Do you have a job? Do you work remotely? Did you win the lottery? How do you fund your lifestyle?
All of those are valid to ask. To answer them, I think it's important to go way back to childhood and describe all the jobs and careers I've had over the last few decades. Here's a trip down memory lane for me!
Pre-teen and Teenage Years
As a young kiddo, probably between the ages of 7-9, my sister and I would work at my dad's company occasionally. His company, in short, was a distributor for forklift parts. We would work in a small room off the big warehouse called, the kit room. We would fold small boxes to put parts in, place labels on boxes or baggies, count parts and fill orders. I learned how to fill out a time card, and got paid through the petty cash box from HR. Essentially, my mom would need to run errands at times without me and my sister, so dad set us up with the two wonderful ladies who ran that kit room. Hopefully we were helpful more than not! I will say, as I got older and could legally work there in my teenage years for extra summer cash, I learned the job duties in the kit room and warehouse were mundane to me. Some people love doing the same thing repetitively, and I learned that I did not care for that.
I think by the age of 12 or 13, was when I started babysitting for neighbors. By the age of 14, I was teaching dance classes to the 5 and 6 year olds at my dance studio. Instead of earning cash, I got a significant discount on my tuition for the classes I took. When I turned 15, I was of legal working age in the state of Kansas, where I grew up. Then I could get paid for teaching dance classes, and I started waitressing. And the summer I turned 17, I was working in Texas as a summer camp counselor. Keep in mind, I'm still a kid in school most of the year, so I was working after school, on the weekends, or during school breaks (spring break, winter holiday, and summer break).
University Years for my B.S.Ed and M.S.Ed (Ages 18-23)
I was 18 when I started my bachelor's degree. On the weekends I worked at country night clubs waitressing, until I turned 21 and then I became a bartender. As a waitress, I was earning between $60 to $100 for a four hour shift, and as a bartender, I would take home $100 to $150 cash for each 4- or 6-hour shift. I also secured a tutoring and teaching assistant job at the math department with the university, which I would do between my own courses. And I was still teaching dance classes until I was about 22. I was at university to earn a bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics education, and became a certified math teacher for grades 5-12.
Professional Careers (Ages 23-43)
My first big girl career was a high school mathematics teacher in a brand new school serving grades 10-12. I taught Geometry, Applied Geometry, Algebra I, and Algebra II & Trig courses for 3 years. I was still bartending on the weekends and holidays, and tutoring math in the summer.
I decided high school was not the age demographic that I wanted to teach, so I went back to university to get a pure master's in Mathematics, with the intention to work at nearby community colleges or smaller universities. During this time, I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) which paid for my tuition, and I was still bartending and tutoring math around my primary responsibilities. One thing led to another, and I met other people who ultimately led me to a different higher education institution to seek a Ph.D instead of a second master's degree. Having a Ph.D in Mathematics Education would provide a wider range of future job opportunities. So at 26, I sold my house that I had only owned for 3 years, and moved across the state to start my doctoral program. To get my tuition covered, I was a GTA but then my side jobs were being an adjunct instructor at two small community colleges about 30 minutes drive time on either side of my university; and I accepted an adjunct instructor position at a four-year university that was about 1.5 hours drive south of town. I knew that particular role would be valuable work experience and that I would likely get a highly regarded letter of recommendation from the Department Chair I worked under; and my thoughts came true.
After I earned my Ph.D, I moved to Texas and became an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education. Part of the job requirements was to publish and fulfill other scholarly duties. It was at this point when I started freelancing as my side-gig, working on math publications for Pearson Education, the largest textbook publisher in the world. I also started self-publishing workbooks, speaking at conferences nationally and internationally, and facilitating workshops at nearby school districts to provide professional development to their math teachers. After a few years, I left Texas and moved to Illinois to do similar work as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education, just at a smaller university. I continued to freelance to meet publication requirements as a professor, speak at conferences, and facilitate workshops for both K-12 teachers and university teachers.
My next career shift took me to a small town in Louisiana, where I worked for a small start-up STEM company as a Curriculum & Technology Developer. This role included a good amount of travel with the small team I was part of. My office was adjacent to the local community college and once the Dean of the STEM department found out that there was a new person in town that was a former professor, and had the Ph.D credentials they require for their staff, I was quickly recruited to be an adjunct math instructor for them. It was not my intention to take on a part time job when I got to Louisiana but the Dean was very convincing. They were short staffed and truly needed someone to fill the role so I stepped in.
I only stayed in Louisiana for a little over a year, before I changed roles and companies, and moved again. I accepted a fully remote position of Manager of Professional Development for a Math and Science Ed Tech company. That company was based in Virginia, but I was relocated to Arizona to work out of my home, and travel 75% of the time, both domestic and international. During this career, occasionally I would consult with past clients from my conference and workshop days, and then I got into dog sitting as I could do that out of my house since that's where my office was for the role.
Finally, we get to my last professional career. I was ready to be self-employed, so I started a freelance business providing editorial and content development services to textbook publishers and Ed Tech companies. I sent out emails to past clients, letting them know I was available full time for project based work which they were thrilled to hear that I wasn't limited to working just over winter or summer breaks. I was quickly offered contract after contract, and later started advertising my services on freelance platforms like UpWork. I had so much work at the beginning of my second year, that I started hiring sub contractors to work with me. And that's how my happy little freelance business came about. More details about getting clients and projects can be found in this older post: How do I earn online work?
I think it's important to note, that before I started my freelance business, I took a very short break between quitting my last corporate job and sending the first emails. Mentally, I was struggling as that last career ended in a toxic work environment. Plus, it was the first time in my life to quite one job without having another lined up and contracts signed. After taking a few days to just breathe, then I signed up for Uber and Lyft, got my vehicle registered with both companies, and began driving. I lived in the northwest suburbs of the greater Phoenix, Arizona area, so the demand for an on-call driver was not plentiful. Yet, the opportunity to begin working for myself by using a platform, was helpful to rebuilding my moral and dabbling in self-employment. I continued to drive for both platforms up until I sold my car, house, and left the U.S. to live across the world.
Common Themes
Did you notice that I ALWAYS had multiple side jobs while I was a full time student or during my professional careers? At any time, I always had 2-3 part time, seasonal jobs, or side gigs going on. Sure this increased my income streams, but the skills I learned with each role were transferrable to the next career or other side gigs.
How much did I earn in each career?
Below is a list of my primary careers from my 20s and 30s and the associated salaries in USD. Just like everyone else, I began with a modest salary, and as I changed careers, I earned higher incomes. Keep in mind, I had all the part time jobs too, so my annual income would be higher than what's posted in the table, depending on how hard I worked on the side.
Job Title | Years at Job | Salary Range |
High School Math Teacher (9 month contract) | 3 | $33,000-$36,000 |
Assistant Professor (9 month contract) | 5 | $52,000 |
Curriculum & Technology Developer | 1 | $75,000 |
Manager of Professional Development | 3.5 | $80,000-$90,000 before bonuses |
Business Owner/Freelancer | 6 | $60,000-$150,000+ |
Retirement
In February 2021, I transitioned from working full time with my business to managing projects and communicating with clients. My sub contractors did the heavy lifting at that point, and I was able to back down work to about 5-10 hours of month. I chose to do this because I had been part of the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) communities for several years at that point. Through those communities I learned the magical formula: Increase Income + Decrease Expenses = Save & Invest The Gap. My business was lucrative, so I was earning the most out of any of my careers, and because I started living abroad, out of a suitcase, I dropped my expenses significantly from my former traditional lifestyle. The amount I was saving every month and year, was put straight into my investment accounts, which would do hard work on their own.
When I backed off of working, I was doing something called, CoastFIRE, where I earned enough to cover my expenses, but I was no longer focusing on wealth accumulation. I had already saved and invested enough, that if I leave that alone for a period of time, it would grow to the value that I need it to be, to live on during retirement.
And that leads me to retiring in April 2023. I was ready to stop working. I had already slowed down my work obligations significantly, as 5-10 hours a month is quite nominal. And I felt it was a great time to conclude my professions in mathematics and education. I loved each of my careers and side gigs related to my field. Just because I'm quite good as an expert in my field, does not mean I have to keep being a part of it until I die. I feel good inside to be done with that chapter in my life.
It's been nearly 11 months since I shut down my business and I have been physically living off of savings that I had stored in a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA). Starting in March, I'll begin withdrawing from one of my brokerage accounts. That account alone should last me about 16 years, which will be when I turn 60. At that time I can start withdrawing from my IRAs or my other broker account, and then any time between the ages of 62 and 72, I can start taking Social Security.
Am I worried about not having enough money? Why or why not?
No. I'm a hustler, an entrepreneur, an overachiever. If my net worth gets down to a number that makes me feel uncomfortable, I know there are a billion ways to earn more income in this world. I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and I'm not afraid to work hard.
More importantly, I trust the math. In the FIRE communities, we discuss the Trinity Study also known as the 4% Rule. In short, if you save and invest 25 x your annual expenses, you will have enough money to live on for about 30 years. My financial retirement plans accounts for 40 years of early retirement. If you want to know more about my backstory with FIRE, check out this blog post I wrote a few years ago: I reached CoastFI by the age of 41.
And just because I'm not working a formal job doesn't mean that I don't earn income or have some of my expenses covered. I earn a bit of money through referral programs like Tello, Airalo, Genki Health Insurance, and Chase; affiliate programs such as Amazon and Viator; and cash earning programs like Buy Me A Coffee, and my Facebook page: A Suitcase and A Smile. I also have a number of publications from way back in the day. The books I authored and published are still sold on Amazon, and I receive royalties on those publications. A few are below:
If you enjoy the content I write and want to show support, feel free to Buy Me A Coffee.