Do you FIRE? Financial Independence, Retire Early

[fattyflattie 4639]

I’d like to add that just because you’re expected to be avail doesn’t mean you can’t schedule around things like these dinners.  Sounds like the boss got an ego check and didn’t take it well.  I’m assuming neither side handled it perfectly. Someone that can financially walk away over petty shit like this without second thought likely doesn’t approach it as respectfully as someone who needs the money, either.  Also lol at the willingness to work being the skill set.  I can’t even wrap my head around that one. 

[crash_davis 23096]

i would retire in 4 years at 55 if the health insurance thing wasn't such a mess. i imagine a shitton of people around late 50s would retire early if they didn't have to pay a shitton for health insurance.

here's a thought. offer inexpensive health insurance, get the older folks in the senior positions to be able to retire early, create some upward mobility and allow companies to hire more younger people. that's a great fucking idea for the whole economy.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

20 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

You think because information is available that actual skills mean nothing?  Lulz.

No.  Information available to acquire white collar skills has bridged the gap between blue/white collar, especially when factoring in that automation has continued to eliminate lower skilled blue collar jobs.  White collar jobs like Accountants, financial analysts, etc are being increasingly outsourced and will largely be replaced by AI in short order.  We are already seeing wages for blue collar work like trades and manual labor outpace wages for those types of white collar work.  Burger flippers are making double, triple what they were just a few years ago; wages for those basic white collar jobs have not and will not keep pace.  Of course all that is generalizing but my overarching point is that workers of all kinds will have leverage over their employers like never before and the gap between “unskilled” and “skilled” is closing rapidly.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

24 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

Working is for suckers.

Working for the benefit of others is for suckers.  Getting taken advantage of by your employer is for suckers.  Prioritizing the employer who can (and will, the minute it benefits them) cut you loose at any time over your family and hobbies is for suckers.

[Chewbacca 7766]

2 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

No.  Information available to acquire white collar skills has bridged the gap between blue/white collar, especially when factoring in that automation has continued to eliminate lower skilled blue collar jobs.  White collar jobs like Accountants, financial analysts, etc are being increasingly outsourced and will largely be replaced by AI in short order.  

Yeah, no.  

[Chewbacca 7766]

Just now, Snake Diggity said:

Working for the benefit of others is for suckers.  Getting taken advantage of by your employer is for suckers.  Prioritizing the employer who can (and will, the minute it benefits them) cut you loose at any time over your family and hobbies is for suckers.

So what do you do?

[Snake Diggity 4619]

Just now, Chewbacca said:

Yeah, no.  

I’m open to hearing the reasons you think that.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

So what do you do?

Find an employer who understands the new normal.  An employer willing to have open, frank discussions about what’s expected, and not ask for more than that.  An employer who recognizes that current (and likely future) market conditions mean that they are lucky to have their employees, not the other way around, and treats the employee accordingly.

[Chewbacca 7766]

2 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

I’m open to hearing the reasons you think that.

If you think accounting will be taken over by AI, I can't help you understand because you don't know anything about it and I don't have the time to teach you.

[Chewbacca 7766]

Just now, Snake Diggity said:

Find an employer who understands the new normal.  An employer willing to have open, frank discussions about what’s expected, and not ask for more than that.  An employer who recognizes that current (and likely future) market conditions mean that they are lucky to have their employees, not the other way around, and treats the employee accordingly.

I mean what do you do for money.  Like do you have a job, do you own a business, etc.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

Just now, Chewbacca said:

If you think accounting will be taken over by AI, I can't help you understand because you don't know anything about it and I don't have the time to teach you.

LOL.  Not going to dox myself but I know enough to feel confident that the vast majority of accounting jobs will be done by AI within 20 years.

[Chewbacca 7766]

Just now, Snake Diggity said:

LOL.  Not going to dox myself but I know enough to feel confident that the vast majority of accounting jobs will be done by AI within 20 years.

As a CPA, I'd say I know more than you do.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

As a CPA, I'd say I know more than you do.

Like I said, not gonna dox myself.  But, Mr Badass CPA, you should probably be looking over your shoulder, cause Mr Automation is coming for your livelihood.  He’ll start with your AP clerks and FP&A guys, then slowly eat it all up until all that’s left if the CFO and maybe a CPA/auditor. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Snake Diggity

[Chewbacca 7766]

Just now, Snake Diggity said:

Like I said, not gonna dox myself.  But, Mr Badass CPA, you should probably be looking over your shoulder, cause Mr Automation is coming for your livelihood.  He’ll start with your AP clerks and FP&A guys, then slowly eat it all up until all that’s left if the CFO and maybe a CPA auditor. 

I'm a business owner now, so I'm not worried.  But no, automation is not coming for the accounting world.  It could happen on the lower end (Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable), but there is far too much judgment involved for AI to take over all of it.  But yes, clearly you understand the accounting industry better than someone who has been in it for 20+ years, right?

 

You never answered the question about what you do, either.  

[Snake Diggity 4619]

3 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

I'm a business owner now, so I'm not worried.  But no, automation is not coming for the accounting world.  It could happen on the lower end (Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable), but there is far too much judgment involved for AI to take over all of it.  But yes, clearly you understand the accounting industry better than someone who has been in it for 20+ years, right?

 

You never answered the question about what you do, either.  

Well, I guess with that much experience you’ve got the upside that your old ass will be retired or dead by the time AI actually does take your job/business.  Congrats!

[Chewbacca 7766]

1 minute ago, Snake Diggity said:

Well, I guess with that much experience you’ve got the upside that your old ass will be retired or dead by the time AI actually does take your job/business.  Congrats!

So what do you do?  Giving a general answer isn't going to doxx you.  You're not Elon Musk.

[immamac 42833]

Snake diggity is just fucking woke bro. He is really fucking brilliant and he will quit his job if someone makes him do stuff he doesn't want to do, because he doesn't need that toxic bullshit in his life. 

He's so smart he can't even effectively explain anything. 

[Snake Diggity 4619]

1 minute ago, immamac said:

Snake diggity is just fucking woke bro. He is really fucking brilliant and he will quit his job if someone makes him do stuff he doesn't want to do, because he doesn't need that toxic bullshit in his life. 

He's so smart he can't even effectively explain anything. 

Cool cool.  How bout you consistently come on a thread where the topic is becoming independent from work, and shit on becoming independent from work?  Cool, cool.

[Chewbacca 7766]

1 minute ago, Snake Diggity said:

Cool cool.  How bout you consistently come on a thread where the topic is becoming independent from work, and shit on becoming independent from work?  Cool, cool.

When were you talking about becoming independent from work?  

['stache 21790]

This sounds a lot like that idiot who every middle class mom posts about on facebook who offers such important advice on managing debt. When you read it, its basically spend less and make payments to your highest interest rate debts first. Just super high level shit that literally anyone who can do math could figure out on their own.

I don't particularly care to "retire early" but I am working towards some type of work in my later years that is more about enjoyment than pay. Maybe teaching or cooking tacos. Maybe both. 

[Brew 3049]

20 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Like I said, not gonna dox myself.  But, Mr Badass CPA, you should probably be looking over your shoulder, cause Mr Automation is coming for your livelihood.  He’ll start with your AP clerks and FP&A guys, then slowly eat it all up until all that’s left if the CFO and maybe a CPA/auditor. 

I’ll dox myself if anyone wants to take the time to do a little searching. I don’t really care if anyone knows who I am because I don’t post anything I would be ashamed of in real life. Saying that, I run a top 125 accounting firm that will be top 100 inside the next couple of years. There is no doubt AI is coming for a portion of our industry, but it is a lot of the lower level repetitive work we have already walked away from. It’s also why we’ve diversified into investment management, marketing, app/software development, IT, etc.

AI is going to fundamentally change a lot of industries including accounting, but to say it’s coming for my livelihood shows you don’t know where the industry has already evolved. Hell, the AICPA has been telling us for at least 7 years now that we’re 3 years away from blockchain fundamentally revamping the industry. Everything changes, those that adapt will profit and survive, those that don’t will not. I don’t make any money entering checks and deposits to generate someone's financials now, it used to be a large part of what firms do. I make 5x what the high partners did in those days, you adapt and capitalize.

[Chewbacca 7766]

2 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I don't particularly care to "retire early" but I am working towards some type of work in my later years that is more about enjoyment than pay. Maybe teaching or cooking tacos. Maybe both. 

We'll see if I actually follow through, but I've always been interested in going to culinary school.  Not to work in the restaurant industry, but because I want to.

[Brew 3049]

1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

We'll see if I actually follow through, but I've always been interested in going to culinary school.  Not to work in the restaurant industry, but because I want to.

I still want to do what I wanted to do at 18, work the ski resorts in the winter and take people fishing on the coast in the summer. Getting married too young and having kids set that back a few years, but I’m still shooting for it. I could probably do it inside the next 5 years, but I think I’m going to wait 10-12 and shoot for 55. I’ll have 20 years in as managing partner at that point and it will be past time for new blood to take this thing wherever it’s going to go.

[Chewbacca 7766]

Just now, Brew said:

I still want to do what I wanted to do at 18, work the ski resorts in the winter and take people fishing on the coast in the summer. Getting married too young and having kids set that back a few years, but I’m still shooting for it. I could probably do it inside the next 5 years, but I think I’m going to wait 10-12 and shoot for 55. I’ll have 20 years in as managing partner at that point and it will be past time for new blood to take this thing wherever it’s going to go.

You can be the only independently wealthy liftie!

My neighbor in the mountains is retired and is a volunteer patrolman at Winter Park.  That would be cool, but it's hard to break into that, believe it or not.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

2 minutes ago, Brew said:

I’ll dox myself if anyone wants to take the time to do a little searching. I don’t really care if anyone knows who I am because I don’t post anything I would be ashamed of in real life. Saying that, I run a top 125 accounting firm that will be top 100 inside the next couple of years. There is no doubt AI is coming for a portion of our industry, but it is a lot of the lower level repetitive work we have already walked away from. It’s also why we’ve diversified into investment management, marketing, app/software development, IT, etc.

AI is going to fundamentally change a lot of industries including accounting, but to say it’s coming for my livelihood shows you don’t know where the industry has already evolved. Hell, the AICPA has been telling us for at least 7 years now that we’re 3 years away from blockchain fundamentally revamping the industry. Everything changes, those that adapt will profit and survive, those that don’t will not. I don’t make any money entering checks and deposits to generate someone's financials now, it used to be a large part of what firms do. I make 5x what the high partners did in those days, you adapt and capitalize.

Word.  I was being a dick with the “coming for your livelihood” comment because Chewie was being so condescending.  There will still be plenty of CPA jobs for the number of people willing to be CPAs.  But there will be a lot less CPAs 20 years from now than there are today.  And AI will certainly replace more than just the data entry clerks.

It escapes me why people would come on this thread and get bitchy about people not wanting to work a job they hate, getting bent out of shape about people wanting financial independence, and getting butthurt when people don’t embrace the hedonic treadmill.  It’s like going into the woodworking thread and posting “fuck woodworking!  Woodworking is fucking stupid!”
 

Anyway, sorry for being party to taking the thread off topic.  

[Chewbacca 7766]

2 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Word.  I was being a dick with the “coming for your livelihood” comment because Chewie was being so condescending.  There will still be plenty of CPA jobs for the number of people willing to be CPAs.  But there will be a lot less CPAs 20 years from now than there are today.  And AI will certainly replace more than just the data entry clerks.

Brew said the same thing I did about AI impacting accounting, btw.  There will be a lot less CPAs in the future no matter what happens.  When the Boomers retire, the industry is in for a shock.  Something like 50% of all CPAs are over age 50.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

Working is for suckers.

OnlyFans is still work.

[Redneck Mutha 7953]

1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

Working is for suckers.

Username checks out and has checked out. 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

38 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

So what do you do?  Giving a general answer isn't going to doxx you.  You're not Elon Musk.

He buys and sell internets.

[Chewbacca 7766]

3 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

OnlyFans is still work.

If you love getting jizzed on, you'll never work a day in your life.

[Brew 3049]

1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

You can be the only independently wealthy liftie!

May help my ski bunny pickup game assuming my wife would sign off which she probably will not. At one point in life I thought I could end up working on the accounting side for one of the resorts, I’m going to pass on that one. If FL wasn’t becoming such an f-ed up shit hole, I would probably just go that route and fish year round.  

[Fudge Nuggets 19184]

3 hours ago, 'stache said:

Maybe teaching or cooking tacos. Maybe both. 

Before you shrug off my idea, hear me out.  I think I’ve got something that would suit you perfectly.

How about you teach people how to cook tacos?  Told you it was an awesome idea.

[Brew 3049]

11 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

I assume you work in an industry mostly full of rubes/conservatives working in rural areas #nocr.  Employees across all industries have more leverage than ever and it is not going away.  The vast majority of young people are being raised with an entirely different view of work compared to previous generations and they are not gonna put up with the bullshit (good for them).  Being available to your job 24/7 these days is reserved for suckers or executives.  I hope you’re the latter.

I missed the page that led to my earlier response. I find your viewpoint of the employee/employer relationship lines up with what I see from a section of our workforce, those not looking for upward mobility and that are just there for a paycheck.

My expectations for what our employees have to do has changed a lot over the last 10 years. There is no point in making the “back in my day” argument because it’s not relevant at this point. However, if you expect to move up then you better understand early that we’re not a M-F 8-5 job 52 weeks of the year. We respect your time and allow you to come and go as needed during the day, but there are times when you have to be available. You’re probably going to miss a few things along the way. It is what it is if you want to move up. We had a client appreciation dinner tonight for 40 or so clients, my core group was there. I don’t think any of them were at the office very long today, but they were all there tonight coming out of a period where they already missed some nights and Saturdays.

There is no doubt that employees hold more cards than they ever have. I think they should probably be smart about how they play those cards though.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

4 minutes ago, Brew said:

I missed the page that led to my earlier response. I find your viewpoint of the employee/employer relationship lines up with what I see from a section of our workforce, those not looking for upward mobility and that are just there for a paycheck.

My expectations for what our employees have to do has changed a lot over the last 10 years. There is no point in making the “back in my day” argument because it’s not relevant at this point. However, if you expect to move up then you better understand early that we’re not a M-F 8-5 job 52 weeks of the year. We respect your time and allow you to come and go as needed during the day, but there are times when you have to be available. You’re probably going to miss a few things along the way. It is what it is if you want to move up. We had a client appreciation dinner tonight for 40 or so clients, my core group was there. I don’t think any of them were at the office very long today, but they were all there tonight coming out of a period where they already missed some nights and Saturdays.

There is no doubt that employees hold more cards than they ever have. I think they should probably be smart about how they play those cards though.

It is totally reasonable to expect employees to understand they will be expected to work long hours and/or attend events outside of normal hours, so long as that expectation is set during the hiring process or negotiated when the change occurs.  However, any business owner/manager would be wise to understand that the price for that kind of expectation is going up rapidly and dramatically and will continue to do so over the next decade+.  The number of people willing to make their job their #1 (or even #2) priority, especially in non C-suite roles, is rapidly declining.  The only young people who will be willing to accept those conditions in lower/middle tier positions are super ambitious types gunning for the executive jobs, and VERY few young people harbor those kinds of ambitions (compared to previous generations).  I believe the companies who continue to harbor the “you’re lucky to be here, this is not an 8-5 job” attitude are going to be big losers over the next 20 years.  You are obviously a reasonable person who understands the changes we’re seeing, but your “careful how you play your cards” comment makes it seem like your expectation is that one day (soon) things will shift back and employers will be back in the drivers’ seat, raising expectations and laying people off at will.  I do not think that is going to be the case. 

 

[gmr548 16576]

I missed the page that led to my earlier response. I find your viewpoint of the employee/employer relationship lines up with what I see from a section of our workforce, those not looking for upward mobility and that are just there for a paycheck.
My expectations for what our employees have to do has changed a lot over the last 10 years. There is no point in making the “back in my day” argument because it’s not relevant at this point. However, if you expect to move up then you better understand early that we’re not a M-F 8-5 job 52 weeks of the year. We respect your time and allow you to come and go as needed during the day, but there are times when you have to be available. You’re probably going to miss a few things along the way. It is what it is if you want to move up. We had a client appreciation dinner tonight for 40 or so clients, my core group was there. I don’t think any of them were at the office very long today, but they were all there tonight coming out of a period where they already missed some nights and Saturdays.
There is no doubt that employees hold more cards than they ever have. I think they should probably be smart about how they play those cards though.

I don’t think there’s anything unreasonable about what you describe if you’re up front about it. If that’s part of the job then that’s what it is. You’re going to disqualify yourself from an increasingly large portion of the talent pool as boomers age out and millennials and gen z constitute the majority of the workforce, but maybe that’s for the best if you’re aiming for a certain culture. There’s definitely nothing inherently wrong with that when you’re honest about it.

I’ve found that not wanting to work a bunch of overtime hasn’t hindered my ability to move up. Of course you’ve got to work extra hours sometimes, but I’m usually able to pay myself back for that in slower times. That’s part of the beauty of remote work. Moving up these days is more about changing jobs and relationships than it is grinding at a single company. Ain’t no loyalty.

As for the phrase “just there for a paycheck”…



No shit. Do you work for funsies? Of course I’m there for the check. I don’t know much about the future but I know it doesn’t include me on my deathbed saying “I wish I spent more time in the office!”

I hate that phrase.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13507]

It's fully reasonable to expect an salaried employee to sometimes have to work late/early with relatively little notice. And I don't mean to work an all-nighter or miss your kid's birth but rather with a customer who wants to have an important phone call at 6pm due to time differences, etc.  Or a visiting boss would like to see everyone at HH. Sorry, I don't see an average baseball game as a critical event but that's cool to use it as an excuse.

In my career, I've seen plenty of people hold their bosses to the rules. And those people are still at the same desk 10 years later, with their cost-of-living raises. They were never taken seriously for a promotion because of their attitude. They're kept around as the cog in the wheel. And forgotten within minutes when they finally leave.

Not to mention willingness to help your boss or do a favor, can be a 2 way street. Help the boss out, and later you need to disappear for a few hours, the boss tells you to not worry about it. Be a dick about a happy hour and you're required to use PTO for that doctor's appointment.

 

 

[bluto 4912]

Quote

 

Help the boss out, and later you need to disappear for a few hours, the boss tells you to not worry about it. Be a dick about a happy hour and you're required to use PTO for that doctor's appointment.

What kinda rube even takes/stays at a job like that

[CHIEF 5075]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It's fully reasonable to expect an salaried employee to sometimes have to work late/early with relatively little notice. And I don't mean to work an all-nighter or miss your kid's birth but rather with a customer who wants to have an important phone call at 6pm due to time differences, etc.  Or a visiting boss would like to see everyone at HH. Sorry, I don't see an average baseball game as a critical event but that's cool to use it as an excuse.

In my career, I've seen plenty of people hold their bosses to the rules. And those people are still at the same desk 10 years later, with their cost-of-living raises. They were never taken seriously for a promotion because of their attitude. They're kept around as the cog in the wheel. And forgotten within minutes when they finally leave.

Not to mention willingness to help your boss or do a favor, can be a 2 way street. Help the boss out, and later you need to disappear for a few hours, the boss tells you to not worry about it. Be a dick about a happy hour and you're required to use PTO for that doctor's appointment.

 

 

Mrs. CHIEF was the third person hired at her company. It was because she went above and beyond for those executives at her previous company. She wore many hats, and takes pride in her companies success. She was a peon at the first company, hired as the head account assistant at the new company, and now is the executive assistant to the CEO, and head of the CIS department. She is the "eye of the hourglass." There is nothing that goes through that company that she doesn't have a hand in. So doing favors is definitely a two way street. She is basically entrenched so far, that she can't be fired easily. She isn't a morning person, so no one contacts her before 9 am, she can take off anytime she wants, and for as long as she wants, with pay. Hair appointments, long lunches, mani/pedi, doctors, etc. 

I'm FIRE, but do real estate 2-10 hours a week, but she chooses not to be, and with the setup she has at work, why would she want to. I agree that the companies that take a "you're just lucky to be here" attitude are gonna loose out. But an employee that is willing to do what it takes to help their company succeed will be rewarded. She went from $12/hr., a HUGE decrease from her State job in Austin, to over six figures. But, she went from a cog to a very vital, and integral part of "her" company, as she calls it. She feels she has ownership, participates in profit bonuses, makes important decisions, guides company policy. 

Success in employment, is like success in the rest of your life, you get what you put into it. 

CHIEF

Edited April 22, 2022 by CHIEF

[Fudge Nuggets 19184]

An executive assistant that can do as she pleases with no worries?  Tell us more about these “favors” she did in the past.

[Brew 3049]

3 hours ago, gmr548 said:

As for the phrase “just there for a paycheck”…

No shit. Do you work for funsies? Of course I’m there for the check. I don’t know much about the future but I know it doesn’t include me on my deathbed saying “I wish I spent more time in the office!”

I hate that phrase.

There is a clear difference between those that are there for the paycheck and those that view it differently. Of course everyone expects to get paid, that’s a given. I have plenty of people that work for me that are happy with what they are paid and do what they do. There are others that are looking for something more in an organization they are committed to. They aren’t just their for the paycheck because a paycheck can be found anywhere.

[CHIEF 5075]

1 hour ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

An executive assistant that can do as she pleases with no worries?  Tell us more about these “favors” she did in the past.

She is a tail twister. She deals with every department's "fuck ups" even before it gets to executive level. She has saved them dozens of clients, millions of dollars, and tons of embarrassment. When a vendor gets slow paid, they call her. She pays them immediately with her company Amex, then rattles the accounting department's cage. A building doesn't show up on time, she is on the field superintendent's ass. Human resources issues, she fixes them, phone issues, she fixes them, sales issues, she fixes them, delinquent accounts, she fixes them, logistic issues, she fixes them. The list goes on.

She knows how to do every job in the company, what is expected of those employees, and knows where the problem lies. The CEO, and COO don't even know that.  Now the niece on the other hand, might have to get a little bit more "dirty" to get the same treatment.

Sorry to brag on her so much, but she is no nonsense, and gets shit done. I am very proud of her, and what she has become. When I married her, she didn't get a raise one year, while working at the State due to tardiness, she was mad. She was only 21, but I told her I agreed with her boss. Get the fuck to work on time. That changed her, she was never late again.

CHIEF

Edited April 22, 2022 by CHIEF
ending

[Chewbacca 7766]

48 minutes ago, Brew said:

There is a clear difference between those that are there for the paycheck and those that view it differently. Of course everyone expects to get paid, that’s a given. I have plenty of people that work for me that are happy with what they are paid and do what they do. There are others that are looking for something more in an organization they are committed to. They aren’t just their for the paycheck because a paycheck can be found anywhere.

Agreed, although I've found that the number who really want more and are willing to step up to get it is much lower than I would have thought.  

[Chewbacca 7766]

14 hours ago, Brew said:

I missed the page that led to my earlier response. I find your viewpoint of the employee/employer relationship lines up with what I see from a section of our workforce, those not looking for upward mobility and that are just there for a paycheck.

My expectations for what our employees have to do has changed a lot over the last 10 years. There is no point in making the “back in my day” argument because it’s not relevant at this point. However, if you expect to move up then you better understand early that we’re not a M-F 8-5 job 52 weeks of the year. We respect your time and allow you to come and go as needed during the day, but there are times when you have to be available. You’re probably going to miss a few things along the way. It is what it is if you want to move up. We had a client appreciation dinner tonight for 40 or so clients, my core group was there. I don’t think any of them were at the office very long today, but they were all there tonight coming out of a period where they already missed some nights and Saturdays.

There is no doubt that employees hold more cards than they ever have. I think they should probably be smart about how they play those cards though.

I know you're on the front lines of it, but public accounting has to change the business model, I think.  Gone are the days of abusing the shit out of people for 80-100 hour weeks for months on end, I think.  Gonna be interesting to watch from the sidelines, but I wouldn't want to trade places with you right now (well , that and I hated PA with a white hot fiery passion).

[Brew 3049]

4 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Agreed, although I've found that the number who really want more and are willing to step up to get it is much lower than I would have thought.  

I don’t know if it’s much lower than it needs to be. Realistically, I need 28 or so partners on a 30 year rotation out of about 225 employees or so. That works out to 1 out of 225 a year making partner if the cycles matched up perfectly with exits. I probably hire 20-30 a year across the firm as people cycle out and as we grow, so I’m not really looking for a high percentage of people displaying partner potential. I think we’ll have to replace 1.25-1.5 per 1 that leaves with the change in work styles, but that still doesn’t really skew the numbers that much to where I’m looking for a significant number of partners.

[Brew 3049]

4 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

I know you're on the front lines of it, but public accounting has to change the business model, I think.  Gone are the days of abusing the shit out of people for 80-100 hour weeks for months on end, I think.  Gonna be interesting to watch from the sidelines, but I wouldn't want to trade places with you right now (well , that and I hated PA with a white hot fiery passion).

It’s already changing at the top of the industry, they are looking for less CPA’s and more data analytics people. We’re pretty rural and we’ve diversified into IT, marketing, investments, HR consulting, software/app development, transaction advisory, etc as we move more towards “holistic” advisors and less towards straight numbers people. We also buy real estate, buy/sell business interests, invest in client entities, etc so I look at myself and our group as entrepreneurs rather than CPA’s at this point.

[fattyflattie 4639]

20 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Agreed, although I've found that the number who really want more and are willing to step up to get it is much lower than I would have thought.  

That’s surprising. We’ve got the opposite problem. Trying to find someone competent  enough to run a 25-75m project properly, without making the entire group toxic with politics, spending as much energy on their ascent as their work. It’s just an odd niche where by the time they can manage med-large project (by our standards) they are at that point where they think they should be a director or VP. I’ve been vying for that position for the last year at this company (VP of projects) and have a legit inside track on it, but it will cause a shit storm with the long term guys if/when it happens.  But these dudes want the title, not the smoke that comes with it. Im also gone 150-225 days a year  when most others won’t travel more than a week. Guess everyone being roughly the same age and education plays into this problem. Our entry guys are the only ones I could see taking up the cog position.  If they don’t have the drive, they just move on and PM picks up the slack. 

[CooterBrown 18002]

I posted this a few days ago but it may have been lost in the Great FIRE War of 2022, so I'm reposting it:

Looking for ideas about health/dental insurance under the age of 65. 

I've looked around the Affordable Care Act website. Lots and lots of plans and it looks like you'll need to go above $1200 per month for something decent. As an example, a lot of plans offer free primary care visits but will only cover 25% of emergency room visits. That's a big potential expense if you go to the ER.

Anyone have any experience shopping around or purchasing plans for the 45 to 65 age group?

If you’re living abroad, you can get a great expat policy for well less than 20% of the cost of the same plan in the US from the major insurers. You can’t use it in the US but all good private/public foreign healthcare providers take it.

[686 3446]

Trying to find someone competent  enough to run a 25-75m project properly, without making the entire group toxic with politics, spending as much energy on their ascent as their work. It’s just an odd niche where by the time they can manage med-large project (by our standards) they are at that point where they think they should be a director or VP… 

I’ve worked in commercial construction, heavy construction, utilities, consulting engineering, equipment sales, and O&G; and I’m sorry to say, for some reason the fraction of toxic socio/psychopaths trying to climb the ladder no matter the cost is much higher in O&G than anywhere else I’ve worked (even sales!). The exact scenario you describe I watched happen over the last two years at a small O&G firm I was at. I ran the Projects group and he was hired about halfway through my tenure to run the Operations group. It was depressing watching him turn a collaborative, profitable operation into a hyper-political, miserable, (and non-profitable) environment for everyone around him. He spent more time spinning stories and board slides excusing negative results and blaming other groups than he did actually solving problems. As you allude to, he didn’t have enough experience to actually know how to solve problems, he had spent much more of his career figuring out how to climb the ladder than building the skills/knowledge to make good decisions when you get towards the top.


To keep this post FIRE related; I read The Millionaire Next Door about 20 years ago and used a lot of the information provided there. I made the decision fairly early in my career that it wasn’t my goal to own my own firm or be someone seen as important, I just wanted to make as much money as I could doing what I’m good at to build wealth and financial independence. I have worked my ass off building experience/knowledge to give myself career flexibility/portability and I’ve negotiated career moves decently to increase income and we have lived below our means, usually at a 20-50% savings rate.

I started investing with Vanguard over 20 years ago and became a bit of a Bogle-head early on. We’ve never had any massive breaks or huge windfalls, just the slow and steady saving and investing. Two kids 12 and 9. College 529’s just about funded to my satisfaction. No debt. Currently trying to decide if I “retire” in a few years around age 50 (if I can get the healthcare thing figured out and my portfolio keeps chugging along - should be ok at 4% withdrawal rate at that point), or if I stick with working beyond that age either in upper mgmt or downshift to technical expert and just enjoy tech stuff and not have any mgmt stress. I’m currently running a ~30 person consulting group and definitely feeling some burnout.

Wife hasn’t worked in 3 years, was doing part time contract consulting before that. Maybe once the kids are a little further along I can get her to take a low key job with healthcare and I can take a long sabbatical/retire/downshift/whatever.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

On 4/23/2022 at 12:15 PM, 686 said:

 

I’ve worked in commercial construction, heavy construction, utilities, consulting engineering, equipment sales, and O&G; and I’m sorry to say, for some reason the fraction of toxic socio/psychopaths trying to climb the ladder no matter the cost is much higher in O&G than anywhere else I’ve worked (even sales!). The exact scenario you describe I watched happen over the last two years at a small O&G firm I was at. I ran the Projects group and he was hired about halfway through my tenure to run the Operations group. It was depressing watching him turn a collaborative, profitable operation into a hyper-political, miserable, (and non-profitable) environment for everyone around him. He spent more time spinning stories and board slides excusing negative results and blaming other groups than he did actually solving problems. As you allude to, he didn’t have enough experience to actually know how to solve problems, he had spent much more of his career figuring out how to climb the ladder than building the skills/knowledge to make good decisions when you get towards the top.


To keep this post FIRE related; I read The Millionaire Next Door about 20 years ago and used a lot of the information provided there. I made the decision fairly early in my career that it wasn’t my goal to own my own firm or be someone seen as important, I just wanted to make as much money as I could doing what I’m good at to build wealth and financial independence. I have worked my ass off building experience/knowledge to give myself career flexibility/portability and I’ve negotiated career moves decently to increase income and we have lived below our means, usually at a 20-50% savings rate.

I started investing with Vanguard over 20 years ago and became a bit of a Bogle-head early on. We’ve never had any massive breaks or huge windfalls, just the slow and steady saving and investing. Two kids 12 and 9. College 529’s just about funded to my satisfaction. No debt. Currently trying to decide if I “retire” in a few years around age 50 (if I can get the healthcare thing figured out and my portfolio keeps chugging along - should be ok at 4% withdrawal rate at that point), or if I stick with working beyond that age either in upper mgmt or downshift to technical expert and just enjoy tech stuff and not have any mgmt stress. I’m currently running a ~30 person consulting group and definitely feeling some burnout.

Wife hasn’t worked in 3 years, was doing part time contract consulting before that. Maybe once the kids are a little further along I can get her to take a low key job with healthcare and I can take a long sabbatical/retire/downshift/whatever.

 

Sounds like you’ve crushed it man, congrats. 

[Dbeasy 15040]

So I’ve been FIRE for a few years. For those of you thinking about whether to FIRE in a few years, the biggest issue many people struggle with is always wanting more. If you have $10m in the bank, you see the guy with $25m and want his toys. The $25m guy wants what the $100m guy has. It’s human nature to always want more. Many people say they only want a very basic retirement, but when they get there they change their minds. They always want more.