Not sure I want this promotion

Well, when all is said and done, I used them (the company) as a tool to reach my goal of expediting my mortgage pay-off. For that reason alone, I don't regret taking the position. Now I just need to muster up the enthusiasm to continue to put myself through the stress and strain for another 8 to 9 months. ;)
 
My story and opinion:
I retired 8 years ago at the age of 56. Missed my my goal by 1 yr. I too was “Promoted” from swing shift supervisor to managing both shifts, after the day supervisor retired, with no increase in pay, having to herd 84 cats now and 14-16 hr days. After 2 yrs of this I had enough. I loved my boss and gave her 6 months notice to figure out my replacement but only gave the hospital my 2 weeks. During those last 6 months I did not give a shit about work and spent most of my time planning life after work.
In my situation I invested well and had 0 debt. The only wild card was health insurance and like you my wife had insurance through her work. She finally retired last month at 66 and it will cost me $13k for 13 months of coverage until I can get Medicare. I did not have to start SS at 62 and can wait until full retirement age. If you do take SS at 62 you can still work and make $19K without penalty. I suggest you sit down with pencil and paper and write out the payments you will receive at different retirement ages. If you believe you will have a long life then the larger payments if you wait will add up. Many of your expenses will be eliminated. You will still have upkeep on the house with taxes, maintenance and insurance. Travel is our biggest expense. Motor homes are not cheap gas, campground fees and repairs add up quickly.
The only down side I have is that with my wife is now retired and she hangs out at my shop too much and wants to rearrange my stuff. We now wheel in the local mountains during the week and enjoy it not being a zoo.
Have a happy retirement you earned it after all.
 
My story and opinion:
I retired 8 years ago at the age of 56. Missed my my goal by 1 yr. I too was “Promoted” from swing shift supervisor to managing both shifts, after the day supervisor retired, with no increase in pay, having to herd 84 cats now and 14-16 hr days. After 2 yrs of this I had enough. I loved my boss and gave her 6 months notice to figure out my replacement but only gave the hospital my 2 weeks. During those last 6 months I did not give a shit about work and spent most of my time planning life after work.
In my situation I invested well and had 0 debt. The only wild card was health insurance and like you my wife had insurance through her work. She finally retired last month at 66 and it will cost me $13k for 13 months of coverage until I can get Medicare. I did not have to start SS at 62 and can wait until full retirement age. If you do take SS at 62 you can still work and make $19K without penalty. I suggest you sit down with pencil and paper and write out the payments you will receive at different retirement ages. If you believe you will have a long life then the larger payments if you wait will add up. Many of your expenses will be eliminated. You will still have upkeep on the house with taxes, maintenance and insurance. Travel is our biggest expense. Motor homes are not cheap gas, campground fees and repairs add up quickly.
The only down side I have is that with my wife is now retired and she hangs out at my shop too much and wants to rearrange my stuff. We now wheel in the local mountains during the week and enjoy it not being a zoo.
Have a happy retirement you earned it after all.

Thank you for that, my friend. I read it to my wife, who also enjoyed hearing of the similarities, as well as the hearing about the "shop time". Always great when you can start the morning with a good laugh!
 
my only trepidation about any of this, for anyone in a similar situation right now, is the insanely volatile state of the economy, and the world for that matter. Making any plan today based on today's finances, earnings, the market, inflation, Social Security, healthcare and so on, may be completely upside down a year from now, 5 years from now... I guess what I'm saying @Squatch is that if you're planning it out without a lot of room for error it could get fairly precarious in years to come, 'specially if the current wave of shit-fucks in charge keep getting their agenda passed. Sounds like you've factored these things in, being frugal is huge, being debt free is even mo bigly yuge
 
Getting mortgage/credit paid off is a big plus. With your wife working, and you being frugal, it might be a good time to look for a small job that makes you happy. Happiness is a key component in personal health.
Good luck to you and yours Squatch , , , , smiles!

Thanks, HL. There are plenty of places around here looking for workers, so yeah, maybe if I get bored enough having to work on projects. That is a thing, isn't it...? ;)
 
my only trepidation about any of this, for anyone in a similar situation right now, is the insanely volatile state of the economy, and the world for that matter. Making any plan today based on today's finances, earnings, the market, inflation, Social Security, healthcare and so on, may be completely upside down a year from now, 5 years from now... I guess what I'm saying @Squatch is that if you're planning it out without a lot of room for error it could get fairly precarious in years to come, 'specially if the current wave of shit-fucks in charge keep getting their agenda passed. Sounds like you've factored these things in, being frugal is huge, being debt free is even mo bigly yuge

This is the one thing that f's with my head, WW. But I have come to the conclusion that I can only control what I can control. For a while, I lived my life without any real goals in mind, and I found myself feeling fairly lost, and without any drive. Once I set some real goals (like being debt-free), I felt like each day had real purpose. I need to keep my eye on the prize, while having the sense to realize that the gold ring could turn out to be only plastic. If so, I'll make do. Always have. (y)
 
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How does one find a wife who will go to work while the husband hangs out doing nothing all day?

I'm asking for a friend.

I admit that I married well and got the better part of the deal. She kept working because she loved her job but her job in the hospital was out sourced to a large east coast conglomerate and you very well know how that went. She is a saver and unlike many Ca girls she dose not have to spend money to impress people. I learned along time ago that money is my Bitch and to make it work for me before I spend it. I bought my shop property in 98 and it has been my sanctuary ever since. I am busier now than when I worked full time. Keeping busy with projects is what keeps you going. Those who sit with a beer in hand do not last long.
 
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Keeping busy with projects is what keeps you going. Those who sit with a beer in hand do not last long.

This is so true. I've lost some good friends who retired without anything to keep their minds busy. My car buddies, however...hell, they'll have to live forever to finish up all the projects they have!
 
I've been retired since 12/31/2021 (I do work 25 hours a week in a stress free retirement job). The retirement job is fine, but moving on has taken some time to settle in for me.

I'm guessing that there might be an adjustment period for me, as well, but I'm thinking it will be short-lived. I have too many projects to get to for me to allow myself to second-guess my decision, or suddenly start questioning my place in life. I might take a moment to feel guilty about the wife still heading off to work at some ungodly hour in the morning, but it'll pass...;)
 
I'm guessing that there might be an adjustment period for me, as well, but I'm thinking it will be short-lived. I have too many projects to get to for me to allow myself to second-guess my decision, or suddenly start questioning my place in life. I might take a moment to feel guilty about the wife still heading off to work at some ungodly hour in the morning, but it'll pass...;)

My wife has a good career, and she'll probably work 12 more years. Watching her leave for work in the mornings actually brings me a little happiness and quiet time.
 
Before my wife retired I was out the door most mornings. Now I’m out the the door before she gets out of bed most mornings.

Squatch you will go through a range of emotions before your retirement date but afterwards it’s pure joy.
 
Before my wife retired I was out the door most mornings. Now I’m out the the door before she gets out of bed most mornings.

Squatch you will go through a range of emotions before your retirement date but afterwards it’s pure joy.

Thanks, buddy. I'm looking forward to it!
 
Took today off just to enjoy this moment. I just got back from the bank. I officially no longer have a mortgage. Paying the house off is a huge first-step for me. I literally had goosebumps when walking out the door of the bank. The situation was made all the sweeter by having the opportunity to do this while dealing with my favorite bank teller, a wonderful woman that I've been dealing with for almost sixteen years. She actually did a little dance behind the counter when the payment went through! :LOL:

Tonight, the wife and I will have a celebratory drink, and enjoy the moment. Feeling pretty good, right now. Now, onto the next step...
 
Took today off just to enjoy this moment. I just got back from the bank. I officially no longer have a mortgage. Paying the house off is a huge first-step for me. I literally had goosebumps when walking out the door of the bank. The situation was made all the sweeter by having the opportunity to do this while dealing with my favorite bank teller, a wonderful woman that I've been dealing with for almost sixteen years. She actually did a little dance behind the counter when the counter when the payment went through! :LOL:

Tonight, the wife and I will have a celebratory drink, and enjoy the moment. Feeling pretty good, right now. Now, onto the next step...

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So, I'm in something of a battle with HR (well, they're the face of the company's policies, so...). I have a new employee that has been with us for nine weeks. Within that nine weeks he has only had two weeks where he worked a full 40-hour workweek. And I'm not saying that for the other seven weeks, he missed an hour or so, here or there. No, this clown has missed one hundred and eleven hours...111 hours...since his hire date nine weeks ago. And guess what? I can't even fire the guy! HR says he needs at least three more unexcused absences before I can even begin considering making anything stick. Mind you, I wrote him up (Written Warning) two weeks ago, and within the week, he missed another ten hours. I told HR that he obviously has no regard for his job, and that I cannot rely on him in any form of fashion. She said "I would caution you against making assumptions like that", to which I replied "How in the hell can you in any way defend this guy?" Then she actually said to me "Just because someone doesn't share the same work ethic as you, you cannot just make assumptions on why he misses time." Really? For the last two days, he missed time because his knee hurt. I told this to HR, and then told her that if I stayed home every time I had pain in my knees, then we never would have met, because my knees hurt 24/7. It's not like he has cancer, for crying out loud! He misses time because his girlfriend is having a bad day, and it would "upset her" if he left her home to go to work...:rolleyes:

I told the HR gal (whose pronouns are "she/her", she proudly proclaims) that "I'm not going to miss this nonsense. Not one bit." Then I walked out the door. I had planned on working until June 30th, just to pull in a little extra cash. I discussed it with my wife, and I'm now looking at May 1st. She's 100% onboard with whatever I decide. Hell, she said she wouldn't blame me if I went in the next day and told them it was my last. But for me, May 1st is looking really good, right now. It'll impact my finances a bit, but nothing I can't handle. The stress of this kind of bullshit will likely kill me before I can make it to June 30th...

Rant over. :mad:
 
So, I'm in something of a battle with HR (well, they're the face of the company's policies, so...). I have a new employee that has been with us for nine weeks. Within that nine weeks he has only had two weeks where he worked a full 40-hour workweek. And I'm not saying that for the other seven weeks, he missed an hour or so, here or there. No, this clown has missed one hundred and eleven hours...111 hours...since his hire date nine weeks ago. And guess what? I can't even fire the guy! HR says he needs at least three more unexcused absences before I can even begin considering making anything stick. Mind you, I wrote him up (Written Warning) two weeks ago, and within the week, he missed another ten hours. I told HR that he obviously has no regard for his job, and that I cannot rely on him in any form of fashion. She said "I would caution you against making assumptions like that", to which I replied "How in the hell can you in any way defend this guy?" Then she actually said to me "Just because someone doesn't share the same work ethic as you, you cannot just make assumptions on why he misses time." Really? For the last two days, he missed time because his knee hurt. I told this to HR, and then told her that if I stayed home every time I had pain in my knees, then we never would have met, because my knees hurt 24/7. It's not like he has cancer, for crying out loud! He misses time because his girlfriend is having a bad day, and it would "upset her" if he left her home to go to work...:rolleyes:

I told the HR gal (whose pronouns are "she/her", she proudly proclaims) that "I'm not going to miss this nonsense. Not one bit." Then I walked out the door. I had planned on working until June 30th, just to pull in a little extra cash. I discussed it with my wife, and I'm now looking at May 1st. She's 100% onboard with whatever I decide. Hell, she said she wouldn't blame me if I went in the next day and told them it was my last. But for me, May 1st is looking really good, right now. It'll impact my finances a bit, but nothing I can't handle. The stress of this kind of bullshit will likely kill me before I can make it to June 30th...

Rant over. :mad:

Definitely sounds like it’s time to go. Like was said before, you earned it. Go enjoy retirement!
 
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