Anyone here had a “F*** IT” moment that led to retirement?

Nansnet

Yes, I took extended, unpaid leave from my job to take care of my mum, then my dad, when they were ill. After the inevitable happened, I had a 'F* it!' moment, and decided that I'd had enough of working and being answerable to other people. I wanted time for ME! I decided not to return to work, and retired at the age of 52. It was the best thing I've ever done!

Poor DH is ten years behind me having his 'F* it!' moment, but he's finally decided he's had enough, and he's about to retire in the next few months, at the age of 62 ... HOORAH!

Good for you!😃We only get one life after all.
I left my well paid ( well, reasonably well paid) job ten years ago as my health was suffering, I was 51 at the time. Became a part time care worker and was instantly happier! Doing a worthwhile job and more time for me and family.It was a spur of the moment decision on one day at work when I felt particularly low.Have to manage on much less money but life is better.

My friend is very, very close to having her moment.
She has a management role in the nhs, and the back biting, nepotism, and terrible practice is really wearing her down.
She is in her 40s, though, so will need to start again if she was for leave, and will lose her pension pot.

I used to love my job, was only part time after suffering mental health problems but I really enjoyed getting up early and going to work. Then management changed, other changes were made, and the old guard started to drop off. One day shortly after reaching 64 I realised I had started to dislike going into work, so when a new manager made a pointed remark about me retiring I knew it was time.
Never looked back.

MissAdventure

The first thing miss ex civil servant did was to buy herself a bicycle, fgt

Love it! 😁

Yes!! I did exactly this in an October 2022, I was due back at work (DWP) and was on bereavement leave following the death of my dear mother.

Literally the day I was due back in the office (after an 18 months absence, as had been on loan to another far nicer Dept and working 100% from home) I text my line manager and stated I would not be returning and was taking retirement.

I had no defined role or work lined up as had not been in the office and felt no guilt whatsoever as had been treated appallingly in this particular role.

Best thing I ever ever did!

I was the opposite. I wanted to work on, but Aat fifty nine, I became very unwell and was eventually dismissed on grounds of icapacity, from my teaching job. I was not happy at all, too young for my state and teacher's pension. I had until wait tuntil I was sixty six to get my state pension. It was difficult going from a very good salary to zilch!

I was doing the job of three people ( when I went off sick, my HT got in three supply teachers to cover me). I eventually got a formal apology for my workload, too little, too late!

Now I love being retired.

Marydoll

I was the opposite. I wanted to work on, but Aat fifty nine, I became very unwell and was eventually dismissed on grounds of icapacity, from my teaching job. I was not happy at all, too young for my state and teacher's pension. I had until wait tuntil I was sixty six to get my state pension. It was difficult going from a very good salary to zilch!

I was doing the job of three people ( when I went off sick, my HT got in three supply teachers to cover me). I eventually got a formal apology for my workload, too little, too late!

Now I love being retired.

That’s truly awful!

Anniebach

Never use that word

Sadly I use it far too often! Though much less now I’m not working

My DH had a "last straw" moment and it was with the new computer system at work. However he's now become used to it. He's 81. And they refused to accept his resignation.

Oh yes!!!

DH and I own a SME, we were away with two youngest children, I broke my arm on the ski slope (collided with DH’s ski pole)

The next morning whilst struggling to shower and dress (they had got up and gone up the mountain) I decided there and then to replace myself in the office.

Told DH that night, he was shocked to say the least 🤣🤣🤣

The best thing I have done (other than raise 5 children)

DH and I still own the company but have nothing to do with the day to day business, that’s now down to our AC, just the big decisions.

The person who I hired to replace me is still there, an absolute star 🌟🌟🌟

I was working when my my husband who was nearly 5 years older than me was offered early retirement. I really wanted to continue working, I liked my job.
So we agreed that husbands would take on the shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing etc. so I could have an easier time.
That didn’t work!! If I didn’t actually ask him to do things nothing was done. I had to do lists for shopping, step by step guidance on recipes (unless it was spaghetti bolognaise- his signature dish) and tell him where needs cleaning etc. It culminated one day when he said he wasn’t going to spend his retirement doing household stuff and I said I wasn’t going to work full time and do the household stuff so on a whim I resigned from work. I was feeling very resentful.
I really regretted it, I was bored and missed the salary, I applied for a few jobs but didn’t get one.
I did eventually settle down into retirement and in the end was pleased as my husband died 2 years ago and we had 6 years together.

I too had my moment and resigned from social services at age 50 and went on to a freelance career in photography, music and arts outreach - wonderful!!!

Oh yes, after years of teaching the same age group, where I knew the curriculum backwards, had saved all worksheets, lesson plans and display materials, knew what worked and what didn't, I was moved to an older age group, New curricul

Fat fingers on phone!
Anyway, was told I was being moved to teach an older age group, new syllabus to learn, etc etc; it was like starting all over again.
Halfway through the first term I decided life was too short, said I was retiring but that I was prepared to see the year out. I was 56 - best thing I ever did; I got my life back!
I went back, but only on a supply basis - no lesson prep, very little marking, could work only if I felt like it, and could enjoy the children.

I left before my designated retirement date (You're told when it is here in Germany, but you can opt to carry on for longer).

I left my job on an agreement with the management under the pretext that I was leaving soon anyway and they were going to introduce a new system and it wouldn't be worth my while learning the new one. I had been there 20 years and knew the system we were using better than anyone else. They all came to me to ask about it. I would no doubt have picked up the new system easily and maybe even again would have been the one they turned to for troubleshooting.

My leaving suited the management because they were trying to lay off anyway, which brings me back to the main reason I left: incompetent management. The company was being run into the ground with ever faster changes at top management level and people taking over who had no knowledge of the branch.

They have since gone bankrupt even though it was a well reputed brand with factories on site and had been going since the early 20th century.

MissAdventure

The first thing miss ex civil servant did was to buy herself a bicycle, fgt

Good for her!

I had to retire early through ill health but I didn't want to. ☹
No salary, mortgage, DC at university, reduced pension.

PS: I never use that word either. I've never seen the point.

Marydoll

I was the opposite. I wanted to work on, but Aat fifty nine, I became very unwell and was eventually dismissed on grounds of icapacity, from my teaching job. I was not happy at all, too young for my state and teacher's pension. I had until wait tuntil I was sixty six to get my state pension. It was difficult going from a very good salary to zilch!

I was doing the job of three people ( when I went off sick, my HT got in three supply teachers to cover me). I eventually got a formal apology for my workload, too little, too late!

Now I love being retired.

Marydoll that sounds very unfair.
I had no choice but everyone was very kind about my sudden departure.
However, the sudden drop in finances is quite shocking.
Thank goodness DH was able to carry on working after his retirement age.

I had the opportunity to take a 6 month unpaid leave of absence to live in Françe, so off we went (MrJ is self employed). It was wonderful, so although I really enjoyed my job after a month back at work I gave three months notice and took early retirement. We spent another three terrific years in Françe, we worked p/t and I drew a private pension, never regretted it.

Miss Adventure your story reminds me of a novel written years ago by the great Lesley Thomas. The Adventures of Goodnight and Living tells the story of a man who on his regular commute by train to the office, every day sees a man fishing by a river bank. Lucky so and so he thinks and one day after a particular tedious day he decided to give up his job and goes travelling. Wonderful book.

Similar here. My work was making me ill and I decided it was time to go or I wouldn’t be around to enjoy any sort of retirement. I don’t miss it one bit and there’s no way I would be enticed back. A drop in income, certainly, but as the saying goes, you cut your cloth to suit.

w1u7

Miss Adventure your story reminds me of a novel written years ago by the great Lesley Thomas. The Adventures of Goodnight and Living tells the story of a man who on his regular commute by train to the office, every day sees a man fishing by a river bank. Lucky so and so he thinks and one day after a particular tedious day he decided to give up his job and goes travelling. Wonderful book.

That does sound a good read.

It's being brave enough to break "the rules" isn't it?
Often self imposed ones, at that.

We both had the F***T moment a few years before we planned to retire. I was 55, DH was 53. We said if we can sell the house we'll be off to North Yorkshire. I was nervous but totally worn out as a Senior Nurse Manager with huge responsibilities. I asked for more flexible hours, that was refused, I asked to put my name on all the papers I had written for the Board which massively improved our services but no it had to be my bosses name on the work I'd done. The specialist nurse teams that I managed were under huge pressure and needed lots of support. Looking back I would have like to have stayed on longer but DH was in an even worse state than me. The house sold the day after it went on the market so off we went. I did do some part time work after for a hospice and some voluntary work as a Trustee but now at 71 I just do U3A and Golf. Still miss it all though. There was excitement even in the pressure and I felt useful and relevant. I don't now. Its all Gods waiting room stuff now. As I don't believe even that difficult.

I loved my job and have worked hard and supported myself all of my life. I had planned to just keep working until I couldn't work anymore. But so many things deteriorated at work and there was so much corporate interference it just wore me down. Then I found I was the only one still working out of my siblings. They egged me on, told me to stop as it was clear that I was done.
So that's it this year I chucked it in at the ripe old age of 64.

Every now and then I regret losing what was a very good salary, and to a certain degree my identity. But on the whole I don't regret it.

We were all fortunate to be educated and trained in the 1960s/70s, all for free, with opportunities opening up for female promotion and responsibilities due to the fight for equality in the workplace and women's lib. No one forced us to go to college or university. All that money wasted

Sorry but I dont agree that ANY of the time I spent at university was wasted. When I was 18 it didnt arise as an option as my parents would not have supported me - even with a full grant from the LA. So I went into a career (Librarianship) where I qualified by another route - taking the internal examinations. Even then I had to do it part time because of lack of parental support.

Later Librarianship changed to become a graduate profession and those of us who qualified under the old system were being dispreferred by short sighted employers. These new people had no experience of running a library or even working in one. However they had a bit of paper we did not have.

Some of them were semi literate by my standards.

My F* It moment came when I was attempting to add up some statistics and one of these "graduates" kept interrupting me to ask how to spell perfectly mundane words. In the end I fetched a dictionary from the reference section and told him "Your the graduate. Use this!" and dumped it in front of him.

That was when I decided that I could not possibly do worse at uni than some of the graduates who were emerging.