It’s been a bit over 10 years now since I’ve quit my full-time job. I have never returned to a permanent full-time job since then. I never made use of ‘Plan B’.
So how have I kept afloat all these years? Honestly, I’m quite surprised myself how it has all worked out.
Recently there have been so many people on youtube releasing videos about quitting their job. As part of the great resignation, millions of Americans quit their job. So I’ve decided that I’d tell my story as someone who’s been into this for 10 years by now.
I’m not a millionaire, not the child of rich parents or heir of wealthy grandparents, and I don’t have a rich husband. Instead, I’ve supported myself through a combination of various income sources.
And it’s been a ride! Really bumpy, and nerve-racking at times!
So I’ve been thinking, what was it that enabled me to stay free and make it through these 10 years?
Here are a few things:
A fat savings account
Before I left my job, I had saved up a decent amount of money. I had not achieved FIRE status yet (Financial Independence Retire Early), in fact, I was far away from it. But those savings generated enough interest to cover a big chunk of my expenses, especially since I spent time in Indonesia for a couple of years after resigning.
I have to admit, that at some point I had to dig in, chew at my savings account, which felt horrible. But don’t worry, I kept most of it intact!
In any case, the money melts away faster than you think. So make sure you plan carefully how much money you’ll need after leaving your job, especially if you don’t have another job lined up or alternative sources of income.
Staying with family
After I left my job, I rented a room in my uncle’s house for around 2+ years. I paid extremely little in rent, and I got free lunch every day. Plus, they had a maid so laundry and cleaning were also taken care of. I hung out with my 4 much younger cousins and finally had time to get to know them a bit better.
I was already 31 at that time, an age at which not many adults would prefer to live on their own. I certainly did! But doing this enabled me to save a lot of money, during a time when I was still figuring out my next steps.
The house I was renovating and would later flip happened to be at the end of the same street, so that made things a lot easier too.
If you don’t have a crystal clear plan yet and don’t have to be somewhere specifically, living with family for a while – I stress for a while and not forever – can be a good idea to save some money.
Willing to do anything for money
Almost. I translated documents from Indonesian to English and vice versa. I acted in various low-budget film productions. Later on, when I moved to Canada, I worked at Starbucks as Barista for a couple of months, and as a salesperson at a furniture store.
I never thought I was above working in a service job, even after having worked in a mid-level management position for years. Those jobs weren’t my favorite ones either.
But this was the price of freedom, so it was not a problem for me to work a few months here and there to supplement my income. If I needed a bit more money and didn’t want to use my savings, I simply got myself a temporary job. When I had enough, I quit.
You might sort of have a plan for what to do after leaving your job, whether that’s starting a business, going freelance. But there might still be some fear holding you back.
If you are willing to do anything for money, should you need it, then there’s nothing to be afraid of. You can always get a temporary job, earn as much as you need, and quit again. It’s as simple as that.
I took quite some risk
This is something I wouldn’t advise anyone to do. For about 1 year, I lent a considerable amount of money on a private lending platform. The borrowers all had businesses and occasionally needed some money to bridge their short-term cash flow needs.
The interest rate was really high. But along with high interest also comes high risk. There was no real guarantee. If the borrowers went bankrupt, then my money would’ve been gone. I’m not sure that I would ever do this again, except with money that I could afford to lose.
I aimed high
Until this day I still can’t imagine how we, I and my husband, managed to secure funds for our two first feature films. We got investors on board to invest approximately USD 250,000 into our film projects.
And I have to tell you that I have never been good at fundraising or marketing. I hate asking people for money. But at that time I wanted to make films so much that I went all out. Within around 6 months we gathered the funds and made the films.
As producer, developer, and actor, I got paid a tiny fee, but it was great considering I got to do what I wanted.
Besides doing this, I also flipped a house and earned an ROI of over 200%. I will have to go back and calculate the exact percentage at some point, as it is likely higher than this.
I lived as a minimalist
Not the extreme type though. I ate sushi every week, bought drinks, shopped for clothing and gadgets here and there.
But I really watch my expenses. I didn’t buy any crap that I didn’t need. I also always saved a ton on rent, by getting the best value.
For the last 3 years, my husband and I have been living in a studio apartment in Toronto. Quarters are tight but we couldn’t be happier saving hundreds of dollars each month on rent.
Having the nerves
If you want to quit your job without having a concrete plan, or a significant alternative income source, you need to have strong nerves.
No matter how well you plan your budget and manage your expenses, there will always be something unexpected to pay for. Your budget will always get out of balance, at least temporarily.
Your new business or freelance job may not pay a stable income yet, and you have to become a master at managing your cash flow. Which I have become, after these 10 years.
Over these years, excel and I have become best friends. Without the excel spreadsheets I used to plan short-term and long-term expenses, I would not know what to do.
This is just the beginning of my story. Over the next 50 or 100 blog posts, I will share bit by bit about what happened after resigning. What happened with my multiple careers, relationships, money, and so on.
In any case, if you’re planning to become free, change careers, and finally do what you really want, be prepared for a ride!
These 10 years were very difficult. I’ve discovered a lot of things about myself and experienced several rock-bottom phases. I’ve gone through so many that after a while they don’t seem that bad anymore. Instead, they’re just phases where not much is happening or I failed at something, temporarily.
But if you ask me, it’s totally worth it, because I’d rather have freedom than security. I’d rather pursue multiple things that I am not just passionate about, but also curious about and find very meaningful and fulfilling. All while having the freedom of managing my time the way I see fit.
And I hope that this blog will help you in your own journey towards more purpose and freedom!
