What do you do if you make good money at your job but don’t want to keep working? Should you sacrifice your dreams to keep making a lot of money? Should you take a significant pay cut to actually enjoy life? If you are one of the extremely fortunate individuals who get to ask themselves these questions, we congratulate you.
One person, in particular, reached their early retirement goal in their mid-thirties and suddenly found themselves with more money than they could ever reasonably spend in one lifetime. They took their concerns to the community in r/fatFIRE, a group of people focused on financial independence, and early retirement with a fat stash of money. Here is what they said.
Please keep in mind that everything you read in this community and in this article are opinions. You should always consult with an expert before making any financial or legal decision.
The Question
A person investing in stocks.
The author of the post is married with two children. They earn $350k every year and receive $700k in restricted stock units each year that vest after three years. They have several million dollars in savings and investments and a moderate amount of expenses.
They say they have a goal of walking away from their job after three more years and looking for a different career. They want to keep working, mostly for the health benefits for their family.
They were wondering if it’s more worth it to keep working in their current position for another ten years or if they can reasonably justify walking away after just three and taking a 90% pay cut.
The Community Response
A chart of stocks.
There were plenty of comments diving into the details of their own mental budgets and suggesting saving/investing strategies to optimize earnings for retirement, but a few addressed the actual question of life versus work.
Some commenters pointed out that companies use stock options as a way to tie their employees to the company, even if that employee would rather leave. They often call them “golden handcuffs”, since they are really nice and can be profitable, but keep employees prisoner, especially in places where the cost of living is high.
Others also suggested that he doesn’t have to make a decision today. With two young children, it might seem like life is busy, but it’s only going to get busier the older they get, so it might be worth it to work while he still can and bank what he earns before quitting before the busiest years. On the other hand, the first seven years are the most important and influential of a child’s life, so it might already be too late to quit if he wants to have any significant influence on the life and emotional health of his children.
The thing is, whatever choice he ends up making, it’s not really about money. The author expressed that he had significant FOMO about the RSUs he would be leaving behind if he quit, but he was never going to be at risk of running out of money. He has more money than most other people will ever see in their lifetime, so it just comes down to personal preference. Unfortunately, too many people in these communities have lost sight of reality and the whole purpose of money, and often feel like they’ve failed if their earnings or investments aren’t completely optimized.
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