The best advice no one ever told me: Always have an exit strategy

I have to say, one of the worst feelings in the world is being trapped in something. And then slowly watching the jaws of doom bite out your kidneys. Getting trapped in a situation tends to be more common in long term commitments. Be it a business partnership that goes sour, a marriage that goes sour, a career path that goes sour, all of this can be miserable. For this reason, I remember a quote from some movie that I don't remember.

I never agree to anything that I can't walk away from at the drop of a hat (or maybe it was in 5 minutes). This is why I've never wanted a wife or kids. This is why I reconsidered buying a traditional house. This is why I never dropped a ton of money or took out a ton of debt to finance a business. This is why I haven't invested a ton of money in the stock market or bought 30 year government bonds. But I have taken on a job in a miserable career path.

There are some long term commitments that are a necessary evil. With my current career path, I've had days where I've wanted to shoot myself in the head and days where I've wanted to drive into on coming traffic and I've experienced everything in between.

But whether it is a marriage, job, investment, or any other long term obligation, you will do yourself a favor if you try to keep your options open and have a way to get out of there. Made some dumb financial decisions? There is bankruptcy. Got stuck in a lousy career path? Save up several thousand dollars and find another opportunity. Got trapped in a terrible marriage? Consult a lawyer.

The other important part to this advice is deciding when to execute your exit strategy. A lot of fret and worry is caused by not knowing when to follow through. Make sure to draw that line in the sand ahead of time and execute your leave once that line is crossed.

Hopefully this will prevent you from doing the Smith and Wesson retirement plan.