Time Value of Money (Inflation? Or the "T" word?)

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 I went to IKEA last weekend. I had a coupon that was going to expire and because I knew I wasn't going to get the chance to go on Sunday, I stopped by after going to the Japanese Festival . I almost went to Greekfest after but most of us decided to go home. I  decided I'd like to use the coupon now than have it wasted since IKEA was less than a couple miles away and on the way home. I spent $0.75 with tax for a set of dishes and a serving bowl . The dishes were $0.79. I got 11 of them and one serving bowl because I had already purchased one to try out. I wanted to try it out because it is white and I wanted to see if it will stain. It doesn't. So I went back to complete the set. I added the serving bowl because the coupon was $10 off a $10 or more purchase. The serving bowl was $1.99. I got the small bowl-like instead of the small plates because I thought that would be of more use to me. They look like the small plates but with the curve so I felt they would still work f...
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Do You miss Work after Retiring Early or reaching FIRE?

 This came up just moments ago as I read a message from someone who said work has been really busy today. No, they are not in the nursing field. But it brought back memories - Wednesdays were our busiest days. And I realized I do not miss it - not the people, not the place and not the patients. I miss none of it. 

Honestly, it's been more than 7 months and it doesn't seem like a long time but it's all a blur. It's almost like a part of me wanted to forget and has worked on doing so. I also have to remark that I went from 0 to Burnt out quickly. I realized I could leave and be okay back in September or so. And I was dragging my feet and kinda didn't want to leave. What was I thinking?! 

But between realizing I could FIRE and about 2 months later, I was burnt out. I'll discuss when I knew it was time to leave another time because that is a story by itself. I talked to my manager at the start of February and I'm not sure why I decided to hang around for the schedule that wasn't even out yet. Again, what was I thinking?!

What's kinda funny is that while I aimed to retire early, I didn't anticipate it happening at this age. As I said in my first blog post, I initially aimed for 50 or earlier. And then by early 2022, I saw 45 as a possibility and then early 2023, I saw 40 as a possibility and about 9 months later, I realized that I could do it much earlier and the time had come. So considering I got caught by surprise, I wasn't sure what to do. The weird thing was starting to think that I worked so hard for my degree and didn't feel like giving it up. Nonsense!

My last two months of work, I couldn't wait to leave. I only worked 5 days in February, 3 of which were weekdays. I was part-time and worked Saturdays so the 2 days were Saturday. Yes, back in December, I tallied up my PTO and estimated what I would earn every two weeks and requested time off. I was practically working one day a week so people barely saw me. I'm not the type to hoard PTO. 

Don't forget to plan out your PTO before Quitting your job or getting FIRE'd

Did I have a FIRE number? No. I'm actually realizing that's a thing. I'm glad I didn't because it explains why some people are so anxious on Reddit tracking their net worth and being upset the value of their home went down on Zillow. I don't even include my home in my net worth calculation and I own it outright. 

I left nursing in the hospital and have not looked back. Which is why I mentioned in my first post that if I had to go back to my last day, I would likely have walked out after an interaction I had. Why? Because I knew I wasn't going back and I wasn't going to look for a job to have to worry about references or someone calling the place. That said, I am so grateful to God that he got me out of that toxic place. 

As I've said, Nursing is hard - physically, emotionally, and mentally. It exacts energy from you in so many ways. I don't think the body is meant to do that much physical labor for that long. If I was a new grad possessing the knowledge I have now, I would make a 7 year plan and get out. The Market is your friend😉

Happy Wednesday to all the lovely nurses doing their best to care for patients. My hope is for nurses to attain to Financial Freedom and not be hitched to the hospital.

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