To retire early or to make more money?

Dear Nanay,

I come from a fairly well-to-do family and to be honest I guess I do not really need to work.  I can afford to stop working and my husband still has a job and our family can comfortably live on his income.  Because of this, I really want to retire already.

However, my father will not let me do it. I guess it is because he has always believed that we should work extremely hard and do whatever we can to earn money.  I actually respect that view but I feel we have enough already.  I do not think we need to be super-rich.  Our financial goals have been met and I think just being financially comfortable is enough. 

Also, I think there are more important things in life than just money, especially when we already have enough.  I really want to spend more time raising my children and be a very active parent to them.  How can I do that when I am always in the office?  How can I prioritize their welfare when the most important thing on my daily agenda is work, work and more work?  There must be more to life than just making money, right, Nanay? — L

Dear L,

First of all, for the record, I happen to agree with many of the things your father believes in — hard work, sipag at tiyaga.  You must exert your very best effort in order to earn a living and put food on the table.

However, I also respect where you are coming from.  Especially because you say that you already have enough and are financially comfortable.  In other words, hindi na ninyo kailangan masyado ng pera (you don’t need too much money anymore).  Because of this, I agree that you can maybe rethink your priorities and reconsider the impact too much work can have on your family life.

At the end of the day, I think you should just think about what are the most important things to you and what is best for your family.  Some people in your position will choose to continue working. Some will choose to scale down their working hours to perhaps half days.  And some, like you, would probably choose to retire altogether to spend more time with their family.  Again, the choice is ultimately yours.  Pag-isipan mo kung ano ang pinaka mahalaga sa iyo (think about what is most important to you).  And then, based on that, you can make the correct decision.

Sincerely,

Nanay

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Get along with the new boss

Dear Nanay,

I am writing in reply to Anxious At Work.

Having a new boss is normal for professionals who work for companies they don’t own.  If you really stop to think about it, whether the company hires a new person to go in between you and your boss or maybe someone is hired to take the place of your boss because he resigns or is promoted, the effect on you professionally is the same – you have to get along with a new boss!

This is just reality and there are no two ways around it.  You just have to accept it, learn to get along with your new boss again, and as Nanay is so fond of saying, take this as an opportunity to prove yourself and show him what you can do! — JASPER

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