Seriously considering switch to Part Time

[thomaspeket]

This is a good idea because you will have more free time with the transition to part-time work. And this time you can relax or spend more time with your family. But if you are exhausted at your job and decide to switch to a part-time job, you should think about changing jobs because health is the most important. Usually, people who get very tired at their primary job during the transition to part-time work are looking for a second or part-time job. Thus, thanks to weekend jobs, they earn extra money while not getting as tired as at their primary job.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Wow all these people moving onto retirement so quickly!

[My English Castle]

Congrats to Disney Steve. Considering going to half time myself in the spring semester--just need to look at the numbers and wait for my husband's contract to reconfirm. Hooray for you!

[disneysteve]

Are you ever going to fully retire and move to Orlando or is that off the table?

I am probably never retiring unless there's a guaranteed universal healthcare of some sort without threats from any side willing to take it away. However I also feel like wasting my life away without that professional environment once in awhile. I'm also in the 24h club right now.

We are likely going to buy a place in Florida sometime soon if the numbers work okay. We don’t intend to move there full time right now. My mom doesn’t want to move and we can’t leave her.

I absolutely plan to fully retire, hopefully by the end of 2022. We’ll see what our CFP thinks about that. I’m confident we can make it work. If we remain in the area I may stay on as a per diem and be able to pick up a shift now and then just to keep everything active and bring in a few bucks but as long as the numbers work I may also stop completely.

[Singuy]

We shall see. I'm hoping that the reduced hours ease the job strain. I will still be doing some 12-hour shifts, at least on the next schedule, but not nearly as many as I do currently. And I'll be working 3 days a week instead of 4 (unless I voluntarily pick up shifts). I still enjoy what I do. It's just the crazy COVID-driven volume that is wearing me down. It's actually gotten significantly better in recent weeks since they started allowing us to freeze registration when we're full. That's been a game-changer. If they continue that policy at least until volumes get back to a more sane level, and I don't have to work as many hours, I'm okay with doing this for a while longer.

We are meeting with a CFP on Friday to review everything and do some hard core retirement planning, see where best to draw income from, and what that income would look like. I'm hoping he will agree with my sense that we're in good shape whether I stay part time or stop entirely. I'll post about that after we've done it.

Are you ever going to fully retire and move to Orlando or is that off the table?

I am probably never retiring unless there's a guaranteed universal healthcare of some sort without threats from any side willing to take it away. However I also feel like wasting my life away without that professional environment once in awhile. I'm also in the 24h club right now.

[disneysteve]

Congratulations! Have fun. I predict full retirement within a year.

We shall see. I'm hoping that the reduced hours ease the job strain. I will still be doing some 12-hour shifts, at least on the next schedule, but not nearly as many as I do currently. And I'll be working 3 days a week instead of 4 (unless I voluntarily pick up shifts). I still enjoy what I do. It's just the crazy COVID-driven volume that is wearing me down. It's actually gotten significantly better in recent weeks since they started allowing us to freeze registration when we're full. That's been a game-changer. If they continue that policy at least until volumes get back to a more sane level, and I don't have to work as many hours, I'm okay with doing this for a while longer.

We are meeting with a CFP on Friday to review everything and do some hard core retirement planning, see where best to draw income from, and what that income would look like. I'm hoping he will agree with my sense that we're in good shape whether I stay part time or stop entirely. I'll post about that after we've done it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Congratulations! Have fun. I predict full retirement within a year.

[disneysteve]

To address the future take-home pay, I'd suggest checking out the calculators at PayCheckCity, specifically their salary calculator. You should be able to project pretty accurately what your take-home should look like come 1 Jan 22. I've used it for years and it's always been accurate to within a few dollars (say, +/- $50).

Thanks for the tip. I'll check that out, though I'll also need to know the 2022 health insurance rates. I'm not sure if those are available yet.

[GoodLiving]

I figured I should update this thread. I got confirmation today that my part time status will start November 28, so 4-1/2 weeks from now. I'll be going from 36 to 24 hours/week..

This is wonderful, I'm happy for you and admittedly a bit envious!

[kork13]

That's fantastic, and congrats again! As we've already talked about, it's not so much about not wanting to continue working, but rather just giving you more time to work on other areas of interest. You've got the finances to support reduced hours, so it's truly just a great situation for you all around.

To address the future take-home pay, I'd suggest checking out the calculators at PayCheckCity, specifically their salary calculator. You should be able to project pretty accurately what your take-home should look like come 1 Jan 22. I've used it for years and it's always been accurate to within a few dollars (say, +/- $50).

[disneysteve]

I figured I should update this thread. I got confirmation today that my part time status will start November 28, so 4-1/2 weeks from now. I'll be going from 36 to 24 hours/week.

Realistically, I'll pick up open shifts fairly regularly, at least for the next few months as I still owe them about 45 hours because I over-extended my PTO this year. Even once that's settled, though, I certainly don't mind grabbing an extra 4-hour shift each week putting me at 28 hours. The extra money from that would be helpful and give us more of a cushion.

I won't know my actual take home pay until early January since I've already maxed out SS tax for the year which will restart on 1/1/22. Once I see that, I can fine tune where we stand going forward and whether or not we need me to pick up extra regularly. At that point, I'll also see if I can continue putting 13% into my 401k or if I need to trim that back a bit.

[disneysteve]

I'm curious... Have you ever not worked in your life? (or been out of work for an extended period of time(s)?

The two longest periods were for about 3 months starting in February 2000 when I quit my job at my first practice and then this year mid May to Mid July when I was on my leave of absence after my cousin's death. I loved every minute of both breaks.

Back in 2000, we did a spur of the moment, 10-day trip to Disney World and spent a week in Las Vegas for a previously planned convention. I spent the rest of the time selling "full time" on ebay. I spent the weekends going to yard sales and flea markets and the week days going to thrift shops and outlet stores and auctions buying items to resell. I made virtually no effort to find a new job. One ultimately found me and I decided it was time to go back to work.

During my recent leave, I was mostly cleaning out my cousin's house (I spent 6 weeks in Florida) but also sold a lot of items including tools, auto maintenance items, various household goods, and 2 cars.

Neither time did I miss work one bit.

Selling stuff is definitely a passion of mine, and one that I hope to indulge in a lot more as I cut back from working.

[amarowsky]

Well, I certainly don't want to work my whole life but I may keep at it on a limited basis for a while. One great thing about my job is I have options: full time, part time, and per diem. And part time can be 24 or 20 hours. With per diem, I think we're only required to do 8 hours per month.


I've sold collectibles for 35 years. It is totally my plan to use increased free time to ramp up my sales business again. I have a basement and garage full of stuff, now even more stuff with everything I brought back from my late cousin's house. I'm selling stuff slowly now, listing a few items per week, but I look forward to being able to do a lot more. Back in my heyday, I'd do as much as $2,000/month in sales and that was 20 years ago.

I'm curious... Have you ever not worked in your life? (or been out of work for an extended period of time(s)?

[disneysteve]

sounds like retirement is knocking on the door!

Oh retirement is pounding quite loudly. I'm just trying to ignore it a little longer. If I can let our portfolio grow for a couple more years, we'll be in even better shape than we are now.

[disneysteve]

I hope it maybe opens a door to working even longer, and hopefully always shaving off hours (on average) as you feel more comfortable. Nothing wrong with working for your whole life, as long as you're not making work your entire life!

Well, I certainly don't want to work my whole life but I may keep at it on a limited basis for a while. One great thing about my job is I have options: full time, part time, and per diem. And part time can be 24 or 20 hours. With per diem, I think we're only required to do 8 hours per month.

it would be fun to watch a new/current hobby of yours manifest into something between a hobby and a job

I've sold collectibles for 35 years. It is totally my plan to use increased free time to ramp up my sales business again. I have a basement and garage full of stuff, now even more stuff with everything I brought back from my late cousin's house. I'm selling stuff slowly now, listing a few items per week, but I look forward to being able to do a lot more. Back in my heyday, I'd do as much as $2,000/month in sales and that was 20 years ago.