Always line something else up first. If possible, also have enough money to last 3-6 months without a job - makes things a hell of a lot less stressful. We would essentially just bank any bonuses throughout the year, and it would afford us a nice nest egg in case something ever happened. However it needs to remain untouched.

It seems that everyone already answered, but I will give my perspective as well.

It’s definitely very different for each person. Some people need the money more or less. Some people suffer more in their job or less. Some people have more options or less.

I like to imagine a scale where on one side you have the reasons to leave and on another side you have the reasons to stay. And reasons to leave are multiplied by how many options you have outside.

So if your job is terrible and you’re pretty financially stable and you have a lot of options for finding other jobs then the scale would lean towards leaving. Or if your job is pretty terrible, but you’re not financially stable and you don’t have a lot of options, then the scale would be pretty equal and you’ll have to take a risk.

I am a homeless man in San Francisco because I quit a public sector job that I was not allowed to fix with my good-ass coding skills. I have no regrets.

I’ve never had trouble finding new work, so it hasn’t been too scary for me. Once I got laid off and found another job before the severance ran out but that job turned out to be a disaster and I got laid off there as well, only months later. That was definitely discouraging but a relief as well. I got right back on the horse.

However now things have changed a lot. I am much more senior and earning a lot more. Senior roles are fewer and more competitive. And the job market has been a disaster this year. It used to be that I’d get a couple of recruiter emails per week and now I can hardly get a response to any job applications I send. So yeah. At this point the financial hit terrifies me because I have a lot more at stake and I don’t know when I could get back to where I am if I left. I’m not miserable but I am unhappy as well as bored. For now I’m just dealing with it. I’m a little afraid to be “dealing with it” for the rest of my days though.

I’ve never been paid enough to really do anything but feed myself, so I’ve never had to choose between working a shitty job and being homeless. Yet.

If I ever got a job that paid me enough to afford rent, I’d definitely be less willing to bail unless it was really shitty.

Living in your car and on couches sucks. But once you hit the wall, nothing matters more then getting the fuck out of there and never going back.

I save every penny I can in case I have to switch jobs. Or I need a mental health break from this fucked up world i live in. Or i work day by day, month by month, year after year and lose a bit of myself every shift i work until there is nothing left and i lose my shit and quit.

Honestly I wonder why anyone would spend money they didn’t need to unless they had the remainder of your lives living expenses already saved up. You’re spending future rent payments, future food! Why would you spend your rent payment 10 months in the future when you could just not go to that concert? Or go on that vacation. Or buy something that isn’t essential or more extravagant then necessary.

That’s not even your money you’re spending, it’s your landed lords monthly tribute. Its the grocery stores money. Its the car repair shops money. Its the gas stations money. Its the power companies money. Its the awful internet service providers money (fuck you centurylink).

You just don’t know it yet. Or maybe deep down you do know it, and you pretend otherwise to delude yourself that you live in a free country. Doesn’t seem free to me. In fact it’s expensive as hell.

Rent is due in 4 days by the way.

It scared the shit out of me, but was one of the best decisions I took, on my next job I learned to impose limits from the start.

I managed to find something very soon, but if I were in a similar position nowadays I would first find something new.

Currently at a job where I haven’t slept in 4 days because I am stressed out about quitting. There are too many safety violations and I keep getting in trouble for things completely out of my control. Maybe OSHA will supplement my income for a few months

I’ve been fired before. It honestly isn’t that bad unless you have absolutely shit financial practices.

No, I wasn’t. It took me 2 months to switch jobs. With unused vacation money, I got about 1 month’s worth of my regular salary. The people who stayed didn’t get their salaries for 3 months due to cash flow issues.

Yes, I was terrified, but I was also having a mental breakdown. I called my mom sobbing and she was actually the one who told me to quit. I was lucky that she was around because I leaned on her for about two months.

If you can, look for a job, even if it’s gig work, before quitting. I know it sucks, but finding a job will be your new activity. In the mean time, switch to the bare minimum. Take longer breaks, use sick time, etc. Don’t burn any bridges. Spend time making a really nice resume/cover letter. Maybe even see if you can use some work resources before you tell them you’re out.

If you can’t stand it a second longer, I would sit down and see what you have and how long you can last. Finding a job without a residence (in the US anyway) is difficult, so I would not do anything that would leave you homeless. Let people around you know if you have such people. Tell your friends, parents, etc., so they know that you may be needing support. Do not tell anyone from work until you’re ready to go. Make a budget. Make one for if you have literally no money coming in so you can see the worse case scenario and have that be your starting point. You may even want to look around for food banks and so forth, especially churches during this time of year. It may not be everyday, but they do dinners more often in the winter. Write them down or save them somewhere that odes not require internet/service.

Good luck. I wish you you happiness.

I had savings. don’t know if I would have quit otherwise

I just one day said fuck it and gave notice with no plan. I burnt out to the point I was probably getting fired if I stuck around much longer. Besides, If I stayed I was going to quit life instead.

It was a miserable month or 2 of draning my savings finding a new job and I had to take a small pay cut once I did. It was worth it alone for the better work environment.

Line something up if you can, but get out before it gets worse for you.

Well yeah, that’s why some people stay in toxic jobs unfortunately.

Yes but you can get money in many different ways so that’s nice.