The Money Trap (escaping 9-5 life)

^{Read time - 4 minutes / Disclosure}

 

Escaping 9-5 life early means:

- Seeing family more.

- Doing things you like.

- Avoiding things you don't like.

Unfortunately, most people feel stuck in their 9-5 job.

 

The Old Way

 

School systems became a thing in the 1800s.

By the 1900s, going to school was expected and became a law in most states.

Governments decide what people learned.

And encourage a lifestyle that looks like this:

- Go to school.

- Get a good job.

- Work 40-50 hour weeks.

- Retire in your 60s and have time freedom.

At age 62 you can get social security payments from the government.

And take money out of your retirement accounts.

Most people follow the "old way" of doing things.

It's the way I started off on too.

And if often looks like this:

 

 

But in my 30s.

I noticed this way wasn't working for most people anymore.

Companies laid people off to save a few bucks.

The social security system was running out of money.

Daily living costs seemed higher than the wages many companies were willing to pay.

The way that worked for our parents and grandparents felt like a trap.

And had many people wondering (especially Millennials)..

Will I ever be able to retire?

 

The truth is..

The old way doesn't work anymore.

This hit me like a ton of bricks 5 years into my job as a banker at Chase.

I knew in my early 20s.

Working a 9-5 for 40 years wasn't for me.

But I hadn't figured out how I'd leave my 9-5 without feeling stressed over money.

That's when I noticed a new trend among some millennial and gen z banking customers.

A new way of living and working.

A way that seemed lots better than the old way.

A way that could change everything.

And it looked like this:

 

 

This new way wasn't about working a 9-5 for 40 years and retiring when we're old and gray.

It's about working differently.

Having more free time sooner instead of waiting several decades into our 60s.

The millennial clients I noticed on this path usually did this:

- They gained knowledge by working a 9-5 job.

- They built a reputation around a topic they knew well.

- They hacked their finances and invested a lot of money.

- They quit their 9-5 job and worked for themselves part time.

 

 

The 9-5 Escape

 

Here's 4 steps that helped me go from the old way of doing things, to the new way and quit my 9-5 job 6 years ago.

Hope it's useful.

Let's dive in:

 

1. The Current Reality

 

Knowing what you don't want in life can change everything.

It sure did for me.

Realizing I didn't want to spend 40 years of my life:

- Sitting in a cubicle.

- On conference calls.

- Being told when I can and can't take a vacation.

...motivated the heck out of me to want something different.

I think Lindsay nailed it perfectly:

 

We work 8 hours a day to enjoy 5 hours in the evening.

We work 5 days a week to enjoy 2 days on the weekend.

We work 48 weeks a year to enjoy 4 weeks of PTO.

We work 45 years to enjoy 10 years in retirement.

Idk about you but I just simply can’t accept that for my life.

— Lindsay (@lindsaybitcoin) June 8, 2024

Knowing what you don't want in life can be a huge source of motivation to chase after what you do want.

 

2. The Perfect Day

 

Imagine working just part time for yourself.

How would that look?

Many of the people I came across in banking that went from the old way, to the new way of living and working created their own little online business.

They figured out how to turn their knowledge into part time income.

And the crazy thing..

Many of these people made more money working for themself part time then they did working full time.

 

The personal trainer at 24 hour fitness started their own little online personal training business.

The accountant at a big accounting firm started their own little online money coaching business.

The psychologist at a high school started their own little online counseling business.

 

After seeing many people do this over and over again.

I decided to start my own little online business (this one).

If you want to do something similar I'd suggest following Justin Welsh. I think he's one of the smartest guys to learn this topic from:

 

Today, my little one-person business crossed $10M in total revenue.

It took 2,119 days, I ran zero ads & I operate at a ~89% margin.

Here are the 23 steps of my wild & strange journey:

Hope they are helpful to someone ↓

— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) May 26, 2025

 

Imagining your perfect day and how your life would look can be a great source of motivation to move you closer to your goals.

 

3. The Money Reset

 

It's hard to confidently quit 9-5 life without fixing your finances first.

And my finances needed a lot of tweaking.

Doubling down on my finances and using my money guide monthly became the #1 priority.

My goal was to get this number as low as possible (while still living a good life).

 

^{Example money guide}

And to get this number as high as possible so I could invest and have a big cushion of money before leaving 9-5 life.

 

^{Example money guide}

(​the free money guide I use​)

I know some people would rather get a root canal.

Then to look at their finances for 30 minutes every month.

I get it.

But if doing that allows you to leave 9-5 life decades early.

Don't you think it's worth it?

At least..

That's the little pep talk I'd give myself once a month if I didn't feel like spending 30 minutes on my money.

Money guides can help you build wealth faster so you can leave 9-5 life sooner (if you want).

 

4. The Intense Investor

 

Investing can lead to passive income.

And passive income like investments, can cover monthly bills instead of active income like a job.

The more money I saved and invested.

The more passive income I'd have.

And the sooner I could turn in my notice and leave my 9-5 job.

To have more control of my time.

To just work part time.

To do my own thing.

 

Seeing all of the different ways people made and saved money in banking was helpful.

So I created a free cheat sheet of the different ways that might be useful.

Here it is:

 

 

Saving and investing more money every month helps make leaving 9-5 life much easier.

 

The bottom line

 

Quitting my 9-5 job at age 39 scared the hell out of me.

But what scared me more..

Was talking to people that were 20 years ahead of me.

People that worked a 9-5 job and sat in a cubicle for 40 years.

People that had regrets and wished they'd taken more chances.

People that said if doing it all over again they would save and invest more money earlier in life so they had more options.

 

After leaving my job as a banker at Chase.

I did home loans part time the first few years as a self employed loan broker.

Then stopped and been focusing on building this little online education business (Millennial Wealth).

The last 6 years have been a wild but interesting journey.

 

If you've ever thought about saving more money, investing more money and leaving 9-5 life early to have more freedom.

To do your own thing.

To not have to ask to go on vacation.

It isn't easy. But it's worth it.

I'm rooting for you.

That's all for today.

See you next Saturday.