If you haven’t heard by now, I quit my job! My fiancee and I are moving and I did not want to make the hour plus commute so I gave my notice about a month ago. My last day was last Tuesday and so far being unemployed has been pretty awesome. Eventually I’m going to get back to my day job but for now I’m happy working online and living life. A lot of my co-workers thought it strange that I quit on a Tuesday but there was a method to my madness.
If you’ve been thinking about quitting your job, either out of necessity like me or on your own free will I have some tips that will save you some green. It’s nothing significant, but when you’re unemployed like me every penny counts.
Mondays Usually Suck
Mondays suck, there’s no way around it. And the more fun your weekend was, the more Monday is going to suck. But when you pick your last day to be on a Tuesday or Wednesday, Mondays are truly awesome. I was really looking forward to my last Monday since I knew I was only going to have a 2 day work week. I set up my going away lunch for Monday and there really wasn’t a whole lot of work they could pour on me at the last minute. My last Monday at the company was pretty much spent organizing my desk, going out to lunch and copying over my personal files.
The Day After Your Vacation Accrues
Coincidentally, my work also accrues vacation on the third Monday of the month. If you quit before that day, you lose out on your monthly vacation accrual. But if you quit after, you essentially gained anywhere from an extra day to 2-3 days depending on how much vacation you accrue per month. Since I only get 2 weeks of vacation per year, quitting after my vacation accrual netted me 6.67 hours in extra pay.
Maximize Your Health Benefits
When you leave your company, you generally have the right to continue your health, dental and vision benefits under COBRA for 18 months. Unfortunately though, the employee is responsible for covering the entire premium. It will probably come as a shock to you to learn how much the employer portion of your healthcare premium was but there’s one last thing you can do to squeeze a few extra bucks out of them.
My company states that medical, dental and life insurance coverage will continue through the end of they payroll period so obviously it makes the most sense to quit at the beginning of the payroll period. I was able to score 12 days of free medical coverage by quitting at the beginning of the payroll period and if your employer has a 1 month payroll period, you could essentially get an entire month of free healthcare when you quit.
Related Article: Get 2 Free Months of Health Insurance Through COBRA
My fiancee quit on July 5th and since she’s paid monthly she got to keep her medical benefits all the way until the end of the month! A self-employed friend of mine is paying $1,500 a month for health insurance for his family of 4 so you can see how much of a benefit this could potentially be, especially if you have a family.
So there you have it, that’s everything that went into my thinking when I quit on a Tuesday. Sometimes we don’t get to control when we quit but if you can, then make sure to look for a Tuesday or Wednesday at the beginning of the payroll period, right after a vacation accrual, or after a holiday is always a great idea too.
Readers, have you ever quit your job? Did you think about any of these things or did you just say good riddance and pick a day and quit?!
Track All Your Accounts With Personal Capital
Personal Capital lets you see all of your accounts in one convenient place. Sign up now for free.-Harry @ PF Pro
I never considered a particular day, although I did consider all the other factors. Why leave money on the table?
Couldn’t agree more. You generally have some freedom/flexibility to choose the day you want so why pick any old Friday? Pick one that coincides with the beginning of the pay period, right after vacation accrual or right after a holiday and maximize your savings.
I have about 8 employees, and when I receive a 2 weeks notic, 90% of the time its on a Friday. I like your ideas here, good food for though.
Yea everyone asked me why I was quitting on a Tuesday but they didn’t seem convinced when I explained it to them. How do you handle benefits when people quit since you’re the boss?
By meaning 90% of time, you are implying that at least 9 people have given 2 weeks notice in the time period you are talking. If so, then with 8 employees, “which weekday” is not your biggest problem.
My friend recently quit at the beginning of July and she scored about a month of healthcare, vacation accrual, and two paid holiday days by having her last day be the day after the long 4th of July weekend. =)
Nice! That’s exactly what my fiancee did but on accident haha. I didn’t even think to tell her about this since I was so concerned with finishing up at my job.
I didn’t know you quit your job. Congrats! Honestly, I’ve never held a real job (besides a part time one in college). I’ve always been working for myself.
Thanks Troy, it did feel good to quit, not gonna lie haha. I hope to one day work for myself full time. We’ll see how it goes 🙂
It shows some wise planning in thinking it through. I probably wouldn’t be thinking about things like that before I read this post. Now I will. Well done!
Thanks Brian, your company might not work the same way as mine but if it does definitely some good food for thought.
I plan on leaving soon, and I am still unsure of when my last day will be. These are all great things to think about!
Awesome, it’s a little awkward getting some of the information if you haven’t told anyone yet. But usually you get a little leeway with your last day, I vaguely told my boss that my last day would be in about 3 weeks.
I’ve never quit a job before but I have been in the other position and fired people and I can honestly say no matter what day of the week it is their is never a bad time to fire someone at least not that I’ve noticed.
Yea no matter how bad an employee is, I think it would be very tough to fire them. Haven’t had to fire anyone yet so I guess that’s a good thing.
Congrats Harry! At my last job we had a Christmas bonus so I wanted to leave mid year but gave notice… on December 26th haha.
Thanks Pauline, that’s a good point. I forgot to mention bonuses, always a good idea to quit after you get a bonus haha.
Did you feel guilty taking the bonus and then quitting?
I’m in a similar situation in a tiny office. I wonder if he’d ask for it back?
I thought bonus’s were a reflection of the past year work?
right?
Whatever day that you’re ready. Remember, dont burn bridges because it is very likely that your paths will cross again.
Well if you’re smart, whatever day you’re ready will hopefully take into account the points I’ve made here.
I hadn’t considered that there was a best day of the week to quit your job, but I guess it makes sense that there would be. Our health benefits cut off at the end of the month that you quit .. so it would be best to quit then at the beginning of the month so you get a month’s worth of free benefits!
Yea it’s really more of a benefit to the people who get paid monthly since insurance premiums for a family of four can be around $1,500 for a halfway decent plan.
Gotta love gaming the system. When I quit my grocery job, I quit the week after my 2 weeks vacation accrued which was a nice “severance” if you will. Played the same game when I quit my first desk job too. Gotta get what ya can when ya can is how I look at it.
The Warrior
NetWorthWarrior.com
Nice that’s awesome. I ALWAYS do things like this to maximize my benefits haha. In high school I worked a job where the time clock was on 15 minute intervals so if I checked in at 8:52, it was like getting there at 8:45 and if I checked out at 4:53, it was like I worked until 5. Only 15 minutes a day that I was getting for free but that starts to add up over time!
Congratulations on quiting your job! I liked the Tuesday idea, it makes perfect sense.
Haha thanks yea it actually worked out really well, way better than Friday that’s for sure!
Congrats on quitting your job! You are right, Monday sucks. I like Tuesday idea.
If you quit your job is best to do it Monday so you have time during the weekend to think it over.