﻿So a little over three years ago I did something that I was very nervous about,
that I put a lot of thought into, and finally decided to pull the trigger on.
I quit my CPA job at one of the largest accounting firms in the world to start my own business. Well,
I guess I already had a business at the time, but I quit my job to go full-time in my own business,
which is of course a combination of content creation and CPA work. So March 15, 2018,
was the last time I walked in and out of 725 South Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles,
if you’ve been down there in the Financial District, this is the building with the bronze
statue of the suited businessman sticking his head into the building, and that’s basically
what I felt like everyday. I do want to share my entrepreneurial journey in future videos,
but for now, in this video, I want to talk about ten things you should do or at least consider
before quitting your job. I personally did most of these things, some didn’t apply to me necessarily,
but in this video I am going to share with you ten things you should think about before
quitting your job, so let’s get started. Number one, determine the amount of your last paycheck.
You should independently calculate how much you expect your final check to be and if you get your
last paycheck and there are discrepancies, discuss these with your employer. Keep in mind that the
amount of your final paycheck will obviously include your final wages but may also include
items such as accrued vacation hours payout, reimbursements, and things like that. Remember
that your company's payroll department makes mistakes just like anyone else, and it's best to
double check your final paycheck or else you may miss out on some money that's rightfully yours.
Don’t think payroll departments are perfect, I personally worked at a Big 4 accounting firm,
and they screwed up my last paycheck in that they didn’t pay me my last paycheck. I eventually got
it over a year later, and they had to pay me lots of penalties for not paying me my wages,
so make sure that you independently calculate how much you should be expecting in your last
paycheck and make sure that you get the full amount. Number two, submit any outstanding
reimbursements. Depending on what state you live in, you could probably still obtain reimbursements
for legitimate business expenses you incurred during your employment until after you quit,
but why wait? You'll get the cash quicker with less hassle if you submit any outstanding
reimbursements to your company before you quit. Number three, if you had health insurance through
your employer, determine when your insurance expires and look into COBRA insurance if
necessary. So obviously if you obtained health insurance through your employer's group plan,
you'll need to think about your coverage after you quit. Make sure you confirm through what date you
will be covered through this plan. Depending on your state and perhaps your individual company
policy, your health insurance coverage may end on your last day of employment or it may continue
through the end of the month. In any event, your employer-sponsored coverage will cease at some
point, and you need to figure out what to do next. If you will be starting a new job with a company
that offers health insurance, keep in mind that many companies have a probationary period during
which you are not eligible for benefits, and you will have to figure out what to do coverage-wise
in the interim. You could of course purchase health insurance through your state's exchange,
but one option is to elect COBRA continuation coverage. This option allows you to continue to
remain on your employer's group insurance plan for up to 18 months, possibly longer depending
on your state, but you will pay for it all out of your own pocket. Whatever you do, make sure you
have all the facts in front of you before making a new decision, make sure you know when your current
coverage ends, how much COBRA would cost, how much insurance through your state's exchange
would cost, when your health insurance at your new employer kicks in, etc. Number four, review your
retirement plan and rollover options. If you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan or plans,
make sure you understand your options with respect to these account(s). If you have a defined benefit
pension plan, like I did in addition to a 401(k), it may make sense for you to simply
wait to collect monthly payments when you reach retirement age, but it may also make sense for you
to take a cash lump sum amount and roll it into an IRA, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here,
the considerations here probably require a standalone video, but this is something you should
think about and potentially speak to a qualified financial advisor about. Similar thing if you have
a 401(k) plan, take a look at your plan's fees and investment options. If you feel that the fees are
too high or the investment options too limited, consider rolling your 401(k) plan into an IRA,
this probably will require a dedicated video in the future. Number five: get your file from H.R.
Before quitting, you should get your complete file from your company's human resources department,
including your performance reviews, offer letter, employment contract, and salary and
wage information. You never know when you'll need these documents in the future -- perhaps
if a dispute arises between you and your former company or if future employers want to see samples
of stellar performance reviews -- and it's often easier to obtain this information before you quit
than after. Number six: remove all personal files from your work computer. This probably goes
without saying, but you should make sure that you remove any personal files -- documents, photos,
emails, etc. -- from your work computer before turning it in to your company's I.T. department.
Probably the easiest thing to do is to buy a flash drive and transfer all your personal files onto
it. This can take a surprising amount of time, especially if you haven't been great about keeping
all of your personal files in one central location on your work computer, so don't wait until the the
last minute to do this! Number seven, if you have stock options, double check your vesting period.
If you're lucky enough to have been awarded stock options as part of your compensation package,
be sure you understand the terms of these awards before you quit your job. You may be required to
remain with the company for a certain period of time before leaving in order to ultimately receive
these stock options. Number eight, deal with your accrued vacation time. If you have accrued
vacation time, make sure you understand what happens to it if you don't use it up before
you leave. In some states, you will simply lose your vacation time if you quit. In this case, it's
probably a wise decision for you to simply use up your accrued vacation time before you leave the
company. In other states, however, your employer may be obligated to pay you out for your unused
vacation time upon the termination of your employment. In this case, it may make more sense
for you to not take your vacation time and simply get it paid out. Note though that there may be
reasons for you to use the vacation hours rather than getting them paid out, such as if lengthening
the time of your employment will result in some increased economic benefit to you, such as
vesting of stock options or an increased pension payout, so you might want to do your research
first before making a decision one way or the other. Number nine, drain your FSA. Typically,
if you leave a company, you will lose the unused amount you have contributed to your Flexible
Spending Account or FSA, so it's advisable that you spend the money in this account on eligible
items before quitting. You can check out Amazon's FSA Store if you'd like to purchase FSA-eligible
items from the comfort of your own home. Note that if you elect to use COBRA continuation coverage,
you may still be eligible for FSA reimbursements during the time of your COBRA coverage. And
finally, number ten, don't forget about your bonus. Unlike your salary and wages, your
bonus is typically discretionary, meaning that you aren’t entitled to it but your employer may still
give one nevertheless, and employers often have policies in place that require you to be employed
on the date a bonus is paid out in order to receive it. So if you’re expecting to receive a
bonus, then before you quit, make sure you have your bonus in your bank account rather
than crossing your fingers that your employer will pay it out after you quit. Alright, folks,
those are ten things to do or at least think about before quitting your job. Do you have any insights
on this topic, do you have any tips for others who might be contemplating a career or employer
change, let me know in the comments below, and I will see you in the next video, buh-bye.