One Third Down

 So there I was, submitting my final assignment in my fourth course. Another A! My GPA for grad school is now 3.918. It's not easy but it's much different than earning a bachelor's degree. You're expected to be an expert in your field and getting that mindset as a student is something you really have to learn. I've got 8 courses left out of 12 so that means I'm a third done!

I've laid my plans out before but if you're a new reader, let me recap this real quick. I qualify for a 30 and out pension plan from my union. Meaning I'll have guaranteed income for the rest of my life but there's a catch. I have to take it in 2021 or I have to wait until 2035 when I turn 65 to collect a dime. I'm taking the guaranteed money next year. My main goal is to put myself in the position to have as many options as possible and the most freedom after retirement. I've been working on this since 2015 and if I double up my course load I can finish before 2022 if I wish. If not it'll be spring of 2022 and I'll graduate.

That puts my tentative retirement date at May 26 and if I'm not able to meet my financial goals by then my Plan B date is October 12. I do have an ace to play though which might accelerate my retirement date and that's a marketing plan I've been working on for a couple of months. I've presented it to my boss at my part time job and he loves it and plans on implementing it with me. 

It'll be a marketing platform for an industry that is territorial based, meaning it'll be specific to an area instead of promoting businesses that have little or no presence in the sale territory. It'll increase brand equity while giving a level playing field to every business while at the same time being much more affordable than the prevailing marketing platform right now in this industry. 

Again this is an option I'm working on because it presents a unique set of challenges and a certain amount of freedom. However I've been researching all options so far and with a graduate degree, I've found a veritable plethora of high paying options! The only catch would be how much free time do I want and balancing that with how much income do I want. 

All of that will be something I'll explore at a future date when these events become more of a reality. 

I've dealt with some anxiety about leaving the security of a job I've held for nearly 30 years. My coworkers that have become friends over the decades, the steady income, great insurance, large amounts of time off will be gone. The best advice I received about leaving what I know behind was simple and profound. Do I want to give up another 15 years of my life doing something I don't want to do anymore? The answer to that is clear to me, therefore I'm getting out when I can and getting the money and freedom. That's the reason I've spent these past few years in preparation. Coming home after work and doing 2-3 hours of homework each evening and weekends. 

That would all be in vain if I didn't leave. If I worked one day past the deadline I could quit for a better job but I'd still have to wait until I turned 65 to collect anything. 

So now you know my reasons for doing what I'm doing and how I am planning for the future.

 

 

The Last Year

This week marked the last year of working days (minus weekends and holidays) I have left at my current job. I set a date of October 12, 2021 to leave and close that chapter in my life. It's been 75% of my life since I was 22 and I'll be able to retire with full pension at age 51 and give myself a world of options on what to do next. At least I had the foresight to prepare for this over the last six years.

The road leading to this last year was not easy and while I thought after earning my bachelor's degree it would ease up, instead it got harder. I'm now working seven days a week and have grad school in the evenings. Financial preparation is as important as my next degree in order to give myself more options after that magic October date. Other than last Payday Friday, I've worked nearly three months straight and will continue to do so until I'm done.

(Edit: The union came around to each local in November 2019 and it turns out with credited service I qualify for the pension. The union pension reps were very nice and had to deal with a lot of angry people. They put in my profile and even though my calendar 30 years doesn't happen until June 15th, 2022 they have future credited service in which the pension is prepaid up. Long story short, I qualify!)

Amazingly in 2021 the road gets quite a bit rougher! I plan on saving every hour of PTO I can and having the company pay me for it after October 1st. Then all of my leave will have an extra raise tacked onto it and it'll be worth more. Nothing better than to retire debt free, collect a massive paycheck, be nearly finished with a master's degree, and close and then start to write a brand new, huge chapter in life all at the same time!

Yes, this is the road I'm on and intend to finish it. I can't do this job until I'm 65. I mean I can but I don't want to anymore. I've wanted to explore the country and do many many other things and I'm close to having all of those options. I've worked since middle school when my parents opened up a small restaurant, in high school we had that and I ran a paper route, after graduation I worked in a body shop and attempted college. As I'm sure I've written in my blog before, I dropped out after a semester and decided it wasn't for me.

Since then I've worked constantly, like most people around the world do. Since 22 there was one constant in my life and that was the job I landed on June 15, 1992. I survived many rounds of layoffs and never once had to deal with that. In 2009, you will recall that year was a massive year in my life, we went on strike. That was the only time since 92 I didn't have the same job. Instead I took a job washing dishes and delivering food for a diner to keep the lights on. Fortunately the strike only lasted two weeks but it took six months to recover from it financially.

Now I'm in much better shape financially and in 361 working days, I'll be in the best shape of my life in all areas! It's not easy by any means but I'm doing it. I'm glad I went back to school when I did and that was hard but again, worth it! Next year it'll be even more worth it! Then I'll learn to leverage what I've learned and create new opportunities for myself.

My optimum job would be something that's creative, something I enjoy, and something I can do from anywhere I want to be. Perhaps I'll even update this blog on a more daily basis then rather than when I feel like it or remember it!