Fired after 16 years- what next?

Continue to troll LRC?

Fired with or without cause? I recommend a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

That you Bernie Madoff?

surlyfurious wrote:

Fired with or without cause? I recommend a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

There's ALWAYS a cause in financial services. Especially in the sales/bus dev roles like this guy sounds like he had.

Why do you need a new job??

Buy a couple rental apartments or a duplex and live off the rental income while your equity grows!

Why would you stress about trying to jump back in the rat race as an old guy?

1) No way would I go back to school to get a Masters at this point. Do it only for your own edification, but not to get another job in financial services.

2) If it were ME, and I had no kids and a wife with a good job (especially if she wanted to continue working), plus $900,000 in retirement at age 49 then I would either just flat out retire and let her income pay the bills, or just go do something part time for something to do.

3) Back to you though, how long would you have worked at that job if you weren’t fired?

4) Does working mean a lot to you? If so, then just go get any job. Unemployment rate now is 4.7%. You should be able to find a job pretty easily doing something.

Math time.

If you earn just 5% annually on that $900,000 in the next 11 years when you are 60 and don’t contribute any more, you will have $1,781,773.64. With contributions and higher than 5% return, easily $2 million (or just sell that $400,000 property and you’re over that).

Take 4% of that at age 60. 4% of $2,000,000 is $80,000. In two short years after that, you could get Social Security. If both of you are the same age, you will likely get another $45,000+ per year when you are 62. You will easily be able to retire on that.

If you think that’s not enough, then find a job and keep working and contribute a ton to retirement over the next 11-13 years. You could retire at 62 with over $3 million in retirement if you really want to.

Enjoy being in the company of the same people you looked down on while you were in your cushy financial advisor position. Take your place in line at Wal-Mart and fill out an application like others in yourposition.

Or learn how to cook and start your own business.

I would take a year off and do nothing but run. Should be easy since you have no children.

Then you can train your brains out and pound everyone into the ground at the local 5k next summer.

Jump back into employment as soon as you can. Gaps in employment - especially at your age - are big red flags. Even if you have to take a 30% cut, do it and find a new and better job later. It's tough out there.

Business trek wrote:

Why do you need a new job??

Buy a couple rental apartments or a duplex and live off the rental income while your equity grows!

Why would you stress about trying to jump back in the rat race as an old guy?

+1

Um, no.

OP, if you're 49 and healthy you've got 40 years of living to do. Your savings and social security won't hack it for that stretch if you want to live comfortably and free of stress over finances. You're not wealthy - I think you know that - but you are (were) on track for being sound in retirement.

Get out there looking for a job now. As someone else said, big gaps are red flags. Contact friends, former colleagues, etc. If you're 49 you should have a network by now - starting putting out feelers. That's the number 1 way to get a job.

Tomato Tomato wrote:

Business trek wrote:

Why do you need a new job??

Buy a couple rental apartments or a duplex and live off the rental income while your equity grows!

Why would you stress about trying to jump back in the rat race as an old guy?

+1

-100

Good god, no. You are suggesting his retirement savings be concentrated in a just a handful of rental units? This is terrible terrible advice.

A rental can be useful as a real asset when it is a part of a larger portfolio of assets. But, he doesn't have the wealth to buy several without depleting his other investments.

How much thought do you guys put into tossing out these "life scenarios" everyone always seems so keen to chime in on.

Sell everything, move to Argentina, retire.

Please take the advice of Observer of Things. 49 is too young to be out of the workforce, and while dreams of travel and freedom are nice, there is no hefty defined benefit pension plan awaiting these days at age 55 or 60.

For most, there is not enough money to retire. My financial advisor says each spouse (if married) needs at least $1M. Since I do not want to retire in a low wage, low cost of living area, I need easily double that for each spouse. In other words, I don't agree with him. I am 57, and well on my way to my personal objective, but retiring early just makes no sense (I like my job, however - it pays very very well and I have a somewhat unique set of skills - so there is some logic to it all). Yes, at 66 I will receive social security after paying the maximum into social security for over 40 years, but again, especially with the probability of health care expenses, there is for most not enough money to retire.

It is rough out there, but minimizing gaps in employment is essential. And retirement? Make it a concrete goal to go out on your terms.

observer_of_things wrote:

Tomato Tomato wrote:

+1

-100

Good god, no. You are suggesting his retirement savings be concentrated in a just a handful of rental units? This is terrible terrible advice.

A rental can be useful as a real asset when it is a part of a larger portfolio of assets. But, he doesn't have the wealth to buy several without depleting his other investments.

Yep, and as I've said on LR before, the idea of buying "a couple rental apartments or a duplex" with the intention of having any significant cashflow is not usually a good bet. When people buy one or two units, they are doing it for their balance sheet, not for the income. You go into a venture like that with the hope that the rent revenue will pay the operating expenses and debt service so that you end up with equity in an asset that is worth something in the long run. Any cashflow is a bonus that is in no way guaranteed.

A 40 or 50 unit apartment complex will have the economies of scale necessary to start reliably earning income if the investment is good and the property is well managed, but trying to "live off the rental income" from two units is about as bad a bet as you could make.

Good god, how many spouses do you have?

You are too young to "retire", even part time. At your age, you should have a lot left in the tank. If I were you, I would become employed full time in the work of searching for a new job. Again, if I were you, I'd look for a new job in the field- that's a lot of experience, knowledge, and, I assume, customer contacts to just throw away.

Get back in the game. You're too young for the rocking chair.

I thought you weren't going to post anymore. Liar.

What's your next big guarantee?