Why Taking A Year Off Work Was A Mistake

I took a year off work nearly 4 years ago now. It began on October 6, 2015 and ended on December 5, 2016. I often refer to this period as my “mini-retirement.”

Just yesterday, though, I was reflecting on my mini-retirement and how unwilling I’d be to let my money dwindle like that again. In truth, I was in a dark place during that year off, and probably for another year or so after that. That was the real reason I took the time away from work. I stopped caring about everything.

I should’ve worked a part-time job instead of taking a year off work

As you may know, I recently started working a part-time job.

I’m fortunate that it pays well enough to afford more time to blog. 

Although it has only been a short period of time, it’s already beginning to feel similar to the lifestyle I was living during the year off.

Work is revolving around my life instead of the other way around. 

Anyways, the main reason I took a year off was for personal development. The 9 to 5 was too much for me at the time. I was too distracted by my own thoughts to maintain the standard of work I was accustomed to, and the work was too unfulfilling to truly distract me from my own thoughts. I needed a new muse.

In turn, I decided to resign without much of a plan. Since I was working as a stock broker at the time, and because my ego wouldn’t allow me to admit the problems I was facing, I started day trading. 

Shortly after a trip to Mexico, I decided to start this blog to document my trades. The posts are still available if you care…

Trading did a good job of distracting me for about 4 months, but I soon realized that I didn’t like trading. I was always a long term dividend investor! 

It wasn’t because I was bad at trading either—I made money. It just wasn’t enough to live on. And I was drawn to blogging.

Unfortunately, by the time I figured that out, I had less money than when I started my year off. Trading was keeping my money afloat, however, I knew I’d have to go back to work eventually. 

What I should’ve done was get a part-time job like I have now so I could focus on blogging. But instead, I ended up back at the bank. Nevertheless, I gained a skillset there that I didn’t have before, and I also met some really dope people, so I don’t regret it at all.

But working a part-time job would have been the best way to hold onto the small fortune I had built up.

My Dividend Income Business Would’ve Been Elite By Now

The most obvious disadvantage from my year off work was that I had to stop dividend investing. Worse, I had to withdrawal funds. 🙁

Frankly, it has taken 3 years to get back to the same level. And I sold stocks that would’ve been a lot higher by now. Stocks like Coca-Cola, Walmart, Proctor & Gamble, Royal Bank, Apple and more.

Based on where my portfolio was at, and if I added my current portfolio, I would’ve have been in a really good situation for a guy my age. And that’s without including income that would’ve been earned and saved if I kept working in 2016.

Nevertheless, I take pride in the fact that I was able to accumulate enough money to take a year off in the first place. It’s kinda cool that I was able to do it twice as well. 

But obviously, it’s slightly painful to imagine how much money I would’ve had if I maintained the same pace. 

Also, it was embarrassing to begin again and post such small dividend income updates at first. I mean, I had been a mutual fund advisor and stock broker, and I knew I was capable of investing, but I was posting small figures so it became hard to build trust.

The decline of my dividend portfolio was the saddest part of my year off.

I could’ve owned a house instead of a year off

Although I lived somewhat frugal during my year off, admittedly, there were points that I got out of control with spending. I even wrote about how money is just a tool and how easy it was to become careless.

Another option I could’ve considered was buying a home… 

I would’ve had to sell my stocks. But I had enough money for a small down payment. 

Perhaps buying my own home and moving to the suburbs could have been the change I needed to stay working.

Changing the blog’s direction

Another disadvantage was that I had to alter the blog’s direction a few times. 

I started off discussing my day trades and briefly mentioned my dividend investing strategy. But when my money started to get lower, I had to change the blog’s direction, which is why I started focusing on the blogging/writing/social media side of blogging.

On the other hand, I may not have had the blog without the year off. And I most definitely wouldn’t have had the story I have now. 

To be honest, though, I already had an idea for a blog called “my dividend business” prior to taking a year off work. 

I used to read Dividend Mantra and Dividend Growth Investor on my commute to work in the morning. I would dream of working on a blog and dividend investing each and every morning. At least I’m closer to that life now.

Concluding Thoughts – Why Taking A Year Off Work Was A Mistake

Ultimately, I don’t regret the year off because I really needed it. 

I learned a lot about myself and about life during that time. I was young enough to do whatever the hell I wanted, which is a luxury many retirees simply do not have.

Plus, that time off has become a central point in my life. I’ll always remember it. It has even superseded college at this point, because I was just a damn kid in college back then. I was almost an adult during my year off lol.

In conclusion, my year off was truly awesome AF. However, I can’t deny the damage it did to my portfolio and the prospect of owning a home. I really don’t think owning a home is that difficult if you start saving young, even in today’s age. 

Moreover, I know the past doesn’t mean shit, other than to learn from past mistakes. All that matters is the present and how to handle the future. 

But I wanted to write a post to reflect on why taking a year off was a mistake…

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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, external links to trusted sites and RTC social media accounts, and may contain affiliate links.

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