One of the main reasons people engage me as their financial planner is that they want clarity before making decisions that could significantly alter their lives.
For example, a couple approached me last year because the wife was considering quitting her job. Their family was currently split between two locations, and they wanted to explore the possibility of living together in one place. Naturally, the decision carried major financial implications.
After gathering their financial data and completing an initial analysis, I presented several scenarios: what would happen if she quit and didn’t work at all, if she found a lower-paying job, or if she stayed in her current role. After reviewing the outcomes, they decided to put the idea on hold.
We revisited the conversation recently.
As their financial planner, I wanted to go deeper and understand the root cause of the issue, not just the surface-level symptoms. I also shared my personal journey with them—how, in the first 10 years of my career, I changed jobs five times. Every few years, I would get bored and move on, thinking a new job, a higher salary, or a different environment would solve the problem.
Eventually, I landed a role where the same feeling crept in again—I was no longer motivated, and the work no longer excited me. But this time, I paused before jumping ship. I realized that I had already tried changing all the variables: better pay, new location, different bosses, different cultures. Yet, I always ended up in the same place.
That’s when it hit me: I was treating the symptoms, not the root cause. It wasn’t boredom—it was a lack of fulfillment. I didn’t feel any deep satisfaction in what I was doing. So no amount of external change was going to make a difference until I figured out what truly mattered to me.
I started a period of soul-searching, seeking clarity through self-reflection and prayer. A few months later, I found the answer. From there, I began planning my exit from the corporate world. It took me two years to get my finances in order, but when I finally made the move, I was confident and ready. Since then, I’ve been doing the same thing for over 10 years. I believe I’ve found my answer.
When I shared this with my client, it helped them look at their own situation from a new angle. Their initial reasoning was that the wife should quit and move to be with the husband because they had bought a house in that location. On the surface, that made sense. But financially, it would have introduced a lot of pressure.
So I posed this question:
Why quit and move there? Let’s try to find the root cause by eliminating variables.
Step 1: Why not have the husband apply for a better-paying job in KL and relocate the family here instead? You can rent or sell the house to offset the impact. This way, the family is together, and your financial position improves. Then, revisit the decision after a year. If the wife still feels the urge to quit, maybe the issue isn’t location or separation.
Step 2: Consider whether it’s the current job that’s the problem. Perhaps she’s feeling unfulfilled due to the work environment, pay, colleagues, management, or lack of recognition. Changing jobs might help.
Again, check back in a year. Does the feeling persist?
If no, she can continue working until retirement goals are met or until her husband earns enough to sustain the family without her income.
If yes, then maybe a career break is needed. Take a year off—via unpaid leave, a sabbatical, or resignation—and reevaluate. By that time, with focused savings and planning in the preceding years, the family would have more financial flexibility.
We left the conversation at this point, giving them space to decide their next course of action.
