The "Untold Story" of My Decision to F.I.R.E at Age 45

What makes me want to stop working in the midst of high career path and promising career advancement? You don’t suddenly wake up and walked into your boss room， tender your resignation letter and saying that you want to R.E (retire early) although you have achieved F.I and unless you have other plan like setting up your own business or helping the family to run the business etc.

  

First of all, allow me to share a few good blog-posts on F.I and R.E  and some misconception of people about F.I.R.E before telling the "untold story" about my decision to R.E. As I mentioned before, to achieve F.I is a must and should be our ultimate goal, whereas to decide whether to have early retirement or not is very personal and depends on individual's wish and circumstances, R.E is just an option.

Once you have achieved F.I, you may decide to carry on with your work if you enjoy and like it very much, you may also opt for doing part-time to have more time and flexibility.  Set your on priority and ensure that you spend and enjoy your time after F.I to the fullest.

There is no right or wrong in this case, so long as it suits your own ways of living and be happy. Life after F.I is just a " Freedom To Choose "...the ways you like to live, play and spend your free time.

The Misconception About Financial Independence <Link>

“I've made mistakes in the past talking about the concept of financial independence to people who weren't ready to accept them.

It's incredibly frustrating talking to these group of people who seem to surround it with not only negative connotation that they are not acceptable but also refuse to listen to views that other people have.”

My friend (B) recently put up a great article about the misconception of F.I.R.E, his observation about how peoples think about F.I.R.E and also his “predicament” in facing the interviewer who has doubt about his “commitment” towards his new job once he achieved financial independence.

I don’t think this is a matter of commitment rather it is a matter “perception”, as H.R may think that employee who still has much personal “commitment” will stay in the company for a longer period and afraid to job-hop easily. But does it related to job productivity or capability? I’m not sure, but a matter of fact, if you think from the other perspective, people who have achieved F.I could be more aggressive/bold  in decision making and taking responsibility for what decision they made as “they are not afraid of “losing a job”. Job satisfaction or achievement maybe more important for them since “monetary reward” may just be a “by-product” for them to continue working even after achieving F.I.

As I mentioned before, many people may still want to work even after achieving F.I as to avoid “ loss of identity or sense of self or purpose “ in our life. Human as “social animal” need to interact and communicate, we need to have a sense of belonging to avoid “loss of identity”.

Life after F.I could be very much different for those with kids or without kids (or with a partner who has the same aspiration and shared the same value of F.I), else one may feel “boring” easily after a few months of stop working from early retirement.

A friend of mine was really happy and pleased when he was offered an early-retirement package ( with a golden handshake ) due to company restructuring. He really looks forward to his new life and plans on how to enjoy his retirement to the fullest.

Well, for the first few months, he and his wife try to work out some holiday plans together and really enjoyed the wonderful times together. Guess what, a few months later, after his wife returning to work from long leave, he starts to feel bore and realized that he may suffer and slides into a slight depression.  He experienced “loss of identity “ which defined his” job, career achievement, status” and the most important connection to the society. Without peoples surrounding him while most of his friends still working ( except me, but how many times I can “jio him to lim Kopi” as I have my own life and things to occupy ), he lost his sense of purpose and finally choose back to work again.

I have a similar problem when I have just stop working for a few months i.e “Loss of Identity”, you felt proud of being called “Mr S , Mr S “ by your staffs, in the office and chair the weekly meeting, flying in business class, being treated with thousand dollars meal from vendors, surrounded by full of hampers in your office during festive seasons etc…

All these suddenly gone after you decided to F.I.R.E (your boss ). I am lucky that I will be able to find the “purpose of life” in a different way and things to occupy my time. As I mentioned earlier, early retirement with kids or without kids, or whether your partner or spouse also retiring at the same time and sharing the same idea or philosophy of F.I.R.E, make things much different.

Suddenly, you have additional 8-10 hours to spend every day after waking up in the morning. One will really need to have a plan to ensure that you have something meaningful to do, else you may end up like my friend.

  

Why Most People Is getting Wrong About F.I.R.E

What Everybody Is Getting Wrong About FIRE < from MrMoneyMustache.com>

"Everybody uses the FIRE acronym because it is catchy and “Early Retirement” sounds desirable. But for most people who get there, Financial Independence does not mean the end of your working career.

Instead it means, “Complete freedom to be the best, most powerful, energetic, a happiest and most generous version of You that you can possibly be.”.....

3 Things Most People Get Wrong About the FIRE Movement <sources:finance.yahoo.com>

1. Early Retirement Isn’t Always the Goal

2. It’s About Saving and Investing, Not Pinching Pennies

3. Freedom Is the Goal, Not Money

4 Things Singaporeans Need To Think About Before Joining The “Financial Independence, Retire Early” (FIRE) Movement < sources:dollarandsense.sg>

The "Untold Story" About My Decision to F.I.R.E

Sometimes my friends ask me why I don't do this, do that since I am so free and have so much free-times after stop working since 2015. " You should try to start your own business or pursue your studies in getting more certificate in XXX or Master of YYY..." some told me that.

Well, my response is always the same that: I am just -

胸无大志，xiōnɡ wú dà zhì，出处，姚雪垠《李自成》第二卷第三十六章：“至于回、革等人，实系凡庸之辈，胸无大志，三年来观望风色，动摇不前。”是指心里没有远大志向。

Loosely translated as “ to have no aspirations or unambitious “  :D

As mentioned earlier, people can still choose to work even after achieving F.I, depending on his/her own situation.

At least for me, this is my story.....

Am I suddenly become "lazy and unambitious" or sick of all the work I have been carried out for the past 20 years? that suddenly, my mind shouted to me " I have enough KPIs, Targets, Cost cutting, Strategic Review and meeting after meeting .....for the past 21 years , climbing the corporate ladder. I just wanted to have a simple life and spending more time with friends and family, more exercise, more gaming & Pokemon, reading, enjoy watching movies on NetFlix (which I seldom have such luxury time during my working life), going back to my hometown (spending time with my Mum)."

No...No. No !, that was not how the story goes, I used to be very aggressive and highly ambitious in my career and future. I was the youngest Deputy General Manager in my company ( a fortune 500 and world top 10 shipping company) at the age of 42. I really worked hard to achieve that.

You don't suddenly woke-up and throw in your resignation letter to your boss, saying "Hey !! I have enough of all these bullshit working environment & corporate life, here is my letter !! ", although you have saved enough "Fxxx You Money". 

In normal case, a stressful and an un-conducive working environment will be the "push factors" for the reason of resignation and of course the "pull factors" will be a better prospect or salary package from the company that offered you the new job.

But for the case of F.I.R.E, the "push factors" may still be the same and clear ...work-related stress, but how about the "pull factors"? You will not enjoy the better pay or prospect from "new company", it is just the meaning of another "life", a completely new "life".

So what makes the change and be the main "pull factor" in this case?

CA 125 Change Our Perspective about Life & Money

What is CA 125?

CA 125 is a protein that is a so-called tumour marker or biomarker, which is a substance that is found in greater concentration in tumour cells than in other cells of the body. In particular, CA 125 is present in greater concentration in ovarian cancer cells than in other cells. It was first identified in the early 1980s, and the function of the CA 125 protein is not currently understood. CA stands for cancer antigen. CA 125 is often measured as a blood test.

A normal and routine body checked up and blood test in 2014 totally change our perception about life and money.  We normally include the “ cancel marker test ” in our blood test.

What is “ Tumor Marker Test “? <link>

The report for my wife had shown a high CA 125 level and our GP requested us to go for a further check-up at the hospital. We went to the specialist on the same week and further diagnostic/scan confirmed that there was an approx. 9 cm cyst beside her right ovary. As usual, the doctor recommends for further testing to do a biopsy to determine if it was a “cancerous tumour “ or just a normal cyst. We were shocked and sadden by the news initially and of course, pray for the best with quick test and treatment if needed.

After the surgery, we were relieved and happy to know that it was just a cyst and been removed during the operation.

From there onwards, our perception of “life” changed dramatically …..which lead to our decision to say “ enough is enough” ..is time to take a break and re-think our priority in life, spending more quality time with family and our loved one. Subsequently, F.I.R.E was the biggest decision we made in 2015.

当你在生死边缘走一回 , 你的 人生观 会彻底的改变. 你对金钱的价值观, 也会有不一样的见解！ 钱,   变的不是 那么重要了 , 你会比较珍惜一些精神上的需要, 而不是物质上享受.

金钱是幸福生活的必要条件，但金钱并不等于幸福 , 所谓 “金钱能买到婚姻，但是买不到爱情；金钱能买到高级睡床，但是买不到睡眠；金钱能买到贵重药品，但是买不到健康 。 珍惜生命，再多的钱 ，也只对有生命及健康的人有意义“

Taking this opportunity, I would like to highlight and emphasize the importance of having a good “hospitalisation insurance plan” where it really help/assist in time of need like this. Luckily, my wife has a “rider” which cover private hospital and also pre & post 90 days treatment-related cost. All the cost has been covered and the whole process from testing/scan to the operation was fast within 2 weeks’ time. Other than cost recovering, of course, more importantly, is the time and speed taken from test/scan to having an operation to remove the cyst, imagine the “mental stress” one would have to bear with if such things drag for months waiting for the result and operations.

Why I suddenly want to write this “untold story “ about my decision to F.I.R.E? This is because of Covid-19 pandemic and again, I realized that life is so “fragile/vulnerable/unpredictable “.

Is important to take care of your health and what is the meaning of having more money, but if don’t have good health to enjoy and worse still lose your life due to stress or illness.

As I mentioned, once you have achieved F.I , is up to you if you want to R.E . Every person who chooses to R.E may have his/her own story under certain unique or peculiar circumstances.

How about you? if you choose to R.E, what is your “story” to tell?

Is F.I.R.E still relevant now?

I would think that F.I still is an ultimate goal we wanted to achieve but as for R.E, one will need to plan and think carefully as we have seen dividend been cut or reduced significantly, some European Bank even have to totally suspend their dividend pay-out in order to preserve more cash during this COVID 19 crisis.

HSBC and Standard Chartered shares plunge after cancelling dividends, suspending buy-backs as coronavirus pandemic batters economies <sources: scmp.com>

You will need to look at your expenses and do a stress test again whether you could survive or have enough cash flow to cover your expenses during this critical time. As for me, a 75% reduction in dividend would still be ok to cover my monthly expenses, without any mortgage outstanding. My biggest yearly expenses used to be holidays or travelling, but now with this Covid19 pandemic, my biggest expenses will be curtailed and back to just our basic and simple lifestyle, moreover , with no eating out at a restaurant and more home cooking food.

image credit to freepik.com

With things getting serious and the government just announced more social distancing measures and “ circuit breaker “ to close more workplace and schools from next week onward:  Stay home – Stay Safe – Stay United , be strong and hope this crisis may over soon, pray for those been affected by COVID 19.

Lastly, allow me to share this interesting video from Bill Gates which he gave in 2015.

The NextOutbreak? We are not ready! ( Bill Gates: Ted Talks March 2015 )

Cheer!

STE

Quote Of The Day :

"Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose - and commit myself to - what is best for me."Paulo Coelho

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