Escaping the 9 to 5: How I Finally Quit My Job to do What I Love

When I became pregnant five years ago, I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom. My new mission was escaping the 9 to 5 so that I could do just that. I came up with a plan and I am happy to say that five years later, I am still my own boss and hope to be for many more years to come.

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I used to be a chemist but it just wasn’t my passion. I thought it would be when I majored in it at college, but it just didn’t make me happy. Not to mention I was working second shift for 10 hours a night, it just started to take it’s toll.

I had always enjoyed writing but never really thought I could make money doing that. I assumed only book authors could actually make a full time income doing that.

When I started learning about couponing and how to save money so I could pay off my student loans, I noticed all of the blogs that were online. I thought, “Hey, I could do this, too!”

So I started one just for fun, as a hobby, and learned how to set one up all from watching Youtube videos.

I had been writing it for about a year before I found out I was pregnant, this is when I knew I had to take things up a notch and make enough money so that I could stay home with my new baby.

Whether you want to start a blog, become a virtual assistant, or just start a handy man service, using some of the tips below should help you get on your way to escaping the 9 to 5 to do what you truly love.

Escaping the 9 to 5: How I did It

Saving an Emergency Fund

I am a person that likes to be as financially prepared as possible. I knew that if I wanted to ultimately be escaping the 9 to 5, I had to have enough money saved up to do just that.

I wanted to have at least 6 months worth of living expenses saved up before I gave my two weeks notice just in case I had a few months where I didn’t make as much as I thought I would.

To help supplement my savings, I did things like participate in focus groups and take surveys online. I would make about $200 per focus group and $200 per month taking surveys.

My favorite survey sites that pay out with PayPal are:

• Global Test Market
• Swagbucks
• Pinecone Research
• MySurvey

I even learned how to sell things on Amazon and was able to make $50/hour being an Amazon FBA Seller I didn’t have a lot of time to put into it but it was some nice part time money.

I even ramped up my couponing to help save even more money on our groceries. I was able to save 75% on my grocery bill on average. That really helped me save as much money as possible.

By doing all of these things, I was able to save more than 6 months of living expenses to have as an emergency fund.

 

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Escaping the 9 to 5: Investing In Yourself 

There were so many things I wish I knew before I started a blog but investing in myself is a big one. It wouldn’t have taken me nearly as long to start making a decent income if I had done that from the beginning.

I knew that if I wanted people to take me seriously as a blogger, I had to invest in my blog. That meant paying for a self hosted site, social media schedulers, and a professional looking theme.

I was able to have a profitable blog on a budget by buying services when they were on sale and getting as much free information as possible, Youtube became my best friend.

Even if you aren’t a blogger, having a professional looking website is a must have for any successful business now. People need to be able to find you online!

I use SiteGround as my host and they offer plans for only $3.95/month.

As my business grew, I was able to invest in it even more.

Escaping the 9 to 5: Learning and Working Simultaneously 

When I wasn’t working my 10 hour shifts as a chemist, I was working on my blog and trying to get as much education as I could. There are many free classes to help you with a career change.

Just as you would take college courses to further your career, I needed to take some blogging courses so that I could be as successful at my new business as possible.

I took as many free blogging courses as I could but I needed to start investing in some to go even more in depth.

I have taken quite a few courses in my 6 years of blogging, some were great and others were not. I wanted to share my favorite courses that truly helped me take my blog to the next level and become a money maker.

I have made back the money on every course several times over:

• Pitch Perfect Pro: Taught me how to get sponsored posts with brands. I earned back the money from this course after landing my first sponsored post within a month!
• Elite Blog Academy: A perfect course for beginner bloggers or those ready to start making money from their blog. It’s only open once a year so sign up for their wait list!
• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing: Taught me how to optimize affiliate links on my blog for passive income.
• Adventures in SEO: I learned about SEO for both Google and Pinterest to really grow my traffic which leads to more sponsored posts, affiliate sales, and ad revenue.
• Pinning Perfect: Helped me grow my Pinterest account with a strategy that worked and created even more traffic.

I obviously didn’t buy all of these courses at once, that would be crazy expensive, but I took about two a year to keep learning and growing.

Plus, they are tax deductible since they are for growing your business!

If you are looking to start your own business working as a blogger or online in some other way, make sure the information you get is up to date. The industry changes so fast that you don’t want to use old tactics.

If you buy a course make sure it gets updated yearly or if you watch Youtube videos make sure they were uploaded within the last year.

 

When my daughter was born, I was making a good part time income from my blog and knew that I now had more time to devote to growing it since I didn’t have to work 10 hour shifts at a time.

The first two years were a struggle since I had a baby to take care of as well. There were a lot of late nights working after she had gone to sleep and I would also work when she finally started taking longer naps.

Since my husband works a regular job, we were also able to stay on his medical insurance. That is another expense you will have to keep in mind if you are escaping the 9 to 5.

With a lot of sacrifices ( sleep, money, vacations) and a lot of hard work, I was able to turn my hobby blog into a money maker and meet my goal of escaping the 9 to 5 once and for all.