I think I have a good enough chunk for "f u money" event though Im not RE yet. I got a healthy emergency fund, and luckily have loved ones to fall back to. I prefer not to lose my job to keep the momentum, but if it did, it would not be the end of the world for me.
$0 -> $100k was a huge mindset shift since your no longer survival. I think $400k> above is that when you start not caring about losing your job.
When did you stop being scared of layoffs?
byu/badboyzpwns infinancialindependence
Posted by badboyzpwns
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If you’re a solid worker bee right under middle management and in a senior role, you’re pretty safe. They need someone to do the work lmao. And they can’t get rid of the person who actually knows how things work.
Usual when “the excel sheet” gets passed around the org you can tell who’s scared and who’s not
I think at 400k I cared just because of the job market and potential earnings. As you mentioned – momentum is a piece
Once I had ~ ten years of savings.
Three years from now…then my workplace would likely offer a payout that would be worth the loss of a couple of year’s salary.
I have a six month emergency fund, but I’m still wary of layoffs because I don’t want to lose pace at this point
I have four times that and still care about losing my job and I’m nearing retirement (58). I want to go out on my terms, not someone elses.
$400k isn’t “f u money” to most people.
When i realized my savings will afford me to live three years without working
When I stayed working for myself as a self-employed business owner. The fear then shifted to having enough work all the time, but you can grow past that.
Not what you’re asking, but it may have occurred this afternoon.
I don’t think I’ll ever not be somewhat scared.
Heck- we’re sitting at a 2.2M net worth and I’m pretty sure I’m a goner before the end of the year. Will I be ok? Sure. But I have doubts that I will be able to find a job within 30% of my current salary which means more years or leaner years before retirement.
Depends afraid of layoffs? About 2 years ago when I came back from a work trip and my boss said “it’s different when you’re not here” meaning the work completed and how much he had to help the team, I’m confident I’m the last on the list to be cut. Afraid of everything else, I felt great until my wife hit a layoff, and didn’t have a job for about 6 months. We got by just fine, but I may about 2.5-3x what she does. I’ve realized I need to focus on getting some money into a taxable account that I can pull from if needed. Most of my net worth is wrapped up in company stock because it’s grows so well, but I can only pull it when we have a sell option.
The quick answer for me is a full year’s expenses in an emergency fund and a fund for a second business ready to deploy.
It’s definitely a moving target. Part of the challenge is getting the goal post to stop moving. I used to think a certain number would make me feel secure, but life changes keep shifting that comfort zone. For example, once I had a child, my definition of ‘enough’ expanded to include saving for college. Every new responsibility tends to push the bar a bit higher.. financial independence is as much about adapting to your life stage as it is about hitting a number.
After getting laid off twice and getting a big raise at my next job both times.
It wasn’t so much about my NW as much as it was about having enough work experience under my belt that I felt confident I could find another job fairly easily.
I hit that point about 8 years into my career. It also happened that at that point I had paid off my student loans and had about a $250K net worth.
As a furloughed employee I’m feeling it now, haha.
I’m at $400k at 40. I don’t fear a layoff in that I could get just any old job that pays the bills and still be a millionaire in retirement even if I had to significantly roll back my contributions and extend my retirement timeline to age 60 or older.
412k was my first meaningful number at one point but only because i was younger and still had a chance to pivot or recover and that meant a cushion to do so, but i wouldnt say the same at my current age