Clocking In

If you are not a subscriber, join 2,082 other cool people who read my personal opinion on investing, personal finance, and business. (And they enjoy good memes)

Note: If this email is appearing in your spam you can fix that by dragging it to your main inbox.

Quote

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life." - Dolly Parton

Clocking In

You know the drill.

Show up at the work, grab a cup of coffee, tell your office (or cubicle) neighbor good morning, and then comb through your email before starting on whatever tasks await.

This is the story of Corporate America. Millions, all part of one big machine that has created the greatest economy known to man. Each one pushed by a core value of hard work and building something for themselves.

For most, it was the plan all along. As a kid, you saw your parents, and maybe even your grandparents, going off to and coming back from work. They told you to do good in school, find a field, and build a career you can ride through life.

And honestly, they are right. Having a good 9-5 will allow you to build a comfortable life that most people on this planet would die for.

Jobs Work

Thanks to 401ks, stock purchase plans, and company bonuses on top of standard pay, a decent paying job with good benefits can be the key to rapidly building your net worth.

For example, let's say you make around $75k a year. After taxes, this puts you around $60,000 net (will vary by state). Assuming a 20% investing rate means you can contribute $12,000 or $1,000/month. Do this over 30 years, at a 9% annual return, you'll have a cool $1,700,000. This example is assuming you don't receive any raises or promotions that might allow you to contribute more.

You can run this example with an infinite amount of numbers, inflation rates, pay raises, market returns, etc.

Though the story doesn't stop there.

Behind The Scenes

Having a typical job can be a double-edged sword.

It's easy to get caught up in the dream of climbing the corporate ladder. Our bosses encourage us to always think about the next role. What skills do I need to gain? What performance goals do I need to hit? Are there any qualifications I'm missing? You get sucked into this never-ending loop of chasing a new job with added responsibilities, and likely an increased time commitment.

A unique phenomenon that many will call success.

On this quest it's easy for other areas of life to fall on the back burner. I'm sure you know someone that has sacrificed their health, marriage, or friendships while racing to the next promotion. For others it's forgetting about their hobbies, or scrapping that business idea they always wanted to pursue.

Don't get so focused on the money and "success" that you forget about the meaning of true wealth.

Yes, a job can be the rocket fuel for adding zeros to your net worth. At the same time, it can also force the downfall of other areas that play into the wealth equation.

In reality, it's one massive balancing act where if you tip too far to one side you might not ever be able to recover the other.

Conclusion

As someone just starting their career I wanted to write this piece for two reasons.

The first is to share the perspective of a younger individual just beginning a new job. The second is as a journal entry for myself that I can come back to and read in the future.

Anyways, I hope you found this interesting or thought provoking.

Of course, all of this depends on your definition of wealth. For me it's a balance of money, friendships, health, family, and time freedom.

Till next time, Cade.

Best Memes Of The Week

Enjoy this post? I'd appreciate it if you share it with friend. Thanks, you're the best.

Resources:

Simply Invest With ETFs - Learn the in’s and out’s of ETFs and why they are the simplest and most effective way to invest.

Turbocharge Your Dividends - Generate extra income by selling covered calls on your stocks and ETFs.

Tweet Hunter - Automate your Twitter and build an account that will pay you $100 a week.

Personal Capital - Track all of your investments in one place.

Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial advice. Do your own research. Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the email send me a DM on twitter. See you soon!