Get Financially Comfortable or Die Tryin’

The eternal hamster wheel of chasin’ paper

For the love of money is the root of all evil.

Timothy 6:10

When I was 4 or 5, I was at the grocery store with my father. He had some things that he wanted to purchase. I asked him for something that I wanted — I don’t remember whether it was candy or juice. This is when he told me,

“I don’t have any money,”

“You can write a check,” I said.

I had no idea how checks worked. Him explaining that you have to have money to write a check, was completely alien to me.

I got laid off in March or April of 2020 — like a lot of people did. Perhaps I’m an idiot or just a naturally optimistic person, but I was not worried at all. Upon receiving the news that our place of employment would close, I secretly rejoiced. Why were some of my co-workers unhappy? Some were young and didn’t have kids. I guess they must not of hated the job as much as I did.

No one really knew how happy I was, because I played it cool. I didn’t want to offend anyone with my abundance of joy. It seemed socially unacceptable, at least in this workplace.

I was reading the room.

I knew we would not return to work for at least a few months. This was a blessing! I thanked God and fantasized about all of the things I could do.

Many of America’s largest cities are expensive to live in. Without a true sense of purpose, you will get lost out there. If you don’t enter a job where you make good money, you will have to make a lot of sacrifices.

If you are an average incomed single person living in a place like, Los Angeles. Not having a clear sense of purpose will mess you up. If you are entering a job just to get paid and you don’t care too much about the job itself, you may find yourself on the eternal hamster wheel of shitty jobs. They’re shitty because you don’t like them. A shitty job to one person, might be a great job to another. Many places like fast food restaurants or Starbucks, have room to grow. If interested and proving yourself to be capable — you could work your way up, to Store Manager, or even further.

This is not for everyone, obviously. We are all drawn to different things and a management position is just not for everyone. That is fine. Don’t let anyone tell you what type of work you should be doing. Do what you like.

When you are doing the right thing — you will know.

Your heart won’t stop in paralyzing panic, when you picture yourself working there, a few years from now. You want to see yourself doing what you’re doing . . . It feels good to think about.

It should be something you love and enjoy doing. Not saying it is necessarily going to be easy or even always enjoyable, but the hard work will feel worth it. The sense of accomplishment will be rewarding.

If you can’t work your dream job for whatever reason right now. At least work somewhere that you don’t hate.

When making a decision between a job you, kind of like and a job you hate — take the job you, kind of like, even if it’s a pay cut. Of course, this is only if earning a little less won’t put you into a horrible position financially. It’s not worth risking your mental health for higher pay

Eventually you will want to make a comfortable income. Not having to waste energy on a job you hate, will afford you with higher quality free time and increased mental health.

With peace of mind, you will be in a better position to move in the direction of where you want to go.

Even if you are not working your dream job. You might not even know what your dream job is. Always make time for things you like to do. It will help if your day job doesn’t completely suck the life out of you.

Whether it be surfing, or gardening, or drawing — make time for it. It is important to your mental health, and doing things you like, will align you more with what you’re really meant to do.

Jobs can suck the life out of you and turn you into a zombie!

Jobs don’t necessarily nurture your personal interests and personal growth. Many jobs treat and see you as children. Micromanage and question things like, why are you drinking water in front of the customers? Well because I am a human being that drinks water, not a robot. I’m sure the customers will be understanding of that.

During my time as a Supervisor, I constantly heard some of my Managers refer to some of the staff — some being in their 50’s and 60’s — as children. “Go watch your kids,” they would joke, or “how are your kid’s doing?” It was really condescending and rude.

Sometimes it was confusing for me even as a Supervisor. One day I was told to say something to a young woman for having a snack while she was on the clock. I know those are the rules and everything, but the previous day when the managers brought doughnuts for everyone, and everyone ate them while on the clock — that wasn’t a problem.

So have a snack on the clock — only when we tell you to. Like a grown woman can’t decide that she’s hungry and wants to have a snack and use a few minutes of her down time to have it.

I’m tired of getting treated like a subhuman. I have a freakin’ master's degree.

Former co-worker at a catering company

He said this after he was chastised for eating a piece of sliced meat off of the charcuterie board that he had taken to the kitchen to dispose.

It’s just that when you pick a job or career you are giving your whole life to it

I know that there are more things you can do with your day, but realistically, your 9–5 job will spill over into your personal time. For me and people like me. a job can be incredibly draining. You don’t want to do anything, when you come home from work.

You need to recharge, and I need to use my days off to get some writing done.

Constantly catching up and feeling like I don’t have enough time — I feel depleted.

Besides that, you might find yourself thinking about work when you get home, and on your days off. Some argument you had, or how someone treated you. Coworkers or bosses may call or text you when you are not working. Co-worker wants to hang out on my day off — NO THANK YOU. I got thangs to do.

Working a job, you don’t really care about and, trying to write (or anything else) at the same time — can be very hard. Even if you aint got kids.

You know what's you, and what’s not you. This is why you shouldn’t waste too much time doing jobs just for money.

I of course understand that some people are simply in that position, without a clear solution right now. Many people need their jobs and can’t afford to not work them.

The deeper you get the harder it is to get out. I worked myself up to Supervisor and it was strictly for the money. I thought to myself, if I’m going to be working here might as well make as much as I can. Being a Supervisor I made about $4 more an hour than the Food Attendants. I liked getting more money on my paycheck, but I hated the job. It wasn’t me; I don’t like telling people what to do, much like I don’t like being told what to do.

On the plus side I liked that I wasn’t micromanaged in this position, and I felt I was more respected and could get away with more (taking a longer break, etc.). I even thought about working my way up to Manager. Then I would be salaried and make significantly more money. I could even save money and buy a house or even start a business.

It wasn’t until Covid hit and we were furloughed, that I began to think maybe I don’t need to go back. Those unemployment checks were good! I loved quarantine — this was my style. Writing (even though it was mostly journaling), cooking every day, taking long walks at the park. Every time I thought about how I didn’t have to work and how I wouldn’t have to, for at least several months — it made me so happy.

I knew that it wasn’t supposed to be like this. You’re not supposed to hate what you do.

It’s a never-ending cycle of work — home — sleep — work. You pay your bills, your rent, your car note, and then you think, what am I doing all of this for? I have to pay my rent because I need shelter — so I have to go to work. All my money is going towards, shelter, my car and other bills. I am covering just the bare minimum. Just working simply to afford to pay for food, shelter, clothing and transportation. It all seems pointless, and at the end of the day, even in my supervisor position — I don’t have much money left over.

It can feel very hopeless. The rat race, that is a reality for many people.

It seems like you will never get out of this job. The eternal hamster wheel makes life seem pointless. We all want to do something we love and live comfortably.

I wanted to write for a long time. In what capacity exactly . . . I wasn’t sure. While working in some of these Food Establishments, I would always try to find time to write. Although sometimes hard, not because of not having enough time but because these jobs drained all of my energy.

This is how you know if a job is for you or not. Does it leave you feeling drained? or does it bring you joy? If you are currently working a job that does nothing for you — other than pay your rent. Get out! it’s a trap. It will only get harder with time.