Golden Handcuffs
Author: Michelle
Description: Golden Handcuffs are basically the jobs you stay in because of the benefits that they have-or because you're broke.
Date: 2014-01-06T11:00:00+00:00

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# Golden Handcuffs

posted on 6 January, 2014

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I love blogging and all of the opportunities that have begun to come up because of my blogging. But, I’m still wearing my Golden Handcuffs.

Golden handcuffs aren’t always worn in love play-ahem. Golden Handcuffs are what people call their job when they can’t leave it because of the benefits and the money that the job brings in. Basically, they are the incentives and pay that can entrap people in a job that they may want to leave but can’t because it would be difficult to replace the situation that they currently are in.

I have been in this situation. I have a pair of golden handcuffs and I’m telling you how I ended up in the same job for the past 10 years.

Let’s be clear-I am blessed and deeply grateful for the job that I have. I work hard everyday and I try to give 110% to my clients and to my colleagues. I have made wonderful friends at my job, connected with amazing people, and participated in a number of cool events because of the type of place I work (don’t ask I’m not going to say online). There are a number of fabulous things about where I work.

So, how did my job become a pair of golden handcuffs?

- I’m in debt and I make fairly decent money at my job. Most of use would find it difficult to leave our current job just based on the amount of debt that we have. I had to have a stable amount of income coming in until I paid off my debt and minimized my monthly payments.
- There was that little thing called “The Great Recession.” I had planned on changing my job in 2008. Sadly, the year when the sh$t hit the fan and the economy went south.
- I stayed in my job because in addition to the great organization-I was hired as a State Employee. It is very difficult to fire me. Very. There are processes in place to protect employees hired in this way. This is bad when the employee is a terrible employee. It’s difficult to remove them from the organization and it can take years to successful fire them. Happily, I am a great employee-I continue to find ways to improve my job, I learned another language and can assist clients who don’t speak English, I get my work done early, and I am very focused on doing the best job that I can. I don’t take my work for granted.
- My health insurance is great! I have medical and dental.
- My vacation time is great! Refer to my previous post-I Rock European Style Vacation Time
- I get an ECO Pass-I don’t pay for transportation because it is provided by my job. I don’t own a car so I only pay for cab service when I go out.

Sometimes golden handcuffs are nice because you feel secure. The thing is-that’s a false sense of security. I started 2013 blogging and realized several things.

- No job is secure. If the number of clients went down and our division was re-structured it is possible that I could lose my job.
- Not all of your eggs should be in one basket. I now understand why personal finance bloggers and finance gurus are so focused on passive income and creating other streams of income. Once you do that you start to loosen the handcuffs. You’ve created other options for yourself.
- Debt is dumb-obvious, but true. I began to pay off my debt not only to clean up my life but to enable me to move forward and do something new.
- Pick up other skills that can help you both at work and outside of work. You will feel empowered and energized.

I am in the process of getting rid of my golden handcuffs and it feels really weird. There are a lot of people who don’t believe in what I dream for my next career because it’s too out of the norm. I want to be a Freelancer. I want to push myself harder than I’ve ever done to see what I’m capable of. Most people are afraid to take the handcuffs off because they feel a sense of security working for an organization. I don’t think that’s wrong but I would encourage you to develop something on the side. A little side hustle.

Side hustle ideas:

- Baking cakes for special events.
- Event planning.
- Teaching Beach Volleyball (Tonya this one is for you!)
- Clean Houses.
- Blog
- Wood carving
- Teach dance or an exercise class
- Resume writing company
- Childcare (though I’m leery of this) You would have to get certified in all the things that you should to be able to care for children properly-even if you have kids.
- Elder care-There are a growing number of elderly in the United States. There also are a large number of people who aren’t able to care for their elderly relatives.
- Massage therapist
- Dog walker
- Doggy poo picker upper (eeww!!)
- Home Organizer
- Translator
- City tour guide

There are an unbelievable number of side hustles that you could engage in. Always do your best at your job, but grow skills that are transferable both at work and outside of your job. Develop something that is purely your own.

I have been working hard for the past year and finally have figured out what the next step will be for me. It will take at least a year maybe more to get to the point where I would feel comfortable taking the ‘cuffs off.

And that’s ok.

In the book Quitter by Jon Acuff , he talks about staying in a job while working on a dream. I’ve decided to leave you with a quote from that book.

“I hated doing something I loved outside of work, feeling alive and engaged, only to have it disappear the moment I walked through the door of my day job. I didn’t hate the work per se. I liked my boss and the people I worked with. It wasn’t that. I just hated that forty hours of my week didn’t feel anything like the few hours of my weekend when life made sense.

I hated that my dreams had to go into hibernation every Monday morning. And so, like many other times in my life, I kept coming back to the same thought.

It’s quitting time.” (page 2-Quitter)

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#### Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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### Comments

1. Matt Becker says

   6 January, 2014 at 7:57 am

   I hesitated on leaving my job for a long time because it was comfortable and gave me a feeling of security. That was until recently when my hand was forced, but I couldn’t be happier about it because it’s giving me the opportunity to pursue what I truly want to do. It can be really hard to let go of the things we know and face the unknown, no matter how appealing that unknown is. Good to hear you have a plan!

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     6 January, 2014 at 7:54 pm

     It’s so weird that I posted this today…I just found out that my colleague who does what I do is changing jobs in a month. The thought of myself doing my job alone-AGAIN is so exhausting that I’ve decided to accelerate my plan. I’m exhausted and I’m ready. It’s time to take a risk. No matter how scary.

     Reply

2. Erin @ My Alternate Life says

   6 January, 2014 at 9:39 am

   I definitely gave a big screw you to the golden handcuffs when I quit my accounting job. While it had decent pay and decent benefits, I hated it with a passion and worked too many hours.

   Obviously, this was easier for me as my husband now brings in the higher paycheck while I freelance for wildly different amounts from month to month. If not for that, I wouldn’t have been able to leave yet.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     6 January, 2014 at 8:00 pm

     I’m so ready to be done. I’m exhausted. That being said, I’m going to work harder than I’ve ever worked before and suck up my fear of taking this risk. I’m so done.

     Reply

3. Miss Thrifty says

   6 January, 2014 at 6:50 pm

   Do people get paid to pick up dog poo in the USA? Wow! (I might stick to blogging though…)

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     6 January, 2014 at 8:18 pm

     Pooper Scoopers make good money. There are a lot of dog waste removal companies-as Americans love their dogs. I’m only a puppy person so I don’t bother with getting a dog. I also like to travel so it’s too much of a hassle to have a pet.

     Reply

4. Chelles says

   7 January, 2014 at 9:45 am

   I have never heard of the term “golden handcuffs” but I certainly have some heavy ones on these days. I’m working on my side income through taskrabbit.com. We’ll see where it leads me in the future!

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     7 January, 2014 at 7:46 pm

     Michelle-I am sending you good vibes! I’m feeling a little down today because of the ‘cuffs…will have to write about this week later.

     Reply

5. Andrew@LivingRichCheaply says

   7 January, 2014 at 7:47 pm

   I know what you mean. I always refer to my job as my golden handcuff. I am also a state employee and my benefits mainly the health insurance and the pension makes it hard to leave. Another reason making it tough to leave a stable job is having a family to provide for. I definitely want to work on side hustles to create passive income and give me options

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     7 January, 2014 at 7:50 pm

     Since I’ve worked the same job for the past 10 years I’m constantly beginning to question how the Golden Handcuffs are affecting different facets of my life. I want to complete the transition to working for myself by the end of this year. I want to be a stay at home mom, and I want to be location independent. I just have to work my plan and see what happens.

     Reply

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