Last week, I wrote about my latest job: being a food delivery driver. It’s a good short-term gig. I have too much free time right now and I want to be a little more productive. I was getting a bit tired from watching movies and playing video games in the middle of the day. It was too much idleness. Lunch delivery is an easy way to earn extra income. One reader commented that driving a couple of hours a day isn’t really the best use of my time. He said that I should take advantage of my skill set to generate more income. You should be developing a freelance product or work rather than doing commissioned work.
That is great advice. You need to leverage your strengths to optimize your income. Why do something that anyone can do? The income will not be as high. I’m trying to raise $30,000 to build a cabin on the beach. It will take me 3 years of delivering lunches to do that much. However, money is not the main problem. I already made over $30,000 when I took some profit on Nvidia stock last week. I might quit driving if money is really my goal. Why am I still delivering food then?
life always changes
Mrs. RB40 also doesn’t understand why I’m delivering food. She is worried that she will have an accident. The truth is that I didn’t understand it either. But something drives me to drive. (Ha, dad joke!) I was thinking while driving and now I understand. It is part of the process of reinventing myself.
Life has been great since I left my engineering degree 11 years ago. I love being a stay-at-home dad and blogging is so much fun. However, things do not stay the same forever. Life always changes. My son is getting older. Every year he is more independent. In 6 years, he will finish high school and go to university. Blogs are also in decline. Most blogs are losing momentum. Traffic has dropped and other media platforms are taking over. It’s not so much fun when things are slowing down. In a few years, blogs will be a relic like cable TV.
I need to reinvent myself.
reinvent yourself
Reinventing yourself is not easy, but we all have to do it sooner or later. The last time I did this was 12 years ago. Engineering was no longer the right thing for me. I was stressed and my health deteriorated. I knew I had to get out. Fortunately, I started blogging and gained some traction. Once we saved 30 times our annual expenses, I quit my engineering degree and became a SAHD/blogger.
This time it’s a little different. I’m not stressed and I don’t have the next event scheduled. I really don’t know what to do next. The good thing is that there is no pressure. We will be fine financially no matter what you do next. That is as long as you don’t have a midlife crisis and screw it up. (If it’s a mid-life crisis, it’s pretty mild. It’s firmly in the safe zone.) I’m also much older than last time. I’ll be 56 when RB40Jr leaves for college. At that point, it might be the right time to retire and travel full time.
For now, I want to try different things. I’ll be delivering lunches for a while and see how it goes. I might get some ideas while I’m away from home. It’s better than watching TV at home. When I get tired of delivering food, I’ll try to apply to be an extra in a movie. After that I’ll try something else and see what happens. Who knows? Something interesting could come up. That is my reinvention process. I’m not good at analyzing everything and planning the next move. For me, it’s better to act and see where life goes.
Wrap
Alright, that’s why I’m delivering lunches for $24 an hour (before mileage deduction). It’s just a step in the right direction. I need to shake off my lethargy and gain some momentum. I hope to have some ideas soon. But there is no pressure either. I am 6 years old before RB40Jr goes off to college. Our finances are good, so I have the luxury of trying the sub-optimal route. That is the benefit of FIRE.
What do you think? How do you reinvent yourself?
*Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I’m investing in multi-family properties with CrowdStreet. They have many projects in the United States. Go check them out!
Image Credit – Hush Naidoo Jade Photography
Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have a lot of projects in the US so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you achieve financial independence.
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