Many of y'all know I'm trying to retire from full-time corporate work early next year. I won't have much by XO standards (I'm projecting maybe $350k total savings/investments) at that time, but I'm through with working insane hours and being at the behest of a company. I've got decent freelance income which I can easily grow and use to support myself. It'll be a fraction of what I make now and I won't be saving much, but I've calculated that if I just allow my investments to continue compounding, I should hit $2MM sometime in my early 50s, or so. Plus, I'm not really concerned about having all of the fancy trappings many of you want, and would be fine living in Colombia or somewhere else with low COL.
The thing is, I just got offered what in essence would be the biggest promotion of my life - one that would set me up for some great things in my work. I'd be an ingrate to not be extremely excited and not jump all over this. To be honest, though, I'm just not feeling it. I don't want the pressure, the long hours, and most of all, I don't want to derail the efforts I've made to semi-retire next year. I had my heart set on this new, easier lifestyle.
What do I do? Take the promotion and quit after 1 year? Not take it at all and retire right after my annual bonus (they'll be mega pissed if I do this)? Double down on mega-shrewing and focus 100% on career for the next several years with the promotion?
Anyhow, honest advice is welcome. I think all of you have had your chance to insult and mock me to your heart's content by now, so for the purposes of this thread, please limit the nastiness.
Date: September 8th, 2014 4:34 PM Author: chocolate masturbator lodge
that's shrewiness talking. all that matters is how much more money you can add to the pot before taking the plunge into semi-retirement and reclaiming your life back.
No, it just brings us back to my original question. While income/savings concerns are paramount in this equation, I still think the issue of having an interesting career/work has some bearing on the answer. I think the better question now is whether the insane stress is worth the career. I'm leaning towards no, but I feel guilty for turning down a great opportunity.
Date: September 8th, 2014 4:46 PM Author: chocolate masturbator lodge
the ultimate end goal is to retire and not be a corporate drone, so everything else is subjugated to that end. if you dont think you have enough cash to execute on that goal now (and weather any upsets in your investment strategy, freelance work, etc.), then take the promotion and reassess finances after a year or so . if you do think you have enough cash now to weather any future storm(s), then why waste more time on a "career track" you are actively trying to escape?
btw this sort of waffling, lack of focus and resolve to execute is why women will never lead.
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:43 PM Author: Sable cracking plaza stock car
Quite frankly, "having an interesting career/work" is massive capitalism flame. You know what's better than having an interesting career? Having an interesting life and an interesting personality. Guess what conflicts with cultivating both a life and personality? Ding ding ding!
People who need a job to be interested in something are massive, uncreative losers and probably extremely boring.
If you can support yourself and do what you want, pursue ANYTHING but doing what someone else wants you to do. Learn a language, learn to paint or play an instrument, write a book, who fucking cares.
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:47 PM Author: Sable cracking plaza stock car
This. Especially smart people. Being smart doesn't mean you should get a job that pays crazy money and requires you to work 80hrs/wk. Being smart means you can take a job that pays decent money that requires you to work 40hrs/wk, but since you're smart, you can do the job in 20 and still look like a good employee. That's why working remotely is 180.
I work remotely a ton, and when I'm not lawyering around, I'm helping with the actual grunt-level work of the company, building it up. But since I'm smart (like most people on xo), I can do crazy shit in half the time it takes anyone else, so I spent a ton of time at home reading, singing, etc. It's so cot damn 180.
That's what I do now, except I spend 40 hrs/wk doing an 80 hr job. The other 40 I spend with you guys, writing, etc. The problem is that I am ON CALL/alert the full 80 hours, even if I'm only actually working 40 (and some of those remotely).
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:48 PM Author: Sable cracking plaza stock car
This. It sounds like Julia really wants to (apparently lateral from 6 fig HR job to news anchor all of a sudden???) have a job to impress people, not have a life that makes her happy.
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:50 PM Author: Sable cracking plaza stock car
Thanks. Now MY post is going to sound like humblebragging, but bear with me: I am legit friends with a number of celebrities (actor, couple musicians, director, creative type nominated for Oscar, etc) through a series of just utter dumb luck and never not networking. You know what I've discovered about them? Their lives are equally boring as fuck compared to mine. That is to say, only as boring as we're willing to let it be, since once you reach a sweet spot with income, the thing you run low on is time, not money.
Date: September 8th, 2014 6:06 PM Author: chocolate masturbator lodge
truth. and the more time you have, the more inputs you can absorb to expand your palette. beyond survival and reproduction, this really is the purpose of life or at least the human experience, imo.
Date: September 8th, 2014 4:42 PM Author: Ocher thriller goyim
This is not true for everyone. Most Americans are brainwashed into being corporate slaves so they simply cannot imagine doing anything else. They really have no life, being a slave is the justification for their existence.
But others know that is pathetic and they are capable of breaking free and once they do they have no problem not having the same old bullshit peon existence that most ppl do.
You're talking about what this would do to "your career" while at the same time you say you want to retire soon and regain your life?
That doesn't make a lot of sense. If you still care about your career, then don't quit and work on your career despite long hours and responsibilities.
If you care about having time for yourself and freedom, you can't care about your career at the same time.
How good and stable is your freelance job? Can you live well and take vacations with it? Money comes and goes, if you like luxury and vacations and all that, you need an alternative source of income that is as secure as your current job.
Date: September 8th, 2014 4:54 PM Author: Ocher thriller goyim
If you have 350k invested you can reasonable conservatively expect 4% return.
Once interest rates go up, eventually you'll be able to put a lot of that in long term CD's paying 6% or more.
Even with less freelance income, like 2k, you still can easily survive in Colombia where I imagine you would not even spend 1.5k a month assuming guys are buying your drinks/dinners
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:09 PM Author: Ocher thriller goyim
So this is the real reason you are going to "semi retire" cause you can depend on your husband's income as a back up, like a true American feminist woman
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:13 PM Author: Ocher thriller goyim
But the fact that you got this dood on lock down making six figures makes it a lot easier to "semi retire" - pretty typical of American feminists. Every BIGLAW chick I know who got married was out of BIGLAW within two years working in some shit paying jerb.
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:16 PM Author: Ocher thriller goyim
Lol anyway, I have experience doing semi-retirement abroad and once you get use to the finances and realize shit is so much cheaper than in AMerica it is NBD. This is especially true if the stock market doesn't tank so your investment income keeps going up. You can cover most of your expenses abroad with a decent return
freelance business/financial writing & editing. I get $400-500 per article written and about $100 per article edited. i do un-bylined/ghost-written stuff for major corp clients and occasionally bylined stuff for some biz publications.
I only do maybe 2,500-3000 a month right now because i work full time at present and do it as a side gig
What are your special skills to be able to earn that amount? Anybody who writes well and gets familiarized with the subject could do it, or do you have special knowledge?
That's what freelance business/financial writing pays for major companies or publications. It's tougher to get in, though. People typically have either a master's in biz journalism or experience in finance - or they get lucky somehow.
If you're just getting started, you'd be lucky to make $100/article, but after you get good clips, the pay increases
What's the best freelance field to go into? Is writing pretty good? How hard to get into it? I do freelance translation and there's a shiton of competition so it's hard to get consistent and well-paid work.
Technical writing and niche, specialized journalism ( financial or tech news) pay the best. Not a lot of competition for well-qualified people in these areas, but you need credentials.
Date: September 8th, 2014 11:01 PM Author: Dun spot
LOL at you making 6k a month writing shitty articles no one reads, JUST LOL! that's 72k/year, that's about what people at the fucking NY Times make. Gas yourself you spic liar.
Date: September 9th, 2014 5:13 AM Author: laughsome fat ankles legend
she probably made that much during a single freak month. the thing about julia is that there is usually some nucleus of fact to her wild storms of bullshit.
Date: September 9th, 2014 9:20 AM Author: vigorous friendly grandma volcanic crater
You're seriously fucking stupid. I haven't made that little money since my mid-20s. Writing f/t for a publication is a bad deal financially. Anyone with a financial journalism background who wants to make money writes/edits or does communications/PR for financial services companies or major businesses. The shittiest job I've had in the past 5 years was financial writing for like $95k base + 10-15k bonus.
Date: September 8th, 2014 4:44 PM Author: Ocher thriller goyim
If you are tired of working the credited answer is to find a rich older guy, marry him, live off him, and then divorce pwn him. I am serious- you have a choice and option that no man has.
If you can get decent freelance income while being semi retired in Colombia then just do that. Working is shit. You won't remember the faggot promotion you passed on when you are 60 plus years old. Don't listen to all these aspies who have been brainwashed by this shit society
Also no offense, how the fuck are you engaged? It seems this mystical fiance plays no role at all in any of the life/moving/career decisions you want to make every 3 months.
Date: September 8th, 2014 5:25 PM Author: boyish demanding office boiling water
credited question. not so much about the fiancé. but I've never met someone who changed jobs more frequently in my life. Just so everybody is able to keep the story straight, including JJJJulia, she's at Univision in Miami now, right?
Date: September 8th, 2014 11:35 PM Author: Titillating splenetic fanboi nursing home
Take the promotion. Even if you only do it for a couple of years you'll have established yourself at that higher level of seniority in case you ever want to go back and get a job.
Plus you're only 34 and $350K really isn't a big nest egg to semi-retire on. Even another $50-100K is going to make a big difference plus give you some insulation against an adverse life event that forces you to dip into your savings.
Date: September 8th, 2014 11:46 PM Author: Titillating splenetic fanboi nursing home
I did read that. She's more likely to have that freedom, or a better quality of freedom, if she works at the higher level job for at least a couple of years.
She's only 34. She's probably got 50 years of freedom ahead of her. A couple more years of working is worth it.
Date: September 9th, 2014 9:22 AM Author: vigorous friendly grandma volcanic crater
It isn't worth it to me. I want to enjoy what remains of my relative youth.
IF money grows scarce, I might return to f/t work in my 40s.
The biggest problem I see with this is turning down a career path that might make me one of the most powerful people in my industry by the time I'm 40. I've had a VP title before and am not impressed by that or by the extra money. The interesting work this path affords me, powerful position and visibility would be 180, though.
Date: September 9th, 2014 11:51 AM Author: vigorous friendly grandma volcanic crater
Alright, I'm leaning toward taking it. The promotion should put me at about $250k all-in the first year, and hopefully closer to $275-300 the next, so I'll be able to save another $150-200k, or so in the next couple of years. I HAVE to bail after that, though, because I need to have kids in 2-3 years, and my hours won't allow for it. Well, it's that or I get a full-time nanny or have my kid raised by my family in Colombia.
Fuck. None of this sounds appealing. I don't really *need* the money and doubling down on this lifestyle nauseates me.