I think everyone knows that it’s important to save money. Some people are better at it than others, but it’s inherent to having savings.
What I think people don’t look at enough is how important income can be in the nest egg equation. It doesn’t matter how high of a percentage of your income you save if you make nothing, and there’s only so much of a percentage you can save.
Often I see people here talking about staying home for dinner and cutting back on coffee as a means to save money. I don’t think that’s a way to live. You can only live once (depending on your beliefs) and if you spend it doing nothing then what fun is that? If you just make more income, then you can still save and enjoy life.
At my office, I know so many people who haven’t gotten a raise or promotion in 5-7 years because they are comfortable and won’t ask. I, on the other hand, am ALWAYS looking for promotion opportunities and asking how I can earn a raise. My income has doubled in three years, and I am blessed in my current position. Even still, I’m always looking outside work for opportunities to make more money, and constantly networking.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is getting comfortable. If inflation is 2% per year, you need to get a raise every year or you’re going in reverse and the percentages you’ll be able to save will be less. Let’s face it, no job is 100% secure, so there’s no good excuse for “I will stay in this job, making less, because I know I’ll never get laid off.” Always be looking for a raise or promotion or you can never get ahead. A sales job can be excellent in helping you achieve the raises when there aren’t promotions available.
My job is fairly relaxed, and we run our own sales territories as we wish. Some guys play on Facebook and watch movies all day long, and those are the guys that have been there 7 years with no raise. Meanwhile I’m on the phone killing it all day and make more than $30k more despite being there many fewer years. I also got a promotion to a supervisor during that time. All the while these guys complain because “young guys” are taking their promotions.
Remember also that if you get raises, your 401k match goes up as well, so you get more money in your pocket and more free money in your savings.
I guess I say all that to say this: Don’t stop drinking your coffee and being social just to save money. Living miserably (not to be confused with frugally) isn’t the best way. Sometimes you just need to find a way to make more money. Don’t tell yourself you cant afford to live a nice life, just figure out how you can earn enough money to do it responsibly.
And for what it’s worth, I landed a job I should definitely not be qualified for by going to breweries in my local business district and talking to every banker I could talk to until someone noticed me and offered me an interview. Sometimes not being social can cost you more than you’re saving by staying home.
Submitted July 30, 2018 at 03:04PM by Amartin22 https://ift.tt/2OvQlQr
