September 30th was the last day at my first job out of college. It has been an amazing experience where I learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes and grew as an employee as well as a person. The beginning of the summer season, deep in my gut I knew my time was coming to an end at that job. I have always worked since I was 14, part time and full time, but this was my real first adult job. While I knew my time at my job was limited, the next challenge was how to tell my employer. Then I needed to make my plan for what happens next once I quit my job. Due to the nature of my job, it was not fair for me to quit in the middle of summer when it is the busiest time of the year. I gave my employer two months notice of my leaving, which is rare to give that much time for the employer to find a replacement. I found a template on Google and just changed the words around to fit my needs.

Funemployment sounds like a lot of fun! And it can be if it is planned out correctly… I thought I would share some of the steps and planning I had to do before I put in my resignation letter.

Let’s Look At The Financials

Before I decided to quit my job, I had to consider the financial consequences that followed. A lot of questions went through my mind before I handed in my resignation letter, and a majority of them had to deal with money.

1. How much money do I need a month?
2. How much can I spend a month without going broke?
3. How much money do I need to pay my bills a month?
4. How much spending money do I need a month?
5. How much do I have in my savings?
6. How can I save money better?

This life change made me reevaluate my spending habits and how much I need to make a month to pay my bills. While I was still working I made a list of what I spent money on and came up with ways to cut back spending. No more buying coffee or buying food instead of cooking! These small changes made significant changes in my efforts to save money.

Financial Goals

1. I came up with an amount I wanted in my checking and savings account at all times. My checking account contains one months spending x2 and my savings has an amount that makes me comfortable in case there are any emergencies or I decide to go on vacation. A savings account should have three months of expenses saved away.
2. Pay off all credit cards before resigning from my job. I try to put all of my expenses on my credit card so I can take advantage of the rewards and build up a credit score.
3. Create a budget on how much you want to spend on eating out, shoes, and groceries. When I saw how much money I was spending on frivolous things when I wrote them all down it got easier to cut those things out of my spending habits.
4. I quickly found a job before I resigned from my current job, but I wanted to take two weeks off in between jobs for an easier transition. Know I was going to be funemployed for two weeks I knew I needed enough money in my savings to cover that time of no money coming in.
5. Have enough money saved to move out in the next few month. This has been a big goal of mine for over a year now. I know that what I make now cannot support me and cover the costs of an apartment. One of my big budget goals is to save up to be able to afford an apartment along with my other expenses.

Everyone budgets money differently and has different priorities when it comes to spending. This life change made me look at my spending habits differently and discover new ways to save money. With my next job I plan to put more of my paycheck into my savings to be able to move out and afford an apartment within the year.

It is day three of my funemployment and this whole not setting an alarm is fantastic! I also haven’t washed my hair or made any effort on my appearance the whole weekend and it is a nice break to be lazy for once. The main reason I can enjoy my funemployment this much is because I took the time to make plans financially and got a new job with a start date giving me some time off before I started my new adventure.