Burnt Out at Work: How I’m Stuck Between Financial Goals and Career Stress

One of the hardships of working day and night to achieve success is that burnout is not only a very real possibility but something many people have to contend with more than once. Unfortunately, our desire to earn a good living runs counter to our desire to live a life of enjoyment. 

In the case of one Redditor posting in r/ChubbyFIRE, you have a scenario where, at 41 with no kids and a spouse, this person feels incredibly burnt out after 17 years with their company. The feeling of constant stress has worn thin, and now, getting up in the morning and going to work is something to dread. 

Even if you remove ChubbyFIRE from this scenario and remove the millions of dollars in net worth, the same burned-out situation happens in the minds of millions of workers every day in America and worldwide. 

The Situation 

Having worked at the same company for 17 years, often with 55-hour-plus weeks, especially over the last nine months, this 41-year-old Redditor is just done with all the stress. While he and his spouse have no plans for children, it wouldn’t even matter as he doesn’t have time for himself, never mind other individuals who require constant attention and affection. 

Working in a niche industry in banking, this Redditor makes it clear that the daily pressure to “deliver” for all of the different stakeholders in his company, which he is both beholden to and employed by, has made every day dreadful. 

What’s worse, he knows he has built up a lot of cachet at his company now, which would make finding a similar salary in a similar role with less stress “effectively impossible.” 

The good news is that the wife loves her $150,000 pre-tax job, and the two incomes have helped them accrue a net worth of around $2.3 million with an annual spend of around $150,000 to $200,000. The goal is, or at least was, to hit $3.5 to $5 million to cover these expenses. 

This Redditor is still hoping to hit their financial goal but is stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to decide what they want more, to leave before they hit their financial goal or continue in misery. 

The First Recommendation

It should go without saying that many Redditors in the comment section suggest therapy. While therapy might have once been taboo, it’s an opportunity to get on a better path today. With this Redditor recognizing he is “constantly annoyed and more confrontational” than usual, therapy may be the best suggestion. At the very least, it will help him navigate day-to-day life and ensure his wife isn’t receiving the brunt of his bad days. 

The Second Recommendation 

The reality here is that this Redditor may not be able to find another banking job in this field, but many comments suggest this person is in “coast” FIRE territory. In other words, they could try their hand at consulting or, even better, find a job that pays a few hundred thousand a year and continue building up the nest egg while enjoying less stress overall. Yes, this might mean spending an extra few years before you hit the magic number, but your mental health would thank you for doing so. 

The Third Recommendation 

If consulting isn’t a viable option, then this Redditor needs to set a hard deadline for when they will be out of the job. This might mean reducing your expenses now and putting a date on a calendar that you commit to walking away from this banking job that is making a mess of your life. Yes, this could mean that more financial weight falls on the wife, at least temporarily, but the result might be an overall happier life, marriage, and retirement. 

The End Goal

With this Redditor indicating that he is investing 50% of post-tax income, or around $150,000 per year, they believe they are four years away from their goal. However, four years may not be possible at this current burnout rate. Another noteworthy mention is that multiple Redditors point out that with the wife making six figures already, likely with health insurance benefits and no kids, this couple could live on far less than they are now and still have plenty of financial freedom. 

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