It’s Time To Rock The Boat

Alright, friends. It’s big announcement time! Long-time readers may know that, since starting this blog, my big financial goal has been to eventually go down to part-time work. Well, it’s finally official. It’s finally time for me to rock the boat of the traditional 40-hour, 9-5 work week. I’m now officially on an 80% work schedule at my job, with Fridays off!

Read on to hear all about how I made the decision, the process of making it happen at work, and what I’m thinking about the decision now.

Readers may remember that a few months ago, I announced that I hit a big financial milestone. The one I set as my financial independence (FI) goal back when I started this blog over 2 years ago. I reached Flamingo FI!

But wait, what the heck is Flamingo FI, some of you may be asking. Well, the financial independence number, in its most basic form, is known as having approximately 25x your annual expenses saved in investment accounts.

Flamingo FI is the milestone unlocked when you reach half of your FI number.

You can read more about Flamingo FI and what it means to me, if desired, in this post.

I also set a goal of downshifting to part-time work once I hit Flamingo FI. But as I shared previously, at the time, I didn’t feel ready. I didn’t think it was the right time.

So what changed?

In short, when I reached Flamingo FI, things at work were great. I didn’t feel like anything needed to change. I was meeting my goals and reasonably happy with my days. I was willing to put off downshifting a little longer to be able to save more money, because I wasn’t miserable at work.

A little over a year ago now, I switched jobs to specifically focus on being an individual contributor and to be able to grow in that role (aka, get promoted). Before switching, I had a decent job where I was supported in the fact that I did not want to climb the traditional career ladder, but where there was no potential for growth for me in that role (aka, no promotion). I wanted to see if I could find a company that did have a path to promotion, so I could try to make more money (and thus save more money) on my path to FI.

And I ended up finding it! I took a job at another company with a career path for people like me, where I could actually be promoted but stay an individual contributor. On top of that, the job switch came with a salary bump, better benefits, and a more clear-cut schedule of performance reviews, bonus potential, and annual raises. It seemed like a no-brainer, especially since I had spoken with A LOT of companies and hadn’t been able to find any with the career path I was looking for.

And so, up until about February of this year, things were going great at this new company. All the promises they had made me during my interviews had so far panned out. I was supported in my individual contributor role, doing all the things I wanted to be doing and not being pushed to take on roles I didn’t want. I had received my annual raise and a yearly bonus (even though I hadn’t even been there a year). I was praised for my work. I had basically zero stress. My manager and team were great. I had no complaints.

But then, right after I hit Flamingo FI, things changed, as life always does. The work on our account was dwindling, and eventually, I found out that I would be switching teams. I wouldn’t be working alongside any of my teammates any longer, but my manager would stay the same.

I went into the situation optimistic, as I always do. This was not even close to the first time this had happened to me. Things always work out. And if they don’t, I always figure a way out.

Unfortunately, the switch was rocky right from the start. The new team was very disorganized, lacked communication, and was completely chaotic.

As the weeks wore on, yellow flags became red ones. I started to have flashbacks to my first, incredibly toxic job in this industry. Luckily, I was able to handle the stress immensely better than that first job, because of my lived experience and my increased confidence in my abilities, but it was in stark contrast to how I had been feeling just weeks earlier.

It became crystal clear that my new team was not going to be as smooth sailing as my last team. And because I had reached Flamingo FI, I realized that I really didn’t have to put up with this. I had so much more control than I used to, thanks in large part to the amount of savings I had.

I figured, what did I have to lose? I was ready. It was finally time to have the conversation with my boss about going to 80%.

My process

First, I did my homework. I went to the employee handbook (always my first stop whenever I’m thinking about shaking things up at work, or leaving a job). I learned that a reduced workload was actually called out in multiple places in the handbook, which meant people were likely already doing this. Sure enough, right before I made the ask, I found out one of my new teammates was switching to a 60% work schedule. By reading the handbook, I found out that as long as you work 30 hours per week (an 80% schedule), you can still get promoted and keep all benefits.

After being equipped with some of this basic knowledge, it was time for me to hash out my game plan. I could start with my manager, or I could start by asking a few clarifying questions of HR. Since I have a great working relationship with my manager, I decided to start the conversation with her. I considered writing her an email. I considered asking her to meet and sending an email ahead of time so she’d have time to process. But ultimately, I decided that since I was really comfortable speaking with my boss over video, and I believed I could come across as most genuine “in person,” I would bring it up to her candidly on a video call.

I wrote out what I wanted to say, and I practiced out loud a few times. I’ve found that practicing really helps me 1) with my nerves and 2) getting straight to the point. I tend to ramble, especially when I’m nervous, and I wanted to be as direct as I possibly could with this ask. Especially since this felt like the most important ask of my career thus far.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well the ask was taken. She immediately told me that going to 80% was definitely a possibility, and asked me if I had an idea in mind of a day I wanted to have off, or if I wanted to spread the 30 hours over 5 days. I told her I was hoping to have Fridays off. She made note and said she would have to speak with her boss, and she would get back to me.

I’m really good at being a (polite) squeaky wheel, and so I followed up via email at the end of each week until I had an update. After ~2 weeks, my boss called me into a video chat to let me know my request had been approved on a 6-month trial basis, with Fridays off, starting the week of May 20th (which, at the time, was a month away).

What has surprised me the most

Two major things surprised me about this experience.

The biggest surprise I experienced during this request was that I didn’t need to explain myself. I had a whole plan, a whole excuse ready for my boss to provide reason for why I was asking to go to 80%, and I didn’t have to say any of it.

After I made the ask, I stopped and paused. Because I had practiced, I didn’t ramble like I always do. Before my boss even had a chance to answer my ask, I didn’t immediately launch into my reasoning like I may have in the past. I was ready in case she asked, but she never asked.

My point is that this was SO MUCH easier than I ever could have expected. I would love to hear from you all if you’ve had similar experiences, but I was blown away by how much I stressed and worried about this for NO REASON.

The second surprise came a bit later, when I got my first paycheck on my new 80% work schedule. It wasn’t nearly as big of a financial hit as I expected.

I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to work an 80% schedule at all, but I did worry slightly about the decrease in paycheck size. In fact, the financial hit was perhaps the biggest reason for not going to part-time/80% sooner (even when I hit Coast FI). As a saver all my life, and more recently on the path to FI, it feels like such a huge deal to take a decrease in income and save less.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a big “nitty gritty” numbers person. Never have been, likely never will be. I spend less than I earn, and I don’t worry too much about penny pinching. Because of that, I really didn’t crunch any numbers when considering going to 80%. Now that I make over $100K, and given that I’ve lived and saved on as little as $20K per year as a graduate student, I knew I’d be able to make it work and that going to 80% would more than cover my expenses.

But I was still shocked to see how little it really mattered in this paycheck. For those who are curious, I kept my 401k savings rate (20%) the same as when I was making full-time income. My gross income went down by $400, and my take-home pay went down by $200. This was for one paycheck, and I am paid biweekly. So I will be taking home $400 less per month, and saving $166 less per month into my 401k.

Given that before I reached Flamingo FI, I was saving $1500 per month into my taxable brokerage account (which is the only money change I made after reaching that milestone), making $400 less a month doesn’t feel like all that big of a deal (to me).

I have felt financial freedom in the past (like when I reached Coast FI and then Flamingo FI), but this felt extra special. Being able to actually make less and see the actual monetary outcome of it, and not make it question my self-worth or success, has been life changing.

How am I feeling now?

Honestly, I wish I could say I was feeling better. I wish I could say it’s been all sunshine and rainbows since I’ve gone to 80%. The reality is that life is never predictable. Things never go quite the way we want them to.

As of right now, my feelings amount to “we’ll see how this goes.” As I shared above, things have not been going great on my new team, and I’m getting a bit fed up, with lots of feelings of “I don’t need this stress in my life.” It’s easy to look back and wish I was still on my old team – 80% would feel so much better on that less stressful team – but alas, that’s not the way life works.

I’ve had multiple conversations with my manager that I don’t think this new team is the right fit for me, for my talents and strengths and career goals. She’s been very supportive, but I know she’s also middle management. There’s only so much she can do. The current plan is for me to move to a new team around the start of Q4.

Hence my “we’ll see” attitude. For starters, I’m not sure I can wait that long. I’ve had more anxiety in the last 3 months than I’ve had in the last 3 years. Granted, I can handle my anxiety A LOT better than I could 3 years ago, but I’m at the point where I’m not sure I want to handle it. And I definitely don’t need to handle it given my financial situation.

Second, I’ve been having stronger and stronger feelings of dipping down to freelance, especially after re-reading my last job update, where I felt basically the same way as I do now: restless, desiring more for my life and my days.

If anything, the feeling has only gotten stronger. In a strange way (that also seems like I actually anticipated), going to 80% has made me want to downshift even more. Having Fridays off has felt incredible, but it’s also left me wanting more.

And most importantly, since that last job update, I’ve figured out a bit more of what’s going on with me and my “one more year syndrome.”

It all started when I read this great post from Money Flamingo, the blogger who coined the term “Flamingo FI” in the first place. In that post, she defines one more year syndrome and discusses all the reasons one might struggle with it.

Many of the reasons didn’t check out for me. I know my why (I know how I’d want to spend my time if I wasn’t working my 9-5). I know what’s enough for me (my finances are where I want them, my spending is in check, and I don’t succumb to lifestyle inflation).

But one reason stood out the most, even made my spine tingle. I’m scared of the unknown.

The root of my one more year syndrome is because I fear the unknown.

All my life, I’ve been a saver. A planner. A risk avoider. This is my comfort zone. I make goals, and I reach them. I gave up on freelance work and went back to W2 work in 2018 because I craved structure, stability, and predictability. And now, in my W2 work, all I do at work every day is avoid rocking the boat. Sit back, get my work done, dissolve into the background.

But over time, I’ve learned to loosen up (thanks in large part to Mr. Dink’s good influence).

Gone are the doubts that I might not know what to do with myself if I wasn’t working. There’s so much I want to do! I’ve even created a list of all these things, something I call my Financial Freedom List (FFL). This includes hospice volunteering, which I’ve recently embarked on and will be ramping up soon.

Gone are the worries about not having enough money if I were to downshift. Reaching Flamingo FI has given me the mindset shift I’ve always craved. In fact, since I’ve hit Flamingo FI, I stopped saving into my brokerage, and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it’d be. Plus, I would still continue to make money and cover my expenses (at least) as a freelancer.

Gone are the fears that my spending will be out of control if I earn less. At this point in my life, one of the things I’m most confident about is my finances and my spending habits. I’ve figured out a system that works for me, where I check-in on my finances quarterly, and everything is automated. And as far as spending, I’m so much more comfortable spending on things that bring me joy because I trust myself to know my limits.

Gone are the worries about health insurance. I heard someone say once that paying for their healthcare through the exchange was the price for freedom they were willing to pay. I feel similarly, where I refuse to let that detract me. I refuse to stay in a job just for the healthcare. I could pay for COBRA (I feel it may be worth the money for the peace of mind, especially when first taking the leap) or I could get access through the exchange. What’s important to remember is that I have options.

Gone is the belief that I need to get promoted before going to part-time. What if I don’t get it? Why do I have to wait? I know what’s enough for me. Sure, more money would be great, but at what cost? The cost of my happiness and mental health? Money is important, but not everything. Plus, if I were to shift to freelancing, titles matter much less than experience. If I think I want to freelance sooner rather than later, the promotion may not matter much at all.

And, perhaps most importantly, I’m just really not loving the work that I’m doing. To get through my days, I have to not care. And it doesn’t feel good to not care. I want to wake up in the morning and be excited about my day. Between this and not getting what I want at work/being much more stressed during my days, I’m itching for something else. Mr. Dink said to me recently that there’s no way to get everything I want without going out on my own. And I’m starting to think he may be right. I’m getting to the point where if I had the time and space, I believe I could find more meaningful work (whether in my field or not).

So, who knows, maybe I need to rock the boat even more. Maybe there will be a Rock the Boat Part II post sometime in the not-too-distant future. Because how privileged am I that I know what I want to do with my time? And I not only want to do it, I long for it! And the only thing stopping me is my fear of the unknown? Mrs. Dink the athlete wouldn’t let fear get in her way. She’d meet that fear and go for it anyway!

So, I’m paying close attention to how I feel, and we’ll see what happens. Time will tell. As hospice volunteering ramps up, I think I’ll start to gain even more clarity. I’ll be able to feel it in my body. And this time, I vow to listen.

Because life is too short to live a life that doesn’t make my heart sing. I’m at the point where time is winning out. I care more about my time than most other things.

I’ve done the work. Now I think it may be time to enjoy life a little bit more.

---

Thanks for being on this journey with me! What else do you want to know about my decision to downshift to an 80% work schedule? Have you ever made a similar move? How did you feel about it? I’d love to hear from you!