Let me be clear from the very start, having a job is not a bad thing. In fact, I am an employee just like you. I have been an employee since 1996, when I started working at Arby’s in San Diego, Ca. It is the employee mindset that ends up getting us in trouble. The employee mindset traps us in the belief that the only way to make money is by getting a paycheck. The reason this is so dangerous is that at that point, your job then has complete and utter control over you. On top of that, by using our income from our jobs to fund our lifestyle, we are even more indentured to our jobs. It is hard to quit a job when you have a house payment, two cars notes, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, and a vacation coming up. And once we are that indebted to society, our jobs can pretty much tell us to do whatever they want.
If we don’t learn how to generate income outside of a job, it can be disastrous if we lose our job. Often we are caught off guard and find ourselves scrambling to find another job. Then we play the whole resume game. We may be under-qualified and then we are overqualified. Which is it? Then we play the education game. You need an associate’s degree to work here; or a bachelor’s or master’s. There is no end to the devious things that employers can tell us, especially when we really need the job.
Kris and I know the drill. Whenever we had to change duty stations my wife had to change her job. They treated her in any way that they felt appropriate. It was utterly ridiculous. And I am proud to say that we will never play that game again. F**k them. Sorry for the language, but seriously, it takes a toll to be treated like a second class citizen when you need a job. By believing that the only way to make money is through W-4 employment, we are killing our imagination and pouring our energy into corporations that care nothing about us.
America wasn’t always like this. Up until the early 1900s, America was a country of entrepreneurs. Almost every family was its own business, whether that was farming, running a store, or other ventures, the family unit was the heart of the business. As farms became more autonomous because of machines, more people went into the cities to find work. Then came the industrial revolution, and the start of employment. In order to keep their jobs, families moved into the cities, separating from other family members. As we broke our families up and starting employment, the family unit became smaller and smaller. Before families had 20-30+ people because everyone lived close. If someone, like a father, wasn’t up to the mustard, a brother, cousin, or uncle could help by stepping in. Once we went into the cities, the family unit became 4-5 people. If one parent wasn’t up to the mustard, the family unit suffered. On top of that, work became more and more intense.
We were now expected to work more and more for less and less. You were no longer a subject matter expert in one field. You were expected to be a jack of all trades, master of none. When business was bad, you were “lucky” to have a job. When Bob got fired, you were expected to do his job, or else you would be next. And you better have a smile on your face. Nowadays loyalty in corporations is not rewarded. Millennials have to jump from job to job in order to get a pay raise. This must be super stressful for them. The idea of starting a family and homeownership is so far off that many are waiting into their mid 30’s to even think about it.
So what am I trying to say? You need to very intentional with your job. Know why you have a job and what you stand to gain from it. Always have a financial goal to save money from your job. Having extra money around in a high yield savings account will give you that emotional freedom, and allow you to make a move if things get bad. The worst thing you can do is get into consumer debt early in your life. This guarantees that you will be a work bot for a long time.
Now time to change our mindset. W-4 employment is not the only way to earn income. There are so many ways to make money, that it is almost a joke. We just have to be able to see and understand them. Remember to always find a way to make money in real estate. If that means renting out rooms, Airbnb, buying a billboard, buying notes, wholesaling, becoming a real estate agent on the side, etc. Always keep one of your feet in real estate. On top of that, keep your other foot in the business world. If that means renting your vehicle, selling cakes, going to garage sales, selling phones, a food truck, etc. Always, always, always have a side hustle.
Furthermore, always have another foot (that’s three feet) in the content creation world. This may be a blog, Facebook group, or YouTube channel. Content creation is the 4th dimension. All you have to do is create content on what you have going on in your real life. Content creation forces you to become better at being sociable, speaking, reading, writing, creating content, building relationships, sales, and marketing. It is the ultimate way to set yourself up for lifelong income. People love to see what other people are up to. It may as well be you.
Putting it all together. If I were a millennial, how would I put it all together? First I would live with my parents for as long as I could. If my profession wasn’t available in their town, I would find something to do in the meantime. Let’s say I became a Human Resource assistant at a fire department near my parent’s home. I’ll give myself 20/hr. I would be making $3,000 a month. I would pay my parents $400 a month for rent. I would keep my other expenses low, under $1,000. I would invest $1,000 into savings and investment accounts. I would rent my vehicle and buy a vending machine for my business. These are rather passive. Then I would also have a YouTube channel playing through old pokemon games. I would bring in an additional $3,000 between those ventures. I would do that until I had enough to buy a small home with a 3% down FHA loan. Then I would do the same but rent rooms out. Continue to do this and until I was rich.
By diversifying my income, I was greater than the sum of my parts. I wasn’t doing any one thing particularly above average, but by putting them all together, I was doing fantastic. I also was able to spend more time with my parents. Life isn’t about getting the highest paying job. High paying job comes with high paying stress. It is okay to do these jobs but always have an exit strategy. If you are in a high-paying job, your exit strategy should not be an expensive 2-week vacation in Hawaii. Yet this is what most people are doing. Your exit strategy should be to get a million dollars in investments, retire, and start a blog on gardening (or something like this). It is okay to get a big education and big jobs, just make sure that you have your financial education as well as your college education. Working a high stress job until you are 65 is a recipe for disaster.
This is a great time to make a plug for reading. Reading the correct books will give you the correct mindset and prepare you for a complete 360 life. A 360 life includes a job, financial education, family, friends, and a solid plan. If you have all these you will be highly successful and your stress levels will remain low. Stress is a real killer. Sometimes you do not even know that you are stressed out. Stress leads to alcohol abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence, unnecessary spending, and suicide, among other things. These are 20 books I recommend (here).
Keep your job, quit your mindset. Have a financial plan. Stay out of consumer debt. Diversify your income across work, business, investments, and real estate. This will help you be the boss of your life. If you do not have a plan your boss at work will be your boss at home because they will own you.
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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