This approach certainly worked out well for me.<p>From way back in the &quot;paying dues&quot; phase, trading away stock options in favor of extra vacation time, and taking leaves of unpaid absence.  On to my contracting days, working short gigs to maximize &quot;bench&quot; time and spending several months a year traveling abroad.  Building SaaS products during some of that downtime and growing them in the background so that eventually they would let me step away from the day jobs entirely.<p>It has paid off two-fold, with both a better quality of life during the process, and a nice early &quot;retirement&quot;, leaving lots of time to spend with the kids from here on out.<p>5 stars, would recommend.  Don&#x27;t chase money, chase free time.