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Ask HN: How much Monthly Net Profit before quitting your Job?

8 points by ozres1 14y ago

I'm interested how much monthly net profit you require from your side project/weekend project before you stop working at your full time job!

tarekayna 14y ago
Much more context is needed :). - What are your responsibilities? Do you have a family? - Do you have loans or are in debt in any way? - How much do you have in savings? Can you afford rent for the next 6-12 months? (I wouldn't take into account the money from the side project) - Is this side project something that you think/hope can grow big? Do you want to work on it full-time?
amarcus 14y ago
Enough so that you are not homeless or starving - Food & Shelter.
OafTobark 14y ago
I can't throw out a fixed number if you're asking for yourself as everyone's number will vary greatly depending on their existing cost of living (debt, loans, children, location, etc etc etc...). I won't answer in my personal context either. However, as a general rule of thumb, if you have 12 months runway base on your current cost of living AND you make enough to cover your current monthly run rate, and your projects are potentially growing or you want to free up time for working on other things or things in general, that would be a good rule of thumb.
ixacto 14y ago
In many parts of the usa, other than SF/NY/LA, a typical HN reader could get by on $2.5k/month if they lived frugally.
- lighthazard 14y ago
  That's usually with a roommate... not someone for a family, in my opinion.
lighthazard 14y ago
Everyone has their own method of calculating how much they want to make before quitting a job. It depends on a few things, but they add up: - How much debt do you have (baseline per month you want to pay)? - How much is your cost of living? - How much do you want for extra spending money? - How much do you want to save? - (Most important) How much will it cost to continue growing your company (or sustaining it 100%)?
joonix 14y ago
That depends on your monthly expenses and how little you can afford to live on. I would say the "durability" of your income is much more important: will you still be earning in 6 months? Two years?

8 points by ozres1 14y ago

I'm interested how much monthly net profit you require from your side project/weekend project before you stop working at your full time job!

tarekayna 14y ago

Much more context is needed :). - What are your responsibilities? Do you have a family? - Do you have loans or are in debt in any way? - How much do you have in savings? Can you afford rent for the next 6-12 months? (I wouldn't take into account the money from the side project) - Is this side project something that you think/hope can grow big? Do you want to work on it full-time?

amarcus 14y ago

Enough so that you are not homeless or starving - Food & Shelter.

OafTobark 14y ago

I can't throw out a fixed number if you're asking for yourself as everyone's number will vary greatly depending on their existing cost of living (debt, loans, children, location, etc etc etc...). I won't answer in my personal context either. However, as a general rule of thumb, if you have 12 months runway base on your current cost of living AND you make enough to cover your current monthly run rate, and your projects are potentially growing or you want to free up time for working on other things or things in general, that would be a good rule of thumb.

ixacto 14y ago

In many parts of the usa, other than SF/NY/LA, a typical HN reader could get by on $2.5k/month if they lived frugally.

lighthazard 14y ago
That's usually with a roommate... not someone for a family, in my opinion.

lighthazard 14y ago

Everyone has their own method of calculating how much they want to make before quitting a job. It depends on a few things, but they add up: - How much debt do you have (baseline per month you want to pay)? - How much is your cost of living? - How much do you want for extra spending money? - How much do you want to save? - (Most important) How much will it cost to continue growing your company (or sustaining it 100%)?

joonix 14y ago

That depends on your monthly expenses and how little you can afford to live on. I would say the "durability" of your income is much more important: will you still be earning in 6 months? Two years?