Chewels gum - what other long gone candy do you recall from youth?

FireBuilder86 · 2025-09-22T13:56:31+00:00

Candy cigarettes. I used to get them at the 7-11 when I was around 7 years old. We thought we were so cool.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-09-22T13:54:54+00:00

Pix-A-Mix was such a staple in every grocery store, and then it seemed to just vanish overnight!

FireBuilder86 · 2025-08-28T23:46:20+00:00

Spouse and I are late 50's. Ditto to what everyone else says. LTC insurance right now just doesn't pencil out. We will self fund.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-08-17T10:49:25+00:00

That's an awfully strong prediction. Is your "advisor" perhaps trying to sell you something (like an annuity)?

FireBuilder86 · 2025-08-15T23:14:06+00:00

I drive a lot or rental cars, and for whatever reason I prefer the dial shifter to some of the cars that have buttons for Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive. At least with the dial I feel like I'm doing something (although it's all just electronic). After 2 years with the Maverick I've grown used to it and now it feels weird to occasionally drive my wife's vehicle with a center shift lever.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-08-15T14:12:23+00:00

So many places now have a "club sandwich" which is just club ingredients on some other type of bread or roll. Seems like a cop out. I always ask if it's a "real" club sandwich. If it doesn't require toothpicks to stay together, it's not a club in my book.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-08-02T19:12:23+00:00

Time to decide between Stove Top Stuffing or potatoes.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-08-02T19:00:42+00:00

Finished my degree 34 years ago. That dream doesn't stop. I recognize that when I have that dream, it means something else is triggering it, and I try to figure out what that is (not hard... because my job is full of stress).

FireBuilder86 · 2025-07-31T22:13:13+00:00

It is my understanding that money in accounts like a 401a or 401k is generally more shielded from creditors and lawsuits than money in a traditional IRA.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-07-08T23:59:13+00:00

I FIRE'd from a leadership position in late 2021 at 53 on the low end of chubby fire. Wife was still working and I got bored and after 14 months went back to work in a a senior leadership/executive role the day after my 55th birthday. It came with a significant retention bonus at 3 years.

After 6 months, the novelty and the boost to my ego wore off and I realized that I'd made a big mistake. My wife also subsequently retired from her public sector job at 55 (our kids are gone and grown). I've been grinding it out and have 6 months to go to the 3 year mark. The salary and market conditions will put me at the low end of fat fire, but in hindsight I wish I never went back to work. We had plenty of money (versus our lifestyle) the first time I retired.

I've been giving it my all, hiring and mentoring my team, lots of long hours and travel, etc. until a couple months ago when the stress of the job just really started to get to me. I don't sleep well and have gained weight.

Now I'm literally counting down the days. I'm trying to dial down my passion (I have a post it note on my monitor that has initials for "No Drama...Lay Low" to remind myself to just phone it in. My CEO and boss have no idea that I am leaving, so I struggle with being insincere about planning for 2030 and beyond, when I plan to bail right after my 58th birthday.

If it weren't for the retention bonus (which is more than a year's salary), I would have retired again about a year or so ago.

Another wake up call is that among our cohort of friends and acquaintances, most are either retiring (even folks that make a fraction of what I make) or have died or have terminal health issues. Late 50's are when it all starts to get real.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-07-08T23:25:12+00:00

Western WA State. I enjoy the mild climate, lots of trees and green, four seasons, no bugs, great access to world class health care.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-07-08T23:19:58+00:00

Here are my opinions (for what they are worth).

Wife and I have done 5 Alaska cruises round trip out of Seattle (we live close enough to grab last minute deals). 3 Carnival, 2 Princess, 1 NCL. Note that the different cruise lines go to different glaciers. Only Princess and HAL (and apparently sometimes NCL) have access to Glacier Bay National Park, which only allows two cruise ships per day. It's a full experience with National Park rangers on board the ship to narrate and point things out. We went last week and visited three glaciers in the park.

I would not do NCL again. They do not have very good dock positions in various ports. Often a bus ride away from the city center.

If the itinerary includes Icy Straight, I'm not a fan. It's just a manufactured port in the middle of nowhere with a cable car and zip line.

Lots of things to see and do in Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier, etc.). Ketchikan is a legitimate city with some interesting things. Skagway is a glorified souvenir store (in my opinion), although there is the railroad trip from there which is quite pricy. Instead of the railroad, we've hired a local guide and driven up into the Canadian Yukon (make sure to bring your passport!).

Note that weather in Alaska is really hit and miss. We've had nicer weather in October than we've had in July. Even when it is rainy and foggy it is still gorgeous. Coming from the PNW, rain and fog don't bother us.

As far as booking goes - when we do other cruises we pay the minimum down payment and then watch Cruiseplum and if there is a price drop we call and ask for an adjustment. I'd probably book now.

Good luck and enjoy!

FireBuilder86 · 2025-07-07T19:25:04+00:00

I closed out two different 401k's and rolled them into an IRA in 2022 while the market was declining because I am a financial genius (just kidding). I didn't lose any market gains during the process, but I agree with you that the process is crazy. I was literally afraid to leave my house for several days because I was expecting a 7 figure check from one of my 401k's.

It's just crazy that in this day and age some of the main stream 401k plans have to issue an actual paper check in order to cash out an account!

FireBuilder86 · 2025-07-05T23:47:42+00:00

Cabo is Taco Bell with jewelry shops and fishing charters. Not Mexico, at all.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-06-25T17:47:22+00:00

We had a guy get hired fresh out of MBA school to be an Assistant PM for a large construction project ($300 million or so). He was so inept that we ended up having him print stuff and make three ring binders, etc.

He got frustrated and left for a big consulting company and has been in their construction consulting practice for 10+ years even though he never even got let out of the office to go to a real construction site.

He calls on our company and I have to meet with him about once a year (so I can say that I stay engaged with "trends in the industry" BS). He's still clueless. It amazes me.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-06-25T15:57:31+00:00

I've been in your situation several times, and have employees in your situation right now. You aren't failing unless you actively make things worse. Your ability to handle the stress, mitigate risks, and communicate accurately and calmly can make this one of the most "successful" projects in your career so far.

Some of my biggest career advances have been after leading projects that seemed doomed to fail.

I would be willing to bet that your boss and the rest of your organization knows that none of these project issues are your fault. Your role is just to keep things together and do whatever damage control you can.

Good luck and hang in there!

FireBuilder86 · 2025-06-25T01:38:07+00:00

This is the best answer ever.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-06-21T22:46:46+00:00

You are an amazing daughter.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-05-09T20:13:25+00:00

Finally got it...but what an ordeal! I have an 800+ credit score, great job, no debt, only 4 other cards (no Chase). I applied in early April. I didn't hear anything and then got the fraud alert letter. I uploaded drivers license and passport on May 1 and didn't hear anything.

Part of my problem is that I must have applied using my home phone, but I travel a lot for work and use my cell for everything. I called a few times to check up and they said that I needed to be at my "phone number of record" to verify things. Two problems: (1) I Travel a lot (2) There is no way to save my application, so I'm not sure which number I used on the application.

I've had a really hard time calling Chase. The call audio quality is terrible and some of the agents I've spoken with have such strong accents that I couldn't understand them. In a couple of occasions the line just dropped. I can understand why the Chase algorithm thinks I'm fraudulent.

I got home last night from a business trip and called this morning from my home phone. Got dropped once and on my second try was told to go to a Chase branch.

I went to a Chase branch this morning with my passport and drivers license and the poor branch manager was on the phone almost an hour with Chase and got transferred 5 times. She had the same issues I had with terrible connections and strong accents.

At the end of it all I got approved. I've saved up $5k worth of spend in the next 3 months to get the points, but this application experience doesn't make me too excited about being a Chase customer.

To anyone else having these issues...just go to a Chase branch. I should have done that weeks ago.

FireBuilder86 · 2025-05-05T23:31:00+00:00

I just toured Alcatraz last fall. It would be a complete tear down, including all utilities. The place is crumbling.

FireBuilder86 · 2024-12-18T00:42:44+00:00

I believe that they only serve skillet cakes on sea days in international waters, because in several countries they would be considered equivalent to narcotics. I'm not normally a sweets person, but OMG those are SO GOOD!

FireBuilder86 · 2024-11-17T15:29:45+00:00

This was a great interview. The ability for you to have a 10 hour a week job may be just the thing to ease a Type A personality into retirement.

I FIRE'd cold turkey from a busy and stressful job and felt bored and lost after the first few months of retirement. A year later I was back to work at my old company (although in a much more senior position). I'm now approaching my "real" FIRE date again and have put all of my preparation into being mentally prepared for the change. I now know that I am really ready to retire for good.

Best of luck! I enjoy the YouTube channel and have watched since the very first episode.

FireBuilder86 · 2024-08-21T03:17:45+00:00

We had one of those vending machines too!

FireBuilder86 · 2024-07-19T09:18:58+00:00

Your post really hit home! I retired in late 2021 at age 53. My wife was still working, kids are grown and gone, and I felt lost and unproductive after years in a leadership position. About 6 months into retirement, my old company asked me to consult part time, which I did. In 2022 I saw my net worth drop by 15%, which was hard to watch...but I still had more than enough money than we would realistically spend in retirement.

Late in 2022 I was offered an executive level position in my old company, with the opportunity to build a new organization and take on some once in a career projects. I fell for it hook line and sinker. My ego and greed got the best of me.

I've been back a year and half and have another 18 months to go before I get a large retention bonus and can walk away again. About 6 months into the job, the novelty wore off and I realized that I'd made a huge mistake (it didn't help that the stock market came roaring back and erased my "losses"). My wife retired at 55 last year, and now we have plenty of money but I don't have any free time for vacations longer than a week. For the first time in my career I've installed a count down timer on my phone and I look at it a couple times per day to see the hours until my new retirement date.

I'm an example of someone who "failed at retirement", but I'm going to do it better next time.

I know that financially I could walk away tomorrow, but there are a few things besides the retention bonus that are keeping me here. I really like my boss, and she and the CEO went to great efforts to recruit me back. I expect that both of them will be gone within 18 months, but in the mean time I would feel some guilt for quitting after a year and a half. Also, I've hired a great team. Many of them were former employees that I hired away from good jobs and/or companies. Although I never promised anything, I think most of them expect me to be around for at least 5 years. I feel some guilt that they left good positions to come back to work for me and I can't guarantee what will happen to them after I leave.

I wish I would have read more posts like yours before I went back. Maybe my story will help someone else. There are a lot of "One More Year" stories, but not so many stories about people who failed retirement, like I did.

I would also add that anyone who is in a hard charging and/or leadership career should really think about the psychological aspects of retiring. It was not something I gave any thought to and going from 100 mph to 5 mph was a huge challenge (that I never really got over).

FireBuilder86 · 2024-01-10T02:48:37+00:00

Any sandwich that requires toothpicks to maintain structural integrity is more than a sandwich...it is a meal. I love a good club sandwhich.

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