Step Six: Make Your Job Work For You

First, I'll give credit where credit is due. My life-partner had recommended I do this for some time. However, it wasn't until I heard Brandon Sanderson discuss working night audit, that I considered it seriously. So babe, I'm very sorry I didn't listen to you sooner, and thank you for showing me the door.

After loosing my job with Uber, I started looking for new options. After about a week, My life-partner suggested a night audit position again. We had both worked in hotels before while we were in college. However, she had been a General Manger and I work for a property management company handling their debt collection. By far one of the most entertaining jobs I've ever had.

I had already made major life changes, but was still looking for an even better way to make writing my first priority. In comes a Night Audit position. We found it in the paper under the classified section. This should give a great idea of how small of a town we moved to. I considered it a done deal.

Now, being a Night Auditor at a massive hotel in downtown Austin or any other large city is a very important job, and comes with a serious level of responsibility. However, in a small town, or even a hotel that's not down town in the city, being a Night Auditor is more of a glorified baby sitter. My number one responsibility is to insure the hotel doesn't burn down. After that comes closing out the business day and filing paper work. Paper work take maybe an hour, spread out over the course of the night.

Therefore, I get paid for eight hours of having to be at work, but only have to work for between one and two hours a night. This is where making your job work for you comes in! I'm getting paid to be at the hotel, and if a guest comes to the front desk I stop everything and help them. However, for a good four or five hours a night, I get paid to write my novel. It feels like getting an advance slowly, that's paid out every two weeks. What's really great is hotels are always looking for a night auditor. So I can keep doing this for years. If my hotel were to shut down, or they wanted to move me into a different position, I can always find a new job.

You can find the previous post here, Step Five: Shit Happens, and be sure to start from the beginning if you've missed out, Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Step Five: Shit Happens

The City of Austin decided to regulate ride-share companies at the beginning of 2016. The new regulations that would be implemented on-top of the federal regulations would result in both Uber and Lyft pulling out of Austin. As such, citizens untied and quickly organized to form and petition to stop the implementation of the new regulations. Over 60,000 Austinites signed the petition. As such Prop 1 was formed and placed on the ballot for May 7th.  A vote yes on Prop 1 would force the city to stop all actions to regulate ride-share companies and their drivers. A vote no on Prop 1 would leave the regulations as they stood and they would go into effect as scheduled. Prop 1 didn't pass, with about 55,000 people saying no, and 34,000 people saying yes.

So, once again I was unemployed, but this time not by choice. We were shocked. My life-partner and I had thought Prop 1 would pass, and hadn't fully planned for it not to. However, we had learned how to deal with a lack of income, and had been squealing away money ever since we left Austin. When Prop 1 failed we had only been out of Austin for two months. We both agreed that I didn't need a job anytime soon, we would be fine. So I started looking for a local job, but it had to be the right job. This is how I got to Step Six: Make Your Job Work For You

Be sure and read Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle, or start from the very beginning with Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle

We had been living in Austin, living large and spending lots of money we didn't need to on rent and bills. We decided to majorly downsize and moved to a small town about an hour away from Austin. It was close enough to Austin to do any of the events that come into town, but far enough away to not have Austin pricing. By moving we were able to cut our cost of living in half if not more.

Once we down-sized our living situation, we went back to spending a little more. We ate out again, though nowhere near the level we use too. We also were able to start buying books again! That was the hardest part to give up when we cut shopping completely out. For years we had a tradition of going to two or three book stores and drink coffee as we bought several new books. It's how our collection reached well over 500 books.

The six months of living with zero disposable income left a lasting mark on our relationship and psyche, but for the better. We no longer spend without thinking. We still buy coffee, but we order strong basic coffee and never from Starbucks (goodbye sugar rush).  We buy books, but now we support local sellers who usually have used books. We also are able to discuss money openly and not feel ashamed when we tell people, "No, we're not going to eat there." or "No, we're no going to see that movie. We'll wait for the DVD." and we tell them we don't see the value in spending our money that way.

I was still working for Uber at the time, but I was down to only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had more time to write, and spend with my family. I was making less, but we had way more disposable income. That would all change when proposition 1 passed in Austin and I found myself without a job again. However, where that door closed and new and better door opened. But before that came, Step Five: Shit Happens

Check out the series from the beginning with  Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle

We had been living in Austin, living large and spending lots of money we didn't need to on rent and bills. We decided to majorly downsize and moved to a small town about an hour away from Austin. It was close enough to Austin to do any of the events that come into town, but far enough away to not have Austin pricing. By moving we were able to cut our cost of living in half if not more.

Once we down-sized our living situation, we went back to spending a little more. We ate out again, though nowhere near the level we use too. We also were able to start buying books again! That was the hardest part to give up when we cut shopping completely out. For years we had a tradition of going to two or three book stores and drink coffee as we bought several new books. It's how our collection reached well over 500 books.

The six months of living with zero disposable income left a lasting mark on our relationship and psyche, but for the better. We no longer spend without thinking. We still buy coffee, but we order strong basic coffee and never from Starbucks (goodbye sugar rush).  We buy books, but now we support local sellers who usually have used books. We also are able to discuss money openly and not feel ashamed when we tell people, "No, we're not going to eat there." or "No, we're no going to see that movie. We'll wait for the DVD." and we tell them we don't see the value in spending our money that way.

I was still working for Uber at the time, but I was down to only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had more time to write, and spend with my family. I was making less, but we had way more disposable income. That would all change when proposition 1 passed in Austin and I found myself without a job again. However, where that door closed and new and better door opened. But before that came, Step Five: Shit Happens

Check out the series from the beginning with  Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Step Three: Earning Less While Living Better

I found it amazing that as we cut back our spending to the point that anything over twenty dollars needed to be discussed and justified, we felt less stress and more free. We still had rent on a large house and all the bills that went with it. At that point, there was still six months left on the lease. We discussed breaking the lease, but decided that it would be better to finish it out and then move. The time we had left, allowed us to very slowly and methodically cut down on what we owned. By the end of lease, everything we owned would fit easily in our office. Even our furniture. The office was just a little smaller than the tiny house we moved into, so it was a great test run to play around with floor plan ideas.

I was unemployed for a short period of time. Eventually I decided to drive for Uber. I still had a car payment and I figured if I put the car to work for me, to help justify keeping the car rather than sell it and buying an older used car. While all jobs have their ups and downs, Uber was for the most part a positive move for me. I was making the bare minimum I needed to pay our bills. However, I went from working 60 plus hours a week, to only 30. The catch was I worked every weekend, and graveyard. I usually left the house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 22:30 and got home as late as 7:00. Each night was different. Monday and Thursday I only worked from 3:00 to 7:00 at most.

I had to go to bed around 13:00, but this meant I spent every morning with my family. On the weekend I didn't get any writing done at all. I was either working or unwinding when I got home. However, during the week since I was up at night and everyone was asleep, I was able to get plenty of writing done. Driving also had another major benefit. I was able to listen to books on my phone between passengers. I would average about 4 or 5 books a week that way. This would last until we got to Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle.

Check out the previous post, Step Two: Rearranging My Life

And, if you're new to the series check out the first post, Step One: Readdress Priorities

Step Two: Rearranging My Life

When I quit my job life became interesting. All of a sudden my old lifestyle was no longer possible financially. However, my general happiness increased. I was able to spend time with my daughter. My life-partner and I were getting along better. There were serious income issues, but we learned to live a more modest lifestyle.

We both became interested in the idea of a minimalist lifestyle. I was the first to start purging. I had been looking into the tiny house movement for years. The idea of being able to own a small house outright, rather than spend thirty years paying a mortgage appealed to me. However, there was no way I would ever fit everything I owned into a small house. First to go was my clothes. I gave away half my wardrobe. Then I started to cut down on my movie collection, my book collection, and even my technology. This took about two months, but I had lots of time on my hands.

As I got rid of my excess belongings I could feel myself getting better. I kept hearing this quote over and over as I cut out the excess shit,

"The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. 

The freedom I got by getting rid of my unneeded belongings was real. That was the easy part for me. The hard part was adjusting to a more modest lifestyle.

We had grown accustomed to eating out several times a week. I loved going to bars and wouldn't think twice about a $20 bar tab. There were simple solutions, but at the time felt very hard to change. I've always been a good cook, and since I had time on my hands I started cooking dinners again. Side-note, my life-partner swears I make the best sandwiches, so we have those for lunch often. With that changed we were saving loads of money and eating better. Both in quality and in the food being better for us. When it came to the beer, I started buying local craft beers. So, once again I was saving money and getting better quality.

This trend of getting more out of life for less money would continue and lead to Step Three: Earning Less While Living Better

Check out the previous post, Step One: Readdressing Priorities if you're new to the series.