There is a question I am often asked on podcasts, in interviews and even at times in person: Why should someone pursue financial independence? I have heard this question as a response to someone telling me that they “like working” or “love their job” and my answer has always been because “Nothing lasts forever.”
I don’t judge people who don’t see the possible benefits of financial independence because – I was one of them! My partner introduced the concept to me in 2013, I scoffed at him and then ignored it for two years. I told myself that I just needed to find my dream job and then I wouldn’t mind working it for another 30 years so I could retire at 55 like my Mom.
Living The Dream
But then I got that job and even checking everything off my bucket list didn’t make me feel ok with waking up early, fighting my way onto the NYC subway every morning and watching my only sunlit hours be consumed while I sat under fluorescent office lights. Despite getting everything I wanted, it wasn’t enough. I decided to work my dream job while starting my journey to financial independence.
One of the steps I decided that I needed to take not just for my financial future, but for my own mental and emotional wellbeing, was to leave New York City…which meant leaving my dream job. I agonized over the decision, but finally decided it was the right one.
I was so nervous to tell my boss the morning I gave my notice that I (TMI WARNING) threw up the night before just thinking about it. But when I told her, she hugged me and was so amazingly understanding and supportive. The clock was ticking and my exit from the job I had sought for years was imminent.
Disappearing Dreams
As I was leaving that dream job, I got my first lesson in “Nothing lasts forever.” The very month that I was planning to leave that job, I was told that my boss who I had been building a separate company with (just the two of us), was tapped to become the president of our entire ad agency (though she told me this was not her choice…).
This meant that the mini-company we were building would basically be dissolved. The dream job I loved with all the creativity and autonomy I craved, was gone. Nothing lasts forever. And I am SO grateful that this happened when I was already one step out the door. I would have been devastated to learn about it with no exit strategy.
A New Dream
Well now, unfortunately, the world has decided to instill another “Nothing lasts forever” lesson. My last company, the best company I have ever worked for that had so many positives I stayed there for four years (way longer than my previous longest stint of 1 year and 11 months) is no more.
When people tell me they don’t want to pursue financial independence because they love their job and like working, my answer is always “That’s awesome, but nothing lasts forever.” And that’s proven to be true once again. I am still in touch with many of my ex-colleagues who are also my friends. They knew I was retiring despite telling my company I was just “taking time off” and kept my secret.
Throughout my time at the job, we shared suggestions, woe and even salaries in the hopes of helping make sure everyone was compensated fairly. I recently had a call with one of these ex-colleagues. She was a little late to the call and I received a text from her saying that she couldn’t talk on video and requested that I call her cell instead.
I agreed and was worried something was wrong. Luckily when she picked up, she confirmed that nothing was physically wrong, but that Seattle had a bad storm the night before and her power (and therefore WiFi) was out so she didn’t have the internet to video chat with me.
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”
We got on the phone and she dropped a bomb on me: Our company had been acquired. And not just acquired. It had been sold to another company and the staff was told “Hey guess what? You’ve worked for a different company this whole year. There will be no salary increases. Good luck!” on January 6th – the day of the domestic terrorist attack on the capitol. If there was ever a day to postpone a life-altering meeting THAT WAS IT PEOPLE!
Anyway, despite telling employees that their jobs might be up in the air while the future of our country was also uncertain, this news somehow got even worse. My ex-colleagues were told that our company was sold to another corporation and when they asked any questions, such as if they were all still employed, if the salary structure would stay the same (a lot of our salary is tied up in quarterly bonuses that were previously guaranteed) and if the vacation time they were told would rollover actually would – they were faced with the non-answer “We’ll look into that.”
Despite a year of negotiations (per leadership), they did not have answers to the most basic of questions. Then they dropped another bomb: my ex-colleagues were told to not tell anyone about this change, including clients. This is a strange request because a few of my colleagues would find out in a few short hours that this information had already been shared with clients by someone at a higher level than them…which obviously put them in an awkward position when speaking with the same clients.
“Et tu, Brute?“
Putting aside all the bad management of this situation, the friend that was telling me all of this expressed an understandable feeling of betrayal. She was the 6th person hired at this company – ever. The company is 12 years old and I was about the 15th person hired a year or so later. She got to see this company grow and made it the (overall) amazing place it was and yet she was blindsided by this announcement.
I understand that for legal and insider trading-type reasons, most people can’t know that this type of acquisition is going on, but a company going from “We are all family, we will take care of you, come to us with any problem you have” to “You’re a part of a new company now. I don’t know what you expected, I’m an entrepreneur” was jarring. If there had been even a minute inkling that this company was ever to be sold, that was one thing, but even in October when I retired, they were all “Rah rah we will continue being unique and awesome forever – no one can tell us what to do!”
The dichotomy is troubling. And while I never drank the Kool-Aid and believed a company was anything close to a family (…though I don’t have a high opinion of ‘family’ so maybe that’s saying something 😉 ), this company came the closest. I would have expected this kind of behavior out of them the least of the 6 companies I’ve been apart of. I was still caught by surprise.
And I wasn’t the only one. Many of my colleagues who were hired even earlier than I was are still there. One is a Director who has not only been there 6 years (to my 4), but also came over after 3 years at another company working under one of our Partners who she now reports to – and also considers a close friend.
This colleague was told about this acquisition on January 3rd and then asked to explain it to her many direct reports…all while she was trying to hold back tears herself. These are not the actions of a company that claims to be humane and transparent.
Once again, I fully understand that companies do not owe us anything, but a few of the people I worked with at this company did have me convinced that they gave a little bit of a shit. And it’s just disappointing to see that in the face of a pile of money, all of that compassion evaporated…if it was even ever there.
Remembering The Good Times
This was the best company I had ever worked for. It stood head and shoulders above the 5 others I’ve worked with during my career. They had a culture I actually enjoyed – I looked forward to the work parties and hangouts because I genuinely liked who I worked with in the beginning. I had a boss I trusted overall who treated me like an adult and actually took my opinions to heart.
I had colleagues who were willing to help each other out instead of tear each other down in the hopes that it would make them look better. Our company was also small and scrappy and had a variety of work available that always had me learning or trying something new so I didn’t get bored (like I had in my previous companies). It was a unique place that I had some reservations about leaving because it was such a unicorn situation, but once again – just like with my dream job – the universe is showing me that nothing lasts forever.
The company I knew is no more. It’s being swallowed up into the most boring, generic and diversity-lacking corporation I’ve ever seen. My last company was already losing its spark when I left and now I know its been snuffed out. It’s over. Nothing lasts forever.
Conclusion
People have asked me before if I regret quitting and I always responded “No,” but after these events unfolded, it’s the first time I’ve actually felt relieved that I quit. I’ve talked to my friends who remain there about them quitting previously, but they decided to stick it out for this or that promise or hope that things would get better. Now their decision to do that fills me with sadness – especially for those who don’t have a lot of savings and are now frightened of the possibility that they will be let go in the near future without any type of severance.
It’s a horrible thing to see a place you believed in crumble into dust, but it’s even worse to see your financial future go with it. I am so very grateful that I laid the foundations for financial independence so that even if I was still at my company, I would not be afraid to just quit and slowly look for a new position even in the wild world we currently live in.
So that’s why I think everyone should see if they can start on the path to financial independence. Even if early retirement is not your goal. Even if you love your job and never want to leave, that job might not always be there. The things you love about it might leave and having a safety net is always helpful. I know that not everyone can reach financial independence, but I do believe almost anyone can improve their financial lives even a little bit.
Have you ever had a moment that made you think “Nothing lasts forever”?
Yep, when my boss was promoted to head of our division and someone with NO relevant experience (but hefty political connections) took his place. This guy had the subtlety of a brick and was beyond difficult to work for. Two days later I told my old boss I was resigning (thanks to my substantial F U fund). Old boss begged me to stay, and I graciously said I would stay for 6 months. It was a good feeling to see the balance of power shift my way in an instant. The power of pursing FI gives you freedom well before you hit that full FI number,
Ahh yes the no experience/skill, but connections promotion ughghg I loathe those. That’s so awesome you used your FU fund like that – it really does change things so quickly when you can walk away 🙂 .
I tell my two young adult kids to pursue FI because then you have choices! I tell them you may want to continue to work once you’re financially independent, but your life path will be entirely different when you’ve got FI in your back pocket. Beyond grateful I learned about this movement, became FI myself and am modeling and teaching the FI lifestyle to my kids.
Exactly! And that’s so amazing you’re passing that info on to your kids. Second generation FI here we go!
Nothing lasts forever… sounds like a Buddhist proverb, which I agree with wholeheartedly. I want to reach financial independence ASAP as a backup plan in the case that I might not want to work for even 5 more years. When I do reach FI, I think I might enjoy my work even more because it won’t be a salary that I’m looking for, but hopefully more meaning. I just don’t think there’s any downside to FIRE, so why not pursue it?
Haha I guess it does 🙂 . And yeah FI is a great backup plan. I’ve also heard about people enjoying a job more after they don’t need it. I don’t see any downsides either except if you want to spend every penny of your money.
‘No downside to FIRE’ – bingo!!!
You don’t HAVE TO retire once you’ve got the financial independence. But it’s nice to have the option 🙂
Completely agree 😉
In the past 20 years of working, I feel like I’ve seen a whole range of “nothing lasts”. On the one hand, some of that destruction worked in my favor. On the other hand, it was a crapshoot that it happened to work out for me because at the same time, a whole lot of good was lost. I’ve worked at small biz acquired by large corps, gone through 98% turnover, work friends have passed away, had offices be dissolved due to office politics, had entire culture shifts due to company acquisitions. It’s all been a lot.
And like I said, some of those changes were good. But it really underlined the point that you can’t expect just the things you love to stay the same. They’re as ephemeral as the bad things that make you say “this too shall pass”. So when the shift comes in my present job, I hope we’ll have reached a point where I have a choice about whether or not to stay.
Wow you’ve seen so much! Thinking of this as the opposite side of the “this too shall pass” coin is really impactful. I hope you’re at that point where you can make that choice when the inevitable change comes as well – and I hope that the change is a good one 🙂 .
I left my job to freelance and regretted it. But talking with former co-workers, I apparently picked a great time to leave. Our CEO retired and the new CEO came in and made a ton of nasty changes. My friends tell me I’m better off now. It only took 2 years to stop regretting my decision!
Haha well I’m glad you no longer regret it. And ugh new leadership coming in and changing things just to change them, which inevitably makes them worse is horrible. I’m getting unfortunately flashbacks. Anyway, I’m glad you dodged that bullet!
Early in my career, I watched my company layoff everyone over 50 (with a few 20 something year olds, just to protect themselves). These were people that had been with the company for 30+ years. I learned later many simply retired, though they didn’t really have a comfortable way to do it, because learning a new company was too much. The company saw it as a money maker. Pay younger people less. I saw it as cutthroat and a good life lesson to save, save, save. I wanted to always be able to say I would be ok, if that happened to me (now I hope to be out of the workforce by then, but still).
I learned companies do not care about employees. We have to take care of ourselves.
Wow – that’s horrible and definitely cutthroat. I’m so glad you took a good lesson from it though!
When working, there is so much that is out of your control, more so if you are employed, but even if you are self-employed.
We recognize the importance of insurance for life, health, liability, unforeseen events. Financial independence is the ultimate insurance policy for your livelihood.
So true! And I love the reframing of it as an insurance policy – genius!
Amen to this post! I was laid off from my dream job in early 2018. Until then I planned to work there forever and acquire a few more rental properties to provide some extra fun money. Everything changed that day. I found the fire movement and have been on a mission ever since.
Haha thank you! I’m so sorry about your dream job, but it sounds like you’ve risen from the ashes!
This is also why I caution many people against college and further education beyond. Medicine may seem like a good gig, but in my field (Emergency Medicine) there are simply many fewer jobs than before. Not a nice situation with 300k in debt, and not something anyone saw coming a decade ago. Avoid debt and minimize non-earning years in school.
Remember that by furthering your education you are preparing to serve society better, and society should pay, not you.
That’s an interesting perspective. One of the reasons I chose marketing as a career is because I didn’t need higher education or debt to do it and it pays well.
Oh man, I feel so bad for your former coworkers! My experience was similar to yours- when I first came across FIRE, it didn’t really resonate for me because I loved my job and had no interest in retiring early. But I am naturally frugal and get joy from saving so I continued on the path to FI without really trying. Two years later we had a fair amount of change at work and I had the same realization that nothing lasts forever so I should always have a backup plan. Now I’m at FI and happier at this job than I’ve ever been, almost 12 years in. So I will stick around for now but it is very liberating to know I could leave anytime. It makes me a lot more easy-going as things inevitably continue to change!
Yeah I feel bad for them too 🙁 . And that’s an amazing story! I love your attitude as well – that’s awesome 🙂 .
The company will never love you back! How disappointing to see. I hope your friends land on their feet somewhere new.
#Truth! And yeah it’s super disappointing. I’m helping them in any way I can and hoping they do as well.
This is such good advice. I’ve been part of two companies that were awesome, then acquired & became something unpleasant. At those times, I wasn’t able to leave when it would have been right for my mental health. Now, I’m in a much better position, and could do so if I had to.
Thank you 🙂 And that’s awesome you’re in a better financial place now and could leave when you want!
Oh, yeah. My first employer out of college was a very, very large computer manufacturer in which the general attitude was “if you stay here five years, you’ll be a millionaire”. They prided themselves on never having had a layoff.
I suppose I should have seen the writing on the wall when the free soda machine was switched out for bottled water (which itself eventually went away), or when the game room got emptier and emptier. I’m way older now, and way wiser, but back then I didn’t see what was obviously coming.
Eventually, though, we all knew something was up. The stock price that had skyrocketed over the past decade was stagnant to falling despite all efforts, and the rumors were flying. The whisperings all centered around one day. When that day came, the company that had never had a layoff laid off about 25% of its employees, including me. (There was also at least one heart attack.)
Even better was when I found out that what I had been hired to do there did not translate well to pretty much anywhere else that was hiring.
Makes me wish I had found the FIRE movement way back then!
Ah yes the small signs – like when the liquor cabinet (a staple in ad agencies cause they still think it’s Mad Men times…) disappeared. A few months later they laid off lots of the people and moved some of the remaining to a different company and building without telling them. And ugh I’m sorry all of that happened to you. And yes to finding FIRE sooner – we should teach this stuff at birth 😉 .
“ It’s a horrible thing to see a place you believed in crumble into dust”
So true. I see former colleagues of mine still hanging on thinking it’s the same place, while others who leave realize they’re dealing with work PTSD.
Nothing last forever, the principles of financial independence are for everyone.
Ugh that’s horrible. And yeah a great example of how the principles are helpful across the board.
Wow, sorry to hear that. Everyone should keep it in mind, though. I liked my job a lot when I first started, but it didn’t stay the same. Life goes on. The company change, people change, you change. It’s best to have a backup option.
That’s capitalism. Money talks. The owners need to look out for themselves too. If it comes down to their employee or their family, you know the answer.
No worries 🙂 . I’m doing my best to help the good people that remain.
OMG…I have experienced literally every scenario that everyone has spoken on here in some degree or another but had yet to come to the principles of the FIRE movement until about two years ago. Now the company I work for is starting to talk about having a central location to operate our computers….yeah the writing is on the wall. I will double my efforts to get the f#$k outta here with everything I can get. I am too old to be going through a job hunt again when I get released and am looking for something more my speed. My work partner is leaving on 2/1/21. He at least is comfortable since he was able to buy his house outright 1 1/2 years ago. Thank you for your blog, it is quite refreshing to read.
Ugh I’m sorry. So happy you’re trying to get the fuck out ASAP 🙂 . I’m so glad it’s refreshing – thank you for telling me that!!
Oh gosh, every place I’ve worked has seen massive changes since I left (and some, while I was there). It’s the one constant.
I feel very lucky that I have always, always had great people around me (with a few bad actors sprinkled in) and loved the teams, it’s always been hard to leave the people but good people are everywhere.
It sounds like you might have been in agency land? That seems a whole other ballgame too from my inhouse perspective!
Agreed – change is the only constant. That’s wonderful that you’ve had great people around you – I’m jealous 😉 . I haven’t found that good people are everywhere either…maybe I should switch countries….And yes indeed! I worked at ad agencies for 6 years before switching to more general marketing/consulting. I am so curious about your inhouse perspective – that was my ultimate goal when career was my focus 🙂 .
Well said, I worked for one company for over thirty years and really loved my job. It was a fun hobby to me, not that different from tennis, running or fishing. It was just another competitive game and it was one that I had exactly the right skill set to win, unlike my tennis, running and fishing! And as you said, nothing lasts forever, and the family owned company sold us to a Fortune 500 megacorp. It was fun too, at first, but my realizing financial independence and the simultaneous change in the relationship between me and my team and corporate management made my job unpleasant and tiresome. So instead of working into my late sixties and maybe 70’s as I had planned, I left when I turned 60. I never thought I’d do that, but things changed. Its not that different from your story Purple, except its a longer stretched out version. Great post!
That is fascinating. I have never been able to put a job in the same section as a hobby in mind – or see it as a competitive game. It’s very interesting how many of the stories in comments and on my social media channels have been able smaller companies selling to huge ones – I knew it happened, but didn’t realize it was to this extent within my own (online) circle. And haha thank you!
Thanks for sharing this post. I think about this sometimes. I love my job and clients and the setup but I know nothing lives forever. This has (admittedly lazily) started me on the slow path to FI. Hopefully with compounding it’ll be quicker than I think and hopefully this setup will last longer than is typical.
Haha better lazily than not at all 😉 . Compounding is SO wild – you’ll be shocked at how quickly everything goes after a few year. I am, my partner is. My brain can’t comprehend it 🙂 . I hope your sweet set up continues as long as possible!
This article is so timely for me! My hospital is set to be sold February 1. Many details have been kept secret due to “legal reasons” and co-workers are anxious. Since I am very close to FI, it just makes me shrug my shoulders and be SO grateful to have the ability to quit if I don’t like working there anymore.
That’s so awesome you’re in a position to just shrug your shoulders during that kind of shake up!! And I’m glad it was timely 🙂 .
Nothing lasts forever is the single best explanation for pursuing FI.
Some people are just too naive.
I have been a decade with my current company and can start feeling the decline.
Thankfully I bought my freedom during the good times.
Things rarely stay as they are.
Preach 🙂 ! I’m sorry your company is declining, but at least in my experience it is inevitable. Woohoo to saving our food during the good times!
That is true, While working, many things are out of your control, even if you are employed, you are self-employed.
We recognize the importance of insurance for life, health, liability, unforeseen events. Financial independence is the ultimate insurance policy for your livelihood.
Exactly 🙂 .
Late to the comment party here, but this is indeed one of the reasons why I decided to become FI. For me, it’s because there have always been stories about how my (nice) job would soon disappear.
I work at a blood bank, and when I started now a decade ago people were talking about how artificial blood would make blood banks obsolete. Safe artificial blood would be great if it happened – no more shortages! But turns out it’s not as easy as it might seem to create good artificial blood for a reasonable price, so my job still exists. But still I’m happy to have reached FI status just now!
Yup 🙂 . And welcome to the party! Congratulations on your FI status and wow – your work sounds so interesting. I know nothing about the field. Anyway, so happy you found a backup plan just in case 😉 .
Thank you for all that you do on this blog! I have been at the same company for 15 years and used to think I’d never leave because “I love what I do” and “the company treats us well.” Could never have imagined some of the (negative and super stressful) changes that have happened recently and I would have just planned to stick it out due to loyalty. Without having recently read this article, it would have never crossed my mind that this is evidence of “nothing lasts forever,” and that it’s okay to move on even though I thought I’d be there forever. Thank you so much for your words, you inspire me to think outside the box about my career and although it is scary, it is so damn liberating to not feel trapped by my imaginary future I thought I would have! All options are on the table now! Thank you and enjoy your retirement!
Thank you for reading 🙂 . And yeah inertia is powerful and I had those same assumptions myself and it took seeing company after company going from great to terrible for my eyes to open. So happy to hear I could help with that process and that it feels liberating (though understandably scary) 🙂 . Good luck!