The One Thing I Want More Than Anything Right Now

And it’s not money! Well, not just money

Photo by Brent Gorwin on Unsplash

Ok, money would make this thing happen a lot faster but what I really want is this…

I want to retire from my waitressing job for good!

It’s not that I don’t like my job. I do. Most of the time. Except when people are just beyond stupid. You know it happens. There’s always that person who lets you tell the person next to them every dipping sauce available and then when you ask them what kind of dip they want for their chicken fingers, will ask in complete seriousness, “What do you have?” Or the person who says, “You forgot my cheeseburger…” after you just unloaded 4 steaming hot plates from you burnt arms.

But most of the time, I just roll with it and move on.

I’m just tired. Like physically tired.

I’m 54 years old and the idea of doing this for another 11 years makes me want to cry. Literally, thinking about it brings tears to my eyes sometimes. I just can’t deal with that thought.

I know everyone needs to work. I’m fine with that. I just don’t want to do this for another 11 years.

I do have the option of just getting a different kind of job. It’s not like I don’t have skills. Beside the fact that you have to have some pretty serious skills to be a good server, I’ve got a Bachelor’s Degree and I’ve worked in different industries over the year. I’ve been an adult education instructor and I’ve worked in market research. I’ve got administrative skills and obviously, communication skills.

The problem is, if I change jobs, I am definitely going to have to work full-time again. Not that working full-time is a bad thing, but it would mean making some serious changes to my life.

Currently, I travel 4 hours back and forth to my hometown to check on my Mom. I make sure she has groceries and take her out for dinner. This wouldn’t be such a big deal except that she’s living in my house in a small town with no grocery store. It’s 10 minutes from the closest town with a store and she doesn’t drive. Yes, she could move but she’d have to pay more in rent (she doesn’t pay much to live in my house — basically, utilities while I cover the mortgage). So, there’s that.

And my summers would not be as enjoyable. My partner and I spend half our summers at the lake and I do really enjoy that.

I know — first world problems, right? But it is a factor that I have to consider.

The other issue is, there’s no way I make as much money in any other job as I do serving. I’m darned good at my job and even after I pay taxes (yes, I pay taxes on my tips) I still make a crap load more than most people make on an hourly basis.

I want to make enough money online to quit my job!

Ok, so it is about money. But it’s not about being rich. I don’t need to be rich. I don’t need to replace my income. I just need enough income from online sources to maintain my current life and work from home without physically feeling like I’ve been beat up every day.

I’m going to try a couple things and see which one works:

1. Ebooks: I’ve written lots of ebooks and I do still make money at it. I haven’t published anything in about two years and I still get between $50–100 a month in passive income from it. So, I’m working a play. Write ahead. Publish and set up for pre-orders. Write more while the pre-orders are publishing. Rinse and repeat. I have a genre and I have a sub-genre that I think will do well. I have a plan for a couple series that will take place within one world. So, I’m in the writing stage right now.
2. Blogging: I bought the domain and I’m currently setting up a book blog that I’m going to run with a friend. We both like to read so why not write some reviews and use the Amazon Affiliate program to make a little money?
3. Article writing: As you may have noticed, I’ve been writing here on Medium more lately and I’m also writing with my real name on Vocal. I’m going to be attempting some of the writing challenges on Vocal as well.
4. Substack: All my smutty stories from Medium are going there and any new smutty stories will be there as well.
5. Twitch: I haven’t started streaming yet but in the fall, when I do less running around, I’m going to begin. I’m gaming anyway. Why not see if I can have some fun and make some money at the same time.
6. Freelancing: I’m not going to write anything that anyone will pay me but if the right job comes up and it is worth my time and effort, I might take up some freelance gigs and make a little extra cash.

Right now I don’t actually need to make more money so the majority of anything I earn from these streams will go into a TSFA to earn interest and be saved for the future.

And one big thing I’m considering…

I’m thinking of selling my house. I don’t live in it. As I mentioned, my mom does. Although she would have to pay more rent likely, she’s open to considering moving if I decide to sell. And if she needs a little help, I’ll supplement her.

The thing is, if I sold my house, I could pay off my credit card debt and pay off my car. I wouldn’t have property tax or a mortgage or house insurance. And while I would still travel some, I wouldn’t have to travel every other week. Let’s face it — gas is expensive as hell in Canada!

If I have less expense and all my debt is paid off, I can put more money away and I would be able to save a substantial amount. By the time I am 60 I could potentially have $100K put away and retire early. I wouldn’t be rich, but I’d be good until I’m 65 and all of my other income kicks in. And maybe by the time I’m 60 I’ll have enough income streams from online work to live off of.