With my goal of moving to California set at $6,000, I needed to figure out how to reach it quickly. I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but after visiting California twice last year, I fell in love with it. I plan to move in with a friend, but it’s no secret, California is expensive.
I set that $6,000 number in my head and immediately thought to myself what the quickest way to achieve this would be.
Now lets talk about the conclusion I came to; two jobs.
Getting the Jobs Wasn’t Easy
Landing both positions was a challenge in itself. One was a corporate job, and the other was at a restaurant. Both were good-paying, and I felt lucky to even get them. Once I started, I committed to giving both my best effort, even if it meant some serious hours.
The Pros
The biggest pro? The money.
Working both jobs, I was making roughly $4,000 a month. For my moving goal, that was huge.
The feeling of getting two paychecks was so rewarding, like all the effort was directly fueling my dream. Because of this short burst of intense work, I’m now able to move to California next month (and there will be so much more content coming soon).
The photos I’ve included in this post show my actual income from that time, tracked with my Monthly Budgeting Sheet, the tool I use to organize all my finances in one place.
The Cons
The exhaustion was real.
I wasn’t working them part-time, I was working 65–80 hours a week depending on demand at the restaurant. That’s full-time at both, and it took a toll.
On top of that, I was still pushing hard with content creation. The only personal time I carved out was for my daily 20 pages of reading and journaling. Burnout came fast and hit hard.
Not everyone needs to go this extreme. Even a couple hundred extra dollars a month can make a big difference without pushing yourself to the limit.
Why I Quit
I eventually quit the restaurant job, reluctantly, because I genuinely enjoyed my coworkers and the fast-paced atmosphere. But the corporate job paid more, so I stuck with it… at least for a little while.
Shortly after, I ended up quitting that job too, and I’ll share all the reasons in an upcoming post.
Final Thoughts
Working two jobs for two months wasn’t easy. It was temporary difficulty for a long-term reward.
The money helped me reach my moving goal much faster, and the experience showed me that I can push myself harder than I think when there’s something I truly want. But it also reminded me of the importance of rest and balance, and how even the most exciting goals aren’t worth complete burnout.
For me, the trade-off was worth it, and I’m so glad I took the leap.