Several weeks ago, I typed penned a post titled, “What Did I Do?!,” in which I gave a general download as to what I did during my first year after FIREing. As things turned out, I did a fair amount of work during the year. Hey, retirement police! I’ve always said that it was FI that I was chasing. Not necessarily RE. So, come at me!
Inquiring minds that read the post could be forgiven for thinking, “Hey, blogger guy! What gives with all the work?! Weren’t you supposed to be climbing pina coladas in an RV, or whatever it is that retirees are supposed to do? Sounds like you left a full-time job only to keep working full time in some other job(s).”
A perfectly sensible conclusion.
So, I scribbled published a follow-up post titled “How Do I Do It?!,” in which I explained that while it might’ve seemed like I was working a lot, it wasn’t necessarily so. The reality was a decidedly part-time week of mostly fun “work” and volunteering. Enough to keep me somewhat and happily busy, but not so much that I felt that I couldn’t ever rest or do whatever I might want to do on the spur of the moment.
Among the work I did were some unexpected projects that were right in my wheelhouse but of the type I figured I was done with once I FIRE’d. Mr. ryangibsonclever, smart and inquisitive cookie that he is, wrote in a comment, “The work which gives you anxiety like your old job. Can you not just quit this? The stock market is looking like it’s taking a positive step, you still have your part time gig and did i read your wife is still working (or doing some sort of work?). They should cover the vast majority of your outgoings. It feels unnecessary to still have that work holding over you if it doesn’t bring happiness or the social side the part time gig brings.”
So, I figured another post—this one here, Dear Reader!—was in order to address those sensible remarks.
Brainy Aaaggghhh
The short answer is that we don’t “need” the money so long as The Missus works (which she continues to do, by choice). Her income covers enough of our current expenses such that it, combined with passive income and liquidating some investments at a rate far lower than 4%, covers our expenses.
That’s just math.
But the brain has a mind of its own.
If you’re an investor, perhaps you noticed that 2022 was a totally sucky suboptimal year for investments. And that suckiness suboptimalness (it’s a word, trust me) didn’t start sometime well into the year. No, 2022 started out bad just about right out of the gate. Making things worse was that bonds (which form a portion of our investment portfolio), which usually act as a counterweight when equities tank are down were naughty little workers and didn’t do that job so well. Other investment types, some of which we’re invested in and (most) others we’re not, did almost universally poorly. And, in some cases, absolutely dismally. In short, there was almost nowhere to hide.
I’ve noted many times on this here blog that my biggest concern about FIREing was sequence of returns risk. Given what I considered strong economic fundamentals going into 2022, and that there was little sign that a (large) economic downturn was imminent, I was hopeful that our investment portfolio would grow further before any downturn arrived. And that once the downturn did come, it’d do no more than knock the value of our portfolio from well above our FIRE number to something close to (but still above) that number at worst.
Because 2022 started out bad from the get go, this scenario didn’t come to pass. Well, not exactly so. That is, while things slid from the beginning of the year on, at the time I FIREd, our portfolio value was a fair amount over our FIRE number. So, we already had some cushion to absorb the blow.
Down and down we go
By the second quarter of 2022, losses were mounting. It appeared that the downturn was grounded in reason and would continue for some time. And while I was earning a little bit of money from my fun side gig, it wasn’t high enough to give my jaded brain much comfort. Math and investment returns history notwithstanding, my general, long-standing money fears that I described in my Money, Man! series of posts, combined with my justifiable concern about sequence-of-returns risk, caused me increasing anxiety.
To try and allay my multiple concerns—rational or not—I began entertaining the idea of a fun part-time job for a few hours a week. In time, I actually applied for some jobs.
As the second quarter progressed, our investment portfolio losses mounted further. Fortuitously, my fun side gig revenues jumped unexpectedly, too.
For a brief while I thought that those revenues might squelch my concerns. They only did so a bit. But by the time I realized that, I got an offer for a part-time job.
I thought that the combination of the increasingly lucrative side gig and the part-time job income would not only bring me peace of mind, but also (substantially) offset our portfolio losses. Had the downturn not accelerated in the second and third quarters of 2022, that might’ve happened. But those losses did mount further and accelerate.
Surprise, surprise
It was during this time that I got the unexpected opportunity to do some work along the lines of what I did in my full-time days. I might’ve rejected the offer earlier in 2022, or had our investment portfolio done very well in 2022. But given my mental state resulting from the year’s investing environment to date, I didn’t. Sweetening the deal were the actual work, almost all aspects of the working conditions, and the compensation.
I accepted the offer with an almost equal mix of excitement and regret. Excitement because I had reason to believe that the unexpected income would mostly or completely allay my (even if irrational) money-related concerns. Regret because I feared that regardless of my feelings on the type of work, my heart might not turn out to be in it anymore.
As things turned out, those feelings were spot on. The income did in fact go a long way toward calming my brain. But I found that—notwithstanding everything great about the opportunity— my heart was no longer in the work itself to the extent it was in my full-time working days. The thrill was indeed mostly gone.
In time, the opportunity wound down. My feelings of excitement and regret now took different forms. Now, I slightly regretted not having this additional money stream. But I was excited by the prospect of not having to do the work, which I’d come to realize that I no longer enjoyed.
Over and out
So, there you have it. As for “The work which gives you anxiety like your old job. Can you not just quit this?” Yes, I can. And I did.
And as for “The stock market is looking like it’s taking a positive step, you still have your part time gig and did i read your wife is still working (or doing some sort of work?). They should cover the vast majority of your outgoings.” Yep, we’re doing fine financially. And as for our investments, things have turned at least less sucky suboptimal. And perhaps positive for the foreseeable future (tho I think 2023 will still be a bit of a roller coaster ride).
And as for “It feels unnecessary to still have that work holding over you if it doesn’t bring happiness or the social side the part time gig brings.” Yes, that’s right. That’s why I didn’t lament the opportunity ending and why I’m not actively seeking further opportunities in this area. Not saying that I won’t accept any such opportunities going forward. Just that I learned more about my current self in 2022, so the mix of factors that I consider before accepting an offer is different than it was in 2022.
And in the end . . .
While our income from The Missus’ job, my fun part-time job and gig work, and our investments largely covers our expenses, and while we weathered the storm of 2022 (and hopefully will weather any remainder of the downturn), something else very positive came out of 2022. Namely that I realized that (income-generating) opportunities come with regularity. Some are better than others. But opportunities they all are.
So, while I expect 2023 to be rocky for us on the investment front, my brain is in a different place than it was in 2022.I have every reason to believe that it won’t hurt anything like as much as in 2022.
