But man, if you are in a paying job and you don't have to leave it, WHY would you??
Respectfully,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I'll give a different scenario. My wife & I have good paying (medical) jobs. We have lived frugally for the past 30+ years: we buy used cars and keep them until they have >400K miles. We live in a smaller house than we could have, and it's paid off. We do not carry credit card or any other loan balances. Living expenses (especially housing) are low in our small city. Our state has no income tax and other taxes are among the lowest in the country. I tend to buy as much as possible either used (especially camera gear!) or on deep sale. We paid cash for our two kids' college and now they are self sufficient. We don't smoke or drink alcohol, or buy lottery tickets etc. All of this has allowed us to save a little bit of money. I see people working at Walmart, old and obviously in poor health, working as door greeters using a walker and on oxygen. They will live like this until they die. Why will I not work full time as long as I can? Because money is not the most important thing since we have all the basics covered. Earlier this year I had a near (very near) fatal STEMI which had me thinking of all the things I want to yet do and places I still want to see. Rather than working until we drop for money we don't absolutely need, we intend to cut back substantially or quit entirely while our health is still good. We've kept ourselves active and in good shape--last month I was carrying a 30 pound pack while hiking at 8,000+ ft. in Washington state. So that's why I would quit a paying job--it's my second chance in life to get out and do the things I've always wanted to.
Our lives shall not be sweated
From birth until life closes
Hearts starve as well as bodies
Give us bread, but give us roses
James Oppenheim, 1911
Kent in SD