This is the last article in a series. Here are round 1, round 2, and round 3.
The need to specialize
I have been wrestling now for some time with the question of where to focus one’s energies: whether to earn more or whether to save more. Of course you want to do both, but to get really good at something it takes time, effort, patience and dedication — just like anything you want to be good at: pitcher or catcher; quarterback or wide receiver; striker or goalkeeper. Success loves a specialist, and every now and then a monster is born who can do it all. The rest of us mortals are best at keeping focused on one good thing and automate or outsource the rest.
The road ahead
As I move forward in my journey to earn more, I pledge financial prudence. Never again will I overextend myself without a reasonable reserve. However, my main focus will be on making more money, and my future articles will reflect that approach.
For that reason, I officially give up on making my own detergent, growing my own vegetables, looking for usable items among street refuse, returning gifts to buy them cheaper elsewhere, or spending hours clipping coupons. I will buy my bagels instead of baking them.
Making choices
Please understand this isn’t a criticism of money-saving activities. I understand they are desirable for some people for a variety of reasons, all of them valid. And they may even be mandatory instead of optional in some cases (we were briefly on food stamps a couple of years ago, and I became the master of the flour sack).
Furthermore, earning and saving don’t have to be mutually exclusive: in some families, one partner may specialize in earning, and the other may specialize in managing the money to maximize its value. And there you have it, the best of both worlds. But in my family, the way things are, it’s best for both of us to focus more on earning at this point.
In any case, if everyone were the same the world would be a boring place, and if every blog post would tell you the same thing, you’d want to pull out your eyes. So here I am being a bit of a contrarian to my colleagues if you’ll permit. I’ll be here just to say, “Make more money!”
Eating my words (just a little)
Yes, once upon a time I wrote a post recommending that people cook at home, and I stand behind that notion not just for the savings but also because it gives me great pleasure. However, I also know that sometimes it pays to get carryout, or at least assemble a meal from readymade ingredients while we focus our energy doing more important work. (I keep jars of artichokes, cans of salmon, boxes of soup and packs of water crackers for meals in a hurry.)
For some people, going on business lunches or dinners can be an opportunity for economic growth. Maybe you’re a salesperson or a CEO. If going to restaurants can help make you rich, hey, I may be a little jealous of your situation, but I won’t resent you. Go for it, and please enjoy.
What makes my choice possible
Here is why I am able to focus on earning more: I don’t hate my job. Yes. I do not hate my job. There.
I love work in general because it creates all the good things that we enjoy in social life, but I also love my job in particular. I run a very small family business that allows me to be close to the most important people in my life. We work hard every day to create a business that embodies our values and reflects who we are. We perform creative work that some would consider “passion” work, and I suppose it is.
I love new challenges, and I love to develop my skills. I love charting the unknown and I love also that I’m learning to build a successful team. I love it when a client says they are happy with our work, or when something we’ve made elicits a strong emotional reaction in an audience. I love it when our clients take our creative input and make it a part of something bigger.
I’m not a professional PF blogger, by the way. I have a service business and I’m committed to growing it and to being successful with it.
I want to work until I croak
Basically, my work is my life, and I’m very happy with that. The idea of early retirement is repugnant to me. I grew up surrounded by people of leisure, and I can attest to this fact: excessive idleness causes harm, and breeds degenerates. I have seen it with my own eyes. At some point in my life I even aspired to be one of those degenerates (don’t ask). As I’ve grown older and perhaps wiser, and learned the value of character in a person’s life, let me just say, I no longer aspire to be idle. I know this may sound corny to cynical ears, but I aspire to be a good solid citizen.
Another thing I’ll add: as an existentialist of sorts, I find that work gives meaning to my life in an otherwise absurd universe. To give up on work is to give up on meaning, and to give up on meaning is to succumb to madness and despair. I want to be able to work until the day I die, if life permits.
A committed life is beyond money
All I want to do is be good at what I do, get paid well for it, raise a family, take care of my parents in their old age, and make a contribution to society. I have no dreams of being a special snowflake, and I don’t want to be the greatest boy wonder in the world. In my teens I wanted to win not just one but two Nobel prizes! But as my soul moved out of Neverland and settled on Earth, I gave up grandiosity. Now I can just focus on being good at my chosen profession.
I’m in a committed relationship and I have no desire to ever date again. I have immigrated to a safe and prosperous country and I really don’t want to hop from one third-world country to another with a ratty backpack. (I did that already between the ages of 19 and 28– moreover, I grew up in a third world country.) I am committed to maturing as a person and I don’t want to have a second adolescence and repeat myself like a broken record. I want the very life I have.
To paraphrase Michelle Shocked: When I grow up, I want to be an old man. And if I can learn to earn more during my aging process, I’m going to do it.
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The thought of retirement is repugnent to me too. We’re getting rich slowly so that we have financial independence, not so we can retire early. It seems sometimes in the PF-sphere that everyone’s preaching early retirement. It’s good to hear a contrarian voice.
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Something tells me that your sincere, unyielding, and enigmatic personality (that I and many adore) will take you and yours where ever you want to go Nerdo. I also have to say…I appreciated the creativity of reading between the lines here, with rather large font– so to speak. Your take is unique and essential.
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I believe that too many folks when they think retirement they imagine lazing around like they are on an extended vacation and I don’t know about anyone else but after a week of undirected activity I’m itching to find something to sink my teeth into. So I feel for many the idea of “retirement” is changing. As has been said before, sometimes the best thing is not so much to be retired and unemployed but to be employed knowing you aren’t shackled to a job for your existance. I’ve always prefered the term financial freedom versus retirement. I want to be financially free to chose the kind of work I do (income or non-income producing) because I will be doing something.
Personnally I feel there are many, many ways to get there, from running a business up and selling for a large profit to minimizing your lifestyle to the point you can live off part time work to going the more traditional route and working and saving for years.
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Totally agree. The idea of “retirement” is definitely changing. Most retirees I know are anything but idle. They’re avid volunteers, spend time with their family, work on hobbies, work part time (out of choice, not necessity) or go back to school. Many people don’t realize that a good portion of Canada and the U.S.’s entrepreneurs are people over 50. (They’re often the ones with the capital, professional networks and time to dedicate to a new venture.)
I think we have to be careful in our retirement planning, though. I think many people have an outdated idea of what retirement is like, but other people assume they’ll be able to work forever when the harsh reality is that disability and health issues take people out of the workforce earlier than they think. (Not to mention job losses.)
I’m aiming for financial independence. I want to keep working as long as possible because I love my work and it’s flexible enough to transition to part time. Having seen my parents’ friends deal with everything from cancer to strokes, I’m worried that the choice to stop working won’t be mine at all.
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I like the idea of freedom to choose your work, paid or not. For me, in the far off retirement future I look forward to getting the time to devote entirely to family and to productive hobbies that I adore. Maybe by that time I’ll have figured out how to get a hobby to be income producing, but even if I don’t make money on my hobbies they do produce something and I am busy with them.
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I think you nailed it, Sheryl. Retirement is really nothing but a newfound freedom to do what you want when you want, a breaking of the chains to the job you hate. Some people are fortunate to have a secure job doing what they love, but unfortunately those are the minority.
There really isn’t a single word that captures that financial freedom, independence, call it what you will. And it is just for lack of a better term that people use the word retirement. In today’s world, retirement no longer means living in a senior center with a golf course.
More and more, it’s living an El Nerdo life, doing what you want to do, as long as you can, making (like Lisa in the comment below) the world a better place for future generations…
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Completely agree with the changing definition of retirement. Even for those approaching retirement now, like my MIL, it’s changed drastically from the time her husband retired about 10 years ago!
She’s looking at retirement as a new career – where she has the flexibility to do what she wants when she wants and focus on things she truly values. It sounds like El Nerdo has that with his current job, so I get why “retirement” wouldn’t be something he would necessarily look forward to!
We’re aiming for early financial independence so that we aren’t tied to one location or one desk job working for someone else forever. We’d like to build something that will benefit our family – again something it sounds like El Nerdo’s got.
So maybe El Nerdo IS retired in a sense… at least in some of the ways that *I* think about retirement.
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“I believe that too many folks when they think retirement they imagine lazing around like they are on an extended vacation and I don’t know about anyone else but after a week of undirected activity I’m itching to find something to sink my teeth into.”
SAME!
I have a relative who retired about a year ago, and all he does is keep the couch warm while he watches TV. That’s not a life, that’s dull.
On the other hand, I once had a colleague who worked for our company for YEARS after he could have retired. For him, working was fun (and probably an ego boost, too). Getting paid for meeting clients, being a mid-level exec, etc., were just icing on the cake. He definitely had the money to retire and golf all day for the rest of his life, but he didn’t do that. I always thought that was so inspirational, and I hope to have a “retirement” like that, too.
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What a great article that articulates my philosophy better than I could ever do!
I also enjoy working, and I don’t want to retire. Like Marsha (#1), I want to be financially independent so I can do everything you mentioned (raise a family, help family members, contribute to society, etc.).
My day job and two side gigs eat up a lot of my time now, but I’m saving up the excess, so that one day, I will have more time *and* more money. And I can help (in some small way) to alleviate the pain of rural poverty around me that I see every single day.
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Great article by El Nerdo! The last 2-3 years, I too have been focused on earning more. Phase I is trying to advance in my profession. Phase II is trying to maximize my savings/investments. Phase III is to repeat Phase I and Phase II.
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Love the end of this post — well said! I’m in a creative profession too and I don’t aspire to riches or fame. That line about wanting to be good at what you do, raise and support your family and make a contribution to the world hit home for me. Looking forward to more, El Nerdo.
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I want to both earn more and spend less. I want to be at a healthy medium where I enjoy what I’m doing.
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Two things:
When you’re buying premade food instead of making it, make sure the quality and ingredients are as close to homemade as possible. Most premade food is high in sodium and preservatives (not to mention often high in trans fats, etc.). It will hurt your health if you that kind of food daily.
I disagree with the idea that idleness causes harm and breeds degenerates. Sitting and watching the sunset, watching your grandkids play (and interacting with them), and generally stopping to smell the roses is an amazing thing and often lacking in our stress-filled society. I do think there are many different kinds of people in this world and some thrive on stress while others do best living a lower-key lifestyle. You’re obviously in the former group while I’m in the latter. I won’t call you a word if you agree not to call me one.
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I do not believe that El Nerdo was referring to “Sitting and watching the sunset, watching your grandkids play (and interacting with them), and generally stopping to smell the roses” as being idle. Idleness is when one stops bettering oneself and instead begins to “rot” away. If you are playing with your grandkids not only are you bettering your relationships with them but you are improving your physical abilities as well. If you are sitting and watching a sunset you are increasing your serotonin levels which improves your mood and averts depression. Stopping to smell the roses lowers your stress level and thereby your blood pressure improving your body.
Sitting inside in front of the TV flipping through channels because you are bored usually results in your body actually degenerating. That is the “idleness” I believe El Nerdo was referring to.
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I really don’t think it’s up to us to judge what others do to decompress. I don’t watch a lot of tv but if someone finds it restful and likes watching endless episodes of Honeybooboo, so be it.
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Well said. If it doesn’t harm anyone else, then we shouldn’t concern ourselves with the affairs of others.
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Good point, Tracey. There’s such a benefit in spending peaceful time both alone and with loved ones. Just getting on the freeway with drivers who are hard-driving, angry and short-tempered (first thing in the morning, no less!)makes me glad there’s another way to live and another focus for life.
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I grew up knowing very rich kids whose lives were all about going to parties, drinking scotch and snorting coke, spending time at the beach sleeping it off, wash, rinse repeat, going nowhere. Oh, there were horse races too. So add the gambling.
Without a challenge, one’s mind, body and spirit (however it is you define that) tend to atrophy.
Watching the sunset is nice after a good productive day when everything is in order and you can say “aaaaaaah!”. Watching the sunset after having watched the clouds go by all day is extremely dull.
(PS- the Nerdo family enjoys watching Bundesliga and Premiere League matches)
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Nerdo, I grew up in a family that did nothing but work pretty much. Call it Catholic guilt + Protestant work ethic = finding it difficult to relax / feeling somehow wrong if we weren’t always working. And where spending time with your kids is also a waste of time that could be spent making money.
Idle hands may be the devil’s playground, but to have to have paid work to be able to feel good about yourself is not right either. You seem like the kind of guy who would appreciate Bertrand Russell’s “In Praise of Idleness”…
http://www.skeptic.ca/Bertrand_Russell_Collection.pdf
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Jacq, thanks for the reading! I grew up with a workaholic dad, so for a long time I wanted nothing to do with that sort of life.
I do love and appreciate the dolce far niente, and I can see its value for creativity and the life of the mind.
However, having practiced idleness to excess in my early years, I also know the dark side of a permanent vacation.
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Yeah, I don’t think that’s really what the average GRS reader has in mind when they think of retirement early or otherwise
(edit to say this is in response to El Nerdo’s last comment not Jacq!)
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That’s not what I meant by “retirement,” that’s what I meant by “idleness breeds degenerates.” Seriously, people will go to all kinds of crazy extents to entertain themselves when they have nothing to do.
And while I don’t think anybody says “I want to be rich so I can raise a good-for-nothing son”, that tends to happen when people have everything handed to them and no responsibilities whatsoever.
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“Earn more” is always the way to go IF YOU CAN DO IT. I don’t think anyone would choose to save if they just had a method for earning more. (And I’m not counting working 16 hours a day as a method!)
PS: El Nerdo, I actually searched the page for “giant pumpkins.” Found nothing. Feel cheated.
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Ha ha, not today! “Forthcoming” doesn’t mean “right away” but thanks for the interest.
If you want to get ahead of my review, please check out Mike Michalowicz’s “The Pumpkin Plan”, about developing successful businesses.
It’s basically an application of the Pareto principle with the goal of developing a singular niche, plus some business common sense, but he’s done a nice job of putting it all together and he’s also funny.
If you’d rather wait for the review, please check back probably in a month (there’s another article in the pipeline ahead of it).
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#48 El Nerdo
Googled the keywords. I see how it clicks with what you said the other day about being specialized.
(Earlier today I had also googled “giant pumpkins.” Thought you were nuts. Now it makes sense
)
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Yes, it all connects… little by little. That’s my “5 year plan”
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Finally, someone who gets the it. Great article. I have not seen this kind of writing at GRS for a while now.
Looking forward to read your future money-making ideas.
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Leigh’s financial journey is talking about why we work today too: http://leightpf.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/why-do-we-work/
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Bravo El Nerdo!
I’m personally in the middle on both – fairly high focus on income with an eye to reasonable cost control.
At work, I like to make spreadsheets. Once you advance in your career, you don’t get to do that much anymore. At home (and work), I like to read and learn. The GTFO personal hedge fund will allow me the time to make spreadsheets, read and learn all day long if I want to.
More importantly, the benefit of my work will go to me, not some mega-corp.
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I am sooo stealing that acronym and implementing the rename today.
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The earning more side is great in the situation you describe where you own your own business so the amount you work directly translates to the money you make. For those of us employed by others, earning more often means delving deeper into the rat race and giving up on things like self-fulfillment and family time.
I am employed in education and while I believe in what I do, I cannot imagine ever loving a job so much that I would want to do it until I die. I love to bike, and hike, and kayak and take photographs and travel. Unfortunately, none of those things will pay me.
My plan is to always live below my means and sock away money so that I can choose to not be dependent on my job. I would love to retire early and do the things I really love that don’t pay. I also refuse to sacrifice my free time now by working side gigs that would keep me indoors steal my time because we never know what tomorrow may bring.
I applaud you for your ingenuity and entrepreneurial drive. That is not my path so spending less is the only way for me to be financially free.
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First of all you totally rock for quoting Michelle Shocked! Big Michelle Shocked fan here…
Ironically, lyrics farther along in that same song say: In the summer we’ll sit in a field and watch the sun melt. In the winter we’ll sit by a fire and watch the moon freeze.
That sentiment seems to be in tune with Tracy H.’s observation that stopping to smell the roses is an amazing thing. I don’t think the two (working til you croak, sitting and watching the sunset) are mutually exclusive. I’m all for fulfilling work that gives us the flexibility to sit and watch the sunset without guilt or stress that we aren’t egtting other things done. I think that would be heavenly!
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I admit, I wish I had a choice. I am a stay at home mom pregnant with my 3rd boy (I will have 3 under 5!). My oldest has special needs and unfortunately the local schools can’t/won’t help him as he needs. So I’m homeschooling.
I feel incredibly financially stressed out about it, I know we could do so much more if I worked.
Everyone I know sells Avon, scentsy, etc. So there’s no market. I’m not crafty.
Blah.
But I think that you will do well and I think earning more is definitely the way to go when possible!
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My suggestion would be that you put together the materials (lesson plans) you are using to home school your oldest child with special needs and provide that to other parents who are in a similar situation.
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YES. By subscription. GIANT PUMPKIN!!!
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Micah,
Just put your special needs kid in school. Perhaps you are a little too impressed with your own ability to home school. Unless you were a teacher at some point, just trust the pros at the school. That way you have more freedom to have a real life and not be stuck at home as a housewife. I know because I’ve been there!
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My husband and I were discussing our ideal retirement, and we both agreed we wanted to continue working in some fashion. He plans to work as a consultant after retiring (he works in the IT industry), and I’m a writer, so I plan to write as long as I can.
However, I’ve seen that sometimes we don’t have a choice but to retire. One of my relatives worked really hard to build a career for herself in the insurance industry, only to be pushed into retirement due to poor health. We might love our jobs, but that doesn’t mean we’ll always be able to do them. Sadly, there are plenty of illnesses that can befall even the healthiest among us. My husband and I save so that we have flexibility. We can choose to work for someone else, volunteer our time, start our own businesses, travel, or teach. And if, heaven forbid, we became unable to work, hopefully those years of saving would allow us to be financially independent.
I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with stopping to smell the roses or watch the sunset. I think we need those moments to put life into perspective. Still, I love the ideas that you’re putting forth in this post! Well done.
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I’m still young (ie ignorant,), but my goals have changed even since graduating college. I, too, wanted to do something great for the world. Now my goal is to start a family, and have as much freedom as possible. That means that I’d like to achieve financial independence as soon as I can, not so that I can loaf around and be unproductive, but so that I can dabble in lots of different areas. I used to think that I would be able to focus on one thing and be really good at it. I’m finding out as I go through life that I have many different interests, and my focus is constantly changing. I want the freedom to explore those interests without worrying about the money aspect of each.
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As someone who takes in a meager student stipend, I always enjoy articles about earning more, rather than getting out of debt, cutting costs, etc. And I always enjoy your articles, Nerdo. Thanks!
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I love this post! Its good that when we’re younger we have huge dreams of changing the world. But the truth is, if you are a good enough person to change even one life (that of your spouse, children, friends, etc.) you have done something worthwhile. I too strive to simply be happy and successful in my career, raise a family, and have great experiences with them.
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As has been said, I view retirement as a time to choose what type of work I want to do and being beholden to someone. Sure, there is more time to do things you wish like travel. But, retirement to me is much more about giving back by volunteering or part time work. Retiring to just do nothing is laziness, but retiring to do things you could never do before does not make one a degenerate.
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I also work on earning more and spending less. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time to do either. I try to save money and make frugal decisions but I don’t have any time to coupon or make my own detergent. I also don’t have time to shop either which is a huge moneysaver!
As far as earning more goes, I try my best and I hope to secure more income streams in the future.
It’s a balancing act. We all have to do the best with the money we have but try not to make ourselves crazy acquiring more and trying to save every penny.
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Bravo. Excellent article. Makes up for all the crap that GRS has been pushing on us lately.
I like any article that uses the word “enjoy”.
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I do agree with most of what is being said BUT I wish someone could solve the conundrum that is our society today. Assume everyone expressed the same thoughts or was motivated like The Nerdo. Would all the degenerates be able to do it if they desired? What % would be able to:100, 50, 20%? How many millions might not be able to?
People really underestimate the impact of what a globalized workforce and technology has done to our economy. Now to mention if there are available jobs that pay a living wage particularly if you don’t specialize in fields that are hiring NOW with decent renumeration. We already have the highest % of people going to college than ever before, but its irrelevant because so many jobs have been outsourced and while the STEM fields are still in demand, white collar jobs and even STEM careers are being outsourced as well.
So Yes, while those that are particularly driven can find jobs and even find success either monetarily or just personal satisfaction, the difficulty level is extremely high in comparison to recent history. That doesn’t even taken into account different environmental factors.
I’m not making excuses for anyone as ultimately, one is responsible for oneself but its a little hard when so many jobs available are essentially paying poverly level wages, which was less true when we had a dynamic workforce. The majority of those jobs aren’t coming back as they have gone to lower wage countries or a computer/tech assisted device is doing the work. Even if everyone could educate themselves for the proper careers the demand wouldn’t be there. At what point do we say that X % of society can not get jobs that pay a certain level or jobs aren’t available to them anyway at all.
How do you deal with tens of millions of people looking for jobs when only millions of jobs are available?
So the big issue has been and will be for the future how do we confront the lack of jobs and particuarly the lack of decent paying jobs for varying education levels? Now that we are primarily a service based economy, is it even feasible to increase manufacturing jobs or just control further bleeding? There are things that can be tweaked through legislation but it won’t have a big impact on technology and globalization which will continue to impact the job market.
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“A job guarantee (JG) is an economic policy proposal aimed at providing a sustainable solution to the dual problems of inflation and unemployment. Its aim is to create full employment and price stability. It is related to the concept of employer of last resort ”
From Wikipedia.
The job guarantee proposal is associated with some Post-Keynesian economists including the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Economics.
It sounded very radical to me the first time I heard it but really it makes a lot of sense.
You would probably be interested in reading more about it.
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Jobs are the means, not the end. We could employ everyone if we wanted to. The problem is that it’s not sustainable, like most Keynesian and quasi-Keynesian ideas. We always hear that the goal is “full employment,” when the goal should really be full production.
By temporarily keeping people artificially employed, you necessarily decrease the labor pool from which entrepreneurs can attain their labor. To put it more precisely, you increase the cost of labor for the entrepreneur, for he must outbid the social program for the worker. This may discourage the establishment of businesses that never even got the chance to exist, that could have been profitable, and that could have raised the standard of living of not only the consumers, but also the workers. The workers would likely get pay increases from their employers in order to retain them should the business turn a profit, for the profits of their employers would attract competing entrepreneurs who would pay a premium for their labor.
Interest rates and the labor pool play a coordinated and integral role in the economy. It’s a self-adjusting system. Tampering with interest rates and unemployment, even with the best intentions and the seemingly most well-thought-out plan, is almost always a bad idea.
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I think the idea is to employ everyone.
“The JG is based on a buffer stock principle whereby the public sector offers a fixed wage job to anyone willing and able to work thereby establishing and maintaining a buffer stock of employed workers. This buffer stock expands when private sector activity declines, and declines when private sector activity expands, much like today’s unemployed buffer stocks.”
It is probably as sustainable as the current unemployment system without the social costs.
As for tampering with interest rates…have you heard of Ben Bernanke?
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Yes, the idea is to employ everyone. It sounds great, and politicians and even top notch economists will explain how it will work. But it won’t work. The problem is that the government program will raise the price of labor for entrepreneurs and small businesses. They must outbid the government program to lure workers into their business.
Remember: we could employ everyone if we wanted to. We could pay people to stand on the side of the road, to skip rocks, and to whistle all the live long day. Heck, we should shut down all the airlines and just have people carry wagons full of people across the country because that would employ more people, right? The problem is that it’s not sustainable because these jobs don’t create value. In order to keep paying everyone, you’d need someone who’s creating enough value to pay for everyone else. Also remember: people’s don’t want jobs so that they can work. They want jobs so that they can buy the stuff they want. Jobs are the means, not the end.
JG is not sustainable, and the reason why we have so much unemployment right now is because the government makes it so expensive to hire people, not because corporations are greedy or any of that currently fashionable anti-capitalism nonsense.
Bernanke is my point. I’m his biggest critic! The jobs guarantee is another idea that looks good on paper, like low interest rates, and ends up as a disaster (NASDAQ bubble, housing bubble, bond bubble). The JG merely increases the price of labor for entrepreneurs and small businesses. It will destroy real jobs, and create money-draining “jobs.” The government can’t create jobs: they can merely take jobs away from the private sector and re-employ the labor in a necessarily less economically promising manner.
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Thank you mike! I was going to say something to that effect (and mention that people NOT retiring makes it even harder for those of us who need jobs to even get them), but you said it all so well.
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For some of us– like me– who love what they do, think it’s worthwhile doing, but know it will never pay a lot of money, we still have to save in order to keep our heads above water while we work till we die. When I ‘retire’ I hope to get a part-time job doing what I do now full time. But I’ll still have to pay my bills, including paying for insurance if necessary. So saving money now is going to work for me.
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I don’t think earning and spending are mutually exclusive, in fact in my life they compliment each other. If I increase my income and then over-spend, I’m sabotaging all my hard work. If I drive all over town trying to save money, it’s exhausting and doesn’t really help me.
I think the key is balance. I don’t want to work so hard that I can’t enjoy my family and friends, and I don’t want to work on thrifting so much that I have no time to kick back at home and enjoy doing nothing. Doing nothing is a great way to decompress. So balance is important–if I focus on bringing more money in right now, I can still shop sales, use coupons, cook and bake my own meals–just not to the nth degree. And you know, I think of it as a spiritual reminder, that I can’t do everything and be everything to everyone, including myself. Have to live life at a moderate pace and take time to smell the proverbial flowers.
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The spend less-earn more consideration is a little bit like taking off clothes when you’re hot. Eventually you will have removed all the clothing you can remove. Then you have to look at either setting your AC to a lower temp or moving into the shade.
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I have been going through immense turmoil in my life recently as I struggle not strictly with this question, but rather with the question, “what am I working for?”
I ended up quitting my job, which was a fantastic job by most accounts, because the things I decided were most important to me, were my family and my community. I could either spend time away from them commuting 2+ hours a day, or I could move and give up the community that I want to be a part of, or I could quit and look for different work.
I ended up choosing the third option, and it was an incredibly emotional decision for me. I felt like I was letting a lot of people down, good people that I worked with. I felt like a liar for telling people how much I loved working there when I started (I wasn’t though, it was genuine), I felt like I was sabotaging my career by giving up a job that would look so great on my resume.
But when I get to make my family breakfast in the morning, instead of leaving for work in the dark while they’re still asleep, or when I go visit my friend across town and we ride bikes from his house down to the beach to go surfing, and come back and BBQ ribs, or when I get to have lunch with my wife while I take a break from work, I feel I made the right decision.
So how does this relate to the question of “save more vs earn more”? I guess it means that to me, this question is a sort of sub-question buried inside, “what will increase my quality of life most? What do I want my life to be?” Somewhere inside there there is a “will I have to save more? Will I be able to earn more?” discussion to have with yourself, but that’s not the whole discussion.
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Did you quit Evernote? Damn! That’s awesome software but if you were getting less than you were putting in I understand leaving. Or are you talking about the previous job?
Speaking of a balanced life, etc– have you read the book from the guys from 37 signals? Adn that video where the guy talks about how it’s better to put 4 good work hours a day instead of 14 bad ones?
I’m thinking, if you could command such high salaries, you could write your own job description and do something you care about on your own or with a handful of associates.
Write a surfing app? Write software for surfshops? (I’m not saying literally do that, but it’s something that you could do and others wouldn’t). I’m not saying right now, sounds like you’re probably burned out, but once you recover– why not hang out your shingle?
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If only I had your email address, I’d be more than happy to discuss it all with you.
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I’m going through a version of this myself. I’m in my mid-30s, and I’ve made about $200k+/year for the last 10 years or so. No kids. My wife makes approximately $100k/year. Saved and invested well. No debt except a mortgage on a great house in a great city, which has about 2 more years worth of payments. Otherwise, our expenses are relatively low – maybe 3k/month. This is the long way of stating that my wife makes more than enough money for us to live our current lifestyle and supplement our retirement. She loves her job.
I don’t particularly hate my job, but I’d much rather not work. I have visions of writing a book, being an elite amatuer triathlete, and hanging out all day with my dogs. My wife is trying to talk me into doing it. It’s tough though to give up a high paying job in my peak earning years. If I knew that I’d be happy with my current lifestyle forever, I’d quit tomorrow. But, how can you predict 10, 20, 50 years from now?
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#62 HSA
Great comment, great question.
Would it be foolish to quit such a well-paying job? If you do and regret it, will you have a second chance of finding another job in that pay range? Maybe it’s wise to just, you know, fill your buckets while the rain is pouring, because one day it may suddenly stop.
On the other hand, you’ll never be young again.
If I were you, I’d look into possibilities of cutting back on the hours you work so you could try doing the book, the triathlon and the dogs stuff. See how you like it. Or, if possible, take a long vacation – like a whole month or two – and see how it makes you feel.
Find a way to “get a taste” of what you’re craving before you actually make your big decision.
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People have a misconception about retirement, it is not about lazing around and doing nothing, it is about the ability to do that. Retirment is different for everyone, you might like lazing around (I know I do), that doesn’t mean I don;t check my portfolio and businesses when I head up for dinner to see how much money I got paid to sit on a beach. Other people volunter, some take jobs they love not for the money, but because its fun to do.
Retirement and financial freedom are about the ability to do whatever makes “YOU” happy, everyone has their own idea about happy, don’t judge anyone for what makes them happy, just strive to have the freedom to be happy
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OMG this post resonated with me. I too have a job that I love (RN) and don’t have any desire to retire even though I achieved FI long ago. I read some of the early retirement blogs and wonder if there is something wrong with me because I am not ready to leave the work world behind. I believe in living a life of service and my job lets me do that in spades AND get paid for it. Maybe I will “retire” at some point by working part time or just volunteering but I don’t ever seeing myself just vegging out at home. Thanks for great article.
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Wow Barbara. That is amazing. Your patients must love you!
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Thanks Barbara for the good work! What you do every day is 100 times more amazing and important than people jumping out of the sky in parachutes.
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I’m going contrarian on this one. I *want* an extended vacation. I don’t want to work *at all* any longer than I have to at *any* job. I want to be done with money, providing services, making others happy, and all that stuff. I want to be able to lay around like a well-fed housecat the rest of my life. …As soon as possible!
A lot of people seem to think that working as long as they want will even be an option. Chances are slim to none in most workplaces that people will want your 70-year old butt shuffling around being useless.
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I think there are a lot of people who don’t want to do nothing at all, but don’t want to work, either. Given enough time and money, I’d spend a lot of time wandering around central America going surfing and sitting in beach cabanas drinking margaritas. It’s not idleness exactly, but it’s not making any money either.
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Not contradicting you, but sometimes when you get what you want, it turns out you miss what you had in some fashion… I love the idea of being able to leave my job (mostly because I never have enough time at home/for non-work activities), but when I was out with serious illness for a full week last month (now fully recovered), I quickly realized that I like my job and like being busy, and being around home all day bored me to tears.
That said, the goal is to be sufficiently financial independent as to have the choice whether to work or not. (I think I’d still work, but switch from FT to PT.)
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I love working 8-5 in an office environment, and plan to do it as long as possible. So while I am always interested in tweaking my spending in ways that will be beneficial, ideally increasing my earnings is also the way to go.
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I was kind of forced into an early retirement almost 4 years ago at age 30, but for very different reasons. I now work part-time to supplement SSDI and disability insurance income. Spending less and cutting was always number one priority since I had to stop working for a long period of time. There was no way I could earn more in my situation.
Life does get tired and dull after a while of constantly cutting, especially at the prime of my life, with no other responsibilities (no children). Extras such as travel is out. Right now the focus is earning more, but I need to balance my health and my current income source. I may feel great today, but if I’m not careful that can change.
I look forward to reading about ways to earn more without killing yourself.
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Would like to hear more from you, Carla. We all have challenges, but in my eyes, surviving on SSDI and part-time work while dealing with health issues, especially at a young age, ESPECIALLY in this economy, is an achievement of the highest order. There are so many folks who are struggling to survive and save and somehow prosper with limited resources, under tough circumstances–have you thought about blogging?
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Bravo! Well said. And now we are all looking at our own lives and thinking what is the most important to us.
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I agree with the fact that a lot of people believe that retirement is a vacation. I see it as an opportunity of financially being free. Most of teh retirees in my family still work (by choice of course). Everyone is aiming for financial independence. we need to plan our retirements carefully.
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I’ve worked since I was 14. Always worked summers during college, then full time for a computer company right out of college.
Owned a restaurant for 10 years working 24×7, really, as when you are an owner the business is always front of mind.
But then we sold it and I was unemployed for almost two years. I was alternately bored and stressed out from *not* working, it was hard to enjoy the time off.
I didn’t know what was in store around the corner, I began to doubt myself, my skills, whether I could ever get hired again. (I was over qualified for many jobs I applied for but I just wanted to work. That was the most frustrating of all) I hit a low like I’d never experienced. I had suicidal thoughts even though I like to think I wouldn’t have gone through with it. The thoughts were still there, as a Plan Z if you will.
I swallowed my pride (?) or whatever I thought I was holding onto, made a call to a former coworker and basically begged for a job. She put me in touch with a new person at my old company and I got the job and he thought I walked on water. It was an overnight miracle for me, and I almost didn’t have the guts to get it done, I was so down and depressed.
Being back at full time+ work now I am so sensitive to what days look like without meaningful work, which sometimes just means a paycheck and heath care and sometimes much more.
Financial independence is my goal and I’m sure I will work at something the rest of my life.
And I am one of the very very fortunate ones that will receive a sizable inheritance. I am go grateful. But that 2 year gap really shook my sense of security.
So now, I’m trying to maximize earnings, minimize expenditures and stay healthy physically, emotionally, intellectually.
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Thank you for sharing your story Cathleen. I found it really interesting, and I think it will become increasingly relevant for young people today who are struggling with unemployment. I’m glad to hear you got back on your feet.
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While I get that traditional retirement might not be your cup of tea, I don’t think it’s shameful to desire it after a lifetime of working your butt off.
If you’ve seen Office Space, you know what I mean: “Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what you’d do if you had a million dollars and you didn’t have to work. And invariably what you’d say was supposed to be your career….What would I do if I had a million dollars? Nothing. I would relax. I would sit on my *** all day. I would do nothing.”
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Early retirement in the sense that I’ll be working but having enough money to work less or to walk away from a job I don’t like still sounds great to me though!
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At some point, in most organizations, it becomes useful for senior level staff, who are typically older, to retire and leave the organization. This allows younger people to move up the food chain and get higher salaries, and allows entry for new, younger employees. Ideally, the senior level people would be creating new jobs which would allow for expansion to happen without them leaving the organization, but this is not in fact happening. Consider younger generations in your decisions.
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Loved the post and it’s respectful counterpoint to much of the penny-pinching advice given here. I fall in your personality category, and also can’t stand to be still. I was once unemployed for 2 weeks and was totally numb with boredom by the end of it. The idea that you should make ur own shampoo for pennies and somehow save enough money to be able to afford to do something other than watch TV in a trailer park in ur retirement makes no sense to me.
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It sounds like you are content! That is a wonderful place to be.
It’s no longer important to be a millionaire. What’s really important is enjoying the people in your life and making time for them.
You can be just as happy (and even happier) in a 1 bedroom apartment doing what you love than in a 6 bedroom home. Besides, it’s an awful lot of work trying to take care of all those things!
I’d rather be doing something I enjoy…
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“Here is why I am able to focus on earning more: I don’t hate my job”
This is right on the money for me. Doing something you love is the most liberating way to make more money but even more important than that doing what you love allows you to actually enjoy most huge parts of your life.
I would hate to retire knowing that I spent all my adult life doing a job that I hated and living only for the two days a week that I wasn’t there.
I for one second what Teresa posted above.
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It’s all about finding the recipe that works for you. My father retired early at the age of 55. He and my mother spent precious years doing what they loved, happy and side by side, without the burden of clocking in and out every day. My father in law saw no reason to stop working and stayed in his field for 50 years. Good for them both! Do what works for you and relish every moment knowing you made the best possible decision for your own situation.
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Really enjoyed this article, El Nerdo! I try to both spend less and earn more, but I find that the former gets exhausting way before the latter. Can’t wait to read your future articles on this!
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Very inspiring post, thanks!
I see myself working till the end, since I LOVE to work. Money is just a bonus
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Sometimes you can earn more money quite easily, even with a job you hate. I am an RN, but unlike Barbara, I hate my job. I like the patients, but the hospital system is screwed up. Sometimes I cry before I go to work and sometimes after work. We are constantly understaffed and overworked and I often don’t get a lunch break. We get penalized for the dumbest things, like clocking in a minute early from lunch! But as we are understaffed, it is easy to pick up extra shifts for time and a half pay. That money adds up quickly! If I were a salaried employee, it would be more difficult to earn more, so for now I will stay at this horrid job for the overtime money to pay for my wedding. I dream of a job I love someday. I always wanted to do something I am passionate about, but now I dream of boring desk jobs with hour-long lunch breaks, a company that values me, and time to use the bathroom.
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I like to think of “retirement” as a time of “refocusment” – a time to refocus our life according to the priorities we value most.
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.. about the title of the article…
I think it’s more important to “earn more” in your younger years..
and “save more” as you get closer to retirement.
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Loved this post, as I agree that financial independence does not equal retirement, in my mind.
El Nerdo – I’d love to hear more about your third world experiences! Maybe a post to tie in the ridiculousness of our “first world problems”, that seems to be a buzz word now.
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I just want to say HOW REFRESHING!!! I am surrounded by so many “retired” people that it makes me sick. I am talking about all the people that refuse to work because they do not have to because it is easier to collect a check then go and make life fufilling. YOur post truly put a smile on my face and made my day. Thank You!
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I have to agree with making more money instead of saving more. People wonder why I would hire a cleaning company to clean for me instead of doing it myself and saving. The answer is simple: for the 2 hours it takes me to clean, I can make enough money to pay the cleaner for the whole month, so I make more money working in those 2 hours than I save cleaning. When you make more money, you can delegate tasks which allows you to grow your business and get new streams of revenue, which in the long run allows you to save more.
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I like the premise and agree with you in theory on this. However it is difficult for me to accept the entire post as a whole. Yes you love your job but it may not be a forever type job(perhaps it is but these days all employment appears temporary). The best way to mitigate against this is to spread your investments and income generating avenues around. I dont know your entire situation in whole therefore you may already be doing this but thought it was important to note proceed with caution. (I will never make my own soap).
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