5 Reasons Why I Quit My 9-5

Here are the top 5 reasons why I quit my 9-5 job without planning to get another one.
Everyone has their own reasons for why they left the 9-5 lifestyle but if you're
already thinking about it, this list may help you pull the trigger!

These are the top 5 reasons why I quit my 9-5 to pursue my own goals. Leaving your 9-5 without a new job lined up seems like a really scary thing to do and it's usually seen as an irresponsible choice. It's not the right move for everyone, being an entrepreneur is very difficult. But for me, it was the best decision I've ever made!

If you've never considered what kind of benefits leaving your job would have, that will probably change after reading this post. If you've already been considering leaving your 9-5 job to pursue the entrepreneurial lifestyle, then you may have already considered these reasons or you just might find a new one to add to your list!

This post is all about the reasons I quit my 9-5 without plans to get another one.

 
1. Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is something I think everyone wants out of life. No, money doesn't buy you genuine happiness but not ever having to be stressed out about money definitely helps. As someone who has never had much money, being constantly worried about how you're going to afford your bills or pay for certain things is certainly not an ideal way to live.

Obviously if you are making a good salary then you won't be stressed about money, and that is great, but that is not the same as financial freedom. I hate to break it to you, but you will never have true financial freedom while you are working for someone else. You cannot build true wealth while being an employee, yes you may receive a raise here or there allowing you to save more money and what not, but the work you are putting into this job is ultimately helping someone else build wealth. You are helping someone else's financial dreams come true instead of your own.

The actual definition of financial freedom is "the status of having enough income or wealth sufficient to pay one's living expenses for the rest of one's life without having to be employed or dependent on others."

Now, I want to make it clear that not everyone wants to be their own boss and that is absolutely okay. If your goal is to make "X" amount of money and you're able to accomplish that by working a 9-5 and you enjoy the stability and routine of that lifestyle, then there is nothing wrong with that. More props to you! It's just not for me, I'll admit though, sometimes I wish it was. Going from the safety net of a 9-5 to being an entrepreneur is extremely difficult and scary.

Being your own boss and not getting a steady paycheck for a while is really tough. It takes a ton of self-discipline, plenty of failure, hundreds of hours worth of work before ever seeing a profit, and pushing through the days you want to give up. But if you can push through all of that and put it in the work (and have enough savings for emergencies, of course), then you'll be on the road to true financial freedom.

2. Time Freedom

This is a HUGE reason why I wish everyone would consider something other than the normal 9-5 lifestyle. In this world, the "hustle culture" is pushed so hard that people feel like if they aren't constantly working or finding new ways to trade their time for money, then they aren't successful. The "work life balance" is so far gone for most people now a days. The average family hardly spends any quality time together anymore and we don't have time to spend on the things that bring us joy.

It's not all our fault, the fact that things are so much more expensive now compared to back in the day, it forces us to focus on making more money. But imagine having a way that you could make the money that you need to make while also being able to choose the amount of time you spend making that money. Being able to cut the amount of time you spend working a week, in half, and having all that extra time to spend with your loved ones or maybe learning a new hobby, starting projects you've been thinking about for months, ect. There are literally endless amounts of things you could do if you had more time.

Call me crazy but my idea of success does not include constantly trading my time for money; it's having more time to do the things I love, to spend more time with the people that are important to me, to be able to live my life to the fullest.

3. Location Freedom

Location freedom is more accessible now than it ever has been. I was actually working fully remote when I left my job. You may be thinking, "well why did you leave then Cassie?" At the time, I was getting ready to start van life and while I probably could've made it work, I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do. Ultimately, the other reasons listed in this post were the deciding factors as to why I decided to quit.

With that said though, if being your own boss is not what you want but you still want to be able to work from anywhere than you are in luck. The amount of possibilities to work remotely are insane. This became even more apparent due to the pandemic. So many companies allow remote work these days, so if you thrive on the routine and security of the 9-5 job then all you have to do is find one that will allow you to work fully remote.

If you don't want the 9-5 but still don't want to start your own business then you can find a TON of different online jobs that allow remote and flexible work. This requires a lot of research on your part, as well as trial and error to figure out what works best for you. It's important to understand that whatever path you choose, it'll still require a lot of hard work and even more self-discipline. But if you're able to, working in a beautiful, remote location is such a freeing feeling that is hard to understand until you do it.

*Disclaimer: You will not always be able to work in a beautiful remote location. I am currently writing this while in a random Starbucks in Columbus, Georgia😅

4. Life is Too Short

There have been a lot of different stories shared about what people say they regret as they near the end of their lives. And out of all of the answers I've heard, nobody has said, "I wish I would have spent more time working." When people get closer to the end of their lives it seems to be a common realization that they wish they would have spent more of their time on this earth doing the things that bring them joy and with the people that loved them. That is something that has always stuck with me. I don't want to be wishing I had lived more life when I had the chance to.

What's even sadder to think about then that, is the fact that so many people never even get the chance to grow old to have those regrets. Our society has forced this idea on us that we have to work our a**es off for the first 65 years of our life to then maybe enjoy the next 15 or so in retirement. That has never made sense to me. Why would I spend the best years of my life trading my time for money that I have to put away to hopefully use when I retire?

First of all, I know way too many people who are past the age of retirement that are still having to work because of one reason or another. Second, the amount of people at that age that have health issues that prevent them from enjoying their retirement. Third, and most importantly, think about the number of people that will never even see that age.

Unfortunatley, I have known too many people that were taken from this world at such a young age, I'm sure you do too, and it's hard to think about but that could be any of us. We could die tomorrow. We have no way of knowing how much time we have on this earth and I'm not willing to spend my short time here on the hamster wheel we call the "American Dream". If I only have another day or month or year here, I want to know that I made the absolute most of it. I don't want to work my entire life away for a future that I might not even have. There are too many things I want to see and experience in this one life I get.

Now, that doesn't mean don't plan for your future. It's important to be responsible and plan for the future so that if you're lucky enough to get there then you won't be struggling. All I'm saying is that you can figure out a way to still make money and set yourself up financially while not letting that consume all of your time.

Life is way too short, and I hope that you don't let it slip by and then regret it when it's too late to change it.

5. The 9-5 Will Always be There

I was a bit hesitant with including this one because if you go into this, intense lifestyle change, with the mindset that you're going to fail then there is a better chance that you will. But I'd be lying if I said this didn't play a huge part in me deciding to quit my job. I knew that when I quit, I never wanted to go back to the 9-5 world. But I'd be ignorant if I didn't admit that it helps immensely knowing that I have a backup plan.

I think it is important to leave your job on good terms so that if you ever did want to go back, they would be happy to have you. So that is what I did, I never gave my previous employer any reason to not be happy to have me return. I did my job well, I was honest about why I was leaving, and I made sure I gave them more than enough time to find my replacement. I do understand though that not everybody's situation will be just like mine, and even if it is, there's always the possibility of them not hiring at that time or they might have new management from when you left. Whatever the case may be, even if you cannot go back to your previous job, there are probably a million others like it.

For me, I was doing payroll so if my entrepreneurial goals totally fail and I can't go back to my old company, I could find a job doing payroll somewhere else. Same thing goes for really any office job, medical career, engineering, trade work, ect. Whatever it is you were doing before you quit, you will be able to go back and do it again if needed.

So, if the other 4 reasons on this list weren't enough to convince you that the risk is worth it then I hope this one does the trick, it sure did for me. My mindset was, whatever happens, the worst-case scenario is that I fail and I'll have to go back. But even if that is the case, I'll still have learned a lot along the way, and I can be content in knowing that at least I tried.

The 9-5 will always be there.

These are the reasons I quit my 9-5, take into consideration what resonates with you and feel free to leave the rest. Everyone has their own reasons for why they decided to quit their jobs. It's important to figure out your own reasoning before taking the leap to change your life!
 

This post is all about the top 5 reasons why I quit my 9-5!