I did something a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure that, based on the title of this article, you can guess what that something is. In fact, today is my last day. Starting at 5, I’m a free agent!
Why I Quit my Job.
Over the last several months and weeks, several things had happened at work, and while each would have likely been bearable on their own, the whole was completely unbearable. I don’t want to get into any real details, as I prefer to take the high-road and just leave what’s done, done. Unreasonable demands on me, and and my time had made my work a true chore, and I wasn’t willing to deal with it anymore. And so, I attempted to make my argument as to why the demands were unreasonable, but those arguments fell on deaf ears, and I submitted my resignation and two weeks notice. And, boy, did it feel good.
What about that House?
If you’ve been reading the last few weeks of articles, you’ve noticed that I’ve been writing alot about the house we were planning on buying, and the process that we and other prospective home owners have to go through. As you can likely imagine, the loss of one of our incomes has made it impossible for us to be able to afford the new mortgage payment that the new house would have brought with it. As a result of that, we’ve since cancelled the purchase and will remain in our current house.
The upside of not buying the house, and having to pull our current house off of the market is that we’ve done quite a bit of work on it in the last month or so to make it more appealing to prospective buyers. A new deck, some new flooring in the hall, and paint touch ups, among other things have made the house look pretty nice. It still remains rather small for our growing family, but it’s in really good condition now, and we’ll just have to make do.
Plans for the future.
With my resignation, I got something that I hadn’t really expected. Some freedom. I declared my free agency, and I’ll be attempting to make the most of it. I’ll be spending a lot more time writing for Beating Broke, as well as my other online properties. I’ll be writing some guest posts for other personal finance sites, and am hoping to have another ebook ready for you all sometime around the end of the year. (If you’ve got topics you’d like to see an ebook on, please let me know in the comments!)
I’ll likely have to take on a part time job, but have resolved to make it part time so that I have the time to do the extra work on this and other sites. It’ll help supplement the income I make online until such time as the online income grows enough to support me doing it full time.
How can you help?
The biggest way that you can help me, right now, is to continue reading my articles, here. It’s why I write them. It’d be pretty boring if you didn’t stop in to read, leave comments, and add to the discussion. If you’ve got topics you’d love to see covered here, please let me know in the comments or by using the contact us link at the top of the site. I’ll do my best to cover them as quickly and as fully as I can. Finally, share the site with your friends! Let them know how much you enjoy the articles!
I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.
You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.
SavingMentor says
Wow, that’s big news. Good luck with everything going forward. I’m sure this will be a great opportunity to reevaluate your life and decide what you want to do going forward.
I’m going through a very similar situation myself right now as I’m not currently working the 9-5 job. I think I’ve realized that I kind of like the 9-5 though as long as I am able to put work away in the evening. I may go back to it sometime next year.
Little House says
Congratulations on your choice! I’m sure you’re much more relieved and have more time to focus on things you enjoy; like blogging. 😉 I work as a teacher, so I don’t consider myself 9 – to – 5, but I love what I do. I quit the corporate world over 10 years ago and it felt great! It was so not for me. (Of course, it took me almost that long to decide to get my teaching credential – I’m a ding-dong.) Good luck on your new venture.
Jeff @ Sustainable Life Blog says
Congrats BB! Keep working hard and you’ll get there and be a digital nomad in no time. Maybe after that you could work somewhere warm!
krantcents says
Best of luck on whatever you decide to do.
Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter says
This is huge. Congrats and good luck with everything. I hope everything falls into place how you planned.
Melissa says
Congrats! I look forward to seeing how your blog grows. It must be a scary and exciting time for your family.
Steve says
Anybody who starts the buying process on a house and then quits their job a few weeks later is Impulsive Until Proven Otherwise.
Marie at FamilyMoneyValues says
That’s a big step. Good luck! Since you mentioned guest posts, I would love one from you!
Andy Hough says
Congrats! Since becoming self-employed I don’t think I’d ever want to go back to a job. I think self-employment will work out great for you.
Hank says
Congratulations and good luck with everything. That definitely takes some courage.
Hunter - Financially Consumed says
Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to help Shane.
Aaron Hung @aaronhung.com says
wow best of luck to you, maybe your blog can really start to take off now. Wish I have the same guts to quit hehe
YFS says
Congratulations on the new found freedom. Wow, I have so many questions.
I’m curious how did your significant other take the news? Were they aware of you quitting? Did you suddenly quit or give two weeks notice.
What went into your decision to quit and work part time opposed to finding another job in your related field? How long do you anticipate making similar income as your previous job provided?
layla sabourian says
Wow that was pretty brave of you to quit just like that. I am new to finance and have no clue where to start. So I did a search on Technorati to see what are the top blogs to read, so you mentioned we should suggest ideas for you, and here is my idea: how about a Finance for Dummies Blog version, learn one important thing/day/week. I just have no clue where to start.
Many thanks and I wish the best for you.
Suba says
Congrats! I knew this from the forum posts so I kinda knew the background story. Best of luck with the new ventures. If there is anything I could do to help, give me a shout. I will be happy to support in whatever way I can.
B.B. says
@steve Impulsive? I guess that depends on your definition of impulsive. I don’t see it that way. I’ll talk about it a bit more in a post next week, I think, but what I see as having happened was that I was letting the idea of having the bigger house cloud my vision for what I really needed to be happy, at work and at home.
@YFS I spoke with my Wife about the decision before I made it. If she hadn’t been on board and super supportive, I wouldn’t have done it. I quit, but gave them the option of having me leave then or of getting my two weeks notice. They chose to have me put in my two weeks notice. The part-time decision was made in part because I want to have the extra free time to try and make a go of the blogging and websites before I get another full time job. If the blogging picks up enough, then I won’t need another full time job. And that’s my goal. As to how long before I make similar income, I just don’t know. I’d like to think that I can manage to get close in 12 months, but would love to see it happen faster. And there are so many variables in that, that it’s hard to try and even guess.
@layla I’ll see what I can put together.
@every one else. Thanks so much for your kind words and support. I’m sure I’ll find a way to use my Yakezie team and everyone else to help us all.
20's Finances says
Wow, that is huge! Good luck developing the site(s). I am sure it will take off and this decision will be an even better one than you could have imagined.
Financial Success for Young Adults says
Glad you left that job where you were unappreciated. I’m looking forward to reading the new ebook and I hope you see much success in your online businesses!
Jessica, The Debt Princess says
Good luck to you!!
I’d love to have you post on my blog, anytime you want. I’m trying to Beat Broke myself.
Emily Guy Birken says
Congratulations and good luck! There’s nothing more freeing than leaving a job that’s a bad fit.
Ashley @ Money Talks says
Congrats. If you can make it work you will be much happier. I love when the worst case scenerio is that you have to get a job!
Good luck… let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
shanendoah@the dog ate my wallet says
Best of luck on your new adventure
Christa says
Congratulations! It’s such a great feeling to quit a hated job. I wish you the best in everything!
Eric says
Enjoy the new freedom! I hope everything works out and you do amazing things with your time now.
Will says
That’s a huge leap of faith! I was literally forced into entrepreneurship, but boy am I glad I put on my blinders and went at it whole-heartedly!
Enjoy your newfound freedom. You’ll come to find out that it’s priceless. As long as you can support yourself, you will probably be twice as happy as people making twice as much as you, but at a job they hate.
And best of luck with your business ventures! 🙂
Philip says
Wow. This is very similar to how I ended up leaving my job. Just a bad situation I had to walk away from. Smart idea to find something part-time just to supplement things. You might could even find something with benefits if you need them.
B.B. says
@everyone Thanks so much for your support. It’s the fact that I have readers like you that make this all worth while.
@Philip I don’t know about you, but I feel so much better now that I’m out of that situation. Luckily, we were able to add benefits (health, anyways) through my wife’s business.
David Narr says
Congrats on escaping the treadmill. For those of us who are still
working stiffs and contributing to a 401 k perhaps you can shed
some light on one of lifes little mysteries. Every other mutual fund
I have ever owned has at one time or another paid out dividend
distributions.This includes funds that I have held on my own, and
some that were held in Traditional and Roth IRA’S. Not so with any
funds I have had in two 401k plans over the years. Going all the way back in my annual statements I cannot find a single entry for
dividend distributions. Do you have any ideas why this might be so
and whether or not I would be better off making contributions to an
IRA that go above and beyond the company match??