'Never quit your job,' says early retiree and self-made multimillionaire: Do this instead

Earlier this year, Sam Dogen quit his job.

For most people, that wouldn't be much of a story, but for the millionaire founder of Financial Samurai, a couple of details stand out.

For one, it was his first gig since 2012.

Dogen, 47, has lived as a retired, stay-at-home dad since 2012, boosting his annual passive income to about $380,000 by 2023 through a mix of stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments. He returned to work late last year after selling a big chunk of his portfolio to fund the purchase of a new home.

That he stayed only four months at the new gig is its own story — but it's also worth noting that by leaving so abruptly, he bucked a piece of his own advice: "Never quit your job," Dogen says. "Get laid off."

That's what Dogen did more than a decade ago. Rather than leaving, he engineered a layoff that netted him three months of his base salary plus a low six-figure severance check. That money, combined with the $80,000 a year he was earning in passive income at the time, allowed him to transition into early retirement.

If you're considering leaving your job, here's Dogen's best advice to follow in his footsteps.

How you manage leaving your job is going to depend on your specific circumstances. For Dogen, 2012 marked the end of his rope after 13 years in the investment banking industry. He'd built enough passive income outside the office to feel comfortable leaving, and he knew he wanted to go.

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He also knew the kind of power he wielded as an employee on his way out the door. "As a previous boss myself, the worst thing that can happen is when an employee of value quits and gives you two weeks notice or less," he says.

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