Attitude Adjustment

In June I got a new job and I was extremely excited to be leaving the old one which was very toxic to me and caused me undue stress. Here it is only two and a half months later and the honeymoon period at the new place is over. 

I don't want to be a complainypants. This job is everything I wanted - which was basically good management.  My managers are amazing.  For example, a big stressor at the old job was the hoops everyone had to jump through to get even one day off. Here, we are encouraged to take as much time off as we would like!

The old job was a busy, fast paced environment where the work was nonstop.  On top of that, the bad managers were always having us change and redo things because their procedures and expectations were constantly changing.

In contrast, the work volume at the new job is significantly less. The managers like things done the way they always have been done, so once something is complete, that's it. The pace is slow and I'm not used to that. I started to feel dread in the sense that I am the kind of person who wants to always be busy. Years of school and decades of work train you to always be productive.

Last week I went to Lake Placid and only worked three days. There was a lot of good stuff going on after work and this past weekend which I will write about below. 

Lake Placid is my happy place

The problem was that instead of being fully present enjoying my time off in the evening and this past weekend, I was mentally and verbally complaining about work. I decided yesterday that it is time for an attitude adjustment. I have to embrace a new mindset that a laid back work environment is not bad, and maybe even good. Hey I can work on my blog so that is good!

This weekend my husband and I had two barbecues to go to which were both amazing with good food and good conversation. On Sunday we both volunteered at the Thacher Park Trail Running Festival. I didn't take pictures, but if you click on the link you can see how pretty it is. Summer finally got a long overdue professional grooming!

Last Week's Workouts: On Tuesday I hiked Hurricane Mountain, on Thursday I did a 3 mile trail run, on Saturday I ran 3 miles and on Sunday I ran 3 miles (after the trail running festival).

Thanks for reading!

One Month In

Although today is a Saturday it is the one month anniversary of the date I started my new job. I have to admit that I struggled a little the first three weeks. Not with the work itself - that I am learning. Rather, I was surprised at how much less volume of work there is at the new job. This work has a routine of monthly, quarterly and annual reports and budget duties. At my old job it was just nonstop.

It really was an adjustment to accept this slower pace. Last week, which was my fourth, I was finally able to accept that less is Ok.

One thing that helped was an email from a former coworker. I was on the committee that hired him at the old job, but I didn’t work with him directly. A few months ago, he accepted a lateral transfer to the agency I work for now. We work one floor apart and have not crossed paths yet!

He left our old agency for the same dissatisfaction with management that I felt. In his recent email he said that the work volume here is far less than it was at the old job. Then he wrote “you get used to it”. One month in, I am getting used to it.

And now a segue to work clothes. I was mentally keeping track of what I wore to work each day. One nice thing about changing jobs is that all your clothes become “new again” because the new coworkers haven’t seen them. I wore a different outfit for 19 straight days. That means I went almost a month without repeating an outfit.

Looking at my summer work wardrobe, I have around 5 dresses, 10 or so tops, 4 skirts and 4 pants. I also have a lot of shoes. To some people that may seem like a lot of clothes and to some it may be a little. For me this is enough - I don’t want more and I don’t want to spend my money on more summer work clothes.

However, I am excited because I found my favorite running shoes in my size online in pink (Mizuno Wave Rider 19). The current version is 22 which I had previously tried and disliked. I couldn’t even find the 20 or 21 in my size to try, so finding the 19 was awesome. I just hope they are legit and not a knockoff!

Muddy running shoes after a spring trail run 

Same garden this morning 

Have a great weekend!

It’s All Good

This may have been my first week since I started blogging where I did not post midweek. That’s Ok though. I have a new job and that requires mental energy.

After two weeks at the new job I feel comfortable there. The job checks off all the boxes that I was looking for when I decided to make a change.

1. Supervisor and Director - kind, laidback, no micromanaging
2. Sarcastic and Manipulative Assistant Director - THERE ISN’T ONE!😁
3. Coworkers - four of us in a big room; so quiet you can hear a pin drop
4. Staff - I don’t supervise anyone (not responsible for other people’s work)
5. Parking - 5 minutes from car to desk
6. Location - There is a park right across the street; a library in our network is down the block
7. The work itself - I can see that there is less volume of work. The work itself suits me and will be steady and repeating: monthly, quarterly, annual vs. constant flow
8. Desk - no more cubicle!
9. Windows - we have 4 windows in our room (I have always had windows at work but people do ask about this)
10. Kitchen - one floor up is the pink kitchen. I have a place to go eat my lunch that isn’t my desk.

Pretty in pink

Pink couches too 

It’s all good.

New Beginnings

Today was my first day at the new job. So far so good. I shared my blog with former coworkers which meant having to be careful if I wrote about work. I am not going to share my blog here.

Before it leaves my memory (which is already happening) I want to post about the toxic trio that comprised my bosses at the old job.

When I started there almost 7 years ago I reported to the Director D. D was wonderful, kind, smart, funny, knew his stuff - a perfect boss. When he retired, D was on the committee for his own replacement. It was very important to D that the new person be someone who would be good to “his people”.

That good person was Director B. D and B overlapped for several months and that was a great time. Director B continued in the same manner as D. I was completely entrusted with my work duties. When I handed “packages” to D or B, they didn’t even glance at them. They signed right off on them. They trusted that I knew my job!

I should point out that I do not work in the medical profession where an error could be life or death. I work in a field where everything is fixable. If the rare error was made, it was my responsibility to rectify it.

When Director B retired, some higher power decided that the unit needed two Directors. That’s when they hired the two clowns. I called the top guy Stepford Boss (after The Stepford Wives) because he walked around like a robot who never shows emotion. His voice had no modulation - he talked like a robot too. If you asked a question he would quote regulations instead of just answering yes or no. He stayed away from us worker types and let his deputy run the show.

That of course was Asinine Boss, who had to create for himself a job where there previously was none. Nor did there need to be one. Asinine and I clashed from Day 1. He was contentious, angry, mysogynistic and always had to be right. He would change things not because they needed improvement but because he “knows better”. Not many people liked him.

Asinine decided he needed a lapdog so he recruited Useless for the task. Useless had been there longer than me and we got along ok in the old days. He was good at the work he used to do which slowly became obsolete as the unit created new systems. When the unit was reorganized, Useless went to work for Asinine and it was another story.

The management book my old bosses must have read 

So for the last few years I have had to report to 3 idiots instead of one human being. I have been doing the work longer than the three of them combined, yet I was micromanaged and criticized. Everything required three sign-offs instead of one. The packages would sit on their desks for so long that we would need to redo pieces because critical dates had passed (thus causing unnecessary work).

New Boss is young and he seems really nice. I think this is going to be a good new beginning.

The Eagle Has Landed

I got the job! I found out yesterday afternoon. Since I wanted to call my husband and Useless was right there in the next cubicle, my coworker told me to say “The eagle has landed!” I don’t believe I’ve ever said that before!

I never thought I would be changing jobs at this point in my life. I have 3.5 years to go until retirement. I am old enough to retire now but I want to have 30 years of service with the government. If I retire prior to having 30 years my pension would be subject to a significant penalty. So, yes, my new job is also government but I will be moving to another agency.

This feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I emailed my Director and the administrative assistant only. I gave one week notice and I asked for tomorrow off. I’ve already filled out paperwork. I did not email Useless or Asinine. I’m not sure if Director is even going to say anything to them.

I am so thankful that I have this opportunity to make this move. It feels like it’s going to be good.

Another Race

On Saturday I ran the Freihofer Run for Women 5k. My daughter ran it as well. Here are my results:

My pace was 11:12 and I was number 125 out of 233 in my age division. It was good.

Last week’s workouts: Zumba with Michelle on Wednesday, 3.4 mile trail run on Thursday and the race on Saturday.

I’m still waiting to hear from the job that I interviewed for a month ago. They called my references and the potential new boss called me on May 22 (almost two weeks ago) to say they were submitting the appointment package to HR. It is a mystery why this is taking so long.

Meanwhile I applied for a promotion in my current office. The woman who retired from this position did work of a completely different nature than my work. She had a subordinate who is clearly next in line for that job and very capable. I don’t even want that job but it would have looked “odd” if I didn’t apply.

Our administrative assistant set me up for an interview which is in 10 days. It’s so ridiculous because I’m right here. They could interview me any old time, right? However, here’s the conundrum - Mr. Next In Line did not get asked to interview. Nor did another applicant from our unit who would be as good of a fit as me.

I have more years over both the other applicants, but only a year or so more than Mr. Next In Line. Something is going on. Are they going to restructure the unit and change the job description? Another mystery that I won’t have an answer to until the interview.

Such are the mysteries of the work world.

Frugal Friday

Yesterday I wrote a long post about my annoying, miserable bosses. Then I reread it, fine tuned it, added a picture, previewed it, reread it again , and went to bed. This morning I DELETED it. I don’t want to have negative icky posts on my blog. Let me tell you, the writing and deleting was cathartic. Anyway, this is the picture I had selected for that post:

My boss excels at making simple tasks complicated

Today was wonderful because both bosses took the day off. And it’s Friday and the start of a holiday weekend.

On to something else. . . many finance bloggers have a weekly post dedicated to the week’s frugal and thrifty activities. I decided that would be a better topic for this post.

Someone said being thrifty is when you spend less on things you don’t care about so you can spend more on the things you do. The funny thing is my husband and I like all the things we do that save money more than the expensive alternative.

1. On Monday my husband and I did a trail run with our running club. It was the final run and party for the spring series. I brought a homemade pasta salad to share. The run, the delicious barbecue dinner, and the live entertainment were all free.

2. One of our cars had a recall notice and we brought it to the dealership to be taken care of (free of course). Said vehicle also needed an oil change. Rather than pay the expensive dealership price, my husband brought it elsewhere and used a $20 off coupon. He gets major kudos for this; I would have been a one stop shopper.

3. I brought my lunch and beverages to work every day this week. I had salad every day with some type of protein: tuna, chicken or hard boiled eggs. For my snack I brought fruit four days and a yogurt one day. I put the yogurt in the freezer at work and by lunchtime it was a semi-frozen treat.

4. I carpooled to work with my daughter three days this week. Most weeks we carpool every day. Her last job was on the way to my job. Her new job is even closer. See side note below.*

5. My husband mowed our lawn. At least half of my neighbors use lawn services. That can’t be cheap! Someone from the lawn service jokingly (or for real?) asked my husband if he wanted to come work for them. Hubs said his rate is $50 an hour.😉

6. I made homemade iced tea. This costs pennies to make and it’s better for me than diet soda.

Delicious iced tea 

*Side Note Below - I heard from the new job. If you recall from last week’s recap post they called my references. This week, potential new boss called to say they were submitting the appointment package to HR. If I get this job, I will be working even closer to my daughter. Gee, we plan well!

Last Week Recap

Books
Author Herman Wouk died last week. He was nine days shy of his 104th birthday. His major works include The Caine Mutiny which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. He also wrote my favorite book of all time  Marjorie Morningstar which I’ve read about 6 times. Maybe I will reread it in his honor. Obviously, I recommend it if you’re looking for a good book.

My much loved copy of Marjorie Morningstar

Finances
Last week I signed up for a new Southwest Visa credit card. I used an affiliate link that I found on the points guy.com website. I have to spend $2,000 in three months and will earn 60,000 SW points (very easy for us and card will be paid in full each month). The annual fee for this card is $69. After the fee, this is about a $900 value. My husband and I may use the points to go to the west coast in the fall.

Work
If you read my post three job applications then you know I am job hunting. I had an interview two weeks ago and it went well. The exciting part is they called my references last week, so I am hoping to hear some good news shortly. When I started my current job 6.5 years ago, I truly believed I would be here until I retired. The work is Ok (what can I say, it’s work). The wonderful people who hired me are all retired and the new managers just don’t cut it for me.

Food
Last week I made chicken using a variation of this apple cider vinegar chicken recipe from eating bird food.com. Just like the website’s author, this has become my go-to chicken recipe. It’s low-carb, Keto-friendly, and it takes me under five minutes to throw together in the morning before work. I let it marinade in the fridge until I get home. Sometimes I make it right in a giant ziplock bag. Leftovers are great for lunch the following day in a salad.

For awesome pictures of final result go to the recipe website 

Fitness
My Mizuno Wave Rider 19 running shoes were discontinued so I took a chance and ordered the newest incarnation, Mizuno Wave Rider 22, from Amazon. They arrived last week - major fail. They are on their way back. Thank goodness for free shipping and free returns. As for last week’s workouts, I ran 4 miles on Thursday, did a bike ride on our rail trail on Saturday, and swam 40 laps on Sunday - three workouts total.

On to the new week!

Hump Day

I had a job interview yesterday! Last week I wrote a post about how I submitted three job applications. In that post, I wrote about turning down a job shortly before I started my blog. One of the three jobs that I recently applied for is in the same organization as the job I declined.

On Friday, the director from that organization called me; he wanted to talk about why I declined the first position and to tell me a little about the new opening. I explained how Job 1 was not the change that I was looking for and blah blah blah (great blogging skills, right?)🙂

He obviously liked that answer because he scheduled an interview, which was yesterday. Another man from the Job 1 interview panel was at yesterday’s interview as well. There was also a third interviewer, a woman, who was not at the first interview, but she escorted me out afterwards and we bonded. I think the interview went well.

When I arrived at my cubicle after my job interview, one of my staff told me she couldn’t enter data into the computer system she routinely uses. We reached out to IT. Lo and behold, one of my asinine bosses had changed my staff person’s privileges to “read only”. We have a nickname for that boss that isn’t suitable for a G-rated blog.

I notified my immediate boss (aka “useless”) and he was useless - hence the nickname. Meanwhile, I have to complete a friggin TPS Report if I want to so much as move a pushpin in my cubicle! Getting my bosses to sign off on anything takes weeks (and many hours of meetings amongst themselves to discuss). Ugh.

In other news, so much for keeping out of the grocery store midweek - I lasted two days. We had to pick up prescriptions and allergy medicine, so of course we got more groceries!

However, I have been doing good with my little acts of kindness.

I have been posting mostly from my iPhone lately because I love the auto complete feature. The downside is I can’t comment from my phone - either on other blogs or my own blog. Since I’m on a computer all day at work, I tend to avoid the computer in the evening after I get home. I’m going to dedicate some time this weekend to comment on all the great posts on the blogs I follow.

Hope you are having a happy hump day!

Three Job Applications

I am an avid reader and my favorites are fiction and self-improvement books. I just finished reading You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero (and yesterday I started her first book You are a Badass).

I needed to read these books 

When I started this blog - less than three short months ago - I emphasized my countdown to a retirement that is years away. Okay, that time will come; but what about right now?

Immediately before I wrote that first post, I had interviewed for and been offered another job.  I declined the offer. At the time, I had a lot of reasons / excuses for turning down that job offer. I’m not even going to revisit those reasons here. It all came down to a gut feeling that it wasn’t the right thing for me. A higher power, the universe - something was telling me to trust my gut.

My gut instinct to stay at my current cubicle job was necessary. Because nothing has changed at the current job. If anything, the things that I dislike are worse. I needed those extra months and reading these books to wake me up.

I made a list of 10 reasons why I deserve a better job. Here goes - this is exactly what I wrote in my journal (if it was in capitals I put it in caps here).

10 Reasons Why I Deserve A Better Job
1. My degrees and my certification
2. I am SMART
3. I deserve to work for a boss(es) that appreciate me
4. To be able to make decisions I am capable of making
5. Opportunity to grow
6. Opportunity to learn
7. To be away from people who bring negativity to my life
8. Because I have grown bigger than my job
9. Because my job has grown too small for me
10. To be away from a person who doesn’t think women can succeed

After I made that list, I went online and found three jobs to apply for. I sent out three job applications!  Let’s see what the universe has lined up for me.

Day Off and Last Week’s Workouts

I took today off work and boy, it sure feels great having a three day weekend. The weekends are just too short, don’t you think?

At the job I have accrued enough vacation, sick leave, and personal time such that, in conjunction with each pay period’s new accruals and holidays, I could have a paid day off every single week between now and retirement. The main drawback is I’d be short if I wanted to take whole weeks. Plus I would have to call out sick a lot and the bosses would catch on.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff! I set a goal to work out five times last week. Did I meet that goal? Keep reading and find out!🙂

On Tuesday I went to HIIT (high intensity interval training). I am iffy about that class because it is HARD, and for the past 6 months it’s been a succession of not so great instructors. Well happy day! My favorite HIIT teacher Erin is back. It was a great class and I made sure to take it very easy with the weights (I used 2 and 3 pound weights only).

On Wednesday, my daughter and I went for a 3 mile run after work. The weather was perfect and a random man on his lawn yelled out “You’re inspiring!” which made our day.

I had every intention to go to Zumba on Thursday, but instead accompanied the daughter to Target so she could exchange some shoes.

On Saturday I swam 40 laps at the Y, and on Sunday morning I ran 4 miles.

Sunday afternoon my husband and I went to a nearby nature preserve to walk on one of the trails. The trail started out great, but pretty soon we were in ankle deep squishy mud. We had the right footwear but headed back to our car after 30 minutes. I’m calling that half a workout.

In conclusion, I did 4 1/2 workouts.

Happy Earth Day!

The trail started out nice and dry 

It was a beautiful day 

There is a bird in there scurrying away from us

Temp Jobs

The summer in between my sophomore and junior years of college, I didn’t have anything lined up in the way of a job, so l signed on with a temp agency. This is back when they were still called Kelly Girls.🙂

My first assignment was at a generic office in a corporate plaza, where I was assigned to sit at a desk. That was it. I don’t remember being asked to do a single thing. They gave me a key to the desk. I think my job was watching the key. Or the desk. I didn’t have to greet visitors, answer phones, do paperwork, nothing. There was a birthday party in the afternoon, so the boss came by and said to hold down the fort while everyone was having cake. What? Did you think I was actually invited to the party?

My mistake was taking that key home with me. I really had no intention of going back, but being the responsible person that I am, back I went the next day. I hope that I brought a book - those were the pre-internet and pre-cell phone days. I left the key on the desk when I left. There was no day three.

My second assignment was at a small office; I don’t remember what they did but at least there was work to be done. The boss was full on Miami Vice style hair and clothes. I had to make copies using a mimeograph machine that looked like this.

Photo courtesy of http://hqinfo.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-art-of-mimeograph-symposium-alt-gar.html?m=1

I admit this was the 1980’s, but photocopiers had been invented. I ruined my shirt every day from the black ink that went into that contraption. Evidently, Mr. Miami didn’t want his peach colored suits ruined. I lasted about a week there.

My third assignment was at a family owned seafood supply business where my job was answering phones and taking down orders for fish. I sat in a medium size office with the owners - a brother and sister and the sister’s husband. Not the best family dynamic. Talk about awkward - the three of them bickered all day long. The callers were restaurant owners and English was not their first language. I would say Chinese, Japanese, and Indian was more like it, and very difficult to understand. I lasted one week there.

Three strikes and Kelly Girls was out. I gave up trying to find a job that summer and registered for a college class instead. Even though I earned 3 credits I don’t remember a thing about that class. But I sure remember a lot about those temp jobs.

Surviving 9 to 5

Monday started with a good plan of action. If you read my post welcoming the month of April I had some solid April goals. Go positivity!

I woke up nice and early and in addition to my usual morning routine I also did 30 sit-ups and 10 pushups (from my knees, but still, I did them). I had my water and healthy lunch ready. I cracked open a brand new journal - Harry Potter themed - to record my food, exercise and to jot down notes and things I am grateful for. Number 1: I’m grateful that I have a Harry Potter journal!🧙🏻‍♀️

So 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. was wonderful.

On to the job: I always have a long to-do list. One of Rachel Hollis’s suggestions in Girl, Stop Apologizing is to replace the long to-do list with a results list. The results list is 5 things that can be accomplished successfully that day. I used that approach and work was going along Ok.

Yet I still ended the work day stressed. No need to go into details.

No matter where you go, there you are.
- Buckaroo Banzai, “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” (1984 movie)

A variation of the quote above popped into my head and I found that online. My interpretation is that I continue to go into a situation (work), but I’m there in the wrong mindset. I’m still not acting (or reacting) in the best way. And it bleeds over to my personal life.

Or, you make a move, thinking things will be different, but you’re still you!

I received a gratitude email today with this quote:

I will continue to work on being patient, being joyful, having gratitude, working out, and writing my blog. Keeping a sense of humor always helps too!

Get me some rope fast! 

Birthday and Last week’s workouts

Last week work was crazy; it’s a busy time for us. It’s important to stay calm but sometimes the job can be frustrating! The other day I was thinking about the scene in the movie “Office Space” when Peter and his two friends destroy the printer. I just watched it again on YouTube - so funny. Oh my, when they have to hold back Michael Bolton from attacking it with his bare hands. Just watch it now; I’ll wait.

Sunday’s local newspaper had a front page article about a new business called Relief Room.  For a fee they provide a baseball bat, protective gear and stuff to smash. Relief Room as in stress relief.  Of course they referenced “Office Space”. Apparently, it’s not just me that feels that way!

My older son’s birthday was on Friday. We celebrated by going out for Indian food which I haven’t had in ages. It’s always special when one of my children has a birthday - I’m so proud of all of them!

Last week’s workouts: On Tuesday I swam 50 laps, on Thursday I did Zumba with Tammy, on Saturday I did Zumba with Tammy again, and on Sunday I ran 4 miles. A four - workout week on the books.

I wouldn’t normally do two classes with the same teacher in one week, but Tammy is my favorite Zumba teacher. On Thursday she told us she is giving up teaching that class at the end of April. 😭Fortunately, she will still teach on Saturday, however that class is taught in rotation, meaning she is there every third week. I am going to get as much Tammy in as possible.

I felt so good after that Saturday class, I was thinking why would anyone NOT exercise? Here’s this thing that exists, costs very little (all you need to walk or run is a pair of sneakers) and the reward is 100 times the effort.

If I inspire anybody, then my work for this day is done.

Bittersweet Symphony

The way I feel about work more often than not 

Units of Time: Work, pink nails and The Bachelor

One of my favorite movies is “About A Boy” with Hugh Grant. In case you haven’t seen it, Hugh Grant plays Will, a self-centered, somewhat immature bachelor who doesn’t work because his father wrote a one hit wonder Christmas song that earns him royalties forever. Things get interesting when Will meets Marcus, a 12 year old with issues of his own. I often think about Will’s “units of time”.

Will:


My day yesterday in units of time:
Morning routine / breakfast  - 4 units
Commuting (round trip) - 2 units
Work - 15 units (arghhhh)
Meals - 2 units (see note1)
Nail salon - 2 units
Library- 1 unit
Web-based research - 2 units (see note 2)
“Jeopardy” - 1 unit
“The Bachelor” - 4 units (see note 3)
Reading - 1 unit

Note 1 - My husband made dinner.
Note 2 - My web-based research is not like Will’s web-based research.
Note 3 - I also did a crossword puzzle and played word games on my phone at the same time. Multitasking!

The takeaway from this is that Will is absolutely right! How do I manage to cram that job in? 😉

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is what are we busy about?
- Henry David Thoreau

Pink nails 

Do they ever talk about regular stuff like their favorite movie 

Back To The Cubicle

I’m back to work after 12 days away - 10 vacation plus the weekend prior. It was quite busy while I was gone. Fortunately my staff (the girls, women, team or whatever they are called!) did awesome.

Yesterday was my 11 year anniversary working for this government agency. I spent about 4.5 years at my last unit and I have 6.5 at my current position. (I was promoted.) I never worked in a cubicle in any of my past jobs. Subtracting days off and holidays, I calculate that I’ve spent 18,562 hours in a cubicle. But who’s counting?

Apparently the government thinks we work better in big open spaces where we can all see and hear each other. This puts a positive spin on meetings - at least I get out of the cubicle.

Fortunately, we cubicle dwellers have come up with a few diversions to help us get through our days.

Happy working!

Decorated cubicles give the illusion of fun

Sugar fixes help

COFFEE!!!

FIRE VS. Traditional Retirement

No, I don’t mean getting fired vs. traditional retirement! FIRE is an acronym for Financial Independence, Retire Early.  This movement has taken the blogging world by storm, and influenced me to start my blog.  In fact, one blogger Rockstar Finance, has compiled a directory of personal finance bloggers.  As of this post, there are 2,131 personal finance blogs in the directory.  Out of those, 366 categorize themselves as Early Retirement blogs.  As a comparison, only 18 categorize themselves as Traditional Retirement blogs. Some of the other categories are: Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Minimalism, Millennials and more. You should check it out.

The FIRE enthusiasts believe that the traditional American path of education followed by 40 - 45 years in the workforce and retirement at age 65 is crazy.  They believe that if you start the FIRE lifestyle in your 20’s or 30’s you can achieve Financial Independence and not be reliant on a job aka “The Man”.  Instead, you can retire early, live off your investments and side hustles, and enjoy life while you are still young.

Unfortunately, early retirement is not an option for me.  For one thing, I am on the wrong side of 50 🙂so that ship has sailed.  Second, I work in government so my retirement will be primarily funded by my pension, and that requires a certain number of years. 

When I was in my 20’s and 30’s I worked part time because my children were young, and that means I have to work longer now at this end.  But that is OK, because my children are adults now and I don’t regret one minute being with them.  I would have hated working more in an effort to have saved money back when they were little and needed me around.  Plus, looking back, my husband and I don’t see how we could have changed our lifestyle much to save more than we did!  I mean, those FIRE people really do some dramatic things to save.

I will admit there are weeks when I wish I had more days to do things I enjoy like: reading, running, hiking, cooking, socializing with friends and family, AND the things I don’t necessarily enjoy but must get done like: laundry, grocery shopping, and errands.  Yes, an extra day or two or three or four or five off per week would be nice.  Boy, I am envious of those FIRE people.  

Thank you for reading!

  

"Sunset in the Alps" by mmartinsson is licensed under CC by-nc-nd 2.0