I’m Shane. I wanted more time to live.

HOW I GOT HERE

Changing jobs was only part of it.

I once left a manufacturing job after a performance review made it clear that doing my work well wasn’t enough. The company wanted more of my time, including time I wasn’t being paid for. I decided that arrangement no longer worked for me.

Self-employment gave me more say over my schedule, but it didn’t make responsibilities disappear. Neither did owning rental properties. I had seven rental units with mortgages, and I was hands-on with the problems that came with them.

I learned that something could help build my net worth and still be something I no longer wanted to look after.

Selling my business and properties, reducing debt, and living smaller were parts of a much bigger change. I had to look at my spending as honestly as I looked at my work. Wanting more freedom meant deciding what I was prepared to let go of.

That’s what I write about here. The decisions, the practical details, and the things I had to learn along the way.

Read the story behind leaving the rat race →

WHAT YOU’LL FIND HERE

Real experiences. Room for a different perspective.

I don’t expect everyone to make the same choices I did. Your responsibilities, finances, and idea of a good life will be different from mine. But sometimes hearing how someone else approached a problem helps you ask a question you’ve been putting off.