Undignified Raise

What is your monthly income?

Now, what would it mean to you if you were able to add 10 percent to it consistently? Perhaps in a month it might not seem like that much, but what about over the course of a year, would that amount make a difference to your life - make it easier, or give you more opportunity?

What would you have to do to get it?

I find these kinds of thoughts interesting, because I don't think I have met anyone who would turn down an increase in income, yet there aren't that many who have actually worked out what it would take to get a bit more. For those currently employed in a job, they might look to get a pay rise, or perhaps a second job. For those not working - get a job. For those living off of Hive - they can get a job too.

Ten percent is a lot.

Lets say that you earned 1000 dollars a month (which is well below poverty level in Finland, but it is suitable for the math) and would add 100 extra to it. That is salary of 12,000 + 1,200. But, instead of spending that extra ten percent, it went into an investment portfolio that averaged 10% return on it per year. After 20 years of consistently doing this, the investment would be worth $76,700 or about 6.5 years worth of salary, which isn't bad. Yes, there would be inflation on that, but still, it is a fair chunk of change for someone who is used to earning 1000 a month.

Work it out for yourself with local levels.

But, numbers are meaningless unless they are connected to reality. So, while compounding an invested 100 dollars a month for twenty years is fun, one also has to consider what it is going to take to get that amount. What do you need to do to get a raise and are you willing? What kind of second job is available in your area? Abd if you aren't working, what kind of job could you do?

I find it weird that people many people are financially struggling, but won't work.

What skills can you trade, what gifts do you have, what are you willing to Realistically do to earn a bit more? Sure, you might be content where you are, but I am talking to those who are not. Those who are looking to expand their opportunity and build a stronger financial foundation for themselves. Perhaps you are an artist willing to sell, but is anyone willing to buy from you? A writer, an accountant, a handyman?

What value do you have that you can trade? What do you have that someone is demanding?

I was reading a funny story the other day of some young woman who joined only fans under the assumption she would get rich trading her physical assets for cash, like all the people she read about. She is apparently poorer now than when she started, lost her house and is considering going back to the dreaded 9-5 work life. What she discovered was that in a saturated market, she didn't have what it took after all. All that "grinding" left her worse off.

Is dignity maintained if money isn't made?

It is an interesting question, because it is a trade and I think that if a person was raking in tens of thousands a month from getting naked and performing for strangers, there might be a case to say that the trade was worth it. But, what about the majority of people who do exactly that, but don't make much money doing so - how do they feel about their life choices?

I presume this is the same for many traditional jobs too, where people might be working hard, but they aren't earning as much as they think they deserve for the work - so they feel taken advantage of. Perhaps they are even "too" taken advantage of in the workplace, but then, what does this say about the work they are able to do and their own state of mind? Can they leave the job and find something that values them enough?

Dignity.

Is it something given, or is it something an individual has in themselves? It is an interesting question to consider I think, and I think it has to be evaluated under a lot of different circumstances. At least in my own opinion, a person can have a lot of dignity, even if they are performing a terrible job, in terrible conditions, for a terrible salary, if they are doing it for a good reason. But a person who is doing nothing because they believe they deserve more than anyone is willing to give them for what they are able to offer -

Well....

So, what could you do to add 10% to your current income?

Would you do it?

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]