Rima Grace

But then suddenly when I hit 100K, I really had to sit with, wait, what am I supposed to ask for next?

Is it 115?

Is it 135?

150?

200?

I suddenly was sort of confused about what the milestone was.

And that's when the beginning of me sort of realizing, wait, I think this is all a bit of a farce that I've been made to believe was like the thing I was supposed to be working towards.

Even though more money gave Miriam more stability, it didn't give her the sense of arrival she was expecting.

Instead, her work was draining her.

She realized she was spending most of her energy just trying to survive the workday.

Around the same time, she'd started experimenting posting on TikTok and was getting some real traction, like even a couple of brand deals.

She started to imagine a version of her life that didn't include a 9-to-5 or that perfect upward trajectory.

After months of doing the math and talking herself in and out of it, she quit her job.

It was scary, but with her debt paid off, a partner to split rent with, no dependents, and a small cushion, she decided the risk was worth taking.

I think I had around $17,000 in my, like, lifetime emergency savings.

And I said, I'm willing to spend $10,000 from that.

So I had calculated, like, that gives me, like, a six-month runway or whatever.

She quit her job about two years ago.

Since then, Miriam's income has been much more variable.

She made $85,000 one year and about $60,000 the next, so far less than she used to make.