How I Quit My Job! Part 1

How Property Investing Allowed Me To Quit My Corporate Job

If you put bananas and money in front of monkeys, they will choose bananas because monkeys do not know that money can buy more bananas. In reality, if you offer job and business to people, they would choose job because most people do not know that business can bring more money than salaries. Profit is better than salaries as salaries can make you a living but profits can bring you infinite fortune.

Jack Ma (Founder of Alibaba)

Job Security vs Corporate Slave

When I transitioned from working full-time in law to business owner and property investor, my mindset shift was one of the biggest mental challenges I had to overcome.

I was very comfortable in my job. I worked for two high profile partners of a Magic Circle firm (top tier law firm) based in Dubai who were both lovely people and at the top of their game. I was working with one of the best litigation teams in the region and some of the brightest legal talents, I was in a comfortable environment, and above all, I had the security of receiving a tax-free salary every month.

I remember strutting around the posh and magnificent DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) in Dubai around eight years ago on a coffee break. I was in my corporate suit and heels, carrying a latte and a note book, pretending to look pre-occupied. Handsome men marched by with their smart blue suits, crisp white shirts, matching brown leather shoes, slicked-back hair, well-groomed beards, fixated with the latest e-mail on their iPhones. Yes, think of a scene from Suits!

Beautifully dressed ladies were tottling around, with immaculate makeup, perfectly manicured nails and pedicured feet squeezed into a pair of branded heels. Then it dawned on me…we were marching to the same beat…. well, to the beat of the Corporate Slave! Or is that too harsh?

But…I was in that category too.

Corporate employees are generally high academic achievers — A-Grade students at school who achieved well at University, maybe gained a Masters degree, further education and then went on to join a top company with a great career plan, salary and benefits package.

Everything is planned out and you are trained to do well and climb the corporate ladder. However, the more you climb the corporate ladder and the bigger your paycheck, the more pressure there is to perform better, higher, with a bunch of responsibilities and work longer hours. How much time do you spend away from your family and the people that matter? How many weekends have you now worked in a row? Have you made time for your hobbies, health and wellbeing?

Picture from Deposit Photos

Golden Shakles?

One partner I worked with described this as ‘golden shackles’ and the golden hampster treadmill as ‘relentless’. I could see he was probably burnt out but had to keep going because he was at the top of his career game and his tax-free salary kept him there. We are talking roughly around AED100,00 per month salaries here, which is approximately $26,900 (£20,000) / month, tax-free!

When you reach director or partner level, how long can you hold that position before you will be told to step down and find a successor? There is only that one top-dog position but how many younger talented people are coveting for your role, ready to pounce?

During a recession which comes about every ten years or so, it is very normal for employees to lose their jobs especially when a company is cutting costs, more commonly referred to as “getting rid of dead wood”.

Usually people with the bigger salaries get laid off first. Indeed I witnessed this during my first year in Dubai when I arrived during the economic downturn in 2009. People and entire departments got laid off and people who had debt and were unable to repay those debts or find another job were fleeing the country. Abandoned cars gathering dust were left around the city and at airports which made the international news arena.

Picture from Deposit Photos

What’s Your Backup Plan?

I agree with Robert Kiyosaki when he talks about a JOB being the most risky investment. I think that completely boils down to two main factors:

1. You are working hard for a salary to make someone else wealthier, and
2. As you are an employee, you will never have full control over your future at that company.

If you don’t have a backup plan, it means that your company has full control over your financial future and you will always be dependant on a job as your only source of income. Does this resonate with you?

I decided to invest in property and as a result was able to replace my salary in 2013 with the net rental income generated from a few properties. It was a personal and lifestyle choice which then saw me quit my legal job and legal career altogether.

I will divulge more in Part 2 of this article.

Question To You

How long would you be able to sustain yourself (and your family) should you lose your job?

Yes, you may try and get another job and live off your savings in the meantime, but what about if it took you two years before you could land another decent paying role? Indeed there are many people who just live paycheck to paycheck every month.

Would it mean that you would need to downsize your lifestyle? Do have enough income to cover your monthly payments and still have money left over for treats and luxuries?

In order to do this exercise, you need to add up what your current monthly expenses are, including:

1. Rent / Mortgage
2. Household Bills such as gas, electricity, government / council tax, water bill, AC bill, WIFI
3. Service charges (if applicable)
4. Mobile phone
5. TV related subscriptions
6. Transportation and travel including petrol
7. Food and groceries
8. Credits card payment
9. Loan payments
10. Insurances (if applicable)
11. Schooling fees (if applicable)

Do write your monthly outgoing number down and we will go back to this in Part 2 of ‘How I Quit My Job’.

If you enjoyed this article, you may wish to read:

What Squid Game Teaches Us About Money

You can also find more of my content on YouTube:

Lesley Tao