The Story of How I Finally Quit My Temp Job in My 40s After 10 Years of Stagnation — The First Calculation I Did: '193,000 Yen a Month'

Introduction

I will be honest.

I am now in my 40s. I started thinking, 'I want to do a side hustle' and 'I want to be independent someday' back in my 30s. In other words,for nearly 10 years, I just worried and couldn't take any action.

There are many reasons for this. I tried various side hustles and failed, and even though I finally found a side hustle that suited me using AI, I was working for a black company. Even though I was a temp, I worked from morning until night on weekdays, and sometimes even brought my PC home on weekends to work. I had no energy left to start a side hustle. Time just kept slipping away.

Even so, I made up my mind, thinking, 'If I stay like this, my life will never change,' saved 2 million yen as an emergency fund, and,this month, I am finally quitting my temp job.

My true goal is to 'create a state where I can share what I love, build up stock-type assets, and eventually receive 300,000 yen a month in royalties.'

However, when it came time to actually quit, I was terrified of seeing my savings decrease. I hesitated to pay even necessary expenses and even wondered, 'Should I just take a part-time job to earn daily cash?'

To cut through that anxiety, what I did was,calculate down to the last yen exactly how much I need to live on every month.that was it.

How did someone who stagnated for 10 years finally start moving? I hope this will be helpful to others who are standing still in the same way.

The reality I first faced: 'I can live on 193,000 yen a month'

First, the conclusion. The minimum amount of money I need every month was,192,920 yen.

Breakdown of 193,000 yen per month
―――――――――――――――――――
Rent: 60,000 yen
Food expenses: 20,000 yen
Transportation: 10,000 yen
Beauty/Personal care: 15,000 yen
Medical expenses: 5,000 yen
National Pension: 17,920 yen
National Health Insurance: 30,000 yen
Resident tax: 15,000 yen
Business expenses: 20,000 yen
(AI, cloud accounting, Canva, etc.)
―――――――――――――――――――
Total monthly amount: 192,920 yen
―――――――――――――――――――

The point is that Iincluded the 'National Pension, National Health Insurance, and Resident Tax,' which were automatically deducted from my salary when I was a company employee, under the assumption that I would pay them myself.that is.

If you overlook this, you will find that 'you don't have nearly enough money' after becoming independent. Since these three things will quietly weigh heavily on you after you quit, it is safer to include them as fixed costs from the beginning.

Why does 'calculating down to the last yen' make anxiety disappear?

Before I calculated the numbers, I was vaguely dominated by the fear that 'my money will decrease.'

This is what is known in psychology asloss aversion—the idea that people feel the pain of losing more strongly than the joy of gaining—running wild. Even business expenses, which should originally be investments, look like the pain of 'savings decreasing.'

But the moment the minimum monthly amount was determined to be '193,000 yen,' the quality of my fear changed.

For example, if you have 2 million yen in emergency funds,

2 million yen ÷ 193,000 yen ≒ approximately 10 months

'I can survive for 10 months even with zero income'.

Fear was converted into a concrete number of months I could survive. Things I had been judging based on emotion could now be judged based on facts. This was the greatest effect of calculating things down to the single yen.

The reason I, who couldn't move for 10 years, was finally able to move wasn't because I suddenly got guts. It was because I turned the true nature of my fear into numbers and visualized it.

Money you shouldn't have been stingy with — 20,000 yen in business expenses is not a waste

While I was hesitating, I was even reluctant to pay a few thousand yen a month for cloud accounting or AI tools.

But I realized that being stingy here was completely putting the cart before the horse.

Business expenses are not 'money that disappears,' but seeds for creating assets.

If being stingy with 20,000 yen a month stops you from building an asset that generates 300,000 yen a month, that is the worst kind of saving in life. That is why I incorporated the 20,000 yen in business expenses into my budget from the start as 'fixed costs that cannot be cut'.

I made my decision-making criteria simple when I was unsure.
'If it's within the range of operating funds, it's okay; don't agonize over it every time' — once you make it a rule, you don't have to be swayed by your emotions.

Run after quick cash? Or grow assets? The 5-8 hour weekly rule I decided on

Honestly, I thought many times, 'Wouldn't it be safer to earn quick cash with a side job like AI annotation?'

Quick cash certainly provides peace of mind. But if you do that, your stock-type assets remain at zero while only your time disappears. It takes me further away from the goal I truly want: '300,000 yen per month in royalties.' This is the pattern I, who have been treading water for 10 years, want to avoid the most.

So, instead of 'denying' quick-cash side jobs, I decided on a rule to divide my roles by time.

AI annotation: Up to 2-3 times a week

• Tuesday afternoon: 2 hours

• Thursday afternoon: 2 hours

• Saturday morning or afternoon: 1-4 hours

And this is the absolute rule.

The reason for the morning is that willpower and concentration are at their highest during the day in the morning. Invest that golden time into 'future assets'. Leave the quick cash for the afternoon when your brain starts to get tired.

When I clearly articulate my roles, it looks like this.

• AI Annotation = 'Safety Net' (Money to live on today)

• Kindle, note, X = 'Future Assets' (A system that generates income even when I'm not working)

The temptation of quick cash was usually a sign that my financial anxiety had not yet been resolved through a system. That is why I decided to suppress my anxiety not with 'willpower,' but with 'budget visualization' and 'time management rules.'

Summary: The 5 Priorities I Reached After 10 Years of Stagnation

These are the only priorities I arrived at for becoming independent.

1. Calculate the minimum monthly amount down to the last yen (Convert fear into months)

2. Separate living defense funds into 'untouchable money' and 'operating capital' by account

3. Do not skimp on business expenses (Because they are the seeds that create assets)

4. Divide roles by time (Morning = Future assets / Afternoon = Safe quick cash)

5. Start stock assets (publishing) small and fast

Suppress financial anxiety with a 'system.' Protect your time with 'rules.' And focus your actions on 'asset building.'

Even I, who stagnated for 10 years, was able to make it this far. I hope this serves as a reference for those who are currently standing still.

I will continue to share my records honestly, so please follow me if you'd like. Let's start moving together.