Have you ever dreamed of a life where you didn’t have to work? Yeah, I know. Stupid question. We’ve all imagined ourselves lazing away the days while our bank account stacks up. How nice it must be for millionaires who are so rich they don’t have to work. But it sucks for the rest of us who couldn’t afford to get by without a job. Or so you thought. It is possible to make ends meet without working a steady, full-time job. Keep reading to find out how to live without working.
How to Live without Working
The internet is full of get-rich-quick schemes that try to convince you that you could quit your job and still bring in six figures a month. Now, I’m not going to lie. It is possible if you know what you’re doing.
But for the majority of us, we won’t find that much success. However, there are still ways that you can supplement your income to the point where you could get by without having to work a full-time job. What most people don’t realize is that to get to the point where you’re ready to start making money without working, you have to put in work first.
Living without a job can be a challenging lifestyle, especially when you first begin. The best course of action is to make sure you’ve put aside enough money to live off of while you get started. Start planning early in your life so you can begin preparing for a life without working while you’re using your current job to save money.
These tips can help you learn how to live without working, so when the day comes that you’re ready to say goodbye to your tedious 9 to 5 job, you’re all set. Use one, two, or all of these suggestions to help you live without having to hold a steady job. The world is a vast place. Why waste time behind a desk when you can make money without working and enjoy all that life has to offer?
1. Passive Income
Unless you have a large savings account, you’ll need a way to pull in money to pay for your living expenses. Passive income is an excellent solution to how to enjoy life without having to work. To qualify as passive income, the source has to be something that you aren’t required to do anything with once it’s in place.
Many people use affiliate marketing as a means of passive income, which is a great solution, provided you have traffic to your site to generate sales. If you’re not getting people into your blog or store, you’re not going to make a profit because no one will be buying anything.
The best way to make a sustainable income using passive solutions is to have more than one source of money coming in. As the old saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The same goes for your cheese (your cash). Instead of going through this list and finding one idea that appeals to you, consider trying out multiple ones so you can improve the amount of money you can earn without having to work.
Types of Passive Income
One of the most common examples of passive income is investments. A lot of people think that you can’t invest unless you’re rich. I’m a mom of four, and I have to watch every penny I spend. Yet, I still manage to find a few dollars here and there to throw into an investment fund and forget about it while it gains interest and grows. You can set these to cash out whenever you want access to the money. I’m letting my investments accrue for at least a decade.
Another way to set up a passive income is to set up a shop online. There are so many different ways you can earn money without having to do much work. Most people have gotten to the point where they would instead shop online than out in stores. You can sell products that you make, or you could sell other people’s stuff. Check out Shopify or Amazon to get started.
One of the most common ways I’ve heard of people making income without working is by blogging. I used to think it was a myth that you could make any money with a blog unless you shelled out a lot of money upfront. But I’ve since learned that it’s not just possible. It’s super easy. I have four different blogs of my own, and each generates money each month. And the best part is it doesn’t cost me a thing to run them! Nor do I have to do anything to them, unless I want to add new stuff, which I always do. The more, the better.
Market Your Skills
Most of us have hobbies. For some, it’s possible to turn that hobby into a way to create a passive income. For example, ten years ago, my hobby was writing. I loved to do it for fun, but I never made money from it. Now, with the proper research and planning, I support my four children with writing. I’ve managed to get enough income generated from passive sources that if I choose not to work, I still have money coming in.
But any time I want to bring in some extra dough, I can pick up a side job or several. If you have writing skills, check out all the different options you have to use your talent as a source of passive income. This technique can be used with any ability – sewing, making jewelry, art, decor, music. If you’ve got an idea, someone has an interest.
2. Live Within Your Means
If you’re trying to navigate the terrain into becoming one of the non-working, you might balk at the changes you’ll have to make to your lifestyle. When you don’t have a large stream of steady money coming in, it can be challenging to maintain the same lifestyle that you’ve become accustomed to as an employed person.
Without a job, you’ll need to start living within your means. Avoid making extravagant purchases. Learn how to hunt for bargains and sales instead of buying items full price or brand name. Often, generic works just fine. You could consider taking up thrift shopping, which is buying items that have been previously used by other people. Or figure out how to make your own clothing. Once you get good at it, you could create custom items for other people as a side business for extra income.
If you own a large home, consider renting out spare rooms so you can have a new source of money coming in. If you prefer to live alone, consider downsizing to a smaller place, which would be cheaper. The profits you make from an estate sale can get you a long way to living without working if you control your money correctly.
Make a Budget and Stick to It
I used to be the worst at budgeting. It seemed like no matter what I did, things wouldn’t balance out. But I realized it was because we were excessive spenders. Once I started writing for a living, I had to learn how to keep my expenses organized. I was shocked to see just how much money I’ve been wasting.
The cost of fast food alone was enough to make me cry. I could have bought my son his first heap of rust truck for him to start working on for when he gets his license in two years. If only I had taken the money I wasted on junk and invested it instead. I could be sitting on a pile of cash right now. Ah, to be young and stupid.
To live without working, you’ll have to know what recurring expenses you’ll have each month. Even if you’ve downgraded your life to the bare minimum, you’ll still need money. There’s food, clothing, housing, utilities, and hygiene just to start. Write out each expense and the average cost. Try to set it for the middle or high-end range of the prices so you’ll always have a backup in case it’s higher than usual.
Once you’ve calculated your expenses, you can figure out how you’ll fund each of them. Next, analyze your spending to see where you can cut costs. You don’t need a $5 coffee every morning. Save money by making a cup before you leave home. Living without a job means you might have to give up a lot of your comfort purchases, such as the newest iPhone or front row tickets to your favorite band.
Establish Your Priorities
When you’re trying to survive on a limited income, things can get stressful. There were times when I didn’t know how I was going to make it as I struggled to break into the writing scene. I had to give up a lot of stuff to make sure my priorities were taken care of first.
Determine your priority expenses. What costs must you pay each month that are vital to your life? Things like the internet and gym membership aren’t necessities. Automatically deduct the costs of these things from your source of income before you consider doing any unplanned spending. When money is limited, you have to use it wisely.
After you’ve figured out your essentials, you might decide to allow a small portion of your remaining funds to pay for comfort items, like a coffee or snack allowance. I have a fund set aside that I call “Cure for Insanity.”
I add in a few dollars here and there when I have extra. When life gets too stressful, I tap into the funds, and my family and I escape. Whether we’re taking a day trip just to ride through the country or we’re having a weekend away from the real world, I’ve got money saved up for an unexpected guilty pleasure. Putting aside extra money allows you to have a nest egg, so when you find something you want, you won’t be hurting your pocketbook by getting it.
3. Change Your Eating Habits
For me, it was super challenging to change the way we ate meals. As a mom of four kids, I’m always busy doing something. I can’t think of the last time I wasn’t juggling two to three different tasks at the same time. At this very moment, I’m sharing my wisdom with you amazing readers, checking my email on my phone, and folding clothes while I ponder my next sentence.
Fast food was designed for exhausted mothers like me who find it easier to pay someone else to customize each order to the exact specifications of their kids instead of doing it themselves. I mean, think about it. There’s no dishes to wash. There’s no pots to scrub. You just eat and toss the trash.
But fast food isn’t known for being a healthy option for growing kids. So there’s strike one. Once it’s gone, the kids are hungry again in an hour, so you’re stuck cooking anyways or buying more takeout. Strike two. And the costs can really add up over time. You can cook a meal for four for $10. Good luck getting everyone’s food for that cheap in a restaurant.
Avoid Eating Out
When I was setting my budget, I was also reviewing my spending trends. One of the areas I had to cut back on was eating out. I won’t lie. It hurt my feelings something terrible, and I did set up an allotment of $50 each month to go towards eating out because sometimes it’s nice to enjoy food that I’m not skilled enough to make.
In just two months, I’d already saved over $700 because I started saying no to restaurants and yes to cooking at home instead. That’s a considerable chunk of change! When you factor in how much money I was now spending on extra groceries, I still saw savings of close to $400.
Each week, plan four to five dinner ideas. Do your research and find out what ingredients you’ll need. Think about going themed, like Italian one week, Mexican the next – the dishes will have similar ingredients, like pasta for Italian or peppers for Spanish meals. This allows you to save money when you shop by buying in bulk without having leftovers.
To save even more money, check your local stores for sales and plan your meals around what’s cheapest. You can usually find good deals on chicken and pork. These can be frozen so you can have enough for the whole month. Buy your beef in bulk and separate it yourself into portioned ziplock bags that you freeze. A 20 pound stick can last me almost two months. And there’s tons of things I can make.
Go Green
If you really want to maximize your savings, consider growing your own food. If you’re a vegetarian, you could drastically reduce the number of items you’d need to purchase from a store, just from a few plants. If you’re limited on outdoor space, consider hydroponics, which allows you to grow your food indoors, from the comfort of your own home.
If you desire the option to be self-sustaining, you could raise your own livestock for slaughter, such as pigs, chickens, and cattle. But if you’re doing this, you’ll have to factor in the costs for raising the animals until they’re ready for slaughter. Then you’ll have to consider the costs of processing them into the various food items. This can get expensive. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to get it from the store.
4. Revise Your Need for Entertainment
Another place that I had to eliminate expenses that upset me was entertainment. Any parent knows the horror of being trapped inside a house with a bunch of kids suffering from cabin fever. When the weather is too dreary for them to go outside, all they do is drive each other crazy from close confinement. Even in separate rooms, they’re still butting heads.
For my children’s safety and my peace of mind, I always try to find things to do so we can get out of the house. I’ve learned that they get along much better when they’re active. But anyone with children knows that it can be expensive going to do stuff. I mean, a trip to the movies alone runs me $100. It’s criminal.
When I started my budget, I realized we were going to have to stop taking such expensive field trips. I burst into tears. What had I done in my life to deserve the torment of the constant presence of my bickering brats? And to top it off, I had to cut out my personal entertainment expenses. I’m a self-diagnosed music junkie. I love watching live music, and I used to spend a lot of money to do it.
Cheaper Entertainment Solutions
When you’re trying to live without a job, you want to find areas where you can save money without giving up too much. There are ways you can still enjoy entertainment without breaking your budget. Instead of seeing a movie the day it comes out, wait until it hits discount theaters. Or skip the theater altogether and wait until you can stream it online.
With all the different movie apps out there, you could end up spending a ton of money just to have access to the same shows. Do you need Amazon Prime, Hulu, Vudu, and Netflix? I used to think I did. But it turns out I can survive with just one, or even none. There are plenty of great free movie apps that you can download to any streaming device.
A lot of people go the Netflix route, and it is a viable option. But if you’re going to be limiting yourself to just one service, which you should be doing if you’re trying to live without a job, I recommend Amazon Prime. Prime gives you access to music, books, movies, free shipping, and discount prices on your Amazon purchases. Bundles like these help you save money, so you’re not paying for multiple different services.
If you like to read, consider going to your local library and checking out some books instead of purchasing new ones. Or check out Facebook groups. You can often find people giving away books they’ve read, which are usually in excellent condition. If you prefer reading electronically, Amazon offers thousands of free books in all genres.
Learn to Find Free Entertainment
I have come a long way in how I used to be about money. You could say I’m downright cheap now, even though I don’t have to be. But once you get used to saving money, it can be a bit hard to go back to splurging on stuff you don’t need.
One of the best things I’ve discovered since living my life without a 9 to 5 job is how to have fun without spending money. A quick Google search of your city plus free things to do can reveal a treasure trove of possibilities. I’ve lived near Memphis my whole life, but it wasn’t until my boyfriend started showing me free things to do that I realized there was so much I’d never even known existed.
Our favorite free thing to do is exploring. Anytime we go somewhere that we’re going to be at for a while, we find a local park or scenic trail to check out. We pack a small cooler and strikeout. Sometimes we finish the whole walk.
Other times we just kill some time and then turn around to go back to the car. Not only are we getting exercise and spending quality time together, but we’ve seen some beautiful sites that we might have missed if we’d gone somewhere to blow a bunch of money. Check out your town on foot to get a different perspective.
5. Transportation
If you’ve decided to live without a job, you might be considering selling your car. It’s a smart solution if you have a vehicle that requires monthly payments. You want to eliminate as many costs as possible and not having a car is a way to start. You could use the money you get from selling your vehicle to help support you as you’re waiting on your passive income to increase.
Instead of having a car, and therefore insurance payments and gas costs, consider purchasing a bicycle instead. You’ll be helping the Earth, getting exercise, and saving money from having to pay for a ride. Although a bike does have downsides as it takes you longer to get somewhere, you can get tired if it’s a long-distance, you can’t transport others along, and if there’s bad weather, you’re screwed.
If you’re in a metro area, you can get a bus pass or a subway card for a few dollars a month. These allow you to ride wherever you need to go in the city. You can usually find a stop that’s within walking distance of your destination so you won’t have to splurge on cab fare once you get off the bus or tunnel. Sometimes, you can even hop on with your bike.
Keep Your Car and Improve Your Income
If the idea of getting rid of your car is a no-go for you, I understand. It would have been impossible for me to go without a ride, first and foremost, because we live in a rural area where there is no public transportation. And I’m too old and tired to be trying to ride a bike everywhere I have to go. Plus, no room to haul the kiddos!
Having a car can be beneficial. For example, if you’re looking to make a little side money from time to time, consider signing up to be a driver for Uber or Lyft. These services allow regular people like you and me to drive strangers around in our own cars, setting our own hours. Do you only want to do it for three hours one day a week? No problem.
Just turn on the app you’ve installed on your phone, which will track all your information like distance traveled, time per fare, and hours worked. Mark yourself as available and make a little cash while you’re out running your errands or killing time until your friends get off work.
Shop and Deliver
It has become easier than ever to have everything we need to be delivered right to our door. There’s a big market out there for people who prefer to pay someone to do their shopping for them. Each week, you’re given a list of items to pick up and delivery methods.
I did this for a while and had one job that paid $300 just to deliver a bag of specially ordered dog food from PetCo to a person’s home. What can I say? Some people are crazy about their pets. You can find these types of jobs under freelance opportunities when searching the internet. Check out sites like Fiverr or Clickworker. I have used and approve of both.
Stop Working So You Can Live Your Life
Every day, I am reminded of how fleeting life is. Someone can be here one day and gone the next. You never know when your time is going to be up. Do you really want to waste your life slaving away for the man just to earn a bunch of money you never have the time to spend? We’ve given you five foolproof tips to help you learn how to live without working. Start your preparations today, so you have time to enjoy life before it’s too late.