Episode 209

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Published on:

4th Nov 2026

How to Quit Your Job and Build a Better Career | E209 Ben Fox

You’ve spent years working toward financial independence. You’ve saved and invested enough that you still need to work, but you don’t necessarily need to stay in the job you have now.

The problem is that the job isn’t terrible. It pays well. Your manager is fine. Your coworkers are fine. The work is…fine. And walking away from a good salary can feel a lot harder than walking away from a bad job.

In this episode, Justin talks with career coach Ben Fox about how to know when it’s time to leave a “good enough” job and what to do when you know you want something different but aren’t sure what comes next. They discuss ways to reinvent your current role, use financial independence as leverage, experiment with potential career paths, calculate your financial runway, and turn a big career change into a series of smaller moves.

They also explore Ben’s “Goldilocks Quit Date” exercise and how financial freedom can change the way you approach a job search. Because once you don’t need to maximize your salary, you can start asking a different question: What would make this next chapter of my career better?

Key Takeaways:

  • Recognize when a “good” job is no longer good enough
  • Learn how to redesign your current job before quitting
  • Use low-effort experiments to test your next career move
  • Calculate your runway before making a career change
  • Set a specific quit date instead of waiting indefinitely
  • Rethink career success once you no longer need the money

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

  • The Missing Piece of the FIRE Formula | E205 Brian Herriot
  • Fast-Track Your Way to Financial Independence With This Plan | E203 Cody Berman
  • What to Do in Your Final Year Before Retirement | E198 Fritz Gilbert

Guest Summary:

Ben Fox is a career coach who helps people make intentional career changes and build work that better fits their lives. He works with clients to explore new career directions, test possibilities through experiments, and make career transitions with greater confidence. Connect with Ben at his website: https://benfoxcoaching.com/.

Connect With Justin

Email me at Justin@FIMinded.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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About the Podcast

FI Minded - Financial Independence, Early Retirement & Lifestyle Design
Achieve Financial Independence & Have Fun Doing It
Pursuing financial independence, financial freedom, or early retirement often leads to the same questions: How do I become financially independent? How much should I save? What happens after I reach FI?

FI Minded helps you use money to create more freedom, without turning your entire life into a financial optimization project.

Host Justin Peters explores the decisions behind building a flexible, work-optional life, from reaching financial independence and navigating Coast FI and Slow FI to spending your money, changing careers, stepping away from work, and figuring out what comes after FI.

Each episode combines practical personal finance with conversations about early retirement, lifestyle design, work, spending, healthcare, self-employment, and life after financial independence. The goal isn't simply to reach FI as quickly as possible. It's to make progress toward financial freedom while actually enjoying your life along the way.

On FI Minded, you'll learn how to:
- Reach financial independence without burning out
- Build a flexible, work-optional lifestyle
- Navigate Coast FI, Slow FI, and other paths to FI
- Make smarter decisions about spending and saving
- Prepare financially and emotionally for early retirement
- Figure out what life can look like after financial independence
- Think through the tradeoffs behind major money and lifestyle decisions
- Make progress toward financial independence while actually living your life.

Some of our past guests include Carl Jensen (1500 Days), Jeremy Schneider (Personal Finance Club), Nick Loper (Side Hustle Show), Andrew Giancola (The Personal Finance Podcast), Jordan Grumet (Earn & Invest), Rachael Camp (Work Optional), Jillian Johnsrud (Retire Often), Sean Mullaney (FI Tax Guy), Jill Sirianni (Frugal Friends), Jackie Cummings-Koski (Catching Up to FI), Joel Larsgaard (How to Money), Cody Garrett (Measure Twice), Jesse Cramer (Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors), Jess (The Fioneers), Chris Hutchins (All The Hacks), Diania Merriam (EconoMe), Andy Hill (Marriage Kids Money), Fritz Gilbert (Retirement Manifesto), Maggie Tucker (Inside Out Money), Cody Berman (The Financial Independence Show), Joe Saul-Sehy (Stacking Benjamins), Doug Cunnington (Mile High FI), and and others helping you rethink how to approach financial independence.
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