Can I afford to quit my job?

A short break is an emergency-fund question: months of essential spending you can cover without selling investments at a bad time. A permanent exit is a retirement question. Mixing the two is how people quit with three months of cash and a FIRE spreadsheet.

Arc · Published September 18, 2026 · Updated September 18, 2026

If the job ends and another one starts

Price the gap. Essential monthly spending times months you might be out, plus healthcare if the employer plan ends. Cash covers that gap more cleanly than a brokerage account you might have to sell.

If one household income goes away

Rerun the year with the remaining income, the same debts, and a realistic cut to spending. The question is whether saving continues, stalls, or reverses. A household can afford one income when the remaining paycheck covers essentials and the debts you will not default on.

If you do not plan to go back

Then you are asking the early-retirement question. Use spending, the portfolio, and a withdrawal rate. A sabbatical fund will not carry a 40-year retirement.

Common questions

How many months of cash is enough to quit?

For a job search, many households use 3 to 12 months of essentials, longer if hiring in their field is slow or health insurance is unpaid. That is a reserve, not financial independence.