A discussion popped up on a forum about day jobs vs. pursuing a craft full time. Oh dear, I thought as I read the posts. I bet "benefits" pops up its ugly head before too long... Sure enough, scary stories about people with no health insurance began to appear.
I cringe when people warn that self-employment simply can't stand up to the security and benefits of a real day job. Yes, security is good and benefits are desirable. But sometimes security is not that secure, and the benefits are not as "free" as we'd like to think.
If you are considering quitting the day job to pursue a craft full-time, it would be useful to sit down with the appropriate financial counselor and get FACTS.
Working for a company does provide benefits, but sometimes the difference between the contribution they pay and what you would pay by yourself is not as insurmountable as you'd think. Sometimes a worker is actually paying a larger part of these expenses themselves, but the cost is "buried" in the payroll deductions and you don't see them.
Health insurance is vital, and I don't want to suggest anyone go without it. But if the difference between working a job you dislike intensely, and working hard at making your craft a successful full time job is $5,000 a year in health insurance, that's a difference of $2.50 an hour over a year. (This was for a family of four.) Is it worth it to you? Only YOU can decide that.
I laughed when a friend complained that her contribution to her health insurance benefit had been raised to $100 a month. She felt that was outrageous. She was astounded to learn that it costs her company five times that for her family of four. And this is the trend, for companies to ask their employees to carry more of the expense of their health insurance costs. People are going to pay MORE for health insurance, one way or another. The days of "free health insurance" are long gone.
We all pay taxes on money we earn, but in a paycheck, you don't really "see" the money. You do when you look at the deductions column, of course. But most people only see the actual "pay to" amount of the check. They forget they have been paying taxes all along on their income, in small (or large!) bites throughout the year. When self-employed people pay taxes, it comes out in bigger bits fewer times during the year. (And if you are not diligent about setting aside money for the "bites", it feels worse.)
Again, KNOWING what your costs are, and what difference you would have to make up if you were self-employed, is helpful.
Some people see a day job as "secure" and working for themselves as less reliable income-wise. But my husband saw his "secure" day job disappear with two days' notice. He actually felt more in control of his income when he worked for himself (because he finally got paid in direct proportion to how hard he worked!) We live in an area where stalwart companies that have been around for generations announce huge layoffs and relocations almost every week. Even Sears, K-Mart, Bradlees and other "reliables" don't seem so reliable anymore...
There are variables everyone must consider on how much self-employment would impact them, such as how many dependents you have (which drives up the cost of health insurance), how much money you've already managed to save for retirement, how much "fluffy stuff" you are willing to trim from your budget, how happy you are with the work you do, how happy you'd be with the work you WANT to do, how self-motivated and disciplined you are to work for your self, etc.
People who have a day job they love, and an avocation with their craft are in an enviable position. They seem to have the best of both worlds!
But there are no sure things in this life. Companies lay people off, pension funds get absconded by scalliwags, people with lots of health insurance can stay healthy while those with none face catastrophic illness. It's up to each of us to balance our personal tolerance for risk, our need to have satisfying work, our ability to manage our own work load and the the needs of people who depend on us financially when we determine what path we take.
For an EXCELLENT book on people who chose to follow their dream profession over "common sense", see Po Bronson's book WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY LIFE? This is not a simplistic book on "follow your bliss" with fairy tale happy endings. It's a thoughtful look at the process people went through to do this, how hard it was for some, and what the consequences and rewards were.
And, like everything else in life, sometimes the dream changed! Interesting, that even a dream is not written in stone....
