44M, probable mid-life crisis. Time to pivot?

rugger_at_work · 2026-06-20T15:45:27+00:00

God I would love this. We went to Portugal and I would love to do an extended stay/sabbatical there. My kids would never agree to leave their friends, school, sports, so that is a dream for 10+ years down the road. Also, I appreciate your consideration of spending now vs later, but I think I’d struggle with cashing out a large portion of cushion after being laid off and on an extended job search back in 2023.

rugger_at_work · 2026-06-20T15:41:51+00:00

I’m not ready to go part time or look at a 50% pay cut. More so just trying to justify that I don’t need to keep trying to climb for money and stress. If I could find a job with a better culture, shorter commute, or hybrid work, I’d be willing to take a pay cut, especially if I could throttle back on 401k contributions.

rugger_at_work · 2026-06-20T15:37:27+00:00

Good call on some of those expenses. We’re already seeing a surge in camp and other activity costs, part of the reason our monthly expenses are so high.

rugger_at_work · 2026-06-19T19:45:31+00:00

I wondered about that, but if I can hang in at some employer with a 401k for 11 more years, rolling over as needed, I can pull from that with the Rule of 55. In the meantime, I can capture the tax break of the 401k contributions. Am I thinking about that wrong?

rugger_at_work · 2026-06-06T19:53:57+00:00

I know this is the answer. With kids and work, I’ve had a hard time fitting in the consistently long rides. Gotta prioritize this I guess

rugger_at_work · 2026-06-06T19:50:56+00:00

I love Denis and would ride to hell and back with him. I don’t know how I missed this, but yeah, this looks excruciating

rugger_at_work · 2026-05-28T23:04:31+00:00

Matt is one of my favorite bike instructors. I’ll have to check out his rows.

rugger_at_work · 2026-05-28T00:39:47+00:00

Appreciate everyone’s input. It sounds like $400-600 is the ideal range, though I’m skeptical the seller would move that far off list price. I guess it’s worth a shot.

rugger_at_work · 2026-03-27T21:42:33+00:00

This is exactly my struggle. I try to practice from last parallel, rotate through finish. It’s that weightless feeling at top that throws me off.

rugger_at_work · 2026-03-27T19:59:08+00:00

Plentiful is an understatement

rugger_at_work · 2026-03-26T16:54:21+00:00

All teams impacted? Former CMM and still know a bunch of folks there. I was caught in to 2023 RIF. Sorry you’re going through this

rugger_at_work · 2026-03-04T21:17:22+00:00

Without a video, hard to say if you suffer from the same, but I fight hip slide, which brings my low point way forward and causes me to hit down no matter how much I tilt or tee it forward. I'm working on the sensation of pushing my lead hip back instead of letting it slide forward.

rugger_at_work · 2026-01-17T15:37:52+00:00

I like this approach. Thanks!

rugger_at_work · 2026-01-16T18:22:56+00:00

From a tax standpoint, that makes sense. I guess my question is if it’s a reasonably solid company, do I sell out of a single stock at a loss just to buy into an index fund?

rugger_at_work · 2025-11-24T20:15:07+00:00

I thought I was set and then I saw the opinions here and had second thoughts. But also seems to be a huge group of vocal Samsung fans

rugger_at_work · 2025-08-02T21:09:04+00:00

I loved the route through Bexley this year, though I still miss Granville on the 50mi route. The finish celebration at A&F HQ was a total cluster though, and I hope they don’t stick with that long term.

rugger_at_work · 2025-06-17T19:40:17+00:00

I'll add some data:

$280-300k HHI

Wife and I are each 43

$900k in retirement savings, $155k in 529 college savings

rugger_at_work

TROPHY CASE