Want to Quit the 9-to-5? This Financial Planner's 8-Point Checklist Can Get You There Faster

Leaving your job to step out on your own is doable, but you'll need a concrete financial plan to get there. This checklist can see you through the process. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Delivered dailyKiplinger TodayProfit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.Sent five days a weekKiplinger A Step AheadGet practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.Delivered dailyKiplinger Closing BellGet today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.Sent twice a weekKiplinger Adviser IntelFinancial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.Delivered weeklyKiplinger Tax TipsTrim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.Sent twice a weekKiplinger Retirement TipsYour twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirementSent bimonthly.Kiplinger Adviser AngleInsights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.Sent twice a weekKiplinger Investing WeeklyYour twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.Sent weekly for six weeksKiplinger Invest for RetirementYour step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose. There's a specific moment most people have at work. It's not Monday morning or Friday afternoon. It's some random weekday, when you glance at the clock in the midafternoon and think, "I can't do this for another 20 years."That feeling isn't rare anymore. A lot of people aren't just complaining about work — they're actively building exits. Side businesses. Freelance income. Consulting. Anything that gives them more control over their time.If you want to leave regular employment and go it alone, you need a concrete financial plan. Here's how to approach it.Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special IssuesProfit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.Wanting to leave your job isn't a goal — it's a feeling. A goal is something you can check on a spreadsheet and say yes or no to. Until you set some clear financial goals, it's hard to tell whether you're making progress or just staying busy.This is where structure helps. Using the SMART framework will force you to be specific. So instead of simply stating, "I want financial freedom," start by defining the conditions under which leaving your job would feel safe.That usually means answering a few uncomfortable questions:About Adviser IntelThe author of this article is a participant in Kiplinger's Adviser Intel program, a curated network of trusted financial professionals who share expert insights on wealth building and preservation. Contributors, including fiduciary financial planners, wealth managers, CEOs and attorneys, provide actionable advice about retirement planning, estate planning, tax strategies and more. Experts are invited to contribute and do not pay to be included, so you can trust their advice is honest and valuable.Once you answer these questions, your goals start to look like this:These are just ideas. When you set your own goals, pick the target that matters most for your situation, put a date next to it and work backward. If the deadline is a year out, what has to happen this month? This week?For a broader view of how people turn savings rates and investing into time freedom, the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) approach breaks down the underlying mechanics.Before you hit the gas on earning more, find out exactly where your money goes today.Track all income, every expense, and your current savings and investments. Use a spreadsheet, your bank's tools or a budgeting app.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has free cash flow worksheets.Three numbers matter more than everything else:Honestly, track your subscriptions too. You may have signed up for many services that you don't use but are still paying for, which is a common mistake.People expect magic from investing, but the first quick wins usually come from canceling subscriptions and renegotiating bills. Small habits build up fast. Look out for the 13 habits wealthy people practice to retire early.You don't have to quit to begin. The safest way out is building new income while you still have a paycheck. It's easier to test ideas when your rent is covered.Your day job is the perfect safety net, as this will allow you to experiment without needing immediate results.Here's a practical approach:Be careful with the word "passive." Most passive income takes real work up front. But that work can decouple your time from your earnings.Your budget is the throttle. Boost your savings rate and you shorten your exit timeline. That doesn't mean a joyless life. It means making deliberate choices.Start with the big three: Housing, transportation and food.

The Consumer Expenditure Survey shows these categories dominate most budgets. Cut here first if you can, as this may be what is holding you back the most, not the paycheck itself.Quick wins:Set a target savings rate tied to your exit timeline. If you need $36,000 for a one-year runway and you want to quit in 12 months, you need to save $3,000 a month. Work the budget until that number fits. If it can't, increase your income.When you leave a paycheck, your money has to work harder. You need a simple, diversified portfolio you can stick to through ups and downs.Create a tiered strategy. Keep one year of expenses in highly liquid accounts. Invest the next two years in moderate-risk assets. Put everything beyond that timeline into growth-focused investments. This will help create both security and opportunity.Think of it like shelves:Index funds and ETFs make this simple and cheap (the SPIVA scorecards show how hard it is for actively managed funds to beat their benchmarks after fees).Tax wrappers also matter, so considerDebt doesn't feel urgent when your paycheck shows up on time. A $300 credit card payment, a $450 personal loan, maybe a car payment layered in — it all feels manageable when the money is predictable. You set it to autopay and move on.It feels different once you start thinking about leaving work. Picture someone earning steadily with:None of this is extreme. But together, those payments quietly set a floor. No matter what else happens, a certain amount of money has to come in every month just to avoid stress.Some people go after the most expensive debt first because it saves money over time. Others need the psychological win of closing an account and watching a balance disappear. The method isn't the point. Reducing the number of required payments is.Balance transfers and consolidation loans can help in specific cases. They can also backfire if they stretch repayment out longer or make spending feel easier again.Student loans, especially federal ones, are usually worth leaving alone until you fully understand the trade-offs.While you're doing this, you don't need to obsess over your credit score. You just don't want to damage it. Pay on time. Don't let balances creep back up. Avoid opening new accounts while you're trying to simplify.As you do this, protect your credit. Pay bills on time, keep balances from creeping back up and avoid opening new accounts while you're getting ready to make a transition.Looking for expert tips to grow and preserve your wealth? Sign up for Adviser Intel, our free, twice-weekly newsletter.An emergency fund keeps a flat tire from turning into a total detour.While the standard advice is that your emergency fund should be able to cover three to six months' worth of essential expenses, you should aim higher if you're going solo.Here's a checklist to give you an idea of what you should have in place before quitting:Review this plan monthly. Markets change. Clients change. You'll change.A teacher may start tutoring on weekends, then build a small team. A marketer can freelance after hours, then package a service. A salesperson may launch a digital product, reinvest and add retainers. The specifics vary. The structure repeats. Start small, learn fast, scale what works.Leaving the 9-to-5 rarely happens in one dramatic moment. It happens quietly, after enough small decisions line up.Get specific. Set goals tied to dates and dollars. Audit your finances to find hidden cash and redirect it. Build income on the side while your paycheck buys you time.Invest with a plan that gives you cash when you need it and growth when you don't. Eliminate expensive debt so your new life needs less income.Starting today:And remember that even small steps will bring your dream closer.This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.Anthony Martin is CEO and Founder of Choice Mutual. Nationally licensed life insurance agent with 10+ years of experience. Official Member at Forbes Finance Council. Obsessed with finances, building tech and collaborating with other successful entrepreneurs.