Extending My Timeline to 2022: I Don’t Hate My Job

In my 2016 State of the Union post I mentioned that I’ve changed my FIRE timeline twice in the past year. Last January I ran the numbers and decided that no matter what I was retiring on the eve on my 30th birthday in October of 2019. To accomplish this I decided that I would live on $14,000 a year, which is $4,000 less than my projected annual spend based on my current living situation ($18,000). I discovered and researched a large list of side hustles that could bring this minimal amount of income to make up the difference and discovered that that same $4,000 is what I usually spend on opulent vacations – which I assume I’ll need less of when my entire life is a vacation.

I ran these numbers and made the decision because I was anxious to retire. Despite at the time working at the best job I’d had so far (it was easy, mostly stress free with an understanding client and a boss that mostly left me alone at first) I still wanted to retire ASAP. Despite the job being the best I’d had so far it still wasn’t something I wanted to do for another 6 or so years. I didn’t think I could. I felt the ticking of the clock and when I would reflect on it I could feel the minutes of time that I have left with my Mom slipping away. I wanted to retire ASAP so this plan was born.

Now I’ve changed my plans again. After being funemployed for a fun and stressful 4 months (more on that in a future post – basically there were several shockingly close calls to job offers that I’ve never experienced before) I landed something that’s closer to my dream job than I’ve ever had before: a job working from home where I don’t make ads with a boss that is kind, supportive and not a micromanager.

Despite a few speed bumps when I started working with my new client this job has been smooth sailing. I absolutely love rolling out of bed in the morning, cooking my breakfast, making tea and then settling down to work in my own home. It feels like I’m still funemployed, which I loved despite the stress because I was at home, with my boyfriend a lot of the time while he worked, and had only spurts of time I had to be with people (serious introvert here though I apparently hide it well). It also makes it a lot more bearable to work late because instead of being in an empty office feeling like I’m choosing work over family I’m at home on my couch while my boyfriend makes dinner.

Another benefit of this work from home gig is that I can take longer time to be with my Mom. This past Christmas season I already had 2 weeks booked with my and my boyfriend’s family, but since I just started this new job I had no vacation time accrued. So what did I do? I went anyway and just worked from home from another coast. It turned out that a lot of my clients shut down over the holidays so my workload was thankfully light. I was able to see my family and the people I care about for an extended amount of time and simply work from there. What a novel concept 🙂 .

So taking this new work situation into account as well as the fact that I spent way more than I anticipated last year (Close to $24,000 instead of $18,000) I have once again changed my timeline. I am aiming to spend $18,000 this year (which should be relatively easy since I don’t have vacation time to travel with all the weddings I’m attending) and aim for a $20,000 a year retirement budget to cover additional expenses (healthcare etc.) so my new goal number is half a million dollars. Once I reach it I will retire. Based on my current salary and an average 7% market return I will reach that on April 1, 2022 (How’s that for April Fools?). I am playing around with how big of an emergency fund I should have for market downturns and the like. That will affect my end date as well, but my latest date assumes I will never earn a raise in the next 5 years which knowing my past trajectory is very ridiculous 🙂 .

I’m slightly bummed that my timeline has been extended, but I find this job a lot more tolerable than all that have come before it and can see myself staying here for a long time (and based on the tenure of my colleagues that seems like a very real possibility). The ability to work from home and flexibility to see my family is game changing. Now to countdown to April 1, 2022.