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I quit my job and here’s why

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As you may have seen on Twitter, I made a very big life decision in the past few weeks and I have quit my job!

I quit my job - click to see how and why

It has always been my goal to be earning enough from blogging, freelancing and other ventures to be able to give up my job. After much deliberation I have finally decided to take the plunge and leave my job in biotechnology. At first I was going to leave in 2016, probably August, then I decided to leave in December 2015. Then I realised that actually, once I had made up my mind to embark on this journey, I didn’t want to wait, so I handed my notice in immediately. I am still working through my two month notice period, meaning that December will be my first month fully self-employed.

I quit my job and I am so excited for what this means for my future!

The Time

Right now there are over 50 drafted blog posts, there’s an almost finished e-book and about 5 pages of to do lists that I never get around to doing. Things that I know will either enhance my life or earn me extra cash – both things I am extremely keen to do! I am looking forward to having time to see my husband more, time to spend with my family, time to complete both personal and professional projects. At the moment I commute for two hours a day, do a full day’s work and then come home to do another 3-5 hours of work. I cannot wait for evenings to be my own again.

The Lifestyle

The idea of being my own boss excites me! Being in charge of my own destiny is something that I really believe in – time and time again I have set myself a financial challenge (such as affording our dream wedding) and time and time I have surpassed it. I am looking forward to working when I want and where I want – if I’m awake at 3am and I want to test a website then I can without worrying about the lack of sleep impacting my day job; if I find a last minute holiday deal then I can go for it instead of worrying about my holiday entitlement.

The Opportunities

The number of opportunities, both professional and personal, that I am having to turn down due to being tied to a job is getting bigger and bigger. I am looking forward to having time to attend meetings, meet up with other bloggers, go to more events and see my friends more!

The Savings

There are so many savings to be made by going self-employed. The biggest one is my fuel and car costs to get to and from the office – over 50 miles a day. This is a massive saving that amounts to over £2,000 saved per year by not commuting! There are so many other ways that we can save too – did you know that gym membership goes down to £15 per month if you can go between 1-4pm instead of the usual £50+ per month? I will have time to cook more meals from scratch, shop around for great deals and get back into couponing.

How am I going to earn money?

For the most part I am going to keep doing what I’ve already been doing. You saw how in July I made over £2,100 and matched betting has already earned me over £3,000 in just two months. I am, of course, hoping to increase my online income, but if this doesn’t happen then I would still be happy with my current earnings! It is a scary time but also an exciting time. I’m excited to take this leap of faith and I just hope that it pays off.

I am a mixture of excited and apprehensive – I’ve used “excited” a lot in this blog post, but that’s what it comes down to. I can’t believe that I have reached this stage already. I remember sitting in a room with dream wedding, Savvy Annie & Miss Thrifty in November 2013, being interviewed for Savoo’s UK’s Smartest Shopper 2013 and telling them that I was going to be self-employed eventually, and here I am. I’ve quit my job and I’m so excited for the future!

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I quit my job and here's why

 

20 responses

    1. Thanks Mrs W! I don’t think I’m an inspiration at all – just rather lazy….I want to work for myself and no one else 🙂

    1. Thank you! Your diary has completely inspired me, I’m really looking forward to having random snippets of time to do things.

  1. I wish I had your courage. I left my job on a two year career break intending to go self employed but then realised that actually I like doing nothing rather than working! I had to go back to my job in the end for financial reasons but now I dream of being self employed again :-/ Good luck. I’m sure you will achieve everything you want to x

    1. Thanks Sharon, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you. I don’t think it will be easy at all, especially resisting Netflix! But I’m still excited to take that leap.

  2. Congratulations on the dream wedding. I’ve come onto my laptop especially to read your blog properly and starting earning more. Thank you very much

Picture of Emma Drew

Emma Drew

Emma has spent over 15 years sharing her expertise in making and saving money, inspiring thousands to take control of their finances. After paying off £15,000 in credit card debt, she turned her side hustles into a full-time career in 2015. Her award-winning blog, recognized as the UK's best money-making blog for three years, has made her a trusted voice, with features on BBC TV, BBC radio, and more.

Well done