Now that I've got 2 kids, and with the prospect of yet more uncertainty in my industry (we have had restructures and subsequent layoffs/retrenchments every year, sometimes more than once a year, for the past 4 years) I've been seriously thinking about exiting... or even 'downgrading' my job (first world problem right!) by this I mean paying up my car, putting a chunk into the house, keeping aside some school fees and then hanging up my gloves for maybe a year or so - doing something more fulfilling.
Work doesn't stimulate me (it is currently incredibly frustrating) and I actually have no desire for a GM/CxO position at a company like the one I am at which is my next move... especially considering I would also need to put time and money into qualifications that will give me marginal personal value given my experiences to date. Also, too many times in the past decade I've been down the road of 'this job is for you... maybe... if you have the right qualifications... and someone dies... and then there is a tailwind'... Management changes and then all bets are off again.
The security of a company (even a large one) is no longer there - no big bonuses, reshuffles, politics... and there is always a risk of retrenchment. I actually feel worse having survived 8 retrenchment processes in the past few years and picked up work well beyond the pay grade I am at in the process... For the first time in my life I've been put on stress meds (Urbanol) by my doctor... not something I want to continue with! I have also had the experience of doing my own thing and I am vividly aware of the issues of either path, especially in the current economic and regulatory environment. This is more of a no-strings-attached sabbatical than a 'let me conquer the world on my own' idea.
Has anybody done this and has it panned out for the better or was it a regret on balance. I feel like I have VERY little quality time to spend with my family anymore even though I probably do more than many others... I am 90% sure I will be bored in a couple of months which might push me to do something else that I love or get involved in other projects. I have virtually no debt (nothing that won't be paid off by cashing out my leave days anyway) apart from about $70K on my house which other income is capable of servicing. Worth noting that if I cash out a portion of my retirement savings, I will be able to pay that off as well... The place is as big as we are going to need for the foreseeable future (and probably too big for retirement). My wife works in a polar opposite scenario (not a heck of a lot of money, but immense job satisfaction and has 10 years tenure at her current employer with proper job security)
I am looking at some of the short term things I wanted to get eg: just a new car (BMW M5)... and I can probably live off that money for 2-3 years, keep my current one paid up and under maintenance plan (which only expires in 2020): live pretty much the same as I live now with arguably less (or at least a different kind) of stress. I feel like the money I was planning to spend now might be better spent to improve my quality of life vs. buying yet another toy.
The flip side to this is of course that I may never see that monthly salary for many years to come and I may shoot myself in the foot if I ever want to re-enter industry...
Any comments appreciated.
*Additional info: * Haven't touched my retirement savings (and ideally don't plan to). I've been saving about 15% of my salary for the past 10 years and I'm currently 33. Of course I wasn't always earning this amount of money... Prior to working I owned a small business which paid for my studies and expenses. That was sold which put me on a pretty good footing entering the corporate world and enabled me to avoid getting into debt 'starting off life' so to speak.
Current salary is around $150000/year (I'm converting) and my wife's is half that. However that excludes share options and bonuses which take my potential earnings far higher. Due to the current performance of the industry in general together with other factors, bonuses have been small to none and though I regularly get shares, they have lost 50% in value in the past 2.5 years. I will be able to sell at least $40K worth of shares before I leave
I love cars and have 2 paid up with my M5 still owing a small amount (like I said above, can be paid up with my leave days currently). My plan was to buy the new one when released but with the way costs have escalated, it will end up being double what I paid for my current one... This together with the other factors above partially spurred this thought. This love will have to take a back seat in this scenario.
Basic education for my kids will form a major part of my expenses for the next 10 years coming in at around $200000 (estimated) excluding University.
I am not averse to entering another industry (I've switched in the past) or taking a pay cut.
Submitted February 15, 2017 at 12:55PM by throwawayrich452 http://ift.tt/2lPPvzD
