Roll call unretired! What is your timeline? Contingencies??

[Pink Cashmere]

YIKES! I am rooting for you, and whatever happens, I do believe that you will be better than okay.

[laterbloomer]

Nov 1, 2023 16:08:57 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

.....a special session of a governing committee is being called regarding the aforementioned incident. that post with details here has been deleted. Even though I "don't care" the bottom fell out of my stomach when I got the email notification. I'd prefer to just be fired rather than called to the carpet and then fired, yano.....

Hey, one of the main perks of being FI is that you don't have to tolerate being called to the carpet by anyone. Don't be intimidated into not speaking up for yourself and what is right.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Nov 1, 2023 22:49:26 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Nov 1, 2023 16:08:57 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

.....a special session of a governing committee is being called regarding the aforementioned incident. that post with details here has been deleted. Even though I "don't care" the bottom fell out of my stomach when I got the email notification. I'd prefer to just be fired rather than called to the carpet and then fired, yano.....

Hey, one of the main perks of being FI is that you don't have to tolerate being called to the carpet by anyone. Don't be intimidated into not speaking up for yourself and what is right.

My kitty is down 200k this month, so that’s making me a little more nervous now.

But I know I need to keep breathing and get through this and I’ll deal with whatever happens. It will all be fine no matter what. Somehow this is dredging up a lot of past anxieties and fears that I’ll be really poor again. It’s been enlightening and I’m understanding some stuff.

Takes a while to arrange these meetings, will be in a week or two.

[resolution]

Nov 2, 2023 0:11:53 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

My kitty is down 200k this month, so that’s making me a little more nervous now.

But I know I need to keep breathing and get through this and I’ll deal with whatever happens. It will all be fine no matter what. Somehow this is dredging up a lot of past anxieties and fears that I’ll be really poor again. It’s been enlightening and I’m understanding some stuff.

Takes a while to arrange these meetings, will be in a week or two.

I can sympathize with the nervousness. I feel nervous too, even though the math says I will be ok. I tend to use work as a sense of security, like I can take care of myself through my own efforts, so it's hard to make the transition that I can still take care of myself by using the resources that I have accumulated.

It helped me to make up a spreadsheet with all the numbers, so if I start to feel nervous I can look at the spreadsheet. I have one column with the full budget, one where retirement savings are cut out, and one which is "bare bones" and shows the minimum we need to stay in our house and maintain a healthy diet for us and our pets.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Nov 2, 2023 8:19:11 GMT -5 resolution said:

Nov 2, 2023 0:11:53 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

My kitty is down 200k this month, so that’s making me a little more nervous now.

But I know I need to keep breathing and get through this and I’ll deal with whatever happens. It will all be fine no matter what. Somehow this is dredging up a lot of past anxieties and fears that I’ll be really poor again. It’s been enlightening and I’m understanding some stuff.

Takes a while to arrange these meetings, will be in a week or two.

I can sympathize with the nervousness. I feel nervous too, even though the math says I will be ok. I tend to use work as a sense of security, like I can take care of myself through my own efforts, so it's hard to make the transition that I can still take care of myself by using the resources that I have accumulated.

It helped me to make up a spreadsheet with all the numbers, so if I start to feel nervous I can look at the spreadsheet. I have one column with the full budget, one where retirement savings are cut out, and one which is "bare bones" and shows the minimum we need to stay in our house and maintain a healthy diet for us and our pets.

While I keep close tabs on account balances, I'm less secure with how the money is spent/budgeting/cash flows etc. and I have been working on compiling those numbers for 2023 thus far. 

But I've already spent a whole lot of money this year, lol. Way more than I would have expected me to spend and definitely "too much"! And yet - I didn't get a whole lot out of it beyond subsistence - one short vacation and mostly organic food. About 10k was vet bills and then people medical was high this year too...Maybe another 10k worth.....but more number crunching is needed to get an idea of normal and bare bones spending - and some reductions in wasted money are already planned (streaming services, for example, although that isn't a huge amount of money.....and changing banks as mine has been charging a monthly fee....).

As I mentioned, I keep flashing back to when I was poor and desperate and it's bringing up worries that my current relative ease was just a temporary repreive from a life of poverty, financial worry, penny pinching, and barely keeping it together. This is somewhat irrational but logically is not outside the realm of possibility given that I am highly leveraged (nearing 500k of total debts) with a higher risk portfolio than likely most/everyone here. I've actually been contemplating these point (leverage & risk) while mapping my path forward to eventual retirment, but a sudden ceastion of income would disrupt my shoring up process. So that coupled with a 300k drop in assests the past few months has fueled my anxieties around finances. 

All and all just more data for me to process and improve my planning with. I thought I had put her to rest, but my inner bag lady is alive and well and knocking on my consciousness at all hours of day and night the past week! 

So I need to improve my planning on both financial and psychological fronts. While there is the trama from previous hardships to deal with, I think I've also become rather prideful of my current successes, both position title and salary and pride goeth before a fall for sure! So trying to grapple with both those forces as well.

Putting together an emergency financial plan just in case.

thankfully, am up about 3% on today's market.......

[minnesotapaintlady]

You know, while you've always said you'd never leave Chicago, you do have selling and moving to a LCOL area as a nuclear option.  Wipe out all the debt selling the house and pay cash for a townhouse in Hicksville next to a vet clinic with bulk discounts. 

[azucena]

Rukh - after this shakes out, maybe consider some therapy to work thru past financial trauma. 

FWIW, I saw your net worth update and my stomach dropped for you.

I don't want to hear about any of this being related to being prideful. You worked hard for your advanced degree, title and position and with that comes the salary you're earning. And you're holding fast to your professional integrity. All things you have a right to be proud about from where I'm sitting. I ask myself, would a man in your position even have a passing thought about 'pride before a fall'...um, doubtful. So turn off that negative talk program, young lady!

If it helps, keep venting here. I know a number of us are rooting for you. Personally, I wonder if things at my work are headed into that direction. Becoming difficult to trust certain leaders based on decisions in the last year.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Nov 2, 2023 12:27:22 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

You know, while you've always said you'd never leave Chicago, you do have selling and moving to a LCOL area as a nuclear option.  Wipe out all the debt selling the house and pay cash for a townhouse in Hicksville next to a vet clinic with bulk discounts. 

Yes. it is an option! 

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Nov 2, 2023 13:00:25 GMT -5 azucena said:

Rukh - after this shakes out, maybe consider some therapy to work thru past financial trauma. 

FWIW, I saw your net worth update and my stomach dropped for you.

I don't want to hear about any of this being related to being prideful. You worked hard for your advanced degree, title and position and with that comes the salary you're earning. And you're holding fast to your professional integrity. All things you have a right to be proud about from where I'm sitting. I ask myself, would a man in your position even have a passing thought about 'pride before a fall'...um, doubtful. So turn off that negative talk program, young lady!

If it helps, keep venting here. I know a number of us are rooting for you. Personally, I wonder if things at my work are headed into that direction. Becoming difficult to trust certain leaders based on decisions in the last year.

All true! Thank you azucena!

While work will be work, it'll take me a while to unpack the new info I have on myself. Maybe all in all a good thing to help me confront these psychological aspects now.

[debthaven]

To second recent posts ... without moving to OshKosh, you COULD choose to EVENTUALLY move to a smaller place ONE DAY.

And as much you'd like to make your house more eco-friendly, doing as much as you originally hoped to do may not be financially viable. You may need to pick and choose your projects. 

And that's OK!!!

[giramomma]

I hope you are all OK, physically.

And, honestly, while the debt  high, I don't think it's that bad, considering that includes multiple degrees and a house.

I dunno. I appreciate the tracking. I also think there is something to be said for set it and forget it.

FWIW, I'm 7-8 years away from a full pension, and I'm considering throwing it all away.

One of the things on my to-do list is get with a pension person to see what it will look like.

I have been mostly living out the exact life I have planned since I was 25. The extra kid and the cancer was the wild card.

I'm almost 50. I should be coasting. I should not be overturning my life, like this, now.

Furthermore, any option involves risk. More risk than I'd like. I have spent my whole life making the safe decision.

I can't afford to be risky with a 5 year old. What if the cancer comes back?

I have always been able to massage jobs to work out ok. Now, I am going to have to pick and choose.

[resolution]

Nov 2, 2023 16:33:20 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Nov 2, 2023 12:27:22 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

You know, while you've always said you'd never leave Chicago, you do have selling and moving to a LCOL area as a nuclear option.  Wipe out all the debt selling the house and pay cash for a townhouse in Hicksville next to a vet clinic with bulk discounts. 

Yes. it is an option! 

One of my friends is considering moving to Paris, IL and he keeps linking me houses at crazy low prices. Like this one for 79k for example.  Or 159K, or 234k , if he wants to spend a bit more, but still crazy low.

I was asking, "but where will your work?" and it turns out to be within commute range for Terre Haute or just pay cash for a cheap house and live off of savings.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Nov 4, 2023 9:03:50 GMT -5 resolution said:

Nov 2, 2023 16:33:20 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Yes. it is an option! 

One of my friends is considering moving to Paris, IL and he keeps linking me houses at crazy low prices. Like this one for 79k for example.  Or 159K, or 234k , if he wants to spend a bit more, but still crazy low.

I was asking, "but where will your work?" and it turns out to be within commute range for Terre Haute or just pay cash for a cheap house and live off of savings.

that 79k house is truly lovely! It is a very like my current house in construction and character, but on a larger scale. Certainly moving to such a place was a strategy I was somewhat planning on pre-2016 when I found out how people in small town america really think and behave....although I was thinking more of outside the town itself to a hobby farm where I could keep a few rescued farm animals and grow an agressive garden.

But one thing I can say in conservatives' favor, they sure keep their property prices down!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

I like the 234k one too! the 159k is not my style.

Would be interesting if we could organize a large contingent of like-minded individuals to pick a beautiful, well situated town for retirement and have then at one time snap up allt he available properties, getting the good prices before prices went up due to the more liberal effect on property prices....

[tallguy]

Nov 4, 2023 11:48:49 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Nov 4, 2023 9:03:50 GMT -5 resolution said:

One of my friends is considering moving to Paris, IL and he keeps linking me houses at crazy low prices. Like this one for 79k for example.  Or 159K, or 234k , if he wants to spend a bit more, but still crazy low.

I was asking, "but where will your work?" and it turns out to be within commute range for Terre Haute or just pay cash for a cheap house and live off of savings.

that 79k house is truly lovely! It is a very like my current house in construction and character, but on a larger scale. Certainly moving to such a place was a strategy I was somewhat planning on pre-2016 when I found out how people in small town america really think and behave....although I was thinking more of outside the town itself to a hobby farm where I could keep a few rescued farm animals and grow an agressive garden.

But one thing I can say in conservatives' favor, they sure keep their property prices down!

It's not that conservatives are knowingly keeping their property prices down.  It's that there is relatively little demand because most people have little or no interest in living there, or because there is so much open land available nearby.  Hard to have bidding wars without bidders. 

[jerseygirl]

Nope, some of the costliest housing in NJ is in the most conservative counties, Hunterton , Ocean, Morris, Cape May

[tallguy]

Nov 4, 2023 12:53:58 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Nope, some of the costliest housing in NJ is in the most conservative counties, Hunterton , Ocean, Morris, Cape May

Not what was being talked about....  The poster was specifically referring to small towns with low property values.

[resolution]

Nov 4, 2023 11:53:22 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

I like the 234k one too! the 159k is not my style.

Would be interesting if we could organize a large contingent of like-minded individuals to pick a beautiful, well situated town for retirement and have then at one time snap up allt he available properties, getting the good prices before prices went up due to the more liberal effect on property prices....

I really like the 234k one as well, but it would be even more cleaning than my current house!

I already have the conservative town ambiance where I can look out my window and see my neighbor's "Trump 2024, Make Liberals Cry Again" banner. I have no idea why they have to express their ideas with such hostility. I mean, who posts a big banner on their house about making other people cry? I was tempted to counter with an "I believe in science" banner but my husband talked me down. I just want a friendly neighborhood so I haven't engaged.

I have read about rural college towns being a lot more progressive while still having some of the rural low prices, but I don't know where they are.

[jerseygirl]

Nov 4, 2023 14:25:23 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Nov 4, 2023 12:53:58 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Nope, some of the costliest housing in NJ is in the most conservative counties, Hunterton , Ocean, Morris, Cape May

Not what was being talked about....  The poster was specifically referring to small towns with low property values.

I was referring to low housing prices being associated with conservative people
And lots of small towns in these counties

[resolution]

I don't think anywhere in New Jersey is terribly far from decent jobs and entertainment, which is a contributing factor to the low home prices in many areas.

[pulmonarymd]

Home prices in ocean and cape may are high due to their proximity to the beach. Hunter don and morris are fairly close to jobs. Not a real close comparison to what the other posters are talking about.

[jerseygirl]

Yes absolutely agree with the conservative counties in nj are close to ocean! jobs and entertainment. Just noting that low or high housing prices not necessarily associated with liberal/conservative

[pulmonarymd]

You are really going to go with that? If you look at the 10 most expensive zip codes for real estate versus the 10 least expensive, do you really think that there is not going yo be a clear predominance in each area?

[jerseygirl]

Ummm - not necessarily was noted

[Rukh O'Rorke]

with the pop up in equities the past few days, rich dead broke still has me being ok with a 62k year initial spending budget with the car, mortgage P&I, and student loan payments modeled as separate expenses and ending at various times over the first few decades of retirement with income side waiting until 70 to collect social security and continuing the RI, inc side gig until social security (through 69). This scheme, while workable, would likely deplete my accounts more than I would like until social security came into play.

Still it is very comforting to know I can make it to 100 from here without too much worry! I'll continue to put new money into 100% cash type vehicles until I know where the work situation is going (was already!) and then reassess once I know where how work situation is falling out.

Checking my checklists! Playing it by ear. Regarding every payday and debt payment a victory right now! Next payday is just 5 days away .

Sidebar: although I didn't check at the time, rich dead broke says I was pretty ok too at the lower balances I had on Nov 1st when we redid our NW on WIR. PUtting in continued RI, inc income of just 20k/year until soc sec really makes a big difference! I don't think I included that in my other modeling as I was interested in full retirement, but nice to know it could help alot.

I wish I could model by month rather than by year. Would be nice to the picture improving each month, but as far as I know, only yearly increments are modeled.

[minnesotapaintlady]

I ran over to rich dead broke and I'm ok at about 45K/year with how things are now.  That's if I factor in SS.  If I don't, it drops to 32K/year.  Not awesome, but I wouldn't be struggling with figuring out how to pay the utilities or buy food either. 

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Nov 6, 2023 13:43:46 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I ran over to rich dead broke and I'm ok at about 45K/year with how things are now.  That's if I factor in SS.  If I don't, it drops to 32K/year.  Not awesome, but I wouldn't be struggling with figuring out how to pay the utilities or buy food either. 

cool!

I input what I thought was similar info into cfiresim, but the outlook was not as rosy. I think it may just be a more complictaed interface and I put something in differently somehow.

Will experiment more on that one over the upcoming weekend.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

making some changes in my investment accounts generally to walk back a little risk. Cashed in 50k of stocks in one of my rollovers, bringing the cash in that account up to 70k. I can access that one without penalty in 5 months, at 59.5.

Just in case .

[seriousthistime]

Nov 4, 2023 14:28:29 GMT -5 resolution said:

Nov 4, 2023 11:53:22 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

I like the 234k one too! the 159k is not my style.

Would be interesting if we could organize a large contingent of like-minded individuals to pick a beautiful, well situated town for retirement and have then at one time snap up allt he available properties, getting the good prices before prices went up due to the more liberal effect on property prices....

I really like the 234k one as well, but it would be even more cleaning than my current house!

I already have the conservative town ambiance where I can look out my window and see my neighbor's "Trump 2024, Make Liberals Cry Again" banner. I have no idea why they have to express their ideas with such hostility. I mean, who posts a big banner on their house about making other people cry? I was tempted to counter with an "I believe in science" banner but my husband talked me down. I just want a friendly neighborhood so I haven't engaged.

I have read about rural college towns being a lot more progressive while still having some of the rural low prices, but I don't know where they are.

There is one such place about 2 hours south of Chicago. A flagship university tends to temper the conservative extremists. Lots of culture, dining options, etc. It may not be as inexpensive as Paris, IL, but it is a fraction of the cost of Chicago and a lot easier to get around in.  

[TheOtherMe]

Here Iowa  City and Ames are cities of blue surrounded by a sea of red.  When they set the districts for Congress, none of the cities of blue end up in the same district.