Earlier this year, Sam Dogen quit his job.

For most people, that wouldn’t be much of a story, but for the millionaire founder of Financial Samurai, a couple of details stand out.

For one, it was his first gig since 2012.

Dogen, 47, has lived as a retired, stay-at-home dad since 2012, boosting his annual passive income to about $380,000 by 2023 through a mix of stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments. He returned to work late last year after selling a big chunk of his portfolio to fund the purchase of a new home.

That he stayed only four months at the new gig is its own story — but it’s also worth noting that by leaving so abruptly, he bucked a piece of his own advice: “Never quit your job,” Dogen says. “Get laid off.”

That’s what Dogen did more than a decade ago. Rather than leaving, he engineered a layoff that netted him three months of his base salary plus a low six-figure severance check. That money, combined with the $80,000 a year he was earning in passive income at the time, allowed him to transition into early retirement.

If you’re considering leaving your job, here’s Dogen’s best advice to follow in his footsteps.

How you manage leaving your job is going to depend on your specific circumstances. For Dogen, 2012 marked the end of his rope after 13 years in the investment banking industry. He’d built enough passive income outside the office to feel comfortable leaving, and he knew he wanted to go.

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He also knew the kind of power he wielded as an employee on his way out the door. “As a previous boss myself, the worst thing that can happen is when an employee of value quits and gives you two weeks notice or less,” he says.

Here’s how to leverage that power into the job departure you want.

Communicate your unhappiness

Get the ball rolling by letting the right people know that you are unhappy with your current role, Dogen says.

“You basically have to talk to HR or talk to your direct supervisor, say, ‘I’m not happy here, I’d like to make some changes,’” he says. “Ultimately, I’d like to leave if these changes are not met.”

In doing so, you create a win-win situation, Dogen says, because there’s a chance that your superiors are willing to meet your needs.

“They might give you a raise. They might give you more flexible hours. Sweet!”  he says. “No employer wants someone whose heart is not in it anymore.”

Offer to ease the transition

If your company can’t meet your demands, pivot the conversation toward the possibility of you leaving while making life easy on your employer.

“Let’s figure something out,” Dogen says you might say. “I’m willing to stay as long as possible to help make the transition. But in light of that, let’s talk about a severance package.”

Dogen stayed on for two months after having this conversation with his boss in 2012, spending that time training his junior hire and introducing him to his clients.

If you’re willing to do something similar, “more often than not, your employer will work with you — especially if you’re a better than average employee,” Dogen says.

Negotiate a layoff

Ask if your company is planning on doing a round of layoffs, and if you can be included. Under the WARN Act, companies with 100 or more employees (fewer in some states) must provide 60 days warning before conducting a mass layoff. In lieu of that warning, firms owe compensation to the affected employees, generally equivalent to 60 days of base pay.

On top of any WARN Act pay you may receive, Dogen suggests negotiating further for a severance payment. “The standard is one to three weeks of pay for every year served,” he says.

And negotiating a layoff, rather than quitting, goes beyond a cash payout, Dogen says.

“If you get laid off, you get unemployment benefits. You get a severance package, deferred comp, subsidized health care. You get tons of stuff that gives you a huge financial runway for your next endeavor.”

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In February 2024, I returned home to Los Angeles after the adventure of a lifetime: exploring 18 countries across South America and Asia in 18 months on a trip that cost me $34,000. I had quit my dream job as a video journalist to heal my burnout and find happiness beyond traditional measures of success and prestige.

When it was over, I went from chasing waterfalls in Indonesia and whizzing through the rolling green countryside of Vietnam on a motorbike to staring at my computer screen at home, watching the job rejections roll in. 

In some ways, I felt more lost than ever.

I’d jumped back in the job market at a particularly tough moment, as thousands of journalists were getting laid off. The future of my career and income were uncertain. That’s a scary feeling at 34, when you often feel pressured to buy a house, have kids, and save up for retirement.

These circumstances would have made me unhappy and ashamed a few years ago. I no longer had the cool job or the epic, Instagrammable life around which my self-worth used to revolve. Instead, I was home and unemployed.

But my sabbatical taught me four key lessons about happiness that helped keep me positive, confident, and self-assured despite the challenges.

For years, I thought working my dream job would bring me the ultimate happiness. But I couldn’t shake the burnout and anxiety. 

Then I thought going all in on travel — the thing I’m most passionate about — would fulfill me. But eventually, the novelty wore off. Exhausted from constantly being on the go, I longed for the comfort and stability of home. 

I realized that I won’t find lasting happiness unless I’m living a life balanced between adventure, rest, productivity, and learning.    

Now that I’m home, I have new career and financial goals. A few years ago, I would’ve sacrificed everything to achieve those, while applauding myself as a go-getter and a hustler.

But now I pace myself and do my best to maintain a personal life and gym and meditation routine. I’m enjoying the journey instead of racing to a finish line that probably wouldn’t be everything I imagine it is. 

I never felt like I had enough success or money while living and working in Los Angeles and New York City. But in South America and Southeast Asia, where I encountered mind-boggling levels of poverty, I realized how privileged I am.  

Even many average neighborhoods didn’t come close to my standard of comfort. A lot of the locals I met had never left their country because they couldn’t afford it.

I realized that as an American renting an apartment in LA, I live an unfathomably luxurious life compared to much of the world. 

While freelancing and job hunting in a very difficult market, I was tempted to slip back into feelings of inadequacy. But the perspective I gained while traveling reminded me that I already have — and am — more than enough. 

Before returning home, I spent nearly two months in Bali. I found true work-life balance and a magical, extravagant, free-spirited lifestyle I’d never experienced.

I began freelancing and applying for jobs from beautiful cafés and restaurants, while enjoying a slower pace of life, surrounded by lush nature and stunning views. 

A few years ago, I felt like I needed a big brand-name employer to define my value. I would have despaired at the rejections and lack of opportunities. But my experience in Bali inspired me to value well-being over prestige and money. I saw what life could be like, and it had nothing to do with a dream job. 

I decided to stop burning myself out trying to force my way back to a “perfect role.” Instead, I would pursue a job that offers flexibility and quality of life, while channeling my passion for video journalism into becoming a creator with my own YouTube channel.

I went from feeling helpless to empowered.

My sabbatical was partially inspired by the travel influencers I followed on Instagram. I was jealous — my life felt lame in comparison to the epic, picture-perfect lives they seemed to lead. 

But behind the scenes, globetrotting is a lot messier. You don’t see the burnout, fatigue, loneliness, and sadness many travelers experience.

After realizing firsthand that nothing is as glamorous as it seems, I stopped aspiring to be like others and began to prioritize my own needs. I decided to sleep in and relax at cafés in Cartagena, for example, instead of hustling to embark on a Caribbean island boat tour I didn’t really want to take. I don’t regret it.

Nowadays, I spend most of my time working on my computer, going to the gym, running errands, and seeing friends and loved ones in low-key places. There’s barely any fodder for Instagram posts. 

I see others leading more outwardly enviable lives, personally and professionally. I’m happy for them, but I don’t feel bad about myself. I know I’m exactly where I need to be — no matter what it looks like to anyone else.

Helen Zhao is a former video producer and writer at CNBC. Before joining CNBC as a news associate, she covered residential real estate for the LA Business Journal. She’s a California native and a proud USC Trojan and UCLA Bruin. 

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At age 12, Bella Lin spent an hour every week “scraping, scrubbing and power washing” excrement off her two guinea pig cages.

“It was essentially a [mini] porta potty,” Lin, now 17, tells CNBC Make It.

The experience was taxing and gross enough to prompt Lin to design her own cages: first on notebook paper, then with bricks and plastic in her backyard in Sunnyvale, California and now in a factory in Hangzhou, China.

Lin is the founder and CEO of GuineaLoft, a small pet accessory brand that sells on Amazon. GuineaLoft’s cages are made with acrylic walls and a disposable wax-coated paper bottom that makes them easier to clean. She launched the cages in November 2022 after about a year of prototyping.

This year, GuineaLoft has brought in roughly $71,000 a month in revenue so far, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That’s up more than double compared to last year, when the company brought in $34,000 in average monthly revenue and made nearly $8,600 in profit per month.

Lin credits the explosive growth to one event: Last October, she won $10,000 from a pitching competition at BizWorld, a project-based entrepreneurship program. She used the funds to buy an acrylic laser cutter, which dramatically sped up production times and kept the signature cages in stock.

GuineaLoft employs six full-time workers to develop, build and test the products, but the business remains Lin’s side hustle. She recently graduated from high school and is moving to The University of Chicago where she plans to study economics in the fall.  

Here, Lin discusses how she built the side hustle and how she plans to maintain it as a college freshman.

GuineaLoft isn’t Lin’s first side hustle. Since age 7, she was “always trying out different ways to bring in little amounts of money” — from lemonade stands to selling hand-knit scarves — and was largely encouraged by her dad, a computer programmer who had worked with start-ups.

Once, on the way to water polo practice, Lin looked up a pair of Lululemon leggings and was shocked at the price. She recalls her dad asking “what do you think the markup is on this?”

The pair looked it up and found that most leggings made from similar fabric to a pair of Lululemon’s cost about $20 to produce. The conversation prompted TLeggings, another one of Lin’s side hustles, that brought in $300,000 at its peak in 2020.

“I think with a lot of parents, when kids are younger and they express an interest in start-ups with something trivial like yarn or slime, it’s easy to shut that down,” Lin says.

“My dad … always treated me as an adult, as somebody who was almost working alongside him.”

It took about a year to take GuineaLoft’s signature cage from prototype to Amazon, where Lin listed 100 of them. The first batch sold out within two weeks.

Sales have continued to climb, thanks in large part to the now three acrylic laser cutters used in manufacturing, increased marketing and an expanded line of pet products. GuineaLoft’s Amazon storefront sells hay feeders and no-drip water bottles for guinea pigs, but also acrylic cages and accessories for hamsters, rabbits and birds.

The expansion hasn’t come without challenges. While Lin considers herself to be a “veteran guinea pig owner,” she’s had to gain experience designing cages and products for the smaller pets.

The company went through “at least five iterations” of its hamster cage: “To be completely honest … it got bad reviews,” Lin says. Customers reported their hamsters were escaping, so GuineaLoft adapted its design.

Outside of BizWorld, Lin’s friend circle is void of other entrepreneurs: “To them, I’m kind of just the guinea pig girl,” she says. “I like occupying a niche.”

For Lin, finding that niche has been the secret to her success. GuineaLoft is her first profitable business because she was able to fill a gap in the market and innovate on her original ideas, she says.

Currently, Lin works 30 hours per week on the side hustle, and is enrolled in two college courses. She originally thought she’d take a gap year to focus on GuineaLoft, but says she’s hoping to learn more and meet people who can potential help her grow the business.

Despite the company’s profitability, Lin hasn’t started paying herself a salary, she says. Her parents and a scholarship are covering her tuition at The University of Chicago.

Lin puts the money back into GuineaLoft, with plans to get products on brick-and-mortar shelves soon. “Opening in-person stores is a really big dream of mine,” she says.

“The ultimate goal that I have for GuineaLoft is just to be the recognized small pet brand.”

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Deryl McKissack is no stranger to spotting toxic traits.

McKissack, 63, is the founder and CEO of Washington D.C.-based construction firm McKissack & McKissack, which she launched with $1,000 from her savings in 1990. She churned through employees who weren’t the right fit in her company’s early years and the business struggled, she says.

Finding the right talent helped grow her company, which now brings in $25 million per year in revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

These three red flags stand out the most when McKissack is hiring employees or evaluating her current talent, she says.

Every boss needs to be able to trust their employees, McKissack says. People who lack integrity are a problem, especially managers who don’t give their teams proper credit.

Alarm bells go off in her head “if someone is saying ‘I did this’ the whole time, and they’re not giving credit to their team,” McKissack says.

McKissack isn’t the only person who says a lack of integrity is a red flag among employees: Heidi K. Gardner, a professional leadership advisor and distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School, similarly calls out workers who pass off other people’s work as their own. It’s unethical, and it gives off the impression that you don’t respect your colleagues, Gardner told Make It last year.

“Maybe they’re unable to actually see how much value the people around them bring to their own success,” she said. “And that inability to appreciate other people’s contributions is a huge red flag for me … It’s anti-collaborative.”

Nearly every team, no matter your industry, needs people who can work well with others. That’s difficult when your co-workers don’t like being around you, or vice versa.

McKissack says she needs to actually like her employees’ personalities, because if she doesn’t like to be around you, chances are, clients won’t either. “If I don’t want to be in their presence, then no one wants to be in their presence, usually” she says.

Having a warm, inviting personality at work can potentially take you farther in your career than your capabilities and credentials, self-made millionaire and entrepreneur Steve Adcock told Make It in April.

“Your personality will get you 10 times richer than your intelligence,” said Adcock. “I learned that throughout my career, slowly but surely. I worked with a lot of smart people, no doubt about it. But those smartest people in the office weren’t necessarily the ones getting the raises and promotions.”

McKissack has a three-word mantra for her business: humble, hungry, smart. She says she picked it up from author and business management expert Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Ideal Team Player.”

“We have an insatiable appetite for success,” McKissack wrote on LinkedIn earlier this year. “Humility drives us to make decisions for the collective good … [and] we value emotional intelligence because we know that’s what builds strong relationships.”

Expecting employees to embody those three descriptors — humble, hungry, smart — turned McKissack’s firm into a workforce full of people dedicated to the same mission, rather than one that struggled with low employee engagement, she says.

They’re the “three virtues” of successful team players, according to Lencioni’s book.

“I kept saying, ‘We’ve been stagnant for years. Why am I stagnant?’” says McKissack. “But when I made that decision to make our mission larger than just what we do, bricks and mortar, but make it more about the betterment of mankind, is when we really started changing.”

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Last month, data company Numbeo released its annual Cost of Living Index by City.

The final ranking was determined using data from January 2024 through mid-year. The index is historical and will be updated periodically. Number used the cost of living in New York City as a baseline and gave it a score of 100. Every other city was scored based on how much more or less expensive it was compared to the Big Apple.

Cities were scored across the following indexes:

• Cost of living
• Rent
• Cost of living plus rent
• Groceries
• Restaurant price
• Local purchasing power

The United States has the highest number of cities ranked, claiming seven of the top 10 spots.

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Cost of Living Index Score: 101.7

Geneva, Switzerland, is the most expensive city in the world to live in, according to the Cost of Living Index. The city was found to be 1.7% more expensive than New York.

Known as the capital of peace, Geneva is home to the European headquarters of the United Nations.

A single person’s estimated monthly costs are about $1,715 without rent, while a family of four’s estimated monthly costs are around $6,300, according to Numbeo.

The city continuously ranks as one of the best places to live based on quality of life because it offers a low crime rate and a range of jobs.

1. Geneva, Switzerland
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. New York, New York
4. San Francisco, California, United States
5. Boston, Massachusetts, United States
6. Reykjavik, Iceland
7. Washington D.C., United States
8. Seattle, Washington, United States
9. Los Angeles, California, United States
10. Chicago, Illinois, United States

Zurich is the No. 2 most expensive city to live in the world. It is 0.4% more expensive than New York City.

For years, Zurich has ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world. This is due in part to its cleanliness, political stability, and infrastructure.

The cost of living for a family of four is estimated to be $6,184 a month, not including rent, while a single person’s estimated monthly costs are $1,689, excluding rent as well, according to Numbeo.

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and one of the country’s financial centers.

New York City is the No. 3 most expensive city in the world in, based on Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index by City. It had the highest cost of living of all the U.S. cities to make the top 10.

The Big Apple is home to major companies like Google, J.P. Morgan Chase and more. The cost of living in NYC is 128% higher than the national average, according to PayScale.

NYC is known for its high rent. As of June 2024, the median monthly rent for all bedroom counts and property types in the city is $4,480, which is 122% higher than the national average, according to Zumper.

Conversions from the Swiss Franc to USD were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 Swiss Franc to 1.14 USD on August 8, 2024. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

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