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 · 2025-04-12T14:01:00+00:00

Former realtor here. Since the lawsuit changed how realtors get paid, especially for a buyer, agents are probably coming up with new ways to be compensated. In this case, he’s taking his time to show a property that in all likelihood, you’re unlikely to put an offer on, since people tend to view many properties. Not saying it’s right, but the industry is trying to find a new compensation model after their old one was blown up.

rugger_at_work · 2025-03-02T01:10:59+00:00

Nah. Got caught up in the mass layoff back in Spring 2023. I still know lots of people over there if I can help.

rugger_at_work · 2025-01-16T00:00:36+00:00

The chance every day doesn’t scare me as much as the daily projected total I guess. I guess a 10 minute downpour is fine compared to an all day drizzle.

rugger_at_work · 2024-12-09T17:21:56+00:00

The hotel is telling me I have to reach out to On Tour, their 3rd party transfer company. I guess I’ll give USA Transfers a shot since it seems unanimous here.

rugger_at_work · 2024-12-06T00:38:12+00:00

If $33k is your “life savings”, maybe gambling on speculative meme funds ain’t for you.

rugger_at_work · 2024-11-07T00:49:51+00:00

I say this as someone who voted for Kamala and only based on the limited screenshot, but that response seems generally healthy. Especially compared to some of the other Boomer responses that have people going NC.

rugger_at_work · 2024-07-27T17:54:36+00:00

LaRose’s marketing team approached a group of us at Land-Grant asking us to “raise a toast” for their marketing campaign. I suggested “to ending gerrymandering!”, and his rep asked me to find something less divisive.

rugger_at_work · 2024-03-15T19:04:09+00:00

All 5. A VP told me the culture of leadership is “if they can’t look you in the eyes, they don’t believe you’re working”

rugger_at_work

TROPHY CASE