We talked yesterday about how much you will need to reach financial independence. To me, that was $50,000 to buy a house, $30,000 for a 30 months emergency fund (or living fund while I look for a job if my plans fails!), and a source of passive income generating at least $1,000 per month for my living expenses.
So while I grow that $80,000 financial independence savings account, I see two ways to achieve it faster. The first is obviously to save money. On a daily basis, there are plenty of money holes in my life. When I chose convenience, and take a taxi or take-away food instead of walking and cooking at home. When I don’t fill that insurance form because I’m too lazy and ”will do it tomorrow”, and lose the refund for my car’s broken window. The list goes on.
If I fill those holes, I’ll save money. And I can also save in many ways, some that do not matter to me, like turning off the lights, some that do, like reducing leisure, or travel, or beer 🙂
So, in order to save more and keep my lifestyle, I can also get more money to start with.
How do I do that? For starters, I looked for extra jobs. I was working a full time job, which was really boring but I was getting out at 6pm sharp. So I started teaching French and Spanish after work. That was fun since I enjoy teaching, and I made good money. Then I started writing for a couple of travel blogs. Since my job was often sending me abroad, I would take pictures and report on those blogs. I even took extra shifts as a waitress for weddings on Saturdays.
It’s easy to find extra jobs, be it a 10 hours a week shift at McDs or a regular tutoring gig. Think about what you do best. Fix computers? Teach yoga? This is a unique opportunity to try out new jobs related to your passions. While being a waitress was good money, I had to stand for 10 hours and come back home exhausted. I didn’t like it but I enjoyed teaching and writing.
Until the day I made more money teaching and writing than at my day job. I was faced with the option to keep doing that and doubling my income, or leave my day job and dedicate my time to the teaching and writing. I wouldn’t get more hours, but instead of the boring job, I would do what I love.
Before I took that plunge and resigned from my job, I spent a few months stashing away all the extra income into my independence savings fund. I felt like I was going at light speed. No amount of saving on beers or travel could have got me there that fast.