top of page
Search

The Real Price of Staying at a Job You Hate

  • Writer: Silivere Bakomeza
    Silivere Bakomeza
  • Sep 18
  • 4 min read

Most people do not love their jobs.

Some tolerate them.

Many endure them.

And a whole lot hate them.


But they stay anyway.


Why?


  • The paycheck feels safe

  • The benefits are decent

  • The fear of starting over is paralyzing


So they keep showing up.

One week turns into one year.

One year turns into a decade.

And suddenly, they are 40, 50, 60 wondering where their time, energy, and dreams went.


Here is the truth: staying in a job you hate is not just a personal decision.

It is a financial liability.


It has a price, and you have probably been paying it without realizing it.


This post will break down what that price really is and how to build an escape plan before it becomes permanent.

Digital illustration of a worker chained to a paycheck with a ticking clock in the background, symbolizing the financial and emotional trap of staying in a job you hate.
Trapped in the paycheck cycle. Staying in a job you hate costs more than money. It costs your future.

  1. The Financial Cost: You Are Missing Your Wealth Window


Numbers do not lie.


When you stay stuck in a job you hate, you usually:


  • Spend more to cope (food, entertainment, retail therapy)

  • Earn just enough to stay dependent

  • Invest nothing because you are exhausted and distracted


Meanwhile, every day you delay investing is a day you lose thousands in long-term growth.


Example:

If you are 30 and wait 10 years before investing consistently:


  • Starting at 30: $12,000/year invested for 20 years = $240,000

  • Compounding at 10% = $686,000+

  • Starting at 40? You’d end with less than half

  • Starting at 50? Maybe a quarter



You do not need to quit your job. But if you do not start investing while you are employed, you are bleeding opportunity.


That is why I built my system: $50 a day into Strategy (MSTR), every market day, for 20 years.



👉 Want the full breakdown? Read my flagship post: How I Buy Strategy (MSTR) Daily Without Stress, Guessing, or Going Broke



  1. The Emotional Cost: Quiet Misery Compounds Too


No one tells you how much a job you hate shrinks your soul.


You stop dreaming.

You stop creating.

You stop even imagining alternatives.


Your days blur into:


  • Alarm clock

  • Commute

  • Tasks that do not matter

  • Small talk you dislike

  • Commute home

  • Screens

  • Sleep

  • Repeat


Over time, this becomes your identity. Not because you are lazy, but because you are running on survival mode, not vision.


Ask yourself:


  • How much more energy would you have if you were building something meaningful?

  • How different would your mornings feel if you had a mission you cared about?

  • What kind of partner, parent, or creator would you be if Mondays did not feel like punishment?


This is not just about money.

It is about emotional bankruptcy.

And that cost is real.

Digital infographic showing the emotional cost clock: on one side, a sad face stuck in an office representing lost time and burnout, and on the other side, a joyful face building assets symbolizing financial freedom and long term wealth
The Emotional Cost of Staying vs Leaving - how time spent in a job you hate drains joy while time invested in building assets creates freedom.

  1. The Opportunity Cost: You Are Losing More Than You Think


A thought experiment:


Scenario A: Stay in your job 10 more years


  • Earn $70,000/year

  • Spend most of it maintaining the cycle

  • Save little, invest even less

  • Burn out by 45

  • Look back asking, “Where did the time go?”


Scenario B: Keep the job, but build on the side


  • Invest $50/day into ownership (MSTR, BTC, ETFs etc..)

  • Build a blog, channel, or email list

  • Create one digital product

  • Grow an audience over time

  • Use your paycheck to fund freedom

  • In 10 years: $500K+ portfolio and multiple streams


Same hours. Same life circumstances.

Radically different outcomes.


I chose Scenario B. That is what I document every week in my MSTR Journey Updates.

Illustration of opportunity cost split showing two roads. One path stuck in place and the other path building assets and wealth.
Two paths, one future. Staying stuck or building wealth through ownership.

  1. Why People Stay and How to Break the Cycle


Why do people stay?


  • Afraid of instability

  • Do not believe they have options

  • Think wealth is for “other people”

  • Too mentally exhausted to try something new



Here is how you break the cycle with low friction:


  1. Keep the job (use it as fuel, not your identity)

  2. Live below your means

  3. Invest daily $5, $50, or whatever you can automate

  4. Build one digital asset (blog, YouTube, newsletter, product, or app)

  5. Create once a week minimum

  6. Track your progress publicly or privately

  7. Exit when leverage replaces the paycheck


This is the difference between being trapped and being in control even while clocking in.

Illustration of a ladder labeled Break the Cycle showing steps from job dependence to investing and ownership, symbolizing the path to financial independence.
Breaking the cycle: the ladder from job dependence to daily investing and true ownership.

  1. Your Escape Plan Starts With One Decision


The hardest part is not quitting your job.


It is believing you are allowed to want more.

It is realizing you do not have to accept misery.

It is deciding to build even when you are tired, busy, and doubting yourself.


You do not have to go viral.

You do not have to be perfect.

You just have to start, brick by brick.


If I can do it while driving buses and blogging at midnight, you can too.


Start small:





Build With Me


Every week I share free updates:


  • My latest MSTR buy

  • Portfolio growth

  • Tools I use

  • Lessons from the journey





Posts You Might Like




Comments

Drop questions & comments here!

Thanks for submitting!

© 2023 by Train of Thoughts. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page