[ShaneCarrow]

Most of us probably have our indie writing as an accessory income at best -- to varying degrees

This is definitely me. My writing income is quite literally life changing - it's the difference between actually saving money and getting ahead and maybe one day buying my own home, and living a pleasant life in the meantime... or just treading water. That's the difference a grand a month makes. But a grand a month is still nowhere near enough to live off. Not even close.

My day job isn't exactly stable either. But I would have to be really, really confident about a sustained source of income before I threw in even an unstable day job. I'd be more worried about the future success or failure of my own personal writing endeavours before I worried about Amazon pulling the rug out from under us.

 

[ShaneCarrow]

I think only you know the real answer to this if we're being honest. You can assess how risk-averse you are better than anyone and what factors will weigh in this decision for you. I can say you need to take into consideration what can affect your income outside of just Amazon.

This is good advice. Everybody's life is different and one person's stable annual income is another person's kids' school fees for the year, or their parents' aged care bill for the year. I think when people ask questions like this - whether on the internet or to their close friends - they've often already made up their mind and are really looking for either acceptance that it's a decent idea, or rejection that it's a really bad idea.

Only you are really fit to judge whether quitting your day job is the right decision. But as generalised advice I would say that 2020, and possibly this decade to came, is probably not a good time to be walking away from any kind of financial stability.

Get some ideas from them about pursuing a life without a mortgage. Sell the new car with a seven year loan and buy a good used car for cash. Chop the phone plan down and get out from under the daily Starbucks addiction. Soon you will find that where your savings would previously only last a few months of no income you are now able to last a year or more.

This on the other hand is bad advice, springing from a Mr Money Mustache style moralising that's more interested in lecturing Americans for their supposed profligacy rather than seriously discussing personal financial security.

 

[ShaneCarrow]

Everyone can believe what they want, but I strenuously disagree with part of this "story." The "Starbucks" example is not a "rounding error" as you put it. Just as an example, the US stock market has averaged nearly a 10% annual return for decades. Just suppose your Starbucks expense each day is $5. And, you quit the habit and save the $5, five days a week, and put that money ($108 each month) into a stock fund such as Standard and Poor's 500 Index. After 20 years, that little $5 a day habit will have grown to $82,000. I know it's possible, I've been doing it since 2004. In 30 years the return is $240,000 and in 40 years you should accumulated $670,000. Rounding error?

Live your life as you see fit, but if you save $100 each week - in 40-years it should grow to $2.7 million. If you didn't start until today, well, that amount might only buy you a new house when you retire. If you don't start at all, I'm sure you'll think of something else when you reach retirement.

The reason "cut the coffee" is a particular bugbear of mine is because it usually comes without that second piece of advice about actually investing your savings rather than just have them sitting in the bank. Living within your means and investing wisely and early is certainly a lesson that should be drilled into people's heads, the younger the better - but is probably not as relevant for an adult working 9-5 and contemplating whether to earn off KDP full time.