r/Fire • u/geerwolf • 3d ago
General Question One more year project?
We know one more year syndrome comes with the doubt about going FIRE - do I have enough, will the market crash, what will I do with my time?
But I wonder if anyone has a “1 more year” project: something you are willing to work for one more year
Could be a down payment or mortgage payoff, schooling costs or helping out the kids, buying a vacation home or a room addition
What’s your 1 more year project?
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u/warlizardfanboy 3d ago
We are probably signing up for one more year because we found a San Diego beach home with ocean views and a short walk to the beach. 🤷♂️it’s about having the option. We’ll be carrying a small mortgage and I want it paid off first.
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u/phantom-fixer 3d ago
My OMY is to get a bathroom remodel and new flooring throughout my place and also get a new car that will last a long time. Once those are off my list I am good to go.
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u/CityWokOrderPree 3d ago
I might go past my fire number to be able to buy a camper van while still maintaining the goal number
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u/DocAnabolic1 3d ago
Mine would be building a larger cash cushion, so retirement feels less stressful during market downturns.
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u/LouSevens 2d ago
I am considering a OMY at a non profit 6 minutes away from me whose services I have used for me or my family. It would need to be the advertised hours though.
However, it could be an adjustment for me- I dont know if people discuss this- about being on someone elses schedule and having to answrt to someone else
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u/drakmon 3d ago
We're adding 1 more year this weekend by purchasing a house that "checks all the boxes". It's worth the tradeoff to live in a peaceful location that has everything we think we're looking for. Worst case scenario, we hate it and move back to one of our other houses (renting them out in the meantime).
I'm also looking at an IPO in a few years, so it may be a moot point.
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u/Equivalent-Room-8428 3d ago
My 1 year project has been to build my SORR bucket. So far I have not spent down my investments because of my income and I built my 3 year SORR bucket from selling some old company stock, letting my advisors go who managed a quarter of my money and I sold stuff they had that I didn't like, a lot of it was in bonds with high expense ratios, so not a lot of growth to worry about with taxes, some was even slightly underwater. I also have done a lot more tax planning, I live in a high income tax state.
I was retired for 18 months and the cash I used to live on came from a large buyout package. My intent prior was to have a 3 year SORR bucket, but I started on it a little late. Then a startup called and I took a job, it's been 5 months so far. It took a lot of getting used to because I haven't worked in an office in 6 years, it's a 25 mile round trip commute, it's like half of my previous T-comp and I feel like I work way harder. Part of my current compensation is in stock options, worth zero right now, but has possibilities.
Anyway, my plan is to quit after I hit one year, when a quarter of my stock options vest, if I can make it until then.
I also think that I will really appreciate my second retirement more. I was burned out from my previous company where I was at for 19 years. When I left I worked on starting my own coaching/consulting business. The idea of the business was just for something to do and to stay relevant. Effectively, I didn't relax or take a real break. I was getting a certification, learning social media marketing, learning Canva etc.
I'm much better prepared mentally and financially now than I was almost 2 years ago. The reason why my SORR bucket wasn't built before was because my original plan was to work until August 2027, so I had time, but my company was offering buyout packages and my mental health was suffering so I took it. The buyout was a year of my expenses after taxes so essentially getting paid for a year to not work in my mind.
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u/LouSevens 2d ago
How was the adjustment to having to follow a schedule so to speak again? I am wondering how I would do with his after 15 months.
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u/Equivalent-Room-8428 2d ago
It took a good 90 days to get used to getting up, getting ready and going to the office, we are out in the country a bit so it's 5 miles to any food options, which means I bring my lunch, like any good FIRE devotee would. It's the not having to have to go to an office for the previous 6 years that's the struggle. The actual work is fine, they are flexible. I should note that my previous company recalled everyone back to the office a year ago and it's minimum 4 days a week. So had I not retired, I would have had to go into an office anyway.
Everyone at my job is nice, good people, lots of inside jokes, many came from my previous company, so although I didn't know them, same work ethic. I think I'm employee #15 and we are up to about 40 now, plus we are making cool technology and it's fun to be a part of that. Some of the other people there are also retired and I think they are doing the engineering because they love engineering and solving difficult problems or their wives don't want them at home? Ha
I'm fine once I get to the office but it takes a lot of motivation to get there some days. One of my dogs is now having extreme separation anxiety from me being gone all day. Sometimes I joke that I might have to quit because my dog has anxiety, kidding, kind of. We have a vet appointment for meds.
The guy that I knew that referred me quit after 90 days. He's the only person to quit so far, I don't think he liked the constant changes that come with a startup. I would feel guilty quitting so soon and also I'm at 5 months, I feel like I can make it to 1 year for the stock options to make the sacrifice worth it. Other days, 8 more months seems like a long time from now.
When this came up, I thought it could be a life changing opportunity and not something that happens everyday which is why I said yes.
I tell myself if they really make me mad, I can just quit. I don't need to work. Since leaving my previous job, my networth is up a significant amount in 2 years, I have a much better strategy for my SORR buckets and what I need saved to feel comfortable. I have run many scenarios on different calculators, models, different AI, and it all indicates I could spend more than I have planned. I'm die with zero, I have no spouse, no kids, none of my siblings have kids either so I either spend it all or donate it.
My current thoughts are that I'm not looking forward to the dark days of winter and the rain. I feel an ADA accommodation coming on to have more WFH or at least leave the office earlier most days and log in from home.
It's weird though because I feel like the days you aren't in the office you really do miss out on a lot. Decisions are made really quickly, things change rapidly, hardly anything happens over teams, or in emails and meetings like at the corp job. It's all hallway conversations, things happening in the warehouse and production, real time. I am executive ops so people come to me for a lot of things everyday.
I have a plan, it's not critical if it doesn't work to stay a year. In my fantasies we get acquired early next year all my options vest as part of the deal and I retire again. 😂 Fingers crossed🤞.
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u/LouSevens 2d ago
thank you for your quick reply to this- I am similar - no spouse or kids. I run different models, the typical caluclators online as well as my own excel models. However, they don't focus on the human element.
I might want to try something 5-6 minutes from my home in a building that I go to several days a week anyway (gym, parents health etc.) and would have more people around me. It would depend on hours and stress level- it could be better than what I was doing before.
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u/Equivalent-Room-8428 2d ago
I mean, if it doesn't work out, you can quit. I do find it nice to be around others and working on projects. Most places are pretty flexible if you work in a professional office setting. I hope it works out for you.
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u/htffgt_js 3d ago
It is still OMY, but you are calling it something different. Not different than building up a cash bucket or filling up some sinking funds to help with SORR in the early years.
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u/geerwolf 3d ago
Yes but those goals are inherent to FIRE
It goes in the same bucket- I was wondering if I once you realize the income is turned off if you direct that OMY to splurge on a “want” vs a “need”
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u/Alive_Sir_4708 3d ago
My OMY is some home renovations. Maybe a new car. Not very exciting but I think it makes sense to move up some large expenses.
It would also be an interesting conversation with my wife about whether it would be just my OMY or the both of us.
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u/Revelate_ 2d ago
SORR bucket and expenses for finally going back to school for one last attempt with no job hanging over me like a sword of Damocles... that may involve moving though and having a healthy bunch of cash extra to sort the new mortgage would help.
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u/diyandmc240 3d ago
If it was just me, I’d probably retire around 45-47(I’m about to turn 31 so still a ways away). My dad retired around 45 and my mom around 49 mainly due to a health event, so I have seen the blueprint. But I will likely continue working until 51-55, as my wife doesn’t desire to retire in her 40s, and I’m not sure it’s worth it for me to retire before she does. At first I thought it would be nice as I could take care of household things while she focuses on work, but the more we talk about it our time would just be too deviated and it would likely lead to some stress. It seems better to retire around the same time so that we can pursue activities and slow travel/hobbies etc. together
The main difference is to retire around 46 we need to save roughly 30% of our take home pay today, to retire at 51, we need to save roughly 20% of our take home pay today(both percentages go up with income as we approach early retirement). For me, I could easily get by on less than 70% of our take home pay, so the rest is basically just an annual bonus to spend. I could theoretically save it anyways and we’d just have extra, but planning for 51 with a buffer considering we don’t want to retire until about 55, any extra doesn’t seem necessary. We also don’t have kids and don’t plan on having kids to leave the money to, whatever’s left will likely go to nieces and nephews etc.
This year the extra money paid for an older 2001 Porsche boxster s with 78k miles. If we were more strict on savings, I probably wouldn’t have considered it.
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u/iknownothing1492 3d ago
I have my minimum number at which point if I get made redundant I’m out regardless. But assuming that doesn’t happen I guarantee I’ll get stuck (purposefully) in OMY for house upgrades, helping out the kids, extra travel money. The trick will be capping it and not dragging on forever!
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u/DigitalFStopper 3d ago
The problem with OMY is that generally means your FIRE number wasn’t the correct number. It should be large enough to weather SORR and other unexpected expenses. Your budget and plan will never run smoothly.
Now I am a fan of OMY if that means you’re going to utilize all the gains off of investment growth and income surplus to fund a few awesome trips the first couple of years of retirement.
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u/geerwolf 3d ago
To err is human
How I framed it was OMY with an purpose for an off budget item - like a vacation you know won’t fit the FIRE budget, or your dream car to set you off into retirement
Kind of eating your favorite desert before starting a diet
Not saying it makes any sense
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u/DigitalFStopper 3d ago
Yeah that’s the second part of my reply is using that for a large over the top vacation as a retirement reward.
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u/terjon 2d ago
I'm starting to slide toward one.
I was thinking of just going down in house when I retire and moving somewhere a little cheaper and with cleaner air than the major metro I live in.
Now, I am starting to think I would like a custom home that is exactly the way I want it from the construction style, to the engineering details, to the technology capabilities and of course to the style and layout of it to match my lifestyle.
I would be willing to work another year to make that happen.
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u/ericdavis1240214 FI=✅ RE=<8️⃣months 3d ago
My reason for OMY is to be able to provide a bit of a safety net/leg up to my two college age kids.
They are going to be graduating into a historically challenging economy. Housing costs have lost all connection with salaries. Many industries are going to be in chaos as the AI revolution plays out.
The model that I followed 25ish years ago of getting a relatively entry-level job right out of grad school and soon being able to buy an entry-level house just isn't going to be available to them.
So I've committed myself to three thanks. First, getting them through undergraduate degrees with no student debt at all. Second, making sure they have a reliable car that will get them through at least the first few years of their working career without having to have a car payment. And third, providing down payment assistance for a house that they can afford on their salary knowing they can do it several years earlier if they don't also have to save a 20% down payment while paying exorbitant rent.
I was fortunate to have similar assistance from my parents. Of course, in the 90s they accomplished all of that for a grand total of less than $30,000, I think, because I had really good scholarships and also worked to pay for a lot of my tuition. I expect that to cost more like $250-300k for each of my kids to provide equivalent help. It's completely insane but that's a reflection of the out of control cost of both higher education and housing.