The less I earn, the more I earn

It has been half a year now since I last received any income from a gainful activity. Before quitting my job, I had of course done my little calculations. I had taken into account the cessation of the flow of money from my employer, but also a reduction in some of my expenses, particularly professional ones.

As I say in "The determinants of wealth", we only really receive a small part of our gross income. So, when it decreases, or even fades, we also only lose a small part of it. This is the paradoxical advantage of the cost of labor. I had already noticed this when I had lowered my activity rate several times before. Even more surprising, after a certain period of getting used to it, we even manage to restore our previous savings rate, without forcing it.

It may be a little early to tell, but I already have the impression that my little calculations were too cautious. Because today, after six months of independence, I realize that business expenses were even greater than those I had taken into account in my simulations. More surprisingly, I also realize that other expenses, specific to my household, tend to decrease significantly. The reason? Having more time, I manage myself a significant amount of private things for which I previously had to pay.

I had already noticed this in part after reducing my working hours, but now it has taken on a higher dimension. There are of course meals, which I now take care of with pleasure, but there are also lots of small repair jobs that I take care of directly. Until some time ago, I was anything but a great DIYer. But that has changed radically. I use the time I now have available to acquire skills and do my own tests. Just last week, I carried out repairs in the toilets. It cost me three balls at Hornbach. If a specialist had come, the bill would have been multiplied by a hundred. I had read, a little before becoming independent, that Anglo-Saxons who have withdrawn from the professional world tend to do a lot of DIY. Today, I identify completely with that.

Examples like this, whether household expenses or professional expenses that no longer exist, I have them by the bucketload. I realize (even more than before), that our salaries are mainly used to cover the costs of our own job, or to pay for the work that we have to delegate because of the lack of time caused by this same job.

I would like to point out that if I decide to do more and more things by myself, it is not at all out of a concern for extreme frugality or stinginess. No, it is just because I have the time, the opportunity and I take advantage of it to discover new things, at the same time as developing my skills. And if it can allow me to spend a little less, why not.

In short, I no longer have a salary, but I am richer, and not only financially.