Can I/should I take time off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can afford to take time off, but you can't afford to never work again, which is a possibility you'd be setting yourself up for.

Are you looking for another job now or are you too depressed? The rational move is to look while you're employed and hope you get laid off with severance. The lack of sleep and headaches may make that impossible.

Why not see a mental health professional about depression and take FMLA for a month, get your head together and work on your resume?

I never said I was not going to work ever again. I said taking time off to take better care of myself and focus on finding another job.

I feel your pain but I don't think your plan is very good.

[Anonymous]

Op, quit. I had those kinds of jobs and quit to get a federal GS-15 job and couldn't be happier

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 48, in a tough job market, voluntarily taking time off to spend time with family sends a different signal than getting laid off, in terms of future prospects. Not a good one. You may indeed never get hired at VP level again. Maybe you would get hired and claw your way back up the ladder, but it will not be easy.

Get therapy, work on mindful balance. Hold out for a layoff and severance lol.

What type of judgmental employer would begrudge a candidate who said "I took a 6 month professional break to explore my next move and spend more time with my family?" Probably the same one who would also view a layoff as a red flag. I think people have to do what is best for them. Some people are just judgmental.

Employers who want eager beaver overachievers? Who are wary of a VP who took time off to "find themself" and explore what they wanted to do?

If there was a genuine family emergency like spouse or child illness or injury that requires hands on presence, that would be seen differently imo.

But not burnout/flameout, which is coded in spend more time with family. At least in DC and many competitive industry cultures.

Don't want those? Fine. But places that embrace finding yourself may not pay $250k or hire 50-somethings and pay them fairly. BTDT. I quit a toxic executive job at 52. Took me 2 years to get another one at 60% of my old salary. Later, after I left, a coworker who had quit and worked in HR said "they specifically look for accomplished people people with job continuity issues because they know they can hire them for less."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, quit. I had those kinds of jobs and quit to get a federal GS-15 job and couldn't be happier

GS-15 jobs OP can jump to are very limited if exist at all

[Anonymous]

Job market is tight right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your kids' college situation? Already paid for? Can you get health insurance through your DH?

Kids college is probably enough with growth to cover in-state tuition and room and board. Yes DW has health insurance.

How does DW feel about the plan? Seems a little unfair to her, no?

I have a feeling if I was a woman you would not ask that.

True but PP's point is valid. You two need to sort it out. How does DW feel about the plan??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your kids' college situation? Already paid for? Can you get health insurance through your DH?

Kids college is probably enough with growth to cover in-state tuition and room and board. Yes DW has health insurance.

How does DW feel about the plan? Seems a little unfair to her, no?

I have a feeling if I was a woman you would not ask that.

I am not the PP you are replying to. I am the one who did ask what your spouse thinks about this. And in previous threads when it is the DW, I always ask the same question. Money frequently is the biggest bone of contention in any marriage.

New poster

Also - how does your DW feel about her job. If she's similarly disgruntled, it's not really fair that you're the one who gets to quit.

And I'd ask that regardless of gender (especially if it's the DW quitting, because there's an unfair assumption that men should just suck up a bad job, but women can quit if work isn't fulfilling).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of ways to tap 401ks and IRAs early without penalty.

In any event, $4 million in investments at 48 is fantastic. You don't need to invest anymore. At 58, you'll conservatively be able to draw over 300k a year without touching the principal. Even now, you could draw 160k a year without touching principal.

That's assuming we don't have a pull back, which will happen at some point.

You mean a down market? No, this assumes down markets. The 4% rule was derived from nearly 100 years of data, which includes lots of down markets. And I project a 7% annual return over the next decades, which is conservative and draws from nearly 100 years of data.

My estimates are conservative and account for downturns.

I understand that. But we could have a downturn soon. And that could leave OP open to greater sequence of return risks. We are staying the course right now to secure a big enough portfolio that can withstand a significant correction and still be able to pay the % we need to live a good life in retirement.

Do whatever you want, but the data support that OP can withstand a significant correction and still retire comfortably at this age.

You are making assumptions on OP's behalf. DW's income could probably cover their basic expenses. Their 529s could probably cover their kids' in-state tuition. I think it's irresponsible to blanket statement say he can afford it without knowing all his specific details.

Bengen's and the Trinity study's 4% rule was born out of research covering 30 years, not 40-45 years. OP should really go to a place like Bogleheads.org and present his expenses, portfolio and get a review. Also use some modeling calculators. Then decide if he is comfortable with the information that he receives on a deeper level.

I'm a Boglehead. The 4% rule has been replicated many times and tested in different scenarios. The failure rate increases only very slightly for longer retirements. OP could draw 3.5%, have close to a zero percent failure rate, and still be fine.

[Anonymous]

Before you quit could you try staying and just not caring so much (maybe with the help of therapy?). Your job sounds bad but but not horrible if you can keep the stress from getting to you. You would be fine if you got laid off so stop stressing about it and just see how little you can care/work and keep your job.

[Anonymous]

It’s ok not to work.

[Anonymous]

The weight gain plus the stress is going to impact your heart. Please go get a through check up and maybe see a cardiologist. Are you sure your headaches are stress triggered and not high blood pressure?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your kids' college situation? Already paid for? Can you get health insurance through your DH?

Kids college is probably enough with growth to cover in-state tuition and room and board. Yes DW has health insurance.

How does DW feel about the plan? Seems a little unfair to her, no?

I have a feeling if I was a woman you would not ask that.

To be honest, from your OP I thought you were a woman so when you mentioned a DW I assumed you were most likely in a same sex relationship.

However regardless of the genders involved, my opinion would have been the same. Most people go through periods of burnout and would love a break. However, you can’t just quit your job and cut the household income in half/expect your partner to be the sole breadwinner unless they are fully onboard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you should quiet quit. Getting laid off is better than quitting - you'd have an extra $150k!

So - accept that you'll be laid off. Stop worrying about it - it's not a bad scenario for you. Drop the rope on as many things as you can. People undermining you - fine. Don't have enough staff or resources to deliver well for your clients? Okay, you do the best you can reasonably do without a ton of stress, and you let it go. Lower your standards dramatically.

DO stick-up for your staff and try to protect them - not over the top, don't exhaust yourself on this, but if you can reasonably help protect people, do that. That's the one thing I would stay active on. And of course, remain courteous and professional in all your interactions with everyone.

Meanwhile, find three hours a week in your schedule (on or off the clock, whatever makes the most sense) to actively job search and network.

Maybe you get laid off, and you've got your time off to focus on your health and look for a job, but with $150k and a head start on the job search. Maybe you find another job (ideally). And maybe this becomes a reasonable status quo for a while that is at least no longer actively harming you. Feels like the best path at this point.

This is exactly what I would do.

[Anonymous]

Grow up, fix yourself and look for a new job.

[Anonymous]

I would try cutting back at work now in terms of effort and finding a new job and see if that helps. Going to a new job for a year will be a good way to measure if you are burned out on your current job or working in general. Quitting outright in this market could be risky.