Reframe Your Perspective on Earnings

If you are a talented person with a brain in your head–and you wouldn’t be reading this blog if you weren’t–you shouldn’t be making enough to just get by.  If you are working full-time, you should be piling up the assets quickly.  You might think you lack the skills to make good money, but this is a complicated question.  For all but the most elite performers, your total earnings has more to to with the institution you are affiliated with than anything else.  Yes, skills and education are crucial to making deep into the six figures, but many administrative jobs pay six figures (when counting benefits).  For example, one of my relatives works at one of the top five tech firms in the world.  The administrative assistants at this firm make $20K in benefits alone.  These folks grew up in rural Washington.  They just had enough sense to get hired on with an elite firm.  You may have to work your way in that direction, but it should be a goal…

​My point is that you need to reframe your perspective so that–if you are working full-time–you should be piling up the assets.

I worked as a busboy while I was in college.  Despite paying for my share of a one bedroom apartment (I had a roommate), I still managed to save about $4000 over the course of one year.  This was from a part-time job, approximately 20 hours a week.  The point is, if you are working, the assets should be going UP.

The other half of this equation is that you can’t spend every dime you make.  Piling up assets is a function of WHAT YOU EARN and WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU EARN.