What do you guys do for work/careers?

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Rainier_Wolfcastle
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by Rainier_Wolfcastle »

Retired former actuary.

This has been a fun thread to read, and I’m surprised to find out who I seem to relate to more.

I came out of college hellbent on status and money, but after 4 years of only seeing the mountains out of office windows, I said f that. Left a fortune 10 job that was beyond what I dreamt of in college. 3 years after that I’m unemployed and paying cc interest from other cc advances. Bit the bullet, took a job in the worst place I’ve ever lived (I’ll just say it’s in SE portion of Midwest). I devised plan to spend 4 years working and studying my ass off, so I could get the best of both worlds.

When my 4 yrs of hell were up, moved back to CO, and worked as little as I needed to at my “banker’s hours” job for another fortune 10 company...with the goal of early retirement. I treated my employer about the same as our ceo treated our employees...he was the highest compensated ceo ($82 million I believe) the same year he froze every employee’s salary and cut 5k+ jobs. When something important came up, I did my job at the highest level. When my respected co-workers needed me, I was there for them....as long as it wasn’t Friday-Sunday ;). I didn’t flaunt that I was putting in 25% effort or working 30 hours a week, and made sure the BU was making a nice ROI for my services. With help from my wife and not having kids, retired at 46. And wouldn’t take any dollar amount to deal with any it for one hour more!

Big employers don’t reward pride, loyalty, effort...they reward results...and even then they’d sell you for a new place in Breck (actually saw this happen). If you love your job more than your off hours activities, that is awesome...congratulations! Otherwise try to find something you don’t hate, that takes advantage of your skills, and squeeze every $ out of every ounce of effort you put into it!
Last edited by Rainier_Wolfcastle on Mon May 03, 2021 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by 12ersRule »

ker0uac wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 10:27 am I don't believe I said the word stupid but either way it was clearly a joke to poke some fun. Who cares? And I never replied to anyone's post in this thread to specifically attack them. But Im sorry that I hurt your feelings. I keep forgetting the massive fragile ego of the people here. If it helps, I believe in climate change.
Can't wait until you get moderator privileges. Should be super fun! I'm inspired.
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by mtnkub »

ker0uac wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 8:55 am But if ya'll must know so I as to stop judging me personally, I have a B.S in Engineering Physics, a masters in Financial Engineering, and a MBA. In college, I researched the growth of carbon nanotubes for semiconductor applications. ...

It's fine to ask the question what you do for job/career. We are all curious. But don't be upset when people dnt give a f**k about your job/career. Your over-attachment to your career doesnt make you more successful than anyone. It only makes u a slave to your career. Life is too short to be just one thing.
1) Not sure why you think listing any kind of education would put you above personal judgement (or why you think that anyone has been judging you for your inferior education).
2) Now, that sounds a bit judgy-judgy, doesn't it.

PS: Me personally, I don't have a problem with your personal career/money choices. What I am judging you for is for sh**ing at someones outhouse. That's just not cool!
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by ker0uac »

rijaca wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 10:29 am
You looking for a job?
Lol I hate and dread interviewing and I dont think I am good at it. I rather have my eyes poked by all of you at the same time.
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by ker0uac »

Rainier_Wolfcastle wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 10:48 am Retired former actuary.

This has been a fun thread to read, and I’m surprised to find out who I seem to relate to more.

I came out of college hellbent on status and money, but after 4 years of only seeing the mountains out of office windows, I said f that. Left a fortune 10 job that was beyond what I dreamt of in college. 3 years after that I’m unemployed and paying cc interest from other cc advances. Bit the bullet, took a job in the worst place I’ve ever lived (I’ll just say it’s in SE portion of Midwest). I devised plan to spend 4 years working and studying my ass off, so I could get the best of both worlds.

When my 4 yrs of hell were up, moved back to CO, and worked as little as I needed to at my “banker’s hours” job for another fortune 10 company...with the goal of early retirement. I treated my employer about the same as our ceo treated our employees...he was the highest compensated ceo ($82 million I believe) the same year he froze every employee’s salary and cut 5k+ jobs. When something important came up, I did my job at the highest level. When my respected co-workers needed me, I was there for them....as long as it wasn’t Friday-Sunday ;). I didn’t flaunt that I was putting in 25% effort or working 30 hours a week, and made sure the BU was making a nice ROI for my services. With help from my wife and not having kids, retired at 46. And wouldn’t take any dollar amount to deal with any it for one hour more!

Big employers don’t reward pride, loyalty, effort...they reward results...and even then they’d sell you for a new place in Breck (actually saw this happen). If you love your job more than your off hours activities, that is awesome...congratulations! Otherwise try to find something you don’t hate, that takes advantage of your skills, and squeeze every $ out of every ounce of effort you put into it!
Did you pull some tax macgyver trick or you indeed retired without 401k and SS?
Those who travel to mountain-tops are half in love with themselves and half in love with oblivion
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by bergsteigen »

Yes, you *can* retire before 65/67, if you don’t spend all your take home $$$. I plan on retiring early and cutting hours ASAP.

From a local Longmont guy who retired at 30:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01 ... etirement/ (He’d be sad at most of our lifestyles, except for Justin)
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by disentangled »

12ersRule wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 10:56 am Can't wait until you get moderator privileges. Should be super fun! I'm inspired.
i'm not inspired. lol
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by highpilgrim »

shelly+ wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:09 pm
i'm not inspired. lol
You just need the right inspiration, and it's not ker0uacky.

You want to he happy? Listen to a better source:

Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
Hunter S Thompson

Walk away from the droning and leave the hive behind.
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by ker0uac »

bergsteigen wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:07 pm Yes, you *can* retire before 65/67, if you don’t spend all your take home $$$. I plan on retiring early and cutting hours ASAP.

From a local Longmont guy who retired at 30:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01 ... etirement/ (He’d be sad at most of our lifestyles, except for Justin)
I agree, I do subscribe to most of what's in this article. I don't think my expenses should go up as I make more money - Im childless. So five years ago, I began sending whatever raises or bonuses I get straight into savings/retirement.

But Im just asking from a tax perspective. I maximize my contributions to both 401k and IRA, and use all tax loopholes to do so, so the bulk of my money is locked in through legal retirement age, unless I pay the early penalties.
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by Rainier_Wolfcastle »

ker0uac wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 11:46 am
Did you pull some tax macgyver trick or you indeed retired without 401k and SS?
Tax shelters don’t hurt, 401k is there for later, SS would be nice..but we’ll see. Specialized fields for wife and I helped build a nice base (you have nice credentials, should be doing alright). For last 15 years, before any purchase I asked myself if it was worth working an extra x # of days...usually NO. A little luck, but also due diligence on investing...Apple was nice for a few years...etc...etc. Don’t guess, apply your ability to learn and math skills for your own benefit...what if you put 10% of your savings in Tesla 15 months ago...maybe another 10% in Zoom when in-person meetings went caput... when the market is bad, cash ain’t so bad. When it’s good, say you have 10% in 5 of those...lose 50% on 1, lose 25% on 1, break even on one, gain 50% on 1, and triple one...while getting 2% on the other 50%. Well you just made a ~20% return. Do that for 10 years...while adding half ur take home...do the math.
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by bergsteigen »

ker0uac wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:39 pm
bergsteigen wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:07 pm Yes, you *can* retire before 65/67, if you don’t spend all your take home $$$. I plan on retiring early and cutting hours ASAP.

From a local Longmont guy who retired at 30:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01 ... etirement/ (He’d be sad at most of our lifestyles, except for Justin)
I agree, I do subscribe to most of what's in this article. I don't think my expenses should go up as I make more money - Im childless. So five years ago, I began sending whatever raises or bonuses I get straight into savings/retirement.

But Im just asking from a tax perspective. I maximize my contributions to both 401k and IRA, and use all tax loopholes to do so, so the bulk of my money is locked in through legal retirement age, unless I pay the early penalties.
Correct, if you funnel all your savings into retirement accounts, then it is locked up till 59.5 years of age. Doing so makes ones tax burdens much much less. This guy has a lot of blog posts, so you may want to sift through some of them, as he talks about investing post-tax dollars. I’ve read virtually all of his posts, except when he makes fun of people who drive into the mountains weekly for our enjoyment. Thankfully my accounts are large enough to get a personal finance advisor, so I have more than just retirement to build up and utilize for early retirement. Speaking of which, I need to call him today.
"Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games." - Ernest Hemingway (or was it Barnaby Conrad?)
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Re: What do you guys do for work/careers?

Post by ekalina »

ker0uac wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:39 pm
bergsteigen wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:07 pm Yes, you *can* retire before 65/67, if you don’t spend all your take home $$$. I plan on retiring early and cutting hours ASAP.

From a local Longmont guy who retired at 30:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01 ... etirement/ (He’d be sad at most of our lifestyles, except for Justin)
I agree, I do subscribe to most of what's in this article. I don't think my expenses should go up as I make more money - Im childless. So five years ago, I began sending whatever raises or bonuses I get straight into savings/retirement.

But Im just asking from a tax perspective. I maximize my contributions to both 401k and IRA, and use all tax loopholes to do so, so the bulk of my money is locked in through legal retirement age, unless I pay the early penalties.
Take a look at the Roth IRA conversion ladder. If done correctly, it allows you to circumvent the 10% penalty and can also result in significant tax savings. But it requires some long-term planning.

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