By and by, the personal finance community is a wonderful place filled with supportive people who offer sage advice. I spent nearly 3 hours on the phone with a friend from the community yesterday commiserating and encouraging each other.
And then there’s this guy:
Thanks, Good Luck (email goodluck@gmail.com) for leaving me a supportive comment.
I like to think GL is genuinely trying to help me. Maybe he (I assuming) thinks I don’t know that I’m running out of money and thinks that offering this advice will help me wake up to my reality.
Well, guess what GL.
I AM WELL AWARE THE STATE OF MY FINANCES.
Sometimes I wake up at 330 in the morning and stress about the state of my finances. I have less than $3,500 in cash to my name.
That’s it. There is no more. Sure, I have tons of money in my 401k and some in my Roth IRA but that money is for the future. I could probably take some out of my Roth, but I don’t want to.
I am keenly aware of my dwindling reserves of cash.
It sucks. I hate it. I want to earn money. I am actively working on making money.
So far, not much has gone my way in terms of the plans I had made once I quit working.
Swing and A Miss
First, I was expecting roughly $7k coming my way from my pension cash out, which I verified I would be allowed to do more than once before I left. It turns out they were wrong and I can’t cash out my pension right now. I have to wait for them to offer that option to me. That is money I had planned on investing in myself and the business. That meant I invested less in myself and spent life money on business stuff.
Second, my online business adventures have not turned out the way I planned. I finally made my first digital download sale this week on Etsy. I have never been happier to earn $5! However, earning $5 doesn’t mean much when you have to spend $500. I have more designs to put up on Etsy so hopefully this trend will continue and I’ll start to earn more from Etsy. It turns out not many people want to buy stained glass patterns on Etsy, and even more so is this true in the summer.
I tried to shift gears a bit in my offerings and move away from the stained glass patterns, but that doesn’t seem like it’s working too well either.
Third, I had a gig for freelancing writing but it turns out that was basically the worst way to go about freelance writing. It left a very bad taste in my mouth regarding freelancing writing, but I’ve done one other article and didn’t hate it. My friend encouraged me to get back into the game and offered to make some introductions to people that are looking for writers, so I will give that another shot.
Fourth, my rental endeavor has been a miserable failure. I can (and will) write a whole post on what I’ve done wrong with regards to real estate, but right now what’s important is that I should be getting more than enough money to cover my property manager fees, the mortgage, and still have some left over. Instead, I have tenants who are apparently the worst drug dealers ever. I say that as my neighbors have complained about them, and they are late on the rent.
I am owed more than $2,000 in total by both my tenants.
The one tenant is behind more, about $1,600, than the other one. He promises he’s just going through a hard time, that he had a lot of expenses with his baby being born a few weeks ago.
None of that will pay my mortgage or what the property manager is owed. Fortunately, my property management company isn’t the best so he isn’t on a lease which means it will be easier for the new owner to kick him out. I would do it, but I’m banking on the sale going through literally at any time.
This just means I will have to drive 6 hours to file paperwork in court to get him to pay me the money he owes me. I doubt he’ll ever be able to come up with the money, but that is not my problem.
I started out my entrepreneurial journey with a lot of plans to make money, and they’ve not panned out in the way I expected.
So, I’m pivoting.
Pivot, Pivot, PIVOT!
Like any good quarterback who can see they’re going to get crushed on the next play, I’m calling an audible.
I started working part time for a local stained glass artist and I love it! She and I get along like gangbusters and I’m learning a lot. The pay isn’t a whole lot, but the knowledge I’m soaking up will pay off in the long run through better stained glass skills. I’ve created a few pieces of my own this summer with plans to sell more. I specialize in nerdy stained glass, so I’m making things like Harry Potter flying keys and Deadpool out of glass.
I’ve also been applying to a few part-time jobs to help cover the gap between my expenses and income. I’m several stages in on the interview process for a big airline to be a part-time customer service rep. They pay between $14–17 an hour, so that’s nothing to sneeze at. Plus.…. flight benefits will allow me to travel still without spending a ton of money.
I had lunch with a fellow FIRE community member last month. We were chatting and she offered to introduce me to a guy who runs a company helping high schoolers with their college plans and how they’re going to pay for them. However, they don’t have anyone at the company to talk to them about their finances after they get into college, so I’m hoping that’s where I come in. I have a meeting with him next week to discuss details so that would be amazing if that works out. I mean, when. When it works out.
Something interesting I’ve discovered is I’m not really happy doing all these entrepreneurial things. It’s amazing to get up and start work without having to go outside, but I miss the interaction I have with co-workers. I think I still want to work for someone and do work for them to feel fulfilled and get that immediate feedback of knowing I helped someone. My problem with my last corporate job was that is was taking over my life and I didn’t have enough time away, so I was getting burnt out.
Working for a company or for someone on a more flexible hours basis would be my ideal, I think.
So, to Mr. Good Luck, I say this:
Thanks for the advice, and I’m working on it. I don’t intend to sit around and mooch off my boyfriend.
Love,
Gwen
Thanks for reading! What do you think of my financial state? Do you have any actual advice for me?
I love your positive perspective and take on your situation. Things haven’t worked out like you would’ve hoped and working online isn’t for everyone. You are a social person and while working from home is probably great, it’s still tough because you love being around people 🙂
Thanks for showing us the real side of entrepreneurship!
Thank you for the comment, Erik! Working from home is tougher than I thought for sure, but I’m hopeful these part time gigs will help balance that out. You’re more than welcome for the inside look at entrepreneurship!
Thank you for your openness, success is rarely a straight line. It’s messy most of the time.
https://goo.gl/images/GsePcg
Keep on fighting the good fight though! Refusing to touch your long term savings shows that you are on the right path. I wonder how many other people in your shoes would’ve cashed in the 401k by now?
Working for a company or for someone on a more flexible hours basis would be my ideal, I think.
That’s the path I chose, I went part-time at my job. It was also sucking the life out of me but I’ve been doing it only 20 hours a week for almost a year now and my quality of life has improved a lot. I still get the interaction with coworkers, but just less of it. And more free time for my own passions and side hustles.
As for your stained glass sales on Etsy, keep on trying! I sell graphic designs on sites like Redbubble and Zazzle and even though I’m not getting rich either, I’m making a couple hundred dollars a month. You have to keep plugging away, keep doing designs, and keep uploading them. I find it very enjoyable and I’m hoping to expand it and get to $1,000 a month.
I really wish I could’ve gone part-time or 75% at my last job, but the nature of the position was directly opposed to that, sadly. That’s the problem with so many of these high paid tech jobs. You need to be there for so much of the day it’s hard to find time to not be there.
I need to get back on the horse of posting listings. I’ll admit I’ve fallen off doing that lately and I have a few designs to post that should do well. Thanks for the encouragement!
Hey Gwen!
Sincerely, good luck! You’re resilient and I’m rooting for you. You have so many options available, and something is going to work out.
Thanks for sharing your journey.
Thank you, Eric! I appreciate the support!
Gwen,
Thanks for sharing such an honest post. It is so easy for those of us in the blogging community to make everything seem great all the time, but the reality of course is that real life is not always exactly how we might want it. You’re pursuing your dreams and passions and it sounds like you’re finding other things you like or don’t like along the way. Keep at it. You’ll get there.
I really hate it when I am friends with someone who blogs and I know they don’t post everything. Life isn’t all sunshine and roses and I feel it’s my duty to share the highs and lows. That way I get encouragement when I need it, and have friends to celebrate when things go well! Thank you for the support!
Hey Gwen,
It is refreshing (if not “good”) to see that things don’t always work out how we want, since, as Freedom 40 said above, things online only show us the rosiest picture. I can imagine that some part time work will be good for you in terms of interaction and a bit more income.
Question, though, what about your IT experience? Is that something you want to (or even can?) do on a part time basis? That seems like it might be lucrative. I do have to admit, the travel benefits with an airline would be pretty sweet, too!!
The kind of IT experience I have is tough to do part-time or remotely, so it’s not really an option. It would be amazing if I could find that kind of work, but it really doesn’t exist. It’s pretty much go hard all the time or nothing. Instead, I’m looking at different ways to help people, like with the potential position for helping college kids get their finances in order before they start making tons of bad decisions 🙂
I know part time is not an option, but is job sharing?
Katie recently posted…How to have more sex in your marriage.
What do you mean by job sharing?
Not enough people share this messier, more chaotic side of being an entrepreneur — thank you for your continued openness because it can put a voice to what so many people are feeling. Keep at it!
I’d say it’s my pleasure, but you know.… it’s really not hahhaa! I will definitely keep at it though!
Thanks for sharing your story. Hang in there. You can do it. The airline travel benefits would be awesome.
Thanks SFL I will! I would love those flight bennies 🙂
Gwen, your honesty and vulnerability are through the roof on this post and I love it! Most people don’t have the guts to take the risks you have taken at your age. You will have some battle scars for sure, but they will only make you tougher down the line. Not that I’m a fountain of life wisdom personally, but I’ve heard so many other stories from others that I believe this to be true.
I struggle quite often with the realities of not working a job. Staying inside is nice at times, but not ALL THE TIME. Just yesterday, I spent the ENTIRE day in the apartment alone. When I spend too much time alone, I get into my head. And that never turns out well for myself! Fortunately I had an FI meetup to go to in the evening and it totally turned my day around. Speaking of which, Erin was at the meetup lastnight and I heard you are picking her up at the airport for Camp FI today. I told her to say hi to you for me 🙂
She passed along the message! I’m glad you got out and got some human interaction that day! It’s a struggle to bandage up the gaping wounds right now, but those scars will be sweet 🙂 Thanks for all the support!
Hang in there, Gwen — appreciate you sharing the side of life where it’s not working out as initially planned. That’s good that you’re “pivoting” (love that Friends episode!) and not just resting on your laurels and hoping for the best.
Regardless of your current finances, with your determination and flexibility, there’s no doubt in mind that you’ll end up figuring this out.
– Jim
Thanks Jim! It’s not fun but definitely necessary. Things WILL go my way eventually!
I started doing Etsy digital downloads and different things but I discovered I don’t think I want to do that kind of stuff full time so makes me happier for my full-time job always good to find out, I hope you find something more flexible that you enjoy and good luck in your new path
It’s definitely a good idea to figure out what you do and don’t enjoy doing. I’m not the biggest fan of things that require everything to be just so. I like doing things that have a bit of flexibility. Good on you for trying it out anyways!
Hi Gwen, I’m a first time poster here, but I’ve been reading your blog for a while. I just wanted to thank you for how honest you are in your posts. I appreciate the fact that you tell us both side of what is happening, both the good and the bad! It’s way more relatable and the realness is what makes me keep coming back to read your posts.
I treasure all the comments I get, so thanks for busting out of your lurker status! You are so very welcome. Thank you for reading!
I went through two bouts of unemployment, and just when I was about to give up on my career path and also walk away from my house (80% underwater on mortgage), an excellent opportunity came up that totally changed the trajectory of my life!
As they say, “the darkest hour is just before the dawn.” Just when things look the gloomiest, a new opportunity will arise! This I know to be true, because it’s happened several times over in my life.
Pulling for you!!
Thank you Josh! Life isn’t always fun but it’s worth living, that’s for sure.
I love the honesty of this post. I didn’t realize you were still waiting on that pension payout — that money would be HUGE right now. It sounds like you have no real interest to go back to tech, but it doesn’t sound like you have to either. Fingers crossed that home closes soon!!
And Mr. Good Luck, STFU.
God I would love that money. I would be so less stressed right now! I will go back into tech if they let me, but the main problem is all the jobs I’d want to do aren’t in Minneapolis sooooo.…. yeah. The Dingle House should close this week!
I’m glad you were able to sell your house! It takes guts to quit your job, so kudos for trying to follow your passions. Very much not for everyone, myself included. But you can’t know unless you try. 🙂
It’s technically still mine, but hopefully it won’t be shortly! You grow through doing and I’ve been growing a lot these days 🙁
Thank you for sharing your experiences, endeavours, and ultimately the lessons you are learning along the way. It has been really interesting to follow your blog from the beginning and see the progression. I don’t really think you are making mistakes, just making learning experiences. As someone following your journey and has been inspired by your intrepidness to buy a house, rent it out, quit your job, it’s been like an adventure on the sidelines. Thank you for sharing everything you’re learning in the process!
Someone at Camp FI this weekend referred to this as my detour on my FIRE journey. I couldn’t agree more. You’re very welcome! I hope you’re learning a lot from my (mis)adventures!
i would look for full time jobs that paid very well. i’ve had about 5 employers in my field over the years and they were varying degrees of soul-sucking. on another note, when i was around your age i quit a chemist job with very little money in the bank and spent a couple of years as a bartender. met a lot of people, made enough to live decently, and only worked about 25 hours a week.
Problem is those jobs aren’t around Minneapolis where we need to be. I’m on the lookout, just in case. Thanks for the comment!
Gwen, your honesty is refreshing! Entrepreneurship is not always rainbows and butterflies, I unfortunately know that very well. But everything is a learning opportunity. You’re resourceful and I know you will figure everything out, it might just take some pivots along the way. Keep your head up!
Your entrepreneurship is full of butterflies.… but then again you did a lot of work to get those plants in the ground and growing.… I sense a blog post! Thanks for letting me call and vent every once in a while!
Awesome! I saw the numbers and was starting to worry for you. And sorry about the rental woes. As a fellow millennial, I really want to see you succeed in this, especially since the opposition to FIRE is so fierce the way it is.
Work part time and not give a f‑ck? That’s how it’s done! Especially since it sounds like you really enjoy this job. I actually suspect people would be happier doing some of these lower-paying but cool jobs, but they are too busy playing the rate race to give these jobs a chance.
Also, I personally am more likely to actually buy stained glass than a stained-glass pattern. I mean, how many people do you know who make their own stained glass? Also, follow the nerd trends like upcoming movies and make some glass in anticipation of those. As long as no copyrights are involved, you might make some pretty good sales 🙂
Most people are more likely to buy stained glass. I have no problem making things, but it takes my time to do so over and over again, whereas a pattern I can make once and it’s done. I did just make a Deadpool face so we’ll see how well that sells. #nerdstatus
Oh, also, consider making your blog logo out of stained glass. MadFIentist has t‑shirts and I bought one of those. It would be your own sort of FIRE emblem. I would probably buy it 🙂
Yikes, that’s a lot of colors and weird shapes. Maybe later 🙂
I really appreciate your honesty on your FIRE journey. There’s too many “here’s how I did it because nothing went wrong, and so can you” people out here. Keep working on it Gwen!
Thank you! I will try my best <3
Gwen, thanks for your openness. I admire your energy and your willingness to pursue multiple streams of income. I enjoyed your 6‑week Mastermind and look forward to meeting you in person next month. I’ve been on Team Part-Time for years and can speak to its benefits.
You might really enjoy that scenario. Best wishes as you map out more opportunities!
I can’t wait to talk about all this in person with you Carol! Thanks for the support — you rocked the Mastermind!
TRUTH
I gotchu fam!
Thank you for being real with us. I gave up my extra hours at work because it was sucking the life out of me. I’m still doing my side hustle and today, someone called in at my day job looking for additional help. I may or may not take him up on that. Someone else talked to him and recommended me. I am learning it’s important to have multiple streams of incoming coming in. In my previous life, I worked two journalism jobs, which my major is in. I was broke and working ALL the time. Now I’m in a much more ebb and flow work environment where everyone cares about each other. I appreciate you showing us the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
You are incredibly welcome, Heidi! It’s all about balance, right? Too much work, too much money, too little time, too little money… it’s a juggling act for sure!
I thought that one comment from “Good Luck” was in incredibly poor taste. Kudos to you for not letting it bring you down. It sounds like you have a good plan, we’re all rooting for ya.
It’s really cool that you were able to find some paid work in your passion — for me, I think that would be ideal — work half days doing something I like. I could probably even do that now, if I were to stay where I’m currently living, but it hasn’t been easy finding job ads for interesting things that don’t require a full time commitment.
Such poor taste. Their mother should be ashamed to have raised such a poor example of a human.
Finding part-time work is easy.…… but finding high paid meaningful work is incredibly difficult.
What part time work have you been able to easily find? I don’t necessarily care if it’s “high paid” or “meaningful”, I just want to be in an air conditioned environment with some guaranteed wages (not something where I work “on commission”), access to a 401k, and hopefully get some access to decent health insurance.
I’ve almost given up on finding “part time” work. Even a 30 hour work week would be better than 40, but I think I need to just work somewhere full time and prove that I can actually get the work done in less time than they think is needed.
Flexibility is key! And it sounds like you WANT to go back to work, so even better. You have a great CV, so I’m sure you will get a fine job.
As to the rental, well, lesson learned, and I hope the sale goes well. I got out of the property business myself because I just hated it and the stock market simply asks less of me and my time. I would caution everyone in the FI world to not pay too much attention to the much-vaunted 1% rule. If you end up with a crappy place with crappy tenants, you won’t cash flow even if it looks like it will work out on paper. Just to give a different perspective, my rental ALWAYS cash-flowed positive even though it did not meet the 1% rule. Why? Quality tenants, quality neighborhood, low turnover, minimal need for repairs. If you have a quality place that’s been well-maintained and great tenants who are motivated to stay, the 1% rule may not apply, and indeed you may make more money than buying a property in a worse neighborhood that seems to meet the 1% rule. Additionally, such properties are much easier to sell- when I got out of the business, I had an offer in a day that closed in three weeks.
The 1% isn’t set in stone. It’s just a guideline, and following it isn’t always the best move.
Agreed. The Dingle House gets almost 2% on paper, but in reality I’m burning money each month thanks to my tenants not paying their rent and turnover. If I buy more property in the future, it will be class A rental property, not class C.
Hey Gwen — you’ve got a tonne of people cheering you on. The perks of being Known on the internet!
Thought I’d raise a question about working for someone else. I saw in your reddit AMA that you’re an ESFP & 1w2. Have you revisited the literature on your personality to evaluate the best type of work to be doing? Eg. You have an amazing talent for mirroring a mood of the people around you — but when you’re solo, it’s a talent that’s under-utilised, and I’m not sure you’d be feeling super great every day?
To illustrate, I’m a “helper” (2w1), ie. I get joy out of helping others succeed. Kinda like the Watson to someone else’s Holmes — I’m their support, and I get things done. I’m also an INTJ, which means I’m really good at taking complex concepts and turning them into simple explanations.
To me, that means that while I can be (and am) entrepreneurial, it also means that I’m not the one at the *front* of the thing; I’m the person behind the person, making the trains run on time, and solving the complex problems so that the thing can forge ahead.
Knowing that, it helps me craft the life that I want to lead that makes me happy — so I’m the operations guy who charms people and gets things done. My pursuit of FI is my primary goal, but it doesn’t hurt that I enjoy what I’m doing based on my personality.
Just wanted to revisit that idea of personality and work, and hope that it helps inspire some ideas for the months ahead. (see what I mean about being a helper? ARGH I can’t help myself)
I’m ok being alone, but I do love to get some personal interaction with people every day. I talk to people throughout the day so I’m never entirely alone but I do want to do things with people, you’re right. That’s why I’ve taken on some part time work and am looking for more things to do that I can help people and get paid for it. J and I have found our division of labor for the podcast has changed based off what we are good at. ie, I do Facebook Live chats and J does the behind the scenes things to keep the podcast running and excelling.
As bummed as I am that this isn’t working out the way you had hoped, I’m really excited to see where life takes you next. I’ve been loving the podcast. It’d be interesting to do an entire episode having J interview you about your experience with all of this.
Interesting for you, maybe! Torture for me haha. It’s come up in a few episodes lately so stayed tuned for more information as we release them. Thank you for listening and reading!
Yeah my cash situation is about the same 🙁 Husband just became self employed and while has been earning from day one, after biz expenses hasn’t yet been able to actually contribute to the household expenses yet and we expected that by now he would! These transitional times are tough. Huge congrats on the digital download tho!!! As you say hardly passive or profitable yet haha but I hope you feel great about that. Did you hear back from that airline/airport job??
Solidarity in stress, my friend! I have yet to hear back from the airline but I did do a remote video interview last week so I’m not worried I haven’t heard from them yet.
What wonderful life lessons you will learn, and have already learned, from this experience! Thank you for sharing it with us.
You are more than welcome! I wish I didn’t have to learn all this the hard way, but I will continue to share everything so I hope others can learn from my experiences 🙂
First time poster here, but I’ve read your blog on and off for quite a while — your writing style, positive outlook and personal ethos as you navigate your path to FIRE is refreshing. Don’t be discouraged, myself and the rest of your readers are confident for you on your behalf, something good is just around the corner!
Thank you Frosty FIRE! Something has got to give!
Gwen,
I and many others am certainly rooting you on and know that something will work out for you. Thanks for sharing the messiness of a transition like this. Instead of offering suggestions for what you could try I just want you to know that if you need anything just reach out. You have a community of followers that will more than help for when you need a boost or hand to make that next effort work if you need it. Instead of saying ‘good luck’ I’ll say you got this!
Thank you Kevin! I appreciate the support!
how refreshing it is to read about someone experiencing real life and not just a rose-tinted glasses view of the world.
I suspect that since I read mostly of how people make lots of money (like bitcoin) that you don’t shout much about your failures (like bitcoin).
So, reading this was good as it ultimately shows that you can learn, grow and become stronger and hopefully it will help those of us who read it too. 🙂
and the stained glass work sounds like you a being paid to learn and have fun being creative — that’s made me feel a little less sorry for you.
Thanks
Don’t feel sorry for me! That’s the last thing I want. Sometimes shit goes sideways and I wanted to document what that looks like for everyone else. Part of my studio monkey duties involve caring for an incredibly cute pug puppy so my days aren’t all gloom and doom 🙂
If it were easy, anyone could do it. Don’t give up and learn from the mistakes, you will persevere
Damn straight. Thanks Mr Shirts!
Best of luck Gwen! It’s an eye opening read. Pivoting is such a great mindset/ability, and it sounds like you got things still under control. I echo the sentiment that sometimes things get really bad for a bit before it gets better, stay resilient and resourceful!
Thanks Jeannie! Something is bound to work! I just have to figure out what it is!
Thank you for being so honest! I think a lot of people might just go quiet or pretend like everything is amazing. Instead, you’re helping all of the like-minded people out there think about contingency plans and contingencies for the contingencies. That’s valuable and needed. I have no doubt that you’ll be in a better financial situation again soon.
Thanks again for being real and letting us go for the ride with you.
I try to be open and honest. I don’t want someone to follow in my footsteps and expect a different outcome. It’s my job to prepare people for what will more than likely happen! Thanks for reading 🙂
Gwen — first time poster, regular reader. Read the comments — this is truly one of your best posts. The tone and spirit of this post are refreshing. Keep with it. We are rooting for you — PIVOT TO SUCCESS!
Thank you Joe! I appreciate the kind words. It makes me feel a lot better to know I have people rooting for me!
Gwen,
I’ve been a long time reader of this blog, and first time commenting now. Your blog is super honest, personal and thought provoking, and your bright personality really shines through! You inspire me with your courage and flexibility, and the openess which you approach life and adapt to the challenges you face on the way. I think with your personality, you will always survive and succeed in life and I’m rooting for you to try out new things and not lose confidence in yourself! Also I’m sure that even though things don’t look the brightest right now, one day in future when u look back, u’ll be just smiling at the memories of today’s challenges as they were just a learning experience on your way to even bigger successes!
Thank you Yiming! I hope that day comes sooner rather than later 😉
Very interesting story and very positive way to take on your problems. It’s very important to be honest with everything in that kind of blog. Great post!
I hope you’ll have more success in your pivoting 😉 Good luck with everything.
I only had to write it 3 times to get rid of the whiny/negativity lol. I’m glad my editing paid off! Thanks for the support!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s tough when things don’t work out and it seems like you are taking good steps to resolve it.
In addition to experimenting and developing new skills, have you thought about getting involved in some of the start-up competition? Lots of good networking opportunity to learn and I know the U of Minnesota sponsors several.
I wish you the best of luck!
Its all about perspective and “grit” Gwen, and you clearly have it. Keep working hard and being open for opportunities. As J and Cheryl Sandberg say, take the Jungle Gym approach to your “career”.
Hi Gwen –
I’m a new reader to your blog and have really enjoyed your writing so far! As a young(ish) Millennial entrepreneur myself your writing style really resonates with me. You are so right that some days running your own show can really be a slog. I really appreciate that you talk about that though, and don’t turn things into a fairytale story. Oh and comments like the one that troll guy wrote are just made by people who love trying to point out why something is not possible, instead of trying something challenging on their own. I’m excited to check back in on your blog and see what cool job ideas/money making solutions you come up with in the future. Thanks for the motivating post!
Hey Gwen,
I just stumbled upon your site and am not as familiar with your current state of affairs as some others sound. After reading through your post, however, I do notice some tough situations you’re facing and think that you’re handling the best you can. Not cashing in your 401k is a big sacrifice I think few others would have made and I commend you for your forward-thinking. Leaving that pot of money away from your current needs is best if you can make your day-to-day managable.
Seeking side employment is definitely encouraged for the time being. At least until you can find more stable footing. As far as tech employment, I’m sure there are options out there. Plenty of companies offer remote work opportunities, which are inherently flexible with scheduling. Keep looking and working at your craft. And if you can’t catch a break, there are surely some 9‑to‑5’s available in this job market. Luckily, you aren’t stuck in an economy with double digit unemployment.
Best of luck!
Riley
The best years of my life always followed the ones where things went unexpectedly and I had to correct the ship. I’d bet dollars your next year is gonna be supafly! I’d say good luck but it doesn’t sound like you need it! 🙂
Hey Gwen!
It’s so refreshing read about this side of it. But your positive outlook on it is killer. I’ve been listening to the podcast and following both you and J’s blogs. I have no doubt that you’ll preserve through this. I’m about to be starting my own journey so I look forward to following along!
Hi Gwen-
I don’t think I’ve ever commented here before but just wanted to give another “hang in there” as many others have. I went through a similar situation when we started and I know the stress levels can be unreal. Keep your head up 🙂
And, if you ever are interested in freelance writing again (hopefully you’re not too jaded from your recent experience!) feel free to shoot me an email. I know you’re an amazing writer and we can always use extra help.
You’re gonna pull through this!! 🙂
Hi Gwen.
Press on. I am sure that things will turn around for you. Treat it as a learning experience. All of us go through the hardship before enjoying the reaped rewards. It’s the matter of perservance and belief which you need to maintain throughout this entire period. You can do it!
WTK
Keep fighting Gwen and never EVER give up. Being resilient and continuing to push forward is a must if you want to make it as an entrepreneur. You have grit. Keep your chin up and hustle on. You’ll eventually catch a break.
Oh and let the haters hate.
Gwen,
Long time lurker, first time commenter. I think most of your “happy, supportive” followers, who cheer every move you make no matter how ill conceived, are doing you a great disservice.
You’re into FI — great! Me too. But you bailed out of a job to “retire” with almost no savings. You’re making a series of unforced errors — most of your real estate/rental mistakes were classic rookie mistakes. Buying an old house in a not so great area of town, because it was cheapest (guess who rents rooms in those kind of places), choosing the cheapest contractor, then thinking you can be an effective landlord from 5 hours away (absentee landlording.)
You’re making a similar mistake with the health sharing ministry. I’ve seen doctors comment here what a mistake that is, and you respond with “great feedback!” You’re again compounding previous mistakes (quiting your job without a means of support) and making further mistakes because you have no money.
Here’s your pivot — get a job again while the gap in your resume is manageable and save diligently for the next 15 years until you actually have a way to FIRE. This isn’t someone being rude — it’s someone being real.
Instead of being a Monday morning Quarterback, perhaps you can provide some of your wonderful insight besides “get a job”
‑signed, not afraid to put my name to my comment.
Josh,
That is my advice — Gwen needs a job. You know the FI in FIRE? That means Financially independent. She’s trying to skip that step and go straight to the RE part. That isn’t how it works.
There is more to life than working constantly — why I’m attracted to the FIRE idea. There’s also more to life than pinching every penny and being constantly worried about money. Gwen doesn’t have health insurance right now. That’s serious stuff. She’s young enough that she should be traveling and enjoying her 20’s and 30’s. You can’t do that without money, unfortunately. Worse, as most FIRE folks know, the “time value” of her income is high now, because it gives the savings time to compound.
There is a balance here, but quitting a good job when you have no other source of income is crazy, and I think most of the commentors here that cheer every move, no matter how irresponsible, are doing her a disservice.
Congratulations on signing your name. Your bravery inspires me.
To paraphrase The Dude, you’re not entirely wrong but you are an asshole. Have a great weekend!
Hi Gwen,
Thanks for sharing and being transparent with everything. You have determination.
My path to FIRE involves multiple income streams, with a main career being the foundation for the next decade (I’m currently 24). My main career will support me and then I’ll add passive income slowly from multiple streams over the next 15 years (RE crowdfunding, Vanguard Index Fund, Flipping) in addition to our ROTHs.
I’m glad to read that you’re getting more stable work at the moment until your business gets off the ground — which it will!