Tool · The Way Out

Decide when you get to leave
before you want to.

Most exit plans die one of two ways: you quit on a feeling and the side income has to pay the mortgage before it's ready, or "enough" never gets a number and the date keeps sliding. The fix is a rule written in advance. This is the one I run my own exit on: three conditions, all true at once.

Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. The math runs in your browser, and closing the page erases it.
Your bills number
Everything you spend in a typical month. Your bills, not your salary.
What it would cost without an employer. Often the line item people forget.
Federal, state and self-employment tax together. 25 to 30% is a rough range; yours depends on your state and deductions.
Where you stand
Money that arrived, before tax. Not invoices, not projections, not one good month times twelve.
Separate from your sinking fund. The Reserve Builder helps with both.
Your engines (optional)

The income has to come from somewhere. List what you're building or could build, and run each one through three tests. For the full math on one engine, use Engine Economics.

EngineUses what you already have?Hours to win a customerIncome
0 of 3
Conditions met
$0
Your bills number, per year

Where the rule comes from: the shape is the Barbell. Keep the safe job on one end and build something that earns without your hours on the other. The leverage idea is Naval Ravikant's, and the name is Nassim Taleb's; I wrote my version into Chapter 11 of Root Access. Living it sharpened the trigger: replace your bills, not your salary; demand twelve months of real income, not one good month; and write the reserve and health coverage into the rule, because implicit is where plans break.

This is a planning tool, not tax, legal or financial advice. Run the numbers that matter with someone who can see your whole situation.

Next tool

Engine Economics: what a side business really pays per hour, before you spend a year on it.