Loyal Stocky Fox readers, I know I tested your patience by taking a prolonged break, but I’m back. I’m a big believer in using excuses, and I have a few good ones for why I wasn’t able to write any posts for the past two months. Actually, we’ve had some major life changes and are just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m retired!!!
Probably the single biggest change is that I quit my real job and am now entering the ranks of the unemployed, stay-at-home foxes, mid-life crisis ranks of the country. About a year-and-a-half ago, when we found out we were pregnant with our second cub, Foxy Lady and I really started talking about life and what we wanted. Fortunately, because a lot of the smart investing we had been doing, much of which I have chronicled in this blog, we had a nice little nestegg that gave us some real options. After a ton of discussion we decided that I would become a stay-at-home fox.
It took a while to sort everything out with work and to make sure we landed as softly as possible. After taking advantage of California’s very generous paternity leave program, Medtronic and I parted ways after 16 years (I started there as a 21-year-old wide-eyed cub—crazy). As an aside, I think Medtronic is a fantastic company and am so thankful that I spent so much of my career with them. Financially, they are wonderful and have so many programs that allow their employees to build a secure financial situation.
And now I am done with working. I won’t have a boss anymore . . . actually, I guess I have two bosses: Lil’ Fox and Mini Fox, but they’re pretty cool. Obviously, when you change careers or even end your career, that has a ton of impact on your finances so you can expect a lot of posts on us going through this transition.
We moved
This is a big deal (but not so big a deal as me retiring since that had three exclamation points). After Foxy Lady and I decided that I was going to bow out of the game, there wasn’t nearly as strong a tie living in Southern California, so she started looking for opportunities across the country (SoCal isn’t a very good market for her industry).
With that freedom of location, she found an amazing position in Greensboro, North Carolina, with VF Corporation (they own clothing brands like The North Face, Timberland, Vans, Jansport, Lee Jeans, Wrangler, and many more). It was an awesome opportunity for her—a nice promotion, more money, and a move into the fashion industry which she’s totally passionate about.
If you’ve ever moved, you know that it’s a crazy time in general. With two little kids and a 14-year-old dog, it’s just insane. We’re about two months into the craziness and probably have another month to go before we are completely settled in our new home with all our furniture. It’s been a wild ride and one I’ll certainly be glad to put behind me.
Just like with retiring, when you move there are a ton of decisions that you have to make that have a ton of financial implications. Getting these right can result in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years, so you can be assured that I’ll use the move as fodder for plenty of posts as well.
So there you go. That’s what’s been happening on our side. Thanks for sticking with me and look forward to some kickin’ posts coming down the pike. Tomorrow I’ll post on the Top 5 financial blunders people make by following their instincts.
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