What’s it been, almost four months since I left the Corporate Beast? I thought it’d be easy to jump back into writing blog posts with a sudden void in my calendar. It turns out there are lots of things to distract an early retiree, and it’s not all roses.
Despite some bumps in the road, the overall picture is very good so far. Early retirement in fact does not suck, and I am enjoying the freedom to take on different challenges and focus more on areas that need attention.
What’s not to love? I no longer have to put on a show several times a day in meetings where little is accomplished or worse, acrimony spills out among peers who are overworked and unsupported by their bosses. I now have time to focus on the rental business, which is fortunate since maintenance tasks were piling up.
Still, there is a level of anxiety that hits you (unexpectedly), even after all of the prep work and spreadsheets that convince you NOW is the time to quit. Specifically, how will we replace our health coverage? Do we have the liquidity to handle big, unforeseen expenses? And the strangest of all: Why do I feel like a failure??
Unpacking the Goodness of Quitting Corporate America
It’s no secret that corporate jobs are among the least fulfilling, yet most financially rewarding gigs you can find. I’m incredibly grateful to have spent over 25 years chopping away in that forest. Met some good friends, had a few laughs, and made serious cash along the way.
What they don’t teach you in school are the coping mechanisms for surviving the constant churn and change that define publicly traded companies. “Strategic” decisions and direction are only “strategic” in PowerPoint slides.
In truth, especially in the health care services industry, strategy is spaghetti thrown at the wall and it looks really appetizing until it starts to ooze down, is then forgotten as it slides to the floor until a new batch of leaders picks it up, rinses it off, and hurls it again at the same wall to see if it’ll stick this time. (It won’t.)
That shit gets old fast. And I don’t miss it. Sure, there were bursts of meaningful productivity during my tenure, but the amount of wasted “productivity” probably could have paid for a half dozen kidney transplants.
Now, what passes for innovation are platitudes about Artificial Intelligence and a return to command and control management. Good leaders were shown the door, and the ones that remain are at best, simply managers.
We could also dive into the silly return-to-office policies and what joys a daily commute brings, but I’ll be happy to work from the coffee shop or my humble home office from here on in.
Taking on the Challenge of Getting a Real Estate License
This was perhaps the biggest distraction of all during my inaugural summer of freedom. A real estate salesperson license would offer all sorts of benefits to the rental business. I figured, what the hell? It can’t be that hard.
In fact, it’s borderline easy. The toughest part of getting certified as a real estate salesperson is sitting through 90 hours of on-demand material (much of it banal), and navigating the test proctoring process. As of yesterday, I knocked out the final test and checked off a nice achievement.
Why did I pursue this particular check box? I probably should have been in real estate all along, either in construction management, property management, architecture, etc. The way I drone on about it on this blog, clearly residential real estate is a passion of mine.
And that’s the beauty of early retirement with financial independence. You can switch gears and try something different without the fear of hitting skid row.
The key is to become even more useful and effective, absent the nasty side effects of “working for the man”. Part-time buying and selling houses while working towards a broker’s license will keep me engaged and generate extra income for giving.
(See, we don’t retire early to swing in hammocks and sip pina coladas all day. The world is on fire, in case you haven’t noticed. And our time and energy on this planet are more limited than we’d like to admit.)
I expect it’ll be fun to take a crack at buying and selling homes. I don’t expect a huge or steady paycheck since the competition is stiff. A local realtor recently said, “You can throw a rock and hit a realtor”. Okay – in truth, every realtor has said that…
Regardless of how many home sales I may or may not get to earn a commission from, the long view is to become a broker and build a boutique property management business. You could throw two rocks before hitting a property manager, no?
The Scary Parts About Retiring Early
Health care! Ack!!
Even though the Affordable Care Act makes things immensely more, well, affordable, moving away from a company-sponsored plan is still a scary thing to do. We landed on a $1,100 monthly premium for a Bronze HSA plan covering two adults and two kids. This is roughly what I budgeted for in the diabolical planning stages.
We still had to find a few new specialists and dentists that would be covered under the new plan. It’s not even a given that one’s meds will be covered the same as before. Fortunately, we were able to navigate most of these changes, but you could fill enough hours for a full-time job coordinating all of it.
(What we really need here, privileged people, is an early retirement concierge…)
On the health topic in general, my health took a minor hit this summer thanks to the anxiety caused by this bigly life change. Anxiety and stress from big life changes, even seemingly positive ones, are NOT fake news…
I want to blame some of this anxiety on my former employer’s management for their indifference when I announced my departure. It could be they were happy to see me go, despite the handsome bonus awarded to me a few weeks earlier.
Or, they were miffed that I announced my resignation just a few weeks after the bonus was deposited into my bank account. But I don’t think either of those is true. I did after all stick around for 3 months after submitting my resignation. I think it just boils down to human behavior and survival tactics in that awful corporate arena. Managers look out for themselves.
But as someone who managed (and LED) people for a good chunk of his tenure, I would’ve done more to acknowledge 17 years of service from one of my employees. If for no other reason than to be a good person, show goodwill, and avoid another negative promoter on the heap. Hell, I would have even done an exit interview, if it was offered. Alas…
Let Go, Oh Bitter Corporate Survivor!
Fortunately, the various inflammations from anxiety have abated in recent weeks. The completion of my real estate curriculum helped, as did a resounding bill of health at my annual physical. And no colonoscopy is due this year. That’s a whole other reason to celebrate!
So no, I don’t feel like a failure as that’s totally warped thinking. The company I worked for has struggled to move past its consulting eat-or-be-eaten DNA and retain quality leadership. Sometimes even a lucrative payday isn’t enough to keep you entertained. Where I might have failed is in the game of politics.
Knowing when to bend for the bad and perform to the hilt will get you very far in a corporate career. I just hope my kids never have to step foot in those same glass walls when their job search commences.
The Airbnb Skinny Cow
Finally, the summer has been a struggle for the so-called “Airbnb Cash Cow“. Revenues are down sharply (~25%) this year after stellar years in 2021-22. It’s a consequence of oversupply and inflation jitters. A lot of new hosts are jumping in since COVID, but it’s driving down bookings and creating a housing crisis for several markets.
I’ll write more about that situation in a future post later this fall. However, it is a contributor to anxiety when a key driver of post-retirement cash flow is on the decline.
But you know what? We don’t sit around and mope about it, we get busy and get shit done! That means new listing photos, a new pricing tool (PriceLabs), and investing in improved furnishings.
How Early Retirees Spend Their Free Time
I had an opportunity to meet up with my FIRE buddy Carl of 1500 Days to Freedom here in Minneapolis last month for a few beers. His perspective is always helpful (and I think his repeated visits to this great city hint at a future move…?)
We talked about Taylor Swift concerts and real estate, but the main takeaway for me is that THIS GUY IS BUSY. I have no need to worry about finding productive uses for my time now that I’m out of the corporate maze.
With colder months ahead and all that summer drama behind me, I hope to get back to a third or fourth reboot of this blog and build some consistency in my postings. Hope springs eternal. There is never a shortage of topics, just a shortage of motivation to write. C’mon, Cubert!
Stick with me – the ride is just beginning!
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Glad you’re doing well sir!! Real estate is fun – probably even more so when you don’t need a sale to be able to eat 🙂 hopefully you get first dibs at seeing any deals before others too!
Hey I just saw that you had a gig working with board games? What an interesting experience! I used to love spending hours playing Axis and Allies back in grade school. Now it’s Monopoly and Sorry with the kiddos – sometimes I let them win 😉
Good to see a post, Cubert! I’ve commented here and there over the years, but I’m local in the TC and I’ve always enjoyed your writing. Your analogy of the strategic decision-making similar to spaghetti oozing down the wall had me spitting out my coffee….you’re dead on. I’m at a tech company that’s missed our number five quarters in a row and the bigwigs are frantically trying to pick the lint of those noodles and try again!
Anyways, would love to see a post here and there. But also – enjoy those kids, and this beautiful weather!
LOL – I know, right?? More are coming, promise!
I really appreciate your readership, Britt! I kind of enjoyed how the spaghetti metaphor evolved as I slung this post together. Pasta abuse??
To the main point – Kids and time well spent in the “here and now” take priority above all else. Thanks for that notion!
While there were some parts of it I did not enjoy, overall my career in the corporate world was a lot of fun with many more wins than losses. However, I don’t miss it and enjoy retirement even more. I had a little anxiety prior to walking away from corporate life but not afterwards. My exit was different than yours, they threw me parties and dinners and there were lots of handshakes and hugs, the mayor even gave me a key to the city. And I’m still very involved with the same business leaders and politicos due to the consulting I do and the nonprofit boards I chair. It sounds like you are very intentional about how you are approaching this phase of your life, and that means you’ll be successful at it. I expect to learn a few things by following your journey, as I have in the past.
Hi Steve!
Always appreciate your thoughts and experience. Safe to say my experience wasn’t quite as storybook as yours, and I can admit that some of the venting in this post is a reflection of how things went for me during my tenure – 100% of which I owned. Nevertheless, I find it hard to believe that someone who follows the golden path can’t wince or feel a bit jaded when those around him or her are treated like meat widgets.
I’m going to have to be satisfied with the small but meaningful happy hour that my peers sent me off with – that’s enough for me.
Makes me feel better to read this. There’s been a decent amount of FIRE hate out there lately and I’m happy it’s going well for you especially in this market.
Best of luck and can’t wait to hear more!
Hi Brian – I’m glad to see this comment. I’m curious why there’s any sort of hate about FIRE out there. Done right, you free up a seat for someone who needs that paycheck more than you do, you’re one less car on the road during commutes, and you’re freeing up time to be a bigger contributor to your community and health – all good things.
Would love to hear more about the hate side – It could lead to a deep introspective post.
That’s great Cubert and as you say, the ride is just beginning, or ‘we’ve only just begun’ as the Carpenters sang. Generally speaking I reckon that, as you have discovered, early retirement goes well in most cases. The secret, I think, and as I think you have also discovered, is to get rid of all that pre-retirement stress and all that post-retirement anxiety – there’s really no need for it. Keep calm and collect, navigate a steady ship, no sudden movements and all will be well. You may recall that I quit work in 2004 at age 46, we’ve had no health insurance or any other insurance for that matter, touch wood all is well – this gives us the extra impetus to look after ourselves completely ! We also gave up worrying, which is a big help, what will be will be. On the whole, we have no regrets and everything proceeds smoothly. I still keep in touch with the industry and represent my old university out here in Hong Kong, the difference now is that I spend my time talking about it rather than doing it – cheers !
Thanks Ben! The beginning indeed. The Carpenters remind me so much of childhood – NICE!
If I can just get a handle on those amazing “I got the time now” habits – like meditation, yoga, etc. The sky is the limit, but this blogger seems content to fill his days with all the busyness of before retirement. DOH!
I appreciate greatly your example. More to come on how things pan out in the day to day. And I’ll be damned if this becomes a first world problem diary about the “miserable” life of someone who doesn’t need a paycheck anymore – that’s not what the gist of this blog is or ever will be.
Peace, my friend!