musing on income
I really like being able to take care of the lion’s share of my bills with one week’s pay. I’m really going to miss it when I get a permanent job, at which point I’m all but certain to make less money than I’m making as a contractor, partially because I’ll be getting real benefits. Even though I haven’t elevated my standard of living significantly, I have elevated my savings expectations. So I won’t feel the pain of making less money when I’m paying bills or shopping at the grocery store. Instead, I’m going to feel it when I’m making smaller deposits to my ING account. I’m not looking forward to it.
It’s got me thinking about Moneymonk constantly saying that if you’re not happy with your financial situation, you need to figure out a way to make more money.
Honestly, I am not interested in working a second job or starting a small business. I want the time that I’m not spending in an office to be all mine. Not only that, but I have never really had a viable business idea in mind. Just today, I was thinking that if someone gave me $50,000 tomorrow with the stipulation that I start a business, I have no idea what I would do. I’m going to have to make career choices that give me what I want, like how Single Ma has been doing. Multiple income streams are great, but ultimately, I’m going to have to chart another course.
In general, it’s best to have consistent income than spotty income, even if it’s slightly less. This allows one to establish a budget and affirm a standard of living. It’s also more likely to result in benefits that lessen economic disaster, such as a costly illness.
Slow and steady is the only real option for most of us economically. We have to save our pennies with knowledge that the dollars will take care of themselves in time.
I hear you on the slow and steady. That’s the story of my financial progress. I just can’t help noticing that the higher my income, the less slow and the more steady my progress becomes.
Comment by Double Cross — July 18, 2008 @ 8:54 am
It’s really tough to buy your way to economic success just by working harder. The whole system is stacked against you.
In particular, there’s progressive income tax rates. But there’s also the way all of society is structured around the idea that people have certain hours that almost everybody is at work and then certain other hours that almost everybody is not at work. You can subvert that to the extent of working different hours than the norm, but as you try to work more hours, it becomes harder and harder to carry on the routine activities of daily living, like buying groceries and doing your laundry. This is exactly one of the deterrents to getting more work hours!
Multiple income streams are great, but after the first, they should come from non-work activities. Investments are good, of course, but they’re not the only ones. Some people can bring in money from their hobbies (without turning them into a second job).
Another thing to remember is that not having to spend money is just as good as earning the same amount. (Better, really, because you don’t have to pay taxes on it.) So, if you can do something yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you, your equivalent wage is that much higher. Now this is the kind of thinking that I like - it’s part of the reason why I’ve always been able to have at least the bare necessities!
Comment by Philip Brewer — July 18, 2008 @ 5:40 pm