quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
My problem is opposite. I love /hate my job but they pay me too much to quit.

Ah, the "golden handcuffs".

I was in a similar boat, in a well-paying position that I no longer liked. So I sat down and ran the numbers, and discovered that I could afford to make significantly less. But it also helped that I have minimal debt and no kids, I prefer to cook at home over eating out a lot, and I'm good with following budgets.

Basically, I could afford to take up to a ~30% pay cut, and still pay my bills, save for retirement, and have a cushion for "shit happens". I wouldn't be going on fancy vacations or driving luxury cars, but I wasn't doing that before anyway.

So then I quit in favor of lower pay but significantly lower stress.


Run the numbers with your budget. If you don't have a budget, make one. Look for spaces where you can cut back, starting with the easy ones like eating out frequently, or big car payments, or similar. Then follow your lower budget for 12 months to ensure it's workable. You might be surprised how big of a pay cut you could actually afford. Then you're armed with that knowledge when you start your search for a job with less pay but better working conditions. Plus by following your lower budget for a while yet still making your current higher salary, you'll have yourself a nice little nest egg.

Here is how I look at it.
My company will never pay me more than I am worth.
My company will never grant me more paid time off than I am worth.

It is my job to ensure my company pays my worth. It is also my job to gain the most pay and benefits the market will allow.

That's it. That's the game.

To clarify we are not destitute. Oh we have cut back eating out and most other places where I can. Considering chopping how much car insurance I carry. Both cars paid off but newer and would suck to total one but I could get new one in a my fault accident. Wife doesn’t work and I work from home so minimal commute except hauling kids around and saves gas money. Realistically big item outside of utilities and mortgage and insurance is wife’s spending. She does most grocery shopping and daughter does dance which is hundreds per month but I still can’t imagine what other nonsense she spends on. Only other place to chop is pool service. Almost $200 a month and all they really do is keep the chemicals balanced. They clean it every week when the come but I do a lot of sweeping of the pool in the interim. Especially when it’s windy. I called them this week in fact and asked if they had a 2x a month plan Vs 4x a month and they don’t. Sad. That might have been their downfall. Will start shopping other pool services around town there are several. And if cancel all together will just learn to check my own pool chemicals levels. Some shops will test your water for free or next to it.

We have no cc debt or car loans. Except mortgage. I have enough non retirement funds I could pay the house off but I’m arbitraging currently using the. Interest income that pile makes every month and adding to the mortgage vs paying off completely. Eventually the mortgage will be paid 2x as fast and I will still have a very large pile. Alternatively. Using generous estiMtes of all my monthly expenses I run a spreadsheet and I have a burn rate of about 60 months if I had NO job. If I lost my job or had to take one making 1/2 to 1/3. Wife would need to get a job and we’d be fine.

Lastly I love this house but I don’t see myself dying in it. It’s huge and almost 3 acres neighbors are great people. After kids are out in next 10 years and I’m pushing on 60 I could see myself scaling back in house. That would lower taxes and be easier yard maintenance. That would coincide with wife’s mother likely departing off and she’d have to split/buy out her brother. I wouldn’t mind living in her house. It’s a cute little 3/2 at the end of a culdesac and a nice lawn front and back in a subdivision. And about 5 years old now but at 1/2 the value and size that would save a lot on heating and cooling and property taxes.

quote:

Originally posted by eyrich:
That fact that you can't take the bar exam without graduating from an accredited program is a significant barrier. I'm not aware of any Bar that has accredited an online program.

In California you do not need a degree or education to pass the bar. I spoke to a LEO who only studied on his own, passed the bar, and can now practice law in California.