How to live without a job

You don’t need a full-time job, but you do need to work to manage your bills. Unless you have enough savings or have recently inherited a large sum of money.

Even with such an inheritance, you must know how to manage the money. So, realistically, you need to work.

However, it’s possible to live without a traditional 9-to-5 job. You can live life quite happily.

But without a job, every situation and circumstance will be different. You might not afford a fancy car, but you’ll afford somewhere to sleep at night.

How you live without a job will depend on your background, your lifestyle, and how you carry your life.

Remember, your lifestyle and quality of life may not be as good as those of people with a traditional job. There will always be restrictions on your spending.

If you’re in a situation where you don’t like your current job, you feel like your pay is average, and you feel like you aren’t growing in that field career-wise, maybe it’s time to call it quits. But before you can follow your gut and quit your current job, make sure you decide what to do afterward.

When you don’t have a job, you’ll sometimes feel a mix of relaxation, curiosity, freshness, and, worst of all, fear about the future. You’ll still have bills to pay, whether for rent, travel, or food costs.

You’ll need money. Money will afford you the basic needs that you can’t live without—food, water, shelter, etc. Therefore, you’ll need ways that can help you generate passive income.

Since you have a lot of time, you can always look for flexible part-time jobs. You’ll need to have the knowledge and skills for the kind of part-time job you choose to venture into.

Below are some part-time jobs that can help you even without a traditional 9-to-5 job.

Freelancing

Becoming an online freelancer is one way how to live without a job. You can make more money freelancing than someone working a 9-to-5 job. Some freelancing gigs you can choose from include but are not limited to;

Technical writing
Animation
Article/content writing
Copywriting
Editing
Translation
Transcription
Graphic design
Social media manager

Freelancing allows you to become your own boss with the flexibility it offers. That means you can work when you want to, offering you a chance to make as much money as possible.

However, freelancing doesn’t offer as much stability as you might think. Your income can be inconsistent, with no benefits compared to if you could be employed.

Additionally, you must have built a name for yourself in your area of expertise. You’ll need experience and samples to show potential clients and possibly land startup gigs.

Photographing

If you have a passion for photography, this is another way to live without a job. If you have an eye for photography and come up with stunning results, there is no reason why you can’t use it to generate passive income.

You can venture into stock photography, where you can license your photos on some stock photo websites, such as Flickr. Websites, magazines, and companies or media use such stock websites to access images for online or print marketing.

They pay a fee to use the pictures. You’re always compensated when your photos are sold. You’ll need a good-quality camera that will take brilliant images that are outstanding and attractive.

Taking surveys

You can live without a job by taking surveys. Numerous survey sites pay cash instantly, which you can explore and use as a side hustle to earn money part-time.

Survey sites pay you for your opinion. However, you should know that taking surveys will not make you rich, but it can be an excellent means of earning extra dollars.

House or pet sitting

If you’re the kind of person who gets tired working around the clock, what about sitting around watching someone’s house or pets? Some people like to go on vacation, and sometimes they will go on business trips far from their primary residence.

If they are gone for a long time, they’ll need someone to watch over their homes or pets. If you love watching over pets, you can take advantage of such circumstances.

They can tell you to stay at their place or take your pets to yours. You can agree on the payment depending on how long you will watch over their homes or pets.

Forex trading

The job requires someone with good forex trading knowledge. This way, you can maximize your income.

Forex trading is another way to generate passive income from selling and buying currencies. The forex market should not be a get-rich-quick scheme. Rather, you should make it a part-time income stream.

You can trade for an hour or ten hours as you choose. If you’re planning to start forex trading, there are a lot of courses that teach how to get started with foreign trading.

How to make it work without a job

When you still have ways to generate passive income, you must know how to manage your finances. Since you’re not earning as much as someone with a traditional job, you’ll need to cut your expenses. You need,

To have a reasonable budget in place.

Having a budget means avoiding eating up all your available money at once. You’ll be able to control your spending when you have a plan in place for your budget.

One way to budget your finances is by adopting a frugal lifestyle. That means being a minimalist and living with fewer material things.

For instance, going for a simple wardrobe, TV, etc. Practicing minimalism saves you money because you aren’t spending it on clothes or home goods you don’t need.

Cutting on your luxurious costs

When we talk about luxurious costs, that may include cutting your entertainment costs, eating out, taking vacations, etc. We are not saying completely cutting them off but probably reducing your monthly spending to a few dollars.

You can start cooking at home rather than ordering, which involves paying for delivery, and tips, and don’t forget the food is mostly overcharged.

You can also start watching from home. Invite your friends over to break the boredom of watching alone.

Relocate to a cheaper area

Another way to live without a job is to relocate to an area with fewer or cheap amenities. However, relocate when it makes sense.

Especially in large cities, you’ll find out there are a lot of amenities. Amenities such as entertainment and attractions sites dig into your income.

Such amenities are tempting and leave you spending money unwillingly. You can always escape by moving to an area with such few amenities.

You can also decide to cost share when it comes to paying rent. Having a roommate means sharing possible utility costs and household costs such as water, electricity, buying groceries, etc.

Track your spending

You can never manage your money if you’re not tracking how you spend it. You, therefore, need to always look at your monthly spending. You’ll be able to know your budget plan is working.

Did your monthly spending decrease, increase, or stay constant? Are there purchases that you made and didn’t need? Mark it and make it a point of correction.

Diversify/Invest in income-generating projects

Investing in stocks or bonds and real estate can make your money grow. This is also another way to live without a job.

This is one way to grow your money with less effort. You can look into various investment vehicles and see which is best to invest in.

Conclusion

How you live without a job will be heavily influenced by your lifestyle. When you don’t have a job, your spending is limited.

You won’t have a fancy life. You may not be able to afford as much entertainment or a fancy car compared to someone with a traditional job.

You, however, must work to manage your daily bills. Hence the need for a part-time job. And when working a part-time job, you need to learn how to manage your income to avoid overspending your earnings.