Octopus Overlords

I'm getting an offer letter for a new role in the company in January. With this much advanced notice, I'm assuming it should be good. Not necessarily pay, though that should be ok, but day-to-day. I'll have a focus on an area I really want to be in.

Congratulations.

I got to review the firm PR about being elected to the law firm’s equity partnership on January 1 with my colleague. Had the review today about all the new taxes and benefits that I get to pay directly, too. Still an exciting step forward.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Thu Dec 22, 2022 12:03 am Congratulations.

I got to review the firm PR about being elected to the law firm’s equity partnership on January 1 with my colleague. Had the review today about all the new taxes and benefits that I get to pay directly, too. Still an exciting step forward.

Congrats!

I'm really trying not to jinx this, but I've got my life insurance license back and a company that really wants me for an agent. It would have a 50-55k base pay plus a portion of the commissions, and this would be an amazing move. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but...

Looks like I have an admin assistant job lined up, if I don't jinx the interview tomorrow, but I also have ONE WEEK of being my local transit's ambassador to tell people about the new station and new line we got, starting Saturday, with a nice official jacket and cap.

22 months until I become a leech on society.

Just got promoted from Peon to Assistant Lord in waiting at our local Medical office. Good news is Im now over 6 figures. Bad news is that Im salary and at the will of the Lord in charge. Something Ive been thinking about for a while and encouraged to apply for. Hours are a bit longer but the perks out weigh the negatives thus far. For those not fluent in Midevil. Im now Assistant Nurse Manger in an extremely large cardiology practice 30 MD's. 25 NP's/PA's 50 MA's, 30 scribes, 14 RNs and a handful of coordinators.

I applied for a job at Aldi today that is up my alley, but I'm not holding my breath. It's a 3-day WFH job, which would work for me I think (kids have after school activities 3 day per week). No idea what salary they had in mind, I submitted a number that's a little less than a COL increase over my last job.

I've not been bothering much lately, since the outcomes have been so poor. This one is major incident manager, though, which is a specific job I'm certain I can excel at. On the application, they had some character questions, one of which was "what motivates you?" Sadly, it was multiple choice, and one of those choices wasn't "avoid being relocated to the Philippines in 2024".

Default wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:31 pm 22 months until I become a leech on society.

11 0r 12 months for me. I hit my full SS retirement age in November. Don't know if there's any advantage in waiting until January.

Since I'm self-employed at home, this mostly means that I can keep working and draw full SS checks at the same time. Then I can fire two of my clients who together provide 1/3 of my annual income and still come out ahead.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:36 pm

Default wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:31 pm 22 months until I become a leech on society.

11 0r 12 months for me. I hit my full SS retirement age in November. Don't know if there's any advantage in waiting until January.

Since I'm self-employed at home, this mostly means that I can keep working and draw full SS checks at the same time. Then I can fire two of my clients who together provide 1/3 of my annual income and still come out ahead.

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but if you'd like to outsource some of your work, I might be willing. The main reason I don't have a writing career is that I can't stand the sales aspect. However, as a writer, I was told by magazine editors that they loved my stuff because it required no editing. And I've also worked as an editor.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:39 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:36 pm

Default wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:31 pm 22 months until I become a leech on society.

11 0r 12 months for me. I hit my full SS retirement age in November. Don't know if there's any advantage in waiting until January.

Since I'm self-employed at home, this mostly means that I can keep working and draw full SS checks at the same time. Then I can fire two of my clients who together provide 1/3 of my annual income and still come out ahead.

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but if you'd like to outsource some of your work, I might be willing. The main reason I don't have a writing career is that I can't stand the sales aspect. However, as a writer, I was told by magazine editors that they loved my stuff because it required no editing. And I've also worked as an editor.

We can talk.

One of the jobs is editing highly technical session blurbs and bios for NVIDIA. They're only a paragraph or two long, but there are 700+ of them steeped in jargon, buzzwords, and acronyms. They need to be dumbed down into English without losing the tech details and air of authority. The other is editing several hundred barely intelligible nomination letters from the public for the Boston Globe's "Salute to Nurses." These need to be upgraded to English without losing the author's voice. Both jobs are tedious and get briefly intense. You could most likely hit the ground running with the healthcare letters. The former requires a working knowledge of the hot topics du jour in AI, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, medical imaging, etc. and would be harder to pick up.

I'm sure both clients would like a referral when I let them down. If I were trying to grow my business I'd hire you as a W-2 employee, but I might fold Kraken Enterprises at the end of the year -- the hassle and expense of being a corporation are starting to outweigh the advantages...I think I'd do better as a 1099 contractor. I incorporated when I was a public-facing business and needed the insulation, but that's no longer relevant.

soulbringer wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:24 pm Assistant Nurse Manger

I'm glad there was room.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:36 pm

Default wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:31 pm 22 months until I become a leech on society.

11 0r 12 months for me. I hit my full SS retirement age in November. Don't know if there's any advantage in waiting until January.

Since I'm self-employed at home, this mostly means that I can keep working and draw full SS checks at the same time. Then I can fire two of my clients who together provide 1/3 of my annual income and still come out ahead.

I'll start drawing at 62. I've seen too many of my peers not make it to seventy to wait longer. I have no interest in "getting a little job" after I retire. That why I'm removing as much volativity as possible from my life.

o get the full benefits I think you have to wait until you're 68. I got mine at 67. Retiring at 62 or 67 depends on what other money you have saved up.

The online Social Security site is really helpful. My milestones are 62 (early), 67 (full) and 70 (max). It’s a pretty big jump from 62 to 67 so I’m going to hold off as long as I can.

telcta wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 2:31 pm The online Social Security site is really helpful. My milestones are 62 (early), 67 (full) and 70 (max). It’s a pretty big jump from 62 to 67 so I’m going to hold off as long as I can.

Ditto.
I'm turning 62 this year and as much as I'd like to, and probably could, bail, the difference between now and holding off a few years is big enough to make me hang in awhile longer.
Plus the wife still has about 4 years left before her current contract ends and the juicy benefits kick in.

telcta wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 2:31 pm The online Social Security site is really helpful. My milestones are 62 (early), 67 (full) and 70 (max). It’s a pretty big jump from 62 to 67 so I’m going to hold off as long as I can.

Yeah, it's a big jump on my end, too, from 62 to 67. Not as big a jump from 67 to 70, but it's still quite large.

Thankfully I have 20 years til 62 and when I can even consider drawing SS (which I likely won't at that point).

My 62-67 jump is about a 50% increase.

telcta wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 2:31 pm The online Social Security site is really helpful. My milestones are 62 (early), 67 (full) and 70 (max). It’s a pretty big jump from 62 to 67 so I’m going to hold off as long as I can.

My target age is 66 and 6 months.

The monthly benefit increases by 7% for each year you delay taking it, which is a good guaranteed ROI if you're in good health and enjoy your work. However, getting larger checks doesn't surpass getting more checks until you reach your 80s, so there's a good argument to be made for starting your benefit early. Also, once you reach your full age you can earn unlimited income without reducing your benefit. I don't plan to quit working entirely until I become too infirm to do it. I don't have friends, family, or hobbies and I don't like to travel, so IDK how I'd fill my days if I didn't have work to structure them around.

Four letters....pimp.
That's what I've always wanted to be.

I am starting to think about retirement timelines. I turned 50 last year, so probably still going for a while and really need to talk to an advisor along with my wife so her assets can be included. I still, after 23 years of marriage, don't know exactly what assets she has (pre-nup), which makes retirement planning more challenging. 55 would be the first opportunity when I could start using my 401k without penalty. Obviously I wouldn't be starting social security at that point, so I would have to have a plan to make it to that point and when that point is. Realistically maybe I'd have to wait for my wife to hit 55 two years later. At that point we'd almost be done with college for both kids.

OK, I have no idea how retirement works or whether I can ever do it or now, but I'm good to put in a few more years. I'm still in a place where other tech folks don't really believe I am as old as I am. If I could just get them to let me go in a discriminatory manner...

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:01 pm 55 would be the first opportunity when I could start using my 401k without penalty.

I'm curious about this. Is it a different type of 401k? I've been planning that I wouldn't be able to draw from mine until 59 1/2. I'll be 58 this year and figuring out how much to draw, along with savings and my wife's income to delay SS as long as I can.

Default wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 12:26 pm I'll start drawing at 62. I've seen too many of my peers not make it to seventy to wait longer. I have no interest in "getting a little job" after I retire. That why I'm removing as much volativity as possible from my life.

Ding! I'm not so sure I'll make it to 62. I'm fairly certain 70 is a pipedream. 80? Not gonna happen.

telcta wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:23 pm

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:01 pm 55 would be the first opportunity when I could start using my 401k without penalty.

I'm curious about this. Is it a different type of 401k? I've been planning that I wouldn't be able to draw from mine until 59 1/2. I'll be 58 this year and figuring out how much to draw, along with savings and my wife's income to delay SS as long as I can.

He'd likely be using Rule of 55 which is a contract to pull early when you hit 55.

https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/rule-of-55/

As I quite before 55, it's not even an option for me. 59.5 it is.

telcta wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:23 pm

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 4:01 pm 55 would be the first opportunity when I could start using my 401k without penalty.

I'm curious about this. Is it a different type of 401k? I've been planning that I wouldn't be able to draw from mine until 59 1/2. I'll be 58 this year and figuring out how much to draw, along with savings and my wife's income to delay SS as long as I can.

Like LM said, it's the rule of 55 where you can access the retirement savings of the job you just left. I am "lucky" in that, having been at this job for 20 years and counting, maxing out my 401k most years, my 401k here is substantial. Without making a single change to my life and gaining no further value, my family could live off it for 10 years as of today.

That’s fantastic, Coop, what a great alternative. The last job I had a 401k with I ended up moving everything to Betterment when I left.

Thanks for the link LM. I hope you’re at least enjoying retirement now. My anxiety has been climbing this past year with inflation. I figured things would normally be more expensive but man, it’s hurting harder than I expected across the board. The lastest kick in my beanbag was our 5 year reassessment cycle for our condo.

telcta wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 5:41 pm Thanks for the link LM. I hope you’re at least enjoying retirement now. My anxiety has been climbing this past year with inflation. I figured things would normally be more expensive but man, it’s hurting harder than I expected across the board. The lastest kick in my beanbag was our 5 year reassessment cycle for our condo.

I'm just me so I don't let the anxiety get to me. Work, now that had anxiety getting to me. I can't go back. I got exhausted doing six hours of plumbing earlier this week. An 8-10 hour day of working, every day? I'm still, and likely always will be, broken.

Inflation and losing over 20% of the money I had tucked away to get me to 401k age... and having my 401k also losing 20% worries me but not enough to look back. I regularly redo my math and I'm still good... I hope. That and it's not truly lost until you sell. Really, it's about re-evaluting after 2023 and then again after 2024. I'm still doing COBRA through October of this year and then either my health care costs will go up or down and then they will do it again. It's still a mystery to me. My PCP says I should just get on medicaid. The hassle of medicaid doesn't bother me, as it won't interfere with my work. The level of care medicaid and of the ACA plans is still a mystery to me. So I guess we'll see soon enough.

But yeah, the cost of food and utilities in the year and a quarter since I said "fuck this shit I'm out" is pretty startling. Eggs were $.85, on deep sale for $.50 in October 2021. Today they're $4.15 on deep sale for $3.00 now. I don't mind that portions are smaller everywhere I buy my staples. I should eat less. I mind that I pay 1.5x for most things for smaller portions than I paid in 2021 but right now, I'm still well within my budget at least until something major hits. When I was shrewd shopper I could fill a basket for $20. Today, when I am shrewd shopping I can get about 4 small bags of groceries for $20.

Not sure how the calculus changes if I ever start, you know, leading a life again.

TLDR (or didn't understand), yep enjoying my retirement.

The raise we got for SS doesn't even cover the inflation on my grocery bill none the less every thing else.

Got the offer letter. Decent raise, new title, full control of a new system-wide role. There are 1 or two responsibilities I don't love but I get to fix how they're run and staff them so we'll see. Will probably sign on Monday.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 12:08 am Got the offer letter. Decent raise, new title, full control of a new system-wide role. There are 1 or two responsibilities I don't love but I get to fix how they're run and staff them so we'll see. Will probably sign on Monday.

Congrats!

I applied for a job with Aldi last week (Critical Incident Manager). Everything about the job was in my wheel house, including the software used (Service Now, which I was a beta tester and on the problem management team). So far...crickets.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 1:10 pm o get the full benefits I think you have to wait until you're 68. I got mine at 67. Retiring at 62 or 67 depends on what other money you have saved up.

Having some saved up and moving to a cheaper local than the US makes 62 more achievable.

em2nought wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 12:36 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 1:10 pm o get the full benefits I think you have to wait until you're 68. I got mine at 67. Retiring at 62 or 67 depends on what other money you have saved up.

Having some saved up and moving to a cheaper local than the US makes 62 more achievable.

This is our situation exactly. Apparently I can take early retirement and get a bonus amount since the kids are under 18. My wife's egg farm in the Philippines is paying for the house that's being built. The condo in Manila is only $200/mo, since she bought it while it was still only on paper. It's more than tripled in value now and will be completed next year, as will the house and when I reach age 62.

Wife is still looking at other passive-income opportunities to fund our retirements perpetually. This includes building an apartment building near the university in her home town. The kids are going to get their first real exposure there this summer though, and their opinion (afaik at least) carries some weight. My daughter expressed reservations, but I encouraged her to give it a chance. She's more than a little concerned that the wildlife (which she really loves here), is potentially deadly there. She loves snakes, for example, but would not be pleased if she has a negative outcome with a super-venomous sea snake.

That said, SS could largely fund our existence there, as long as I can managed to stay alive, anyway. And that includes paying for a housekeeper, a personal driver, a personal chef, and a private teacher.

em2nought wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 12:36 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 1:10 pm o get the full benefits I think you have to wait until you're 68. I got mine at 67. Retiring at 62 or 67 depends on what other money you have saved up.

Having some saved up and moving to a cheaper local than the US makes 62 more achievable.

There's cheaper than Hogeye, AR?

Jeff V wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 12:50 am That said, SS could largely fund our existence there, as long as I can managed to stay alive, anyway. And that includes paying for a housekeeper, a personal driver, a personal chef, and a private teacher.

I have no wife or kids so my needs are way less than yours, although your wife seems much more an asset than an expense. I've got four years to go until 62. I'm taking a year off to go overseas as soon as I sell some property, and then maybe I'll come back to work for 2-3 years just so my SS isn't terribly low.

Lassr wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:25 am I will be receiving the Silver Snoopy award from an Astronaut on July 20th. Always hoped one day i would get one. And yes, my first name is Jeffrey, although i go by my middle name.

This is finally happening tomorrow! No cancellation this time.

Snoo-oo-oo-oo-oopy Snoopy come home!
Snoo-oo-oo-oo-oopy Snoopy come home!
Snoo-oo-oo-oo-oopy Snoopy come home!
Come home Snoopy come home
(Come home come home)

Lassr wrote: ↑Wed Jan 25, 2023 11:03 am This is finally happening tomorrow! No cancellation this time.

Grats!!

Lassr wrote: ↑Wed Jan 25, 2023 11:03 am

This is finally happening tomorrow! No cancellation this time.

Nice. Have fun!

Michael Hopkins was the Astronaut from Space X Dragon Mission-1. My silver snoopy flew on that flight.

So cool.

That's really cool Lassr, congrats!