Quitting the Rat Race and Living the Slow Life

Life is most definitely worth living and in these modern times when the years seem to pass in the blink of an eye many are looking for ways that they can slow the pace and learn to sit back and relax a little. Though quitting your job and leaving the career driven workplace behind may send a shiver down your spine it is easier than you may think as long as you take the plunge and break it down into small, manageable portions.

Firstly, what has inspired this change and what do you intend to get out of it? If you are simply looking for relaxation whilst still maintaining your current lifestyle then possibly this route is not for you. Starting a new, down paced life generally means a substantial salary cut so if designer clothes and expensive holidays are high on your priority list then quitting the rat race probably isn’t the best course of action.

List your priorities on a piece of paper and on another note down all the things that you expect from your new life. Perhaps you want more time to relax. Or maybe you wish to actually turn your hobby into a career maker? Match your lists together and look at the outcome carefully. If your top priority is to move to the country whilst you expect to increasingly visit the theatre, the clubs and to entertain friends maybe you need to rethink, however if time for walking the dog and a larger garden for the children comes top perhaps that move to rural pastures is just what you need.

Once you have decided that you are ready to tear down the walls of your stark grey office and experience a new world the next challenge is to really look at your income in depth and plan for the future. Many who leave their high powered jobs and large salaries find that a lower income and quieter way of life reaps huge rewards, however you do need to make sure that this life changing move is financially viable. Look at your expenditures, what can you cut? What can you save? Even the most menial of bills can often be cut substantially by simply being aware of spending costs or changing suppliers. For instance a mobile phone contract started two years ago could be fine, but by renewing or changing a supplier could you get the costs even lower? Or perhaps your gas bill has been allowed to rumble on for years, start take metre readings to stop estimated bills, ask for credit back so you can make interest off of it rather than the supplier, and think whether you really need the heating on all day. Put aside a several months of earnings to ease the transition so that you don’t start your new life stressed and penniless. Once setting your mind to the task in hand it is often incredible just how much money you can save by changing a few simple things.

Going hand in hand with expenditure is your income and the likely cut you’ll be taking. You may well be planning a career change in which case whilst taking this pay reduction you are still an employee. However many choose this time to go it alone and become self employed, much to their future reward. You by no means need one stream of income, in fact it is often more rewarding and satisfying to be creative, spread the load and have a number of money streams coming in. In this manner you can spread your risk, see which jobs pan out better than others and more importantly really take the time to enjoy what you do. Self employment, whilst coming with yearly tax forms, does offer another incentive, tax credits i.e. assets and expenses which you can discount tax from due to them being integral to your working life. If your mobile suddenly becomes you main line of communication for work then factor this in to your tax form, the same applies for equipment you may have to purchase or other bills that come in.

But most importantly, after working out your financial viability, make sure you don’t quit the rat race to simply become bogged down by a number of jobs which leave you harassed and stressed. Remember the aim of the move, frequent those initial priority lists you wrote, and take the time to enjoy your new found freedom.