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by jtolj 1672 days ago
I left my job (Senior Developer at an Agency) a little over a year ago. I did have a plan in that I've always wanted to build a SAAS product, but I knew going in that it was very unlikely to be successful enough to make a living at.

It's been overwhelmingly positive experience for me. Caveat is that I have no children, no debt outside of student loans, and had several years of living expenses saved if I needed it.

The peaks:

- I built a SAAS product I'm proud of that a few companies are using and paying for. This has been on my bucket list for a decade or more.

- I have total control over how I spend my day, which has mostly (see valleys) been a tremendous boon for my mental health.

- I've had a healthy amount of time to spend with my partner and loved ones (although Covid obviously complicated this pre-vaccine).

- I've had more time to focus on my hobbies, and have made more progress on music in the last year than ever before.

- I've managed to contract with some great companies and individuals to cobble together a meager living while still having a lot of control over my time.

The valleys:

- Some days can feel directionless. Sometimes I can turn this into a positive and take a meandering walk and think about things, sometimes it makes me feel unproductive and down on myself.

- Even though I've barely tapped into my savings, I'm frequently concerned about money / unplanned expenses.