Steps I’ve Taken To Prepare for the Big Quit

As much as I’ve been tempted on many a bad day to declare “Peace Out!” and walk out of the office forever, the truth is, the Big Quit has been several years in the making.  I’ve been considering quitting my job for a very long time, and it is only this year, after about five years of rumination, that I’m actually gaining the courage to do it.  This is what I’ve been doing in the meantime.

I built up a safety net I was comfortable with. 

This was a priority for me.  Before quitting my job, I wanted to make sure that I had a big enough safety net for a reasonable worst case scenario.  I’m very risk averse, and I want to make sure that I  wouldn’t quickly find myself under financial pressure to make rash decisions.

Conventional wisdom states that you should have the amount of 6 months worth of expenses saved up before quitting your job. This assumes you will find a job (or another source of income) within 6 months.  Since I do not intend to look for a job immediately but instead, will take a few months to retool and regroup with myself, it could take a while before I see my next dollar of income.  Thus, I accumulated in savings at least 2 years worth of expenses to live off of.

In terms of the monthly expense calculation,  I added up all my basic monthly expenses (which included rent, food, utilities, cable, phone, transportation costs, gym memberships, newspaper subscriptions), as well as the variable items (dining out, shopping, travel, medical, etc) over the past 12 months.  I took the highest amount I spent over the past 12 months, and added to that additional costs I expect to be paying while unemployed (mainly health insurance and online classes).  I took this amount and multiplied by 24.  This was my target safety net before I could even consider quitting my job.

Then, I reduced my monthly expenses and my material footprint.

After assuming that I would be spending on an on-going basis the maximum amount I’ve spent over the past year and saving up based on that assumption, I shaved my monthly expenses.  I cut my cable, I put my gym membership on hold, I cancelled some news subscriptions, and I reduced my dining to half and my shopping to nil.  By being even financially lighter, I have more runway to play with.

Moreover, inspired by the minimalist movement gaining ground everywhere, I’ve decluttered and gotten rid of things I don’t use or love. I’ve donated bags of clothes, shoes, purses and accessories. I’ve donated tons of books (novels that I can get on kindle) and kept only resource books that I prefer to write on.  I am giving away pots, pans, kitchen appliances, dishes, glasses that I rarely use.

Things literally and figuratively weigh us down.  Being mindful of what I purchase will also help me reduce my monthly expenses. Moreover, while I’m embarking on a career shift, I want to be flexible with my lifestyle.  I want to be quick and nimble enough to seize opportunities in case I need to downsize apartments or move cities.

I drafted a daily plan and a short-term plan.

Quitting a job is walking away from structure.  When I quit, I’m going to have a lot of time in my hands that I can use productively or flush down the toilet.  Thus, it is important for me to set up a process and daily schedule to make sure I don’t waste my days on the couch in my pjs.  On a daily basis, I plan to wake up at the same time as if I have a corporate job, meditate, work out for an hour, then devote a couple of hours for writing and another couple of hours for on-line classes.  Every day.

In terms of my short-term goals, my plan is to use this year to retool and learn new skills.  I am curious about front-end web development and venture design.   So, I am going to take a few months to follow this curiosity, and share what I learn on this blog.

But I’m also keeping an open mind.

I believe five year plans are a thing of the past. With the pace of change in virtually every industry, the jobs we may be hoping to have in 5 years may no longer exist.  Technology is allowing us to live anywhere. Opportunities we didn’t see may present themselves. So while I may have a plan, I am keeping an open mind about my plans for Year 2 and beyond.

And most importantly, I’m preparing to hustle.

Quitting my job is going to force me to work harder than I’ve ever had to.  With no steady paychecks and no paid vacation, my future is all on me now.  We can let this thought intimidate us or energize us.  I choose the latter.