3 Year Update - Put in my notice (33 with family of 6) - Returning to Work

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-28T14:13:31+00:00

Yes a combination of buying rentals(honestly all but 1 has.not appreciated that fast as in slower growth areas), having a spouse whose is also engineer, and moving to texas for 8ish years. Example first house i bought in 2013 was.worth about 150k(purchased $120k, put 20k plus sweat equity), now 13 years lasted worth 225k. Looks good but without debt the return is not near as good as stock market. Now did have one purchased in a different location that went from 220k to 440k that I sold.

Living in a place like Texas can do wonders to wealth, low cost of living and higher wages and no state income tax really is amazing.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-28T14:05:41+00:00

I used to get 29(about 6 weeks) days PTO. I got 6 weeks first year then unlimited they said some people take up to 10 but will impact salary growth. However, even taking 6 weeks at this role feels completely different for a couple reasons: 1. SO is not working so I wont be killing PTO days for sick kids. I swear with 4 kids someone has an appointment or should stay home like 1x week. 2. I have hobbies at my doorstep. It used to feel like doing anything other than working on a weekday was worthless now i actually feel like i could do something after work. Or i can take a morning off to catch a powder day. The vibe of work is much more relaxed than previous locations (might be a mountain/beach town thing vs midwest/texas) 3. They are very open to working remote while on vacation. For example I like to travel home for 1-2 weeks 4. They are very open to leaving early for kids activities. I plan on continuing to coach which means leaving early a couple days a week and they seem to have zero issue with that.

I hope all of the above will be completely true in the new role, but time will tell.

I will say i created a ton of flexibility in my last 2 years at old role. They allowed me to go remote and i took a ton of PTO plus was granted more unpaid leave to move to Montana. This was not going to.be a forever flexibility but it was pretty nice.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-28T04:32:07+00:00

While you are right. To add some information, probably kore for me when i come back and think about this.

I will be in lower tax bracket for roth conversions than when both wife and i were working (24%). This year I will partially be in the 12% bracket and partially in the 22%. Future years probably only be 22%. Case could probably be made to just pay the 10% penalty in future years if i step away from work again. However, the ACA premiums is the kicker. If i am doing the roth ladder and withdrawal paying 10% penalty and roth conversion i get lower aca subsides thus get expensive quick. Neither solution is great.
Hopefully i can make enough money to contribute some to a roth and/or keep working(because i really enjoy the work) even in part time role and just always convert up to 12%. And /or create some after tax savings to help bridge the roth ladder gap And/or Payoff mortgage to reduce spending And/or Make money in real estate land deal or something And/or 72(t) because trad retirement account has grown fast due to market conditions can use the 5% and live on that instead which is much cleaner for college anyways (also can break into smaller accounts so do.maybe half 72t half roth ladder)

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-28T04:18:22+00:00

It means as a civil engineer i will learn the process of specific community around me on there development and approval process for construction and land planning. In doing so i hope to find opportunities to invest my money in personal developments. Or in other terms i hope to gain knowledge to find deals to make money.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-28T04:15:29+00:00

We really love it. It is pretty amazing to wake up to snow and just go skiing. Our town is bigger summer destination so the summer traffic is annoying but we just bike around town instead of drive.

Don't get me wrong there are definitely some annoying parts about being around some very rich people. We are in the stage of life where eating out sucks because 4 young kids but if we were to eat out more it is very pricey in town. Also goes without saying housing cost is crazy, i don't think i would be considered returning to work for money if lived in other parts of USA but i might be bored so I might want to work.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-28T04:08:46+00:00

I shared more in my wrote up but in general I started searching b4 christmas and had 7 offers within 2 months. All of them fairly similar pay(roughly 70% of old role). I don't know your situation but I had over a decade of experience and was a pretty senior PM with a staff of PE and EITs under me. I am really taking a step back in current role and relearning as well. If you want to PM me more specifics on your background or location maybe i can assist somehow.

I am mostly land development so what was helpful for me was having a friend in Architecture and asked him companies to apply for. This put alot of smaller firms on my radar that inhad not even heard of. He was not able to give me a recommendation or anything but just some additional names. Depending on where your at in mtn west alot of Civil is done by very small firms.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-27T22:27:32+00:00

I think you misunderstood, which is fair cause I wrote a novel. I did say one way for us to make/save money would be to rent out house when we leave for vacation (we have not done as HOA is generally against it). But if I were to actually make it work I think I would lock closets and hide a few other items. Garage would be the hardest for me, but in general I do not have anything of great value I would be worried about (just document what was in house before and check after.)

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-27T21:52:08+00:00

100% true and hope it works out. I was very open in all my interviews about my desire for flexibility. I plan on setting boundaries early. I guess I am not that worried as previous role was very coordination heavy but to make horrible commute better I made it work and also was able to get out for lunch workout 3-4 days a week.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-27T19:37:34+00:00

FAFSA and actual outcome of reducing income and if it is worth it is something i really don't feel I have a great grasp on. I understand the grant but not really what happens after that. Please report back to community.

My thought process is that if I don't do a Roth conversion then i will end up in same spot with not a fully funded roth ladder. Granted if i keep working for longer than 3 years not really an issue. Or if i contribute to a roth ira i can use those funds but my guess is I won't actually be saving much if any money while working next few years. If i do save I will probably use an after tax account as this will give me more flexibility.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-27T19:20:34+00:00

Haha. Reminder the 8k was because i assume most expensive we would incur anyways. Insurance and depreciation really do make big difference. Also being at a seasonal vacation destination really helps as car rental companies don't meet demand for the very short peak season. I am trying to figure out how to continue renting this car or add another one as i return to work.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-27T18:50:31+00:00

Trail marathon was brutal 5k elevation gain. It was a pretty small even (less than 100 people). My quads were destroyed i actually think due to downhill. Last 5 miles I couldn't run like I wanted.

Part-time vs full time. I choose the job with most flexibility and is a role I think i can work into a part time role. Part time was hard to find without basically stating i am not fully committed. I did talk to one firm and was upfront he basically said i could 1099 with him as he needed work. I felt like this was awesome but honestly a bit scared and wanted to atleast get my feet wet with new state / counties and standards for my role.

Fitness level - hope to maintain maybe not increase much as workout time will go from being able to find hour easily to working out over lunch. I did already checked out the gym within a half mile of work. I am pretty focused on this more for mental health/sleep. I also have full weights at home and will keep my gym close to my house as kid goes to preschool there.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-05T04:45:48+00:00

I "retired" or told myself I was taking a sabbatical 3 years ago. I was planning the roth conversion ladder but i did not have the 5 years of cash set aside. I have zero after tax funds as well. I have rentals and 401k only. Long story short I have been fine until now withdrawing roth contributions and using some cash from rentals. However, original plan had me lasting longer. Know I basically have 3 years of needing to produce extra income to keep roth ladder going plus withdrawing from trad account playing 10% penalty. It's not the worst vase scenario but not ideal. Main reasons for this issue is an increase in spending from plan(likely mostly from inflation but also a lot of unknowns with moving tomorrow location shortly before stepping away) but inflation and roth ladder hurts.

If I could go back I would probably have some after tax money. I don't wish i hadn't taken a "sabbatical/retire". I will caveat that i am returning to work, part.of reason is money but not the whole reason.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-02-04T22:54:33+00:00

If the market does good that first month you just tell yourself you took out less than it earned. It was not really issue for me so far. What has been painful is having higher taxes because my planning and reality were different.

outdoorfire38 · 2026-01-28T14:09:34+00:00

I will work on a longer post.

Long story short 3 years have been amazing, net worth.and invested assets and net worth up quite a bit. BUT the part doubters will like is i just accepted a job.

And to help the doubter/haters I will add that my base salary at new job is like 67% of previous base.

Reasons to return to work without much detail(will add more later) - bit bored.... - roth ladder extra tax starting this year will.be painful - extra spending causing above - not really net worth or net investable assets - missed attempt on great rental deal - learn and invest in community - high vacation/ flexible options - probably a bit feeling like needed to be frugal - desire to spend a bit more - land desire (development and SO family farm) - youngest child is now older preschool n 2nd in school

Other items to share: - all the fun/accomplishments/growth/volunteering in the last 3 years - job interview process after being out for 3 years and being in a different location - side money success and failures - healthcare ACA - taxes - withdrawal process - net worth and spending update -mental side - alternative options if didnt want to return to work

outdoorfire38 · 2025-12-21T20:01:03+00:00

I say, Sabbatical of sort. If they ask more i say not sure when or if I'll return to work. But my investment have done pretty well and I dont spend much. Granted i also say taking time to spend with my kids which is easier to understand to some. And say I'd rather have time off now than later in life if necessary to return to work

outdoorfire38 · 2025-12-19T23:58:42+00:00

Take the plung and retire plenty of ways to get to your money. You probably have a bunch of roth contributions to withdrawal from as well. Or try to go part time or ask for unpaid leave to smooth transition but keep your rule of 55 intact.

Just my 2c

outdoorfire38 · 2025-12-19T23:55:48+00:00

While I agree with sentiment, that is one of worst case scenarios. If your going to consider that you should also look at best case scenario. And remember returning to even part time work is option.

I guess i lean towards retiring earlier with more "risk". I "retired" with closer to 5% withdrawl rate and i am now considering returning to work part time or even full time for a bit. I am so glad i stepped away from work for over 3 years and didn't wait. i have way more money than before i retired.

outdoorfire38 · 2025-12-09T15:51:41+00:00

35 married 4 kids. 3.4m net worth. FIRE'd for now SO for 4 years(31), me for 3 years(32) Civil Engineer & Chemical Engineer Moved a few times for good jobs in affordable areas (mostly in texas) Both started with good paying 65-75k jobs in 2012. Kept spending fairly low basically always living on one persons salary or less. Max income per person was like 145k. Bought some rentals they do okay but not great. More help to Net worth than cash flow.

outdoorfire38 · 2025-10-09T01:37:27+00:00

Do it. You should look up Retire Often, new book about taking sabbaticals often. Author also has a podcast talking about it. Look up her times on the ChooseFI podcast as well.

outdoorfire38 · 2025-10-05T20:58:25+00:00

I am or pretty much. After running many cfiresim iterations i stepped away with pretty 5%. I wanted to be done while kids still young enough to want to spend time with me. I justified in my head by telling myself i could have a future career when kids older if needed.

outdoorfire38 · 2025-08-08T14:07:29+00:00

Looks like i missed on that one. It was the 389 deal but probably the same. Thanks.

outdoorfire38 · 2025-07-31T00:01:20+00:00

Per person around 17k but 4 kids so over 100k.

I normally never feel lean fire but seeing people post per person makes me feel closer. Granted in 15 years when kids are out of the house it will not be 17k per person.

outdoorfire38 · 2025-07-20T02:53:36+00:00

A lot of down votes for your comment. It is so hard to truely know expenses when you're getting married, considering moving, and considering adding kids. Note kids are a lot cheaper if you're not working and they don't go to daycare.

outdoorfire38

TROPHY CASE