Stuck in a mid-life crisis Leaving our jobs and living the life you want often seems like a pipe dream, but that is probably because we don’t have a plan or can’t see the path clear enough in our mind to make it happen. This article hopefully does all that for you and gives you the hope that making out of the rat race is genuinely possible.
If you’ve read some of my other articles or my bio page, you might already know that I’m no stranger to wanting to leave the nine-to-five grind. I’ve done it before and went back to do what I’ve always wanted to do as a dream job; build race cars. You know what I’ve found? For me, there is no dream job.
After the coolness factor wears off, all jobs are the same. The same things I hated in my old job were the same things I hated about my new job. That is when I realized I became unemployable. I have skills and can go back to a job that has a use for those skills; if that is what I want. I’ve always considered myself a good employee.
I show up on time, do my job, and collaborate and contribute to the overall well-being of the company I’m working for. I can easily put aside my dislike for work and do the work I’m paid to do. The problem I had and I think many others suffer from is they can’t see a clear enough path out of the job world for themselves and then it seems unreal. So, let’s dig in with the three simple steps to show you a clear path to hopefully lead your way out of your job and kill that mid-life crisis.
Mid-Life Crisis Tips #1; Get a perfect plan of how your finances look.
The first and probably the most important thing you will have to do is get an excellent idea of where you are financially. Most people can rattle off the debt they have, some savings, and their source of income (usually just one). But, when you are trying to make a massive financial decision to leave your job, it’s an excellent idea to have a clear vision of your economic status.
Remember when I said that most people don’t think it’s achievable because they can’t see it, well this will help you understand it. This financial snapshot needs to be something that is written down. You need to write down all your debt, and then write down all of your income.
Then fill in where your money goes. Write down all your monthly payments. It should start to look real now. Start thinking of what you will need to make to live outside of your daily job. If you pay off your debt and you only have your monthly recurring payments, how much could you survive on every month? If you saved a big enough nest egg, how long could you live without having a job?
When you think about it, take into mind that you will need to pay for your health insurance and any other perks your job used to pay for. Also keep in mind that as you start earning money outside of your job on your own, you will need to pay for extra in taxes. When you have a job, your employer pays a portion of your employment taxes. When you are working for yourself, you will be responsible for your previous employer’s share.
Taxes will add to the amount you will have to make every month. The total bottom line will give you a clear indication if you even make enough money. Will you need to cut expenses? Will you need to make more money? Write everything down so you can see it in black and white. Writing it down is very important in making it clear. Some people don’t have even a good idea of what it takes them to live every month. This number needs to be firm in your mind. The next thing you will need to do is to create a plan to pay off your debt and build a nest egg for yourself.
Mid-Life Crisis Tips #2; Pay off your debt and build a financial nest egg of reserve cash.
For those who do not like working with a budget, this section may be the hardest. If you have any debt, I can’t recommend putting yourself on a budget high enough. A budget is just a regular spending plan so you can see what you need to pay and how long it will take you to pay it off. The time frame to pay off will give you an estimate as to how long you may be stuck in a nine-to-five unless you get a significant side business going before then.
Besides paying off debt, the next important side factor you will need to have in place is a nest egg cushion to absorb any changes in your income or outflow for the month. The life of an entrepreneur can be rough. A reasonable budget and a significant nest egg will be essential to make sure your trip out of the job market lasts. When you first quit your job, and you are adjusting to living the life of an entrepreneur, the transition may be a little stressful.
Some people say they work better under the stress of having to figure out how they are going to pay the bills. They say it motivates them to work harder. Maybe, but I think stress can lead to making desperate moves and can hurt you more than it will help you. This is a good point in the article to mention the mindset shift to being an entrepreneur. You will need to start thinking like a business.
I think this needs to happen even before you quit your job. Employees are as much of their own business as the businesses they work for. The decisions you make about your finances shouldn’t be based on emotion like they might have been before. They need to be more focused on facts and numbers. Check out some of my other articles. I get into that mentality quite a bit.
Mid-Life Crisis Tips #3; Create a way to make money for yourself without a job.
Now the third part of the mid-life crisis tips is starting multiple income streams to support your chosen lifestyle. This idea goes into the ‘thinking like a business’ mindset. Businesses don’t typically have only one customer to get their income, and neither should you. I suggest multiple income streams. If one market starts to slope, at least, hopefully, the others can maintain the usual output so your monthly finances won’t suffer too much.
There are a ton of ways you can make money for yourself. What I suggest is to get a picture of what your life will be and start designing income streams around your business.
Til next time,
Kevin