Announcing My Plans to Quit My Job and Travel

Dear [manager],

Thank you for your guidance and supervision over the last [few] years. I have truly enjoyed working for you and our team, and I feel very fortunate to have been assigned to your team when I was hired. Prior to joining our office, I was considering leaving the workforce to pursue other interests. When I was offered the position here I postponed those plans, however, those interests did not go away. I feel that now is the right time for me to make this change. As such, please accept this as my letter of resignation, effective December 31, 2021.

After years of planning, saving, investing, postponing…it’s time to GO! I’ve officially given notice at my job that I will be leaving. I’ve known I was leaving for a while. But the closer I got to the end of the year, and when I would have to officially give my notice, the more anxiety I’ve been feeling. On one hand I’m excited to make this change and start a new chapter. On the other hand it’s terrifying to make this change and start a new chapter.

Breaking the News to Family

Back in June I told my mother about my plan. I felt a lot of anxiety then not knowing what her response would be. I’ve heard from a lot of people who have made similar life changes that they received a lot of negative feedback from friends and family. The friends I had told were supportive, but I was worried my family might not be. I put off telling them until worrying about how they would respond was literally keeping me up at night. Eventually my anxiety reached a tipping point. So I told my mother over breakfast one day. To my surprise, she just kind of nodded, asked a couple questions, and then moved on in the conversation. Every once in a while she’ll spring a logistical question on me. But she hasn’t tried to talk me out of anything. And then a couple weeks ago she booked herself a trip to meet up with me at my first destination. So I’m going to put her in the supportive camp.

I waited a few more weeks to tell my brother. We were on a family vacation to Maine, staying in an Airbnb on the water. Our first morning there, sitting on the deck having our morning coffee, I told my brother about my plan. He was surprised that I could financially make this change. His first reaction was one a lot of my friends have had, “I wish I could do that.” But unlike a lot of people, he moved on to the question “how do I do that?” Together we looked at his finances, and talked about saving and investing. He made some changes to his 401(k) and his budget to help move him toward financial independence. I’ve emphasized to him that it’s not a competition, and not to compare himself to me, that our lives are different and so are out financial needs. But he’s now more aware of his finances and I’m proud that he’s taken an interest.

Breaking the News at Work

I have also told a few other friends and close colleagues, but I’ve otherwise kept it on the DL at work. I told a college friend a week ago and he told me he was on the same path, and planned to FIRE in the next couple of years. We’d never discussed it before so we were both surprised to find the other knew about FIRE.

I had been planning to tell my boss after Thanksgiving. A colleague and friend was waiting to hear about an opportunity, and I worried that my leaving might effect his chances. I was waiting to give notice in the hopes that it wouldn’t. But he told me that he might not hear until January, and I shouldn’t wait on giving my notice just for that. So with his blessing, I decided to push up when I would give my notice. I’d again reached the point where I had so much anxiety it was keeping me up at night. So the Friday before Thanksgiving when my boss sent an email suggesting a call to discuss an issue, I said “Sure, I have something else to discuss with you too.”

So, deep breath, and then break the news: I’m giving notice that I’m going to leave at the end of the year. She was definitely surprised. I think it took a couple minutes to register that I wasn’t going to another job. And then something clicked for her and she got really excited for me. Another “I wish I could do that.” But also a “good for you” and “that’s fantastic” and “you better stay in touch.” It was really heartening to get that support, especially since my leaving will make her team even more short-staffed than it already is. She asked if I could stay into the beginning of January. But for my FIRE calculations I need to start next year unemployed (it matters for health insurance, and tax brackets). I said I felt a little guilty, but she shook her head and said they’d figure it out. I had to make decisions based on what was best for my life. It really was a great relief to tell her and get that support from her as well.

The following Monday I sent the email above to my chain of command, making it official. And then the week after Thanksgiving I informed the colleagues on my team at work. Again, much surprise but also excitement and support. And now that I’ve let the cat out of the bag at work, I’ve also posted it on social media.

Having Support Makes it So Much Easier

I think I’ve been really lucky that everyone I’ve told has been supportive. No one has tried to tell me I’m making a mistake. Many people have said the wish they could do it too. But only a few have asked how I’ve been able to do this. I’d love for more of them to ask, because I’d love to help them move in this direction too. And since most of them have also said they want to follow my travels, I’ll direct them to this blog. And maybe when they read this (if they make it this far), they’ll realize that there are steps they can take to reach financial independence and retire early if they want to. So for them, when they do get curious as to “how,” I hope to post more about what they can do to move their own finances in the direction of financial independence.