185 | Unlocking Golden Handcuffs

If you spend all your income, then those handcuffs are solid gold, and the key is going to be hard to find.

But if you've been able to spend less than you've made, the key is probably in your pocket.

Financially, the key isn't much more than building up some cash, and pursuing a level of income that comes close to covering your spending (no dramatic lifestyle cuts needed, but probably no big additions for a brief period too!).

A few break-even years never killed anyone, particularly when you move from something you've grown to hate into something that's closer to what you love.

Emotionally, it's going to be recalibrating to account balances that feel more like a glassy lake than an ocean that keeps delivering wave after wave of new funds with each payroll run.

And that's going to be the hard part - the feeling, not the funds - especially in a world that likes metrics and struggles with intangibles.

But if you cringe at the work you do.

Or the culture of your company is deteriorating.

Or your remote work arrangement has been pulled out from under you.

There's a pretty good chance that a few break-even years will do less harm than trying to gut it out with your hands behind your back.