How I Managed My Finances During a Sudden Job Transition

In my life, I have always seen change as welcoming. I always chose to go with the flow, making the most of the situation, even when the outcomes were not in my favour. I am an optimist and always saw the glass as half full.

This realisation became my life’s motto: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” It was a smooth sailing journey for me, mentally, emotionally, personally, and financially, until one fateful day, when I realised it was time for a career transition.

How did I do it? Did it affect my finances? This article uncovers my career pivot journey and how I managed money matters.

Sudden Realisation

One day, I was watching the movie ‘The Nanny Diaries’ starring Scarlett Johansson. She portrays a young woman with a goal to find herself but ends up with a job as a nanny in New York City. As soon as I finished watching the movie, something inside me clicked. I could relate to her story and realised how I ended up with a job in sales. The realisation was so sudden yet so real that I realised that a career in sales was leading me away from my dreams of becoming a writer. I immediately experienced a twinge of regret for discovering this aspect about myself so late.

Since I was a young child, I have loved writing and have used it as a means of self-expression. I had received multiple accolades from my school days, right until college. A career in media or journalism would’ve made natural sense, but times were tough and so was the money. I couldn’t fulfil my dreams of joining graduate school, so I chose a sales job at a local stationery company. Seven years later I moved up the sales ladder from executive to assistant manager, but my dream was unfulfilled.

That night, these thoughts flooded my mind as I sat there retrospecting what I could have done differently. It was about time I took action, and I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to let my dreams pass me by. I didn’t want to wake up one morning, well into my sixties, regretting never having taken the plunge into a writing career.

The Pivot

In the next few months, I took the career jump into writing professionally. I had not quit my job yet, as there was a lot of financial uncertainty in my career transition from sales to writing. Since I was voluntarily changing my career and employment, I made sure I saved up and kept a lump sum from my paycheck as a fallback into another savings account. I called it my ‘Career Lifeline Fund’, where I could dip into these savings when money would be scarce.

My friends questioned my decision to gradually move from my cushy sales job and plunge into a low-reward, high-risk writing career. Although I brushed off their concerns, I couldn’t brush off the feeling that I was going to make a huge mistake. 

Plot Twist

I couldn’t believe it! Just mere months later, my company decided to lay me off along with 5 other sales colleagues as a cost-cutting measure. It knocked the wind off my sails, making it the most unwelcome change of my life, especially when I was just starting to transition into a new career. There I was, fuming at the twist in my fate, but not ready to think about the impact this would have on my personal savings. 

I doubled up my efforts to secure some writing gigs, but all I received were freelance offers that barely covered even half of what I originally made. Eventually, I had to dip into my ‘Career Lifeline Fund’, but it was nearly empty. It was certainly a difficult situation. On one hand, I was desperate to get a secure and stable writing job, and on the other hand, the uncertainty of my future made me want to apply for sales jobs instead. My optimism was dipping.

I knew I had to stay calm and carry on. I took a short term loan to keep me going for a while. It was a stop-gap measure till I could land secure employment. Meanwhile, I continued writing my best and persevered because, deep down, I felt I was just one step away from reaching my goal.

Glimmer of Hope

I was right! Finally, my perseverance and hard work bore fruit when I secured a job at a marketing agency in the city. This was the light at the end of the tunnel for me and my writing career transition. I felt a surge of relief as I triumphantly exited the last interview. My career as a professional writer was finally taking off. Sincerely speaking, even though the pay was lower than what I made as an assistant sales manager, it still gave me the opportunity to pursue a dream job. 

To Sum Up

It has been three years since that realisation dawned on me. Did I regret making a sudden career and job change? Not one bit!

My finances certainly took a beating, but some quick actions helped me out of tricky situations. For example, I established a “Career Lifeline Fund” in advance and used short-term loans to help support me financially when I most needed it. Above all, keeping a positive attitude and optimistic mindset, especially when the chips were down, kept me going towards my goal.

I hope this post inspires you to pursue your dream, no matter what.