Escaping 9-to-5 is a work in progress that will result in a book early next year. In this book, I outline how you can quit your job (or at least make it an optional part of your life) by using several basic strategies. There is nothing complicated or impossible about my outlined plan for escaping the 9-to-5 daily grind. In fact, I am currently using the same principles outlined in my book for my own planned retirement at age 36.

The Escaping 9-to-5 plan illustrates how you can start working today towards a fruitful and early retirement in the next 10-15 years. No major sacrifices are required: you still get to keep your house, your life savings, and the little luxuries that you enjoy. You WILL NOT be stuck eating Ramen Noodle for the rest of your existence while you try to save up enough cash for retirement! In fact, Escaping 9-to-5 is not just a book about saving up for a retirement "someday", but rather a detailed plan for enjoying life both TODAY and TOMORROW.

The plan I outline is as follows:

Chapter 1: Planning your escape.

Your job sucks- so what are you planning to do about it? What goals are you working for, and will your current job help you achieve them? If you were unable to work at your current job, how would you survive? Questions such as these are designed to help you explore your life and how your job fits into it.

This chapter also asks how you relate to money. Is money considered something evil? Are you prone to spending all of your money as soon as you receive it? Or do you take the spendthrift approach, buying lots of unnecessary items simply because they are on sale? These questions are important because they help address why you might be in debt or just not at a point in life that you had expected to be by now.

Chapter 2: What do you make?

This chapter addresses the sensitive question of how much money you actually earn. You are asked to tally up your gross earnings, costs, and expenses in order to learn about your net income. I introduce The Financial Time Machine, which asks questions such as: If you could go back in your financial life, what would you do differently? How are you doing right now in terms of your finances (i.e., budget)? And finally, what do you see in your financial future- quitting your job early, early retirement, or neither?

Chapter 3: Simplifying your life.

This chapter takes a long hard look at how much you are spending and on what. Needs versus wants are identified. Some common assumptions are addressed, such as how much money is really needed in order to live "the good life." Work and other time-suckers are discussed, and how to either eliminate unnecessary work or delegate it to others. Working for You, rather than for others, is introduced. I also discuss how you can squeeze an extra hour (or more) out of your day. Oh, and by the way- have you considered virtual assistants?

Chapter 4: The dreaded budget.         

Budgeting is a fact of life. Everyone I know of can agree that a budget is important….yet few of these folks actually make and keep to a budget. And yet, if you don’t know how much money you have coming in or going out, how can you ever hope to escape your job? In this chapter, I discuss planning a budget, the difference between good and bad budgets and how to stay motivated. The 30-day no-spend challenge is discussed.

Chapter 5: Getting on the passive income train.  What do the rich know that you don’t? The rich know that passive income is king.

Passive income is income that you earn regardless of whether you are working, eating, vacationing, or sleeping. Passive income is the key to your eventual escape for active income earning; i.e., your job. The rich know that you are never really rich until you are generating passive income.

How can you generate passive income? This chapter illustrates several quick and easy ways through which you too can get on the passive income train. From affiliate marketing to investments to freelance writing, it’s all discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 6: Earning side income.

Passive income is great, but you often need start-up capital in order to generate it. Finding ways to earn side income can go a long way towards helping you escape the 9-to-5 grind and retire early, especially if your current savings do not generate sufficient retirement income. Also, earning side income protects you from the possibility of a layoff or getting fired from your "real" job. 

So, how do you earn side income? Several tried-and-true methods are mentioned (eBay, tutoring, etc.), as well as some unexpected methods. For example, there is web site flipping, a rather lucrative online business that thousands of people engage in every day. What about building an iPhone App? You’d be surprised at how little time or effort these ventures actually take. And, you don’t need to be a computer geek in order to profit from these ventures. 

Chapter 7: 101 Ways to save money.

You know that coupons can save you money. However, have you heard about supercoupons? There are entire sites and businesses devoted to the simple idea of combining coupons to save money.

  In many cases, your daily necessities like toiletries, groceries, and clothes can be completely free. Some folks even make money while saving money with coupons and rebates.

Did you know that buying groceries can actually be a waste of time and money? Did you know that it can be more affordable to eat at restaurants? This chapter explains how eating out can be cheaper than eating in- and that you can eat out almost every night of the week, if you wish.

How do you take a vacation without going broke? It’s a lot simpler than you might realize. And you won’t be stuck counting the roaches at a one star motel either.

Finally, how can you save money on long-term expenses like daycare, elder care, health insurance or college? With some forethought and planning, you may never have to pay for these big ticket expenses.

Chapter 8: Directing your future.

The future is yours- if you wish to take charge of it. The key here is to live within your means, build up your passive income and find ways to earn side income until you reach your pre-determined "crossover point." This is the point at which you will be able to either quit your current job or reduce your hours considerably. This is also the point at which you will determine what you wish to do with the rest of your life.

The crossover point can be both exciting and scary. You can call it a mini-retirement, a leave of absence or something else even more imaginative. Many folks who take this route simply view it as quitting their jobs temporarily. Of course, the goal here is to escape 9-to-5 permanently.

So, there you have it: Escaping 9-to-5 is, in a nutshell, an escape plan for drones like you and me who are looking to make more of their lives than just another paycheck. Won’t you join us?