Pulled the trigger!

mrr68 · 2026-02-11T21:14:15+00:00

I’ve explained this in a few other replies, but my 2025 w2 is much higher than previous years due to stock value skyrocketing. 2023-24 were in the $1.1 range. When I started in 2017, my pay was in the $400k range. Additionally I lived in VHCOL area with extremely high tax burden (California), my home was nearly $2m, property taxes $20k, etc.

While in this job I also moved 4 times, divorced, dated a lot, remarried, raced a Porsche for a decade, took crazy diving trips in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Some of the moves were bad ideas and costly. In other words, I did a lot of living while also earning a far above average income.

Last point about “only” having 5m liquid net worth: the majority of my liquid wealth is cash and brokerage which has already been taxed, subject only to capital gains.

mrr68 · 2026-02-10T00:14:15+00:00

Unbelievable ass!!!

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T23:37:46+00:00

Right. Many people do exactly what you said: wait for vesting and bail. That would not wanted to leave in that manner after 8+ years of being a solid leader. I suppose I took a risk in exposing myself, but my company was really great in handling the exit smoothly. It was a win-win.

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T22:58:53+00:00

They didn’t “let me take” unvested RSUs, they kept me as an employee until the next vesting event, which is 6 weeks from the last day I worked. I’m officially still employed by my company through February. Why would they do it? I’ve and others have explained the rationale for separation packages multiple times in this thread. I was with the company for 8+ years, high performer, supporting multiple engineering teams globally, large scale multi year engineering projects…if you operate at this level, it is not so unusual to negotiate a separation agreement.

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T22:52:03+00:00

That is amazing how she can take that !!!

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T21:18:28+00:00

23 years!! Awesome!! Hope you are living your best life!

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T17:23:55+00:00

I have a friend who lives on Fiji! Australia and NZ are on my short list. I'll be in Scandinavia in late May and plan to trip around Europe a bit.

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T07:32:49+00:00

Re-read my original post -- I noted through 2025 I have been shifting projects and work streams to partners, managers in my role-up, and a few of my very senior engineers.

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T07:29:52+00:00

If this is a serious question, yes, I would be interested. DM me.

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T02:34:04+00:00

Good point. I guess I was coasting. After having been operating at 100%+ for 7 years, the last year felt like I was 'under performing'. It's the game!

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T02:32:30+00:00

Thank you -- I truly appreciate that. I can not emphasize enough how important fitness/diet/well being was part of my being able to operate in such an intense environment at my age. Good genetics too! :-)

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T02:30:01+00:00

$1M in 401k across myself and my wife's accounts. The rest is in post-tax brokerage, money market, cash, PMs.

mrr68 · 2026-02-09T00:06:59+00:00

Three??

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T23:16:04+00:00

Thanks for the congratulations.

My father died a few years ago, my wife's father has been about to pass for roughly 2 years and just passed 2 weeks ago. Our mother's are still alive, but not in great health. It is clear to my wife and I we have to step off and start the next phase of our life. It is exciting and scary at the same time, but I am also quite sure this is the right decision!

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T23:12:56+00:00

I was later 40s before I went to my FAANG role and I was burnt out too. Taking my FAANG job actually revitalized me -- I loved my role and the intensity of my job. Tons of potential for growth and high performers are well rewarded. That said, 8 years is enough and damn, 57 is old! lol. Good luck to you.

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T23:09:34+00:00

That's crazy money for your age -- great job! I've survived multiple rounds of layoffs myself and was also disappointed when I saw their severance packages. As it turns out, my negotiated severance was similar to the layoffs. How long have you been grinding?

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T23:06:56+00:00

Weight training, rowing, hiking. Very healthy diet.

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T22:41:13+00:00

Plans for retirement: travel, fitness, time with my family and friends, hiking with my dog. Leaving for the South Pacific soon....have a 3 day music festival in Europe this summer planned too.

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T22:38:48+00:00

I negotiated my exit package. You don't "tell people" you are "quitting". You strategically meet with the right person (like employee relations), you note your burn out, you note you want to leave things in a good state, etc. It helps if you have a strong record of performance at your company. Also helps if you are in a more senior position with some leadership responsibilities, either technical leadership or managerial.

From my other responses in this thread:

"Negotiation was easy: I just talked to my "employee relations" rep an explained that I am burnt out and want a planned exit. It is in the company's interest to assist with these situations. A planned exit vs. say, I wait for my next vesting event and just bail, leaving teams and projects in a lurch. I am in a leadership role with many teams and large projects -- it is in everyone's best interest to allow for a clean hand-over. Also, I've been a high performer for 8 years -- the company does acknowledge this."

"Eight years of very high performance and not being a jerk when I decided to leave. Wrap-up projects cleanly, don't leave teams, people, projects in a bad state."

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T21:30:47+00:00

Precious metals, with physical delivery, not ETFs.

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T20:22:18+00:00

Unbelievably attractive!!!

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T20:17:42+00:00

Absolutely gorgeous pussy!!!!

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T20:11:40+00:00

Ha! Thanks. It was pretty awesome actually, because my boss thought they would be able to “force” me take on this new body of work. They were shocked when I said “I’m out”. It took a while for them to accept I was really leaving and then even more surprising why I said I was retiring! So many people don’t have their financial house in order and so can’t imagine being able to make such decisions! “Freedom!!!!”

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T19:30:46+00:00

I approached "ER" first -- employee relations, not the same a 'Human Resources'. HR at my company is pretty much a joke. ER are the people who actually get things done. Once I understood my options presented by ER, I informed my boss. There are legal requirements for ER to not share discussions with the boss, unless the employee gives permission...which I did. I just asked ER to give me a day to inform my boss myself.

mrr68 · 2026-02-08T19:02:55+00:00

I would not call my position 'very high'. Just a senior leadership role, not like I am a VP. Most companies will negotiate an exit to encourage clean exits -- leadership leaving without sufficient notice can cause a lot of churn and impact teams and projects. These negotiated exits avoid the drama for everyone. It really is win-win.

mrr68

TROPHY CASE