DIVORCE YOUR JOB

Employment laws were different “back in the day”. Like many older people, I started working at age fourteen and never stopped. Work, work, work was always my lifestyle and motto. Then, after 28 years of teaching, I did the unthinkable, for myself. I divorced my job. Turning in the paperwork to H.R. was like stepping off a cliff. For the first time in my life, I did not have another steppingstone in the river. There wasn’t another job waiting in the wings.

By legally separating at age 52 from the teaching profession, instead of waiting until age 55 or more, there were some losses to be considered. The biggest loss was walking away from my accumulated sick leave, which cannot be cashed out in my state until age 55. But with any divorce, there is loss and I had to weigh the stress and discomfort of employment compared to the perceived personal freedom in retirement. Here are 8 things to consider if you want to divorce your job.

• Do you have personal Leave balances and what are the cash out options?

• What are your relationships with colleagues and how will they change?

• How will your personal relationships change (husbands, wives, friends, family)?

• How will you cover health care and how will you improve your health?

• How will your taxes change?

• What activities will fill your time?

• How will you pay your monthly bills? Will your budget balance?

• How will you pay for one-time expenses (ex: car repairs, plumbing fiascos, professional fees)

Overall, you need to retire as soon as you can identify answers to these questions. Divorcing my job was definitely a positive change, but plan for an adjustment period since everything about life with shift with the divorce.