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How Much is Your Job Costing You?

By Kevin M

You have a job to make money, right? On the surface, that’s what seems to be happening. But just like any money making venture, there are costs incurred to produce that income. Most of us don’t think of these as business expenses, and the IRS won’t even let us deduct most of them to prove it. But that doesn’t mean that jobs don’t cost money—they do.

One of the misconceptions about having a job is in thinking you aren’t in business—you are. And just like any business, you have income—your salary—and expenses, which we’ll cover in some detail.

Even if you have a job, you’re still in business, only with a job your income comes from a single client.

What are those costs?

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Self-Employment is a Life Transforming Event

By Kevin M

When I became self-employed—which was more of a process than an event—I slowly began to realize that it wasn’t just my work that was changing. Everything in my life was changing! While I was focused on finding a new way to earn a living (my primary conscious goal) the rest of my life was transforming with it.

Does that sound like an exaggeration? It isn’t. Becoming self-employed can change nearly every aspect of your life. Here are some of the areas of my life that changed.

Daily work

This isn’t just about doing different work. When you work for someone else, you’re not always doing what it is that you think is most important. Often, you’re doing what pleases your superiors at the moment, which can also change from one minute to the next. You’re also subject to organizational goals—whether or not you agree with those goals is irrelevant.

When you’re self-employed work priorities are completely different. You work on what’s most critical and/or what is most likely to bring in the most income. You don’t have time for much else. And routine? Typically, there is none!

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10 Ways to Be Rich without being Wealthy

By Kevin M

Have you ever noticed that some people who have little money seem to live very well—they almost seem to be…rich? Have you also noticed that many people who are rich in terms of money seem to struggle? There are definite reasons for that, and it’s mostly a matter of personal choice. It’s not that money isn’t important; it’s more that we should never measure wealth solely in terms of money.

When we do we can sink ourselves into a Catch-22 that we can never win. After all, how much money will ever be enough? Being rich is more about the quality of a person’s life than it is a certain salary or portfolio level, but only if we dare to consider the alternatives.

I’ve come up with a list of 10 forms of wealth—all of them non-monetary in nature—that can lead to a rich life and require very little emphasis on having or earning a lot of money.

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Which Parent Should Stay Home With the Kids?

By Kevin M

An excellent post appeared on Financial Highway dealing with the various considerations faced by a working couple when a child arrives in the family. In Which Spouse Should Stay Home? Miranda Marquit does a stellar job of presenting the variables involved in making the right decision. And that’s not at all surprising since Miranda is on the frontline of this issue herself as a work-at-home mom.

There was a time—only a generation or so ago—when it was considered the natural order that the wife worked until the first child came along and then promptly exited the workforce to assume the role of full-time mom. Today however, the situation is complicated by (at least!) two major factors:

  1. Most households need two incomes, and
  2. Instability in the job market has led to dual incomes as a necessary component of family income security.

Each reason is compelling by itself—but I think that the second one has become the more important of the two, at least in the past few years. It’s easier to lose a job than it has been in at least 60 years, and harder to replace one for all the same reasons.

Continue reading Which Parent Should Stay Home With the Kids? →