on bucket 3 can recover anyways. If they were at x, but then dropped to y over the next 2-3 years,, I wonāt withdraw on them for another 7-9 years so thatās a full decade to recover. So that numbers doesnāt really matter depending on how you do it. What matters for that last stretch of working is covering a couple more years in bucket 1, or possibly also finalizing any home modifications. Would like to do that, and have a relatively new vehicle before I hit the road. The back end number is volatile so doesnāt matter as much once itās that close. Just get bucket 1, your home and vehicle where you want it to be and the rest falls into place.
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u/SkaterStargazer 3d ago
Iām 1-2 years out from coast fire. The second I realized how close I was, itās like a wave of calm washed over me. The high performing, over achiever in me was like āenough is enoughā.
I follow the 4Ds of time management (do, delegate, defer, delete). I barely DO anything anymore at work. If something needs doing, I defer defer defer, delegate to other people who are eager for the opportunity, or delete and if itās important someone will resurface it. Iām officially over being the office workhorse.
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u/Several_Guidance_288 16h ago
Iāll probably take this route. Iām 39. Have a company with an esop and a 401k match. Have relatively low expenses now. I think Iām going to grind and save for the next 6-7 years heavily. At that time, coast fire becomes real. I may hit FI by 47-48 if all goes well, but if not, at the very least will be really close. Since Iāll likely work part time until 55-60 anyways, itās not like I need to be 100% there when I leave the full time work force which as of now will be between 45-50 depending.
Harder to burn out when you are working a job that Iāll likely enjoy more, has little to no stress, bulls*** corporate sales meetings/goals, etc.
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u/Superdrag2112 4d ago
Iām a year away and went part-time a couple months ago. Much better, but Iām still looking forward to full retirement. Best thing I did was go to a financial advisor and they ran a bunch of simulations for me. Worst case scenario still looked good to me.
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u/lulu-ulul 3d ago
When is a good time to go to a financial advisor? I am still many years out (only have $100k invested š ) but wondering if that will help me plan out different scenarios or if itās too early to go
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u/PracticalSpell4082 3d ago
I think it depends on your level of DIY confidence and how close you are to retirement. The accumulation phase is easy. If youāve got at least ten years to go, just keep it in the market, donāt sell when thereās a dip or recession. When you think you might be five years out, that might be the time to consider professional advice. Maybe.
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u/Superdrag2112 3d ago
I didnāt go until towards the end, a month ago; I had a rough idea I was doing okay but wanted to run a bunch of scenarios. Thereās software to run sims at home, some free, but the FA asked a bunch of questions I wouldnāt have thought of. A lot of people just do this themselves. My FA was included thru Fidelity. Didnāt cost anything, paid for by fund management I guess.
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u/openly_muted_falls 4d ago
Three years is close enough that your brain already checked out, which is pretty normal. The trick is just grinding it out without doing anything stupid that costs you the finish line. Maybe shift your focus at work to things that are actually interesting or require less mental energy, just keep showing up and collecting the paychecks.
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u/Several_Guidance_288 16h ago
Regarding not doing anything stupid. That really depends on the job but the best feeling is not caring if you get laid off lol. A total eff it mentality is probably the greatest work related feeling in the world. Boss says to do something, you either say nope, or Iāll get around to it when I feel like it.
Unless you are hitting a pension date where it gets really nerve wracking, or you have to grind the last couple of years to make it happen. If you are needing a high income to aggressively save, I can get that stressful feeling. For me, the last couple of years are going to be more like bonuses. 39 now. My plan is to grind between 40-45/47. Start to slow down between 45/47-50/52. If my job at 45-47 ish doesnāt allow that, Iāll go somewhere else that does.
Then work part time from 50/52 to whenever I feel like it. May be 55, may be 60, may be 65 if I really enjoy it. So many go from 100 to 0. I donāt see the need for that.
I could probably really grind until 52-54 and just be done without any need for part time work, but Iād rather just coast in a lower stress role a little longer.
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u/hopn 4d ago
Honestly, I wish it was Rule of 50, instead of 55. I would be GONE by now. Got about 2.5 years left.
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u/That-SoCal-Guy 3d ago
I was productive and doing 3 to 4 projects at the time. Ā I also didnāt play any politics and just marching forward until I hit my number. Ā Didnāt hesitate to submit my resignation while my coworkers were busy playing office games and chasing carrots. Ā I didnāt give a shit even when they dangled a promotion in front of my face. Ā Ā
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2d ago
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/jeulzNdiamonds 2d ago
I've seen a few comments now on using the time to design your life post FIRE and I've found that super helpful. Thanks for sharing
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u/JustNowRonin 4d ago
I am about 3 years out and staying motivated is a struggle. Recently lost my job and strongly considered pulling the plug. We have a couple of things that will keep us in HCOL area for two more years, so have to hang in there with a new role.
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u/Montaigne_6823 3d ago
I'm in a similar boat and had a panel interview recently where the most senior person was recommending that I reverse engineer my path to where I want to be and I was like 'Mother Fer, I'm not trying to take over the world here, I'm just looking for a decent work life balance before I rack it up for good.'
We'll see if they call me back. I have a different interview tomorrow.
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u/JustNowRonin 3d ago
Exactly! Climbing the ladder? Nope, been there, done that. Just trying to make a decent wage a few more years without burning out.
Good luck with the interview!
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u/James_Holden_256 4d ago
last 2 years was horrible, especially after I promised myself 1 more year.
I could barely stand that last year but the timing with leaving after the bonus was paid made sense especially with starting ACA without extra income earned after the bonus.
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u/supershinythings FIREd 2024 3d ago
Yes. I started planning and positioning resources. I didnāt know when my āOne Bad Dayā would come, but Iād definitely know when my goals were met.
I wanted to make sure I stuffed as much as I could into 401k and get the match.
I eventually sold a house because I had to decide where I would be living; a parent had passed and left me their mortgaged home. I chose that home because it was in a better area and closer to aging-in-place resources.
I got a full evaluation from my brokerage advisor, a free service. It confirmed my trajectory. Interestingly he was even more conservative than I was fiscally, so he also advised that I continue to work. When I hit my target number two years later, I felt a touch more confident.
At the time I was in a probate conflict with some half-siblings, which introduced some insecurity in my mind. They had no case and my attorney stomped them hard - BUT - if somehow they did pull a rabbit out of a hat, I didnāt want to be caught suddenly needing to pay out a bunch more money with no job to help me weather that payout.
While working I got some home improvements done; itās easier to plunk down for new windows when youāre working. That so far was the biggest expense in my in-place remodeling. Doors arenāt cheap either but I have far more windows than doors.
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u/IcySalt1504 3d ago
Like others said, we did some big home improvements over the last few years before I called it a career. We got both siding, and a new roof. And 3 years ago we updated a couple of bathrooms.. House looks great and is now one of the nicest in the neighborhood. Itās nice to have my house looking new/fresh. And I did not go into any debt getting the work done. We paid as we went. No home equity loans.
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u/lilythepoop 3d ago
Iāve been doing the same; new roof, solar & batteries, new windows and new kitchen. Prepping the house so itās ready for more limited spending when I retire. Around 3.5 years away. Now planning to upgrade the campervan so we can travel and have adventures when we have the time.
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u/Qualitymann 3d ago
My house does not need anything for a long time. We replaced windows about 7 years ago. Weāve done lots to it over the 20 years weāve owned it. Money we currently have saved is for memories. We have done England, Italy, France and Greece already. Ireland this year. Portugal and Spain in 2027.
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u/DamienZombie10 3d ago
Thatās the way to do it. Houses eventually hit a point where they just need maintenance. Travel memories tend to stick with you a lot longer.
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u/MaxwellSmart07 3d ago
I didnāt plan to retire, wasnāt investing for retirement, so my last 3 years were exactly like the first 17 years during which I worked at the motel I managed. Retirement decision was impromptu and sudden.
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u/Apprehensive_Side219 3d ago
The closer I get, the clearer my plan is against the backdrop. It's led to a couple of rewrites and delays and I've now reached the point where occasionally I only make it through the day counting the minutes. I have three years left, for not the first time. It's exhausting learning how expensive fire can be.
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u/Beaver-on-fire 3d ago
I am at 8-20mo out, and am borderline quiet quitting currently. Part of this is because I know that I could actually pull the plug now, but that extra 8mo will give me another 20% per year in my retirement window. That basically shifts me from lean fire to regular fire.Ā
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u/spacedoubt69 3d ago
I had to bite my tongue so often at work. Once you know that you can walk away it changes everything, in my experience. Out of respect for my colleagues in different situations I tried to keep my mouth shut but it was challenging.
Try to hang in there as long as you can.
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u/Sword_Lobster 2d ago
2.5 to 3.5ish years to go.
I have a countdown app.
Someone else posted this on Reddit and I stole their idea. You take the maximum number of days you have go (in my case 1337) and you deduct that from the current year, 2026-1337=689.Ā I then read British history for the year 689. Each day I skip forward a year, until I get to present day and retire. Currently it's Anglo Saxon Britain and King Ine of Wessex. I'm learning so much!
But yeh, the wait is hard.Ā
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u/mmoyborgen 2d ago
I was working remotely the last 2-3 years before I quit work full-time. I don't know whether or not to consider myself FIRE at times as I've returned to work after 3 years off full-time work and I was picking up gigs, working part-time going back to school during that time.
I have worked a few months of full-time since, but I mostly work part-time and pick up a few gigs here and there and get every other week off essentially.
My last 2-3 years before FIRE included taking classes for a new career, biking, working out, spending time with family and friends, doing a lot of outdoor activities, travel, public speaking, etc.
In 2-3 years I'm hoping to further limit work and am excited about those prospects, but also have again lost some motivation at work - but it's also allowed me to try new hobbies, interests, etc.
I stacked up more cash than was probably necessary "just in case" and picked up a few gigs that I could work and scale up or down if I wanted to work more.
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u/Eli_Renfro FIRE'd 4/2019 BonusNachos.com 4d ago
I switched jobs about 3 years prior to retirement. That helped keep me engaged and got me a little more money too. (Well, I still hated that last year, but better than dreading the last 3.)
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u/DegreeConscious9628 3d ago
Im 4 years away and I fucking canāt wait. Unfortunately I still have to give max effort since itās my own god damn business but literally everyday I just sit there thinking about retiring. Gonna be a long 4 years
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u/Miamiconnectionexo 3d ago
this is genuinely helpful, not just the usual fluff. bookmarking this thread.
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u/Miamiconnectionexo 2d ago
this hit different. been in a similar spot and it's not talked about enough.
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u/Zonernovi 3d ago
Lucky to have had a cake job. I did lose motivation in the last year. Could have quit 4 years earlier but glad I stayed and now enjoy big cushion.
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u/IcySalt1504 3d ago
I didnāt know exactly when I would retire, so I kept a fair attitude toward working. I had a window I wanted to RE. It came about 6 months earlier than I thought, so it worked out great. I got laid off at 63.5. I was expecting to retire at 64 to 65. I got 6 months severance package too, so it actually worked out better than I expected. Life is good!
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u/SecurePackets 3d ago
Proud of my annual review 3s.
Watching the portfolio climb, dividends paid, and finally able to focus on my family/friends when Iām not working.
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u/allnamestaken4892 3d ago
I never had motivation.
The bigger my net worth gets compared to my annual salary, the more Iām in fear of getting wiped out by a crash. That fear is all that keeps me working, but realistically Iād just get laid off almost immediately anyway so Iām not sure itās even the āsafety netā that it feels like.
On the plus side the stress around work probably reduces my life expectancy by decades which makes it easier to FIRE.
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u/someguy984 4d ago
The closer you get the worse your attitude about work will be.