Did you ever have one of those weeks where you feel like you just can't do or say anything right? Ugh!
One more day!

Yes!!!!! This has been my week. Too much to do, too little time, and everything I touch breaks.

The past few months of my life I've felt similar - like I'm not doing anything well any more.

Skittles, I feel the same way daily. I am hoping it gets better. Everyone around me seems to be having the same problems.

I think it's a pandemic effect, at least partly. It's harder to separate from work for down time when your office is your home.

it's also difficult to stay positive when everyone else is a crab....

Crabby people make me crabby. So do people that cannot make up their mind at decision points where I cannot proceed until they make a decision.

Crabby people make me stabby. But, working at home with my fiance for two years is starting to wear on me...

Wait till you get older and less tolerant.

I live in a 55+ community and several friends whose "mouth mufflers" no longer work.
You know exactly where they stand. What is on their mind leaks out.
Nothing viscous, just straight to the point.

I am older .... I turned 60 a few months ago.

I made the decision to retire early after months of contemplation. My husband is 9 years older than I am and I want to retire and hopefully do some things before we're both too old. While I initially stated September 30th, that may get pushed out a bit to make the transition a little easier - and hopefully a new Chief Compliance Officer can be hired.

Time will tell.

YEAH! Congratulations!

My husband took early retirement this year, and joining him looks more attractive every day.

Congrats Skittles! So jealous!

I'm a few years out from retirement but I told our EVP that I was tired...so very tired.

uggg. All this talk of retirement - it doesn't even qualify as an abstract concept for me just yet lol. My sights are set 15 years in the future. Assuming I can survive banking that long that will give me 35 years.

Congrats Skittles!

burkemi - I'll be in banking 42 years this December - and compliance for the last 27 of them. I'm tired too, Sarah.

Congrats Skittles. I'm tired too.....but only 14 years in banking/compliance and probably a minimum of a dozen years before i can retire (my 401k would like 15 years a lot better).

I'm a bit older than Skittles, but it looks like 7 or 8 more years, if work can put up with me. It's been a tough year - our lobbies were only closed for a minimal period of time. For a couple of months, we had Covid everywhere and I was scared to death I was going to bring it home to my hubby. He's a little older than me and has health issues. Anyway, 17 years in CUs and I volunteered to learn compliance 6 or 7 years ago. So, still learning, but it keeps it interesting.

I have a countdown on my desktop so when I'm having a stressful day, I take a look at it. Only 734 more working days.....

Congrats Skittles!!

I'm hoping to last five more years till retirement but - - - I second, third and fourth the 'tired' comments - I said the same yesterday more than once.

Congratulations Skittles!!

I fell into compliance 22 years ago while working for a mortgage servicer. Transitioned to CU compliance 9 years ago. Still have 15 years to go before I can contemplate retiring.

Congratulations Skittles!

So happy for you Skittles, I have also been in banking for 42 years as of this past May. Still have a few years to go until I will retire. Trying to hold on for the insurance. Congratulations!!!

I've been in banking for maybe about 42-43 years; will be 62 this year. Retirement is looking better every day. Our bank is considering mandating vaccines if they don't reach goal of 100% vaccinated.

4 yrs and 5 days until I retire, not that I am counting or anything.

I'm jealous of everyone close to retirement ...I've still got about 20 years left until I'm at full retirement age. I'm tired too!

You're jealous that we're all older than you are?

@ Skittles...

We put in our time, grasshopper...

Skittles and DeeQ - Well if you put it that way I guess not lol!
Why can't retirement age be younger?!

Among other things, Covid has taught me to appreciate the distraction and mind stimulation of working. I'm full retirement age+ and have a vague retirement date out there in the future. But being home with my retired husband has shown me that I'd be bored to tears without the problem solving and feeling of being needed and appreciated that my job gives me. Granted, I work 3/4 time so I've time for the things I want to do every day.
Just putting this out there that for all the ones that can't wait to retire.
There are those of us that definitely can wait.

I still have quite a few years until retirement...and I'm ok with that (yes, I'm tired too).

I'd just be happy to be able to work from home. We have never been given that chance.....and I think I would enjoy it!!

I think i'd enjoy a mixed schedule....say 3 days a week at the office, 2 days a week working from home.

I would be alright with a schedule like that also. It is nice to see my co-workers, however, I would be perfectly ok at home also a few days a week!

i think everyone is tired, burned out, overworked, under appreciated, etc etc. if you have remained in the office, you think the people at home aren't carrying their load. if you are working at home, you work much more than 8 hours and don't know how to step away, and you think the people in the office are loafing. add to this that many banks have reduced expenses via early retirement incentives, reduction in force, not filling open positions, meaning less people doing more work. and loss of institutional knowledge as people leave makes it even harder. oh, and across the board, everyone has poor morale these days.

There are days i feel i have accomplished nothing but eating lunch and going home while the sun is still up.

tomorrow is always another day

You nailed it Happy.

Last banking job (before consulting) was with a denovo. When being interviewed, the CFO asked if I would mind working half days.
I replied that I could probably handle that.
He commented that I could pick any 12 hour stretch I wanted. 2 years later, he wasn’t kidding.

You get lunch? I'm clearly doing something wrong.

In all seriousness, you are spot on. Most banks are seriously understaffed. The compressed interest margins have lead to cost-cutting, staffing reductions, etc. Those left at work are drowning.

i block out one hour on my calendar each day for lunch, and i don't let anyone schedule over it, not open to negotiation. granted, i usually just close my door to eat, and sometimes i read, sometimes i choose to catch up on email and paperwork, but that is my choice, and i am getting my hour of peace and quiet.

when people say "but you can't take the meeting, in know you have lunch scheduled?" i always respond with "everyone is free at 7:00 AM tomorrow, let's do it then." No one has yet to take me up on 7:00 AM meetings...

On the subject of being tired.....i feel like i have 2 fulltime jobs.....banking, and cutting grass (let's just say i mow a LARGE area, and with the bountiful rain we've had this year, it's been once a week like clockwork). With the brush gathering and weed-eating and mowing involved, it either takes most of a Saturday or Sunday, or at least 2 nights after work (now that the days are getting shorter, 2 is getting more and more difficult).....i'm ready for November.

i feel your pain RJ - i cut down all my trees last year, now my yard gets full sun, and like a dope i also water and fertilize, on top of hte tons of rain we have had as well...there have been times i've had to cut twice in a week as it is growing so fast and thick. i'm fortunate that i enjoy the mindless task of cutting grass.

Happy....i COULD mow every 4-5 days (esp. in May and June) if i wanted...but i refuse to mow it that often.

Congratulations Skittles! Enjoy!

Congrats Skittles!! I too will be 60 this year and retirement is right around the corner, I can't wait.

I will soon be 63, my husband 64. We took the step of meeting with a financial advisor to review our various retirement accounts, etc. Last night we met with an insurance guy who went over the Medicare options, Cobra, etc. We initially thought 4/30/22, but now that we have started down this road I find my patience is shorter. We have a major system conversion coming up next year. I have done so many of these in my career, mainly due to acquisitions and mergers, and I just don't know that I have it in me to do another. What I once viewed as being a strength, adaptability, is going further and further down the drain.

If there's any one thing I would suggest to those of you with 10-20 years left till retirement it's FIND A FINANCIAL ADVISOR NOW! Don't wait till you're 60 to decide it's time. If your bank offers meetings with the entity that administers your 401K, make one. Talk to them honestly about what you'd like to be able to do in retirement and when you'd like to retire. Take full advantage of any matching your employer may do too. You've got the time to make it happen.

You mean Doge coin isn't a solid retirement strategy??

Could NOT agree more! I plan on retiring at 59 1/2 and have been planning accordingly for years to be able to do so and that includes regular discussions with my financial advisor and tweaking investment strategies. So far on track! Woohoo!

Excellent advice.
A good financial advisor (look for fee only - many have CFP certifications) can direct you for investments (preserving assets), insurances (life, liability, health), legal documents (wills, estates, trusts), guide on taxes (state, federal, exemptions), etc. For some "Financial Advisors" it is a title for an investment company, sell company products only and have sales goals.

A CFP website https://www.letsmakeaplan.org/

If I gave the impression that we have never met with an advisor previously please understand this is not the case, but recently we have met with one that is separate from my employer. Sometimes one wants to make one's own determination.

You just provided the opportunity for three of us to chime in with doing what you did, just sooner. My husband and I did this much later than I now wish we would have, having relied on what was offered through our employers. Especially with the news regarding the SS Trust being depleted within the next dozen years, it's of paramount importance that the young 'uns that hope to retire take all the steps to fund it early.

After listening to a webinar from an attorney firm over the proposed 1071 yesterday I told a coworker that if I hadn't already decided to retire - this would push me over the edge.

Olde Tyme Banker, the comment was not directed at you. I had sat through the CFP program and it was intense and interesting. (In banking 30 years at that point and figured investing would be a snap. Everything I knew was covered in the first hour of the first class!) Just passing along general information.

There is a radio personality Clark Howard who provides some fairly easy to understand financial information. (He is also referred to as "America's Cheapskate" because of his thrifty advice.) He came out with a full explanation of Fiduciary Financial Advisors which I found informative, Link attached.

https://clark.com/personal-finance-...tm_term=0_afa92deb83-9424a747b0-72871525

Thank you. I will confess that for years I have paid zero attention to Medicare info, reasoning that it would most likely change 10 times before I was eligible. Now our insurance advisor has given us 3 books on it. Yipes.

The most dangerous thing that you can do is not sign up and pay for your chosen Medicare coverage when you turn 65 if you delay drawing SS. To sign up later can involve significant penalties.

Congratulations Skittles. Green with envy! My retirement date is written on an index card under my desk mat. It is in 2026, which seems far away, but the last two years have gone by incredibly fast. Hope the next few do too. I'm still hoping that my darling husband can find a way for me to retire sooner via our investments. We recently signed a purchase agreement for our retirement home and are waiting for it to be built. It will make for a longer commute, but it will be well worth it. Something to look forward to.

Here's to RETIREMENT!!

I'm joining the retirement club! I'll be retiring at the end of 2021. I decided I just couldn't hold out to 65! Even so, I'm still surprised at how excited I am getting about it!

Congratulations DEL! I know exactly how excited you are.

Congratulations DEL! Excited for you.

Sleeping late, breakfast whenever, shopping when everyone is at work, napping when you want and everyday a Saturday is not as cracked up as everyone expects. (It's better)
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

Congrats DEL, I can't wait to join the club. If my plan works, less than 2 years.
Enjoy

Thanks everyone for all the good wishes!

March 1, 2023, or earlier...

<<<taking the under

I can tell you - 6 months in - that I do not regret early retirement. I’m enjoying the extra time with my husband and traveling to visit my siblings and son more often.

You'll have to come back part time to pay for the gas...

Was just talking about this...it's costing me around $9 bucks a day just to get to work and back home (that's not counting the crazy amount i'm spending on lawn mower gas).

I drive 90 miles round trip 3 days a week, 5 miles the other 2. I drive a honda that gets 42 MPG highway, so 3 days i'm about $10 per day,. the other 2 it is negligible. i bring my lunch 4 days a week, but have noticed that where i normally go on Friday has increased prices about 10%, but they also told us they were doing it because of inflation and rising costs to them. I don't understand people that eat out 5 days a week for lunch, that is $90-100 easily.

DQ - good for you on the looming retirement, i was hoping to get out in 5-6 (which would be early for me), but if this current economic trend continues, may be closer to my full retirement 10-12 from now.

so.......a retirement celebration/reunion in Atlantic City?? ::

I was teaching a financial literacy class for homeless so they can get subsidized apartments. Had to explain in basic terms, only 2 of 14 had a bank account, and the one credit card was secured. They were "amazed" how much they spent, annualized. A daily soda and snack ran close to $1,000 a year, when most had total income of $7,500 ($150/week) (13% for daly snacks!). Yikes!

I plan to retire at 67, 5 years from now. I really like banking and working with people to achieve their financial goals. But I am met with skepticism by many of the younger generation that don't like the idea of down payments on vehicle purchases or paying their parents rent, or investing in their future by paying into a retirement account every month, the audacity of my suggestions. Not to mention the stifling mostly irrelevant regulatory environment we work in because we are all apparently stupid and crooks, is wearing on me. I drive 40 miles round trip 5 days a week and talk about a food desert I drive 60 miles round trip just to buy groceries, no grocery store anymore in the town I work in. Some days I am sure I can't do his anymore and then I get a young couple in my office eager for advice.

I have the same plan as one deer - retire in 5 years at 67. I too am feeling the stress of every day and keeping my motivation up. We are a very small shop, so if a teller is gone or the phone operator is out we all have to chip in.

And it doesn't seem that many of the questions we get are "slam dunks" anymore. Everything requires research and nobody wants to give you the time to do it. I am compliance, but being constantly pulled into fraud because we don't have a fraud department.

Is is a bad thing that I'm 34 and am already stressed out and having a hard time staying motivated? Just 32 years to retirement for me

I am right there with you. I am 35 and not excited to go another lifetime of work in order to stop working enough to work to find peace.

Good news (sigh) I am not sure retirement is looking like a possibility for a lot of people so I will not be alone.

other end of the line and I haven't nor do I have any immediate plans to retire. Compliance, being appreciated and working remotely have all factored in to my continuing past the time when most of my contemporaries have already retired. And with the financial debacle going on around me where your gasoline bill = what your groceries used to cost and your groceries = your old costco bill and that costco bill is now nearly as much as your mortgage payment, AND the government keeps trying to cut my SS, I'll keep plugging along and saving the income. I certainly can't afford the world travel I thought retirement would include for me.

I just turned 60 and hoping to make it to 65 or 67 based on what circumstances are happening at the time. It seems like there is more stuff and it never ends. I enjoy my job and do not mind working, but some days are easier than others. I applaud all you are retiring and starting that new chapter in their lives.

I wish! We moved to southern DE.

Isn't southern Delaware really close to northern Delaware?

Fungi!

Actually, we are closer to Maryland than to northern DE...

I think the county i live in is close to the size of Delaware.

Fun Fact - There are 12 counties in Texas alone that are bigger than Delaware.

I bet half the counties in Texas and Oklahoma are bigger than Rhode Island.

59% of Montana's counties are larger than Delaware; 90% are bigger than Rhode Island.

Population wise, all three states have about 1 Million people each. We fill in all those empty spots with cows & trees.

At 10,226 sq. mi., Harney County OR is a little more than 5 times the size of Delaware. With a population of 7210 (2020), its population is about .7% of the Delaware population (967,679).

wait, delaware is an actual state? when did that happen?

December 7, 1787