Let me begin by telling you I eluded the 9-to-5 again…
I will be resigning in the very near future, even though my dividend income has not reached the crossover point at which income exceeds expenses. Of course, I’m letting the personal finance community know first. 🙂
How will I be eluding the 9-to-5 again?
I will be working a part-time job while blogging. That’s how. So technically, I’m a part-time blogger now. Fuck yeah!
Anyways, I received an offer from a respectable organization/company that I’d be extremely proud to work for. I’ve always wanted an opportunity like this following my career in banking, straight-up. I can’t turn this opportunity down.
The New Job and the thought process behind accepting a part-time position
Although I will not divulge too much about the position, I will mention a few details about why I have the audacity to accept a part-time position when I’m tryna save enough money to live off dividends.
The new job is in communications like my current role is. It’s the perfect fit, really, because it will allow me to continue building communication skills. However, it will still provide a completely new challenge because it’s in a different industry.
Overall, there are two main reasons this position is perfect:
- it pays more money per hour.
- it provides more time to blog.
Reflecting on this decision, though, it’s kinda funny how my values have changed. It really has gotten to the point where I’m tryna avoid careers that take away time from blogging. That probably sounds backwards, huh?
But I’m really that dedicated. I believe I can build this blog into a sustainable side income to go along side dividend investing over the next 6-to-12 months. Having more time now because of this job will help a lot.
Career Advantages for this change
Ultimately, I want to work from home and become a full-time blogger/Investor, so I am focusing on skills that will get me there. This job fits that long term goal.
I also want to point out that this could easily be the way I obtain a full-time position within the company.
Perhaps I come to the conclusion that I need to earn more money in 12 months from now. That’s ok. I’ll get a full-time job again.
That’s why I view this as my year off on steroids. Even though I am looking forward to working part-time and focusing more on blogging, I plan to work very hard to put myself in a position to become full-time.
Most importantly, the pay is a lot higher on an hourly basis. Like more than one-point-five times better. I am getting paid more for my time. #winning
Technically, I will be able to earn as much working 3 days per week as I currently earn working five days per week.
How this job will impact Blogging
Accepting this job will change everything for the RTC blog. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons I am willing to take on the risk. I want to take the blog to the next level, and I want to write more posts.
Which leads to the first way this job impacts the blog—I’ll have more time to work on blogging. At the very least, I will have one more day off per week. If that’s the case, I expect to publish at least one additional post per week. But I’m aiming to double the amount of content published overall.
Second, I can discuss my holdings because it’s no longer a conflict of interest. I have been working in the finance industry for the past few years, so I have not been sharing any details on my stock positions. However, now that I will be moving on to a different industry, I plan to share how much dividend income is received per company in the August Dividend Income Update. That should make the dividend income updates more interesting and more valuable.
In addition, I may begin publishing individual write-ups on each stock position and why I invested in it. I believe it could be valuable for those looking for new investment options.
Thirdly, the blog is going to become a business. But this is only because my goal is to blog full-time and live off dividends. Now that there is no conflict of interest, I plan to bring back my Questrade affiliate, which was my most successful affiliate during my year off, and I plan to add a work-with-RTC page to offer services.
Just so you know, you may notice a sponsored post from time to time. I’m just gonna tell it how it is—I’m tryna make side hustle money. But please know I only work with professionals and with partners that I trust, and I am still committed to my same approach with blogging. I view blogging as an art. It’s my creative outlet and I intend to keep it that way. But just like a magazine has ad pages, I will occasionally have ad posts.
Finally, another advantage I wanted to mention is my availability for blogging. August and September are going to be busy months. But once I get settled into the new job around October, I will be in position to have the best winter season for blogging ever. For those that don’t know, the new year is the best time of year for personal finance bloggers. Everyone is trying to set their goals for the year, so there tends to be a lot more traffic. This year I will be in position to publish more content than ever during the busy season because of my new job.
What this means for dividend investing and savings
In short, this could alter my financial goals for 2019. I probably won’t be able to reach them this year. But I’m ok with that because I’ll be earning more for my time, and I’ll have more free time, which is what I’m seeking in the first place.
Instead of receiving the same bi-weekly salary, I will receive varying amounts of income bi-weekly. This will be different to say the least. But the year off really prepared me for managing cash flow in any situation. I know I will figure it out.
Because of the way I’ll have to manage cashflow differently, though, I may not be able to save as much now. However, there is an opportunity that I’ll earn more depending on hours, and I plan to earn money through blogging with the extra time. So there is a chance that I end up saving more.
The good news is that my dividend income will continue to grow from where it is now even if I can’t afford to save. It will increase by DRIP, dividend raises, and by reinvesting dividends.
Most importantly, I plan to continue publishing dividend income updates and dividend income projections. Dividend income is still the focal point of this blog. I will continue the monthly savings reports too, even if it ends up being a bust. Because even if you judge me, I’ll be sitting at home blogging while eating fresh lunches and playing NBA 2k on my lunch break.
Worst Case Scenario
Obviously, the worst case scenario is that I don’t earn enough money and I have to withdrawal from savings.
Since dividend investing and building an investment portfolio for financial independence is so important to me, I would find a way to earn money fast. I would set a deadline and a target to earn blog income. Probably 6-to-12 months, of freedom. If I failed to earn enough, I would simply apply for a full-time job.
To tell you the truth, I’m not really worried because I’m resourceful as fuck. I know how to move money around and I am capable of creating a financial plan. Like I said, the mini-retirement prepared me.
Of course, this could just end up being a year or two of part-time work, similar to my year off. It’s a different page of life. I may end up getting a full-time job at this company, eventually, or I’ll find a way to earn enough from blogging and dividend investing.
Best Case Scenario
The best case scenario is that I end up working 1 day less per week while earning significantly more money.
Overall, I think that situation would be better for my mental health, for blogging, and for saving money.
I would greatly benefit from an extra day off each week. If this opportunity works out like that, and I’m able to earn significantly more at the same time, I’ll take it as a sign that I’m getting closer to the perfect lifestyle I’m chasing.
Just imagine—my dividend income updates are increasing faster, I have more freedom with blogging, and I have more free time. That is the dream.
Concluding Thoughts –
Eluded the 9-to-5 again…
So there you have it. I’m a part-time blogger now.
Although a part-time job could mean it a longer time frame to reach full financial independence, it could end up being a fantastic solution and more enjoyable journey while on the way there.
Even though I’m not full FI, I’ll have at least 40 hours for blogging now. I will have a legit opportunity to build blogging into a business.
This is ultimately the evolution of what reverse the crush is all about. It’s the next stage. A year off, back to work to save money, then a part-time job. Financial independence is about obtaining the ability to customize your lifestyle.
There are ways for anyone to earn income from their own skills and interests. There are options:
- Take a year off work.
- A part-time job.
- Index invest until your portfolio is large enough to live off the 4% rule.
- Dividend Growth Investing.
- Rental Properties.
In this blogger’s case, blogging is one of the main reasons I want to achieve FI in the first place. This job opportunity is as if I found a loophole to financial independence.
I am extremely excited about the opportunity to spend the more time on blogging. This will be the most freedom I’ve had with blogging since my year off. I’ve learned a lot since then, so I’m looking forward to putting that knowledge to work.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post contains advertisements by Google Adsense. This post also contains internal links, 1 link to another trusted investment site, and links to RTC social media accounts.
Connect with RTC
Twitter: @Reversethecrush
Pinterest: @reversethecrushblog
Instagram: @reversethecrush_
Facebook: @reversethecrushblog
Email: graham@reversethecrush.com