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errantemberSo here I am, a year and one Burning Man after quitting my corporate job. In that time, I've traveled to four Burn events and Hawaii, gotten my first free and first for-pay App into the App Store, managed my money well, and I have reached my goal of coming back from Burning Man with 6 months of money in the bank.
My intention is to remain self-employed, travel more, continue reducing my expenses, and earn enough money from my own efforts to make real progress toward financial independence. One thing I learned from my mother is that it's a really good idea to have six months of money in the bank as an emergency fund. That means that I'm basically living on my emergency fund right now. I have a bunch of stuff to sell that will net me another month or two, and I also have some extraneous retirement income that I never integrated into my main 401k account that I could tap in an emergency.
The big question now is, do I continue working on only my own businesses and damn the torpedoes, or do I set a cut-off date for months-in-the-bank when I start looking for part-time work to keep me afloat longer? Having a Plan B seems like the Responsible Choice, but, as Seth Godin has observed, having Plan B often means taking Plan B instead of accomplishing one's primary goal. The worst-case scenario would be that I no longer have enough money to pay my mortgage, and am forced to sell my house. While I would like to keep my house, I'm already moving in a more nomadic direction, and I'm completely capable of being happy without it. The equity I would cash out would be more than enough to buy a small RV and still have enough money for another year without having to work.
I'm suffering from a small demoralization at the moment, because while I do finally have my first for-pay App in the App Store, I've made effectively nothing from it so far due to a combination of first-time-quality and non-existent marketing. Moving forward I'm going to get interested parties involved in the development process early, so I have a guaranteed number of minimum purchases when I publish. I will also be co-developing games with friends that already have established networks of followers for the same reason.
The main thing I'm getting out of Thinking Out Loud on the Internet is that what I really need to decide is at what point I need to put my house on the market. I need to still have enough money to do whatever repairs would be necessary to get the maximum amount, plus enough to pay the mortgage until the sale. It looks like it's time to start researching how long it takes to houses to sell in my neighborhood, and keep an eye on that number. It would also be good to start any longer-term repairs and upgrades. It's important to realize, though, that with my roommates covering most of the cost of my house at the moment, even moving into an RV will mean an *increase* in my monthly living expenses, not a decrease. However, it would greatly improve my ability to focus as I would no longer have the substantial work and stress of being a landlord hanging over my head. Another option instead of selling the house would be renting it out, which would allow me to continue to build equity and have a back-up place to stay in an emergency. I might even make it part of the rental plan that the RV remains at the house, while the new residents live inside.
My intention is to remain self-employed, travel more, continue reducing my expenses, and earn enough money from my own efforts to make real progress toward financial independence. One thing I learned from my mother is that it's a really good idea to have six months of money in the bank as an emergency fund. That means that I'm basically living on my emergency fund right now. I have a bunch of stuff to sell that will net me another month or two, and I also have some extraneous retirement income that I never integrated into my main 401k account that I could tap in an emergency.
The big question now is, do I continue working on only my own businesses and damn the torpedoes, or do I set a cut-off date for months-in-the-bank when I start looking for part-time work to keep me afloat longer? Having a Plan B seems like the Responsible Choice, but, as Seth Godin has observed, having Plan B often means taking Plan B instead of accomplishing one's primary goal. The worst-case scenario would be that I no longer have enough money to pay my mortgage, and am forced to sell my house. While I would like to keep my house, I'm already moving in a more nomadic direction, and I'm completely capable of being happy without it. The equity I would cash out would be more than enough to buy a small RV and still have enough money for another year without having to work.
I'm suffering from a small demoralization at the moment, because while I do finally have my first for-pay App in the App Store, I've made effectively nothing from it so far due to a combination of first-time-quality and non-existent marketing. Moving forward I'm going to get interested parties involved in the development process early, so I have a guaranteed number of minimum purchases when I publish. I will also be co-developing games with friends that already have established networks of followers for the same reason.
The main thing I'm getting out of Thinking Out Loud on the Internet is that what I really need to decide is at what point I need to put my house on the market. I need to still have enough money to do whatever repairs would be necessary to get the maximum amount, plus enough to pay the mortgage until the sale. It looks like it's time to start researching how long it takes to houses to sell in my neighborhood, and keep an eye on that number. It would also be good to start any longer-term repairs and upgrades. It's important to realize, though, that with my roommates covering most of the cost of my house at the moment, even moving into an RV will mean an *increase* in my monthly living expenses, not a decrease. However, it would greatly improve my ability to focus as I would no longer have the substantial work and stress of being a landlord hanging over my head. Another option instead of selling the house would be renting it out, which would allow me to continue to build equity and have a back-up place to stay in an emergency. I might even make it part of the rental plan that the RV remains at the house, while the new residents live inside.
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-13 07:39 pm (UTC)With work and money I don't see it as an either or. I keep a job at a chiropractors office while I'm building my own practice on the side which takes time. There's no reason to completely oust one over the other. Just depends on what sort of additional work you can pick up that would help create more stability. I like adding jobs that add to whatever it is that I'm already doing. In your case I'm not sure what that is but it's whatever work would dovetail into whatever you're already doing and give you an edge.
I'm all for someone chasing dreams, just seems that it's easier to chase dreams incrementally while knowing you can still pay a mortgage on a house that's been purchased.
Again, I just don't think it has to be all or nothing. I like the diversity of multiple income sources and ways of living. Ymmv.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-13 09:19 pm (UTC)My main issue is that I don't currently have an easy way to simply Turn On The Money Spigot whenever I get low on cash. The best I could do at the moment is take a 6-12 month contract and then live off that money in between, but that would put me right back being stuck in one location and under someone else's thumb for long periods of time.
I did think of you recently because, after seeing the massive improvement in my own life after switching to a more Paleo diet, and knowing that I like to cook, I had considered the idea of doing on-site cooking like you do as a way to pull in a little extra cash. I realize there are a million reasons why it's probably a lot harder than it looks, and probably also pays less.