I haven't let it affect decisions like buying a new car. I've been looking at some houses, but just for fun. I've been working on some of my own startups since

I haven't let it affect decisions like buying a new car. I've been looking at some houses, but just for fun. I've been working on some of my own startups since I quit this job. I needed to keep my burn-rate low, so I lived in some very cheap countries in South America, South-east Asia, and/or Europe. Basically the "digital nomad" thing, except I didn't move around very much. And then I somehow managed to find a long-term client, where they only need me to work 4 hours per week, at $150 per hour. This supports a very high standard of living in my current country, so I'm extremely happy with this arrangement. I stumbled into this completely by accident, and I never even knew it was possible. So now I'm thinking that this is a pretty good backup plan, and I've started to put down roots here. I know this particular gig won't last forever, but I certainly don't want to go back to full-time employment. 20 hours per week would be hard enough. I do need to keep working hard on my own projects. I still haven't been able to build something that generates passive income. Not even regular income. I try to make a lot of time for fun projects and hobbies that don't make any money. Things like art and music, and making things. I know it's possible to have a career as an artist or a musician, but I don't think I'm that lucky. I wish I could really pour all of my energy and time into those things, instead of also spending time trying to monetize various apps and websites. I might try Patreon. I already have some pretty popular YouTube videos, so I think there is an audience for the kind of projects that I love to build. That's what I would be doing if I was retired, so maybe Patreon can help me to do that right now. I might try to set that up when I finish my next project.