Typically when I have heard this idea (or thought about it) it goes with, “I won’t get a job there because I am worth more than they pay.” That sounds great on the surface, but remember that I am talking about math here.
We’d all like to get paid more. We’d all like to think that we are worth a mint. So why bother looking for a job that might pay minimum wage? That’s for lesser people, mere mortals that can’t find something better, right? Well, how much do you get paid for sitting on your couch?
I said in my last post that I am currently working two jobs, and one of those jobs is a minimum wage situation. Why did I take it? I have previously worked for as high as $50 dollars an hour. That was awesome. I couldn’t get enough of that kind of money. I think most people that get to that level or higher would agree. That was great money. But here’s the thing—it didn’t last. Work situations change with alarming frequency. So now I have a job that pays a pittance compared to the high point for me. Why did I bother? Because life is a math problem, as I am trying to convince you of.
I had the prospect of sitting on the couch all summer. That would have been great, mind-numbing fun. I could have watched a bunch of movies, ate chips till I exploded, and been a total vegetable. But had I done that, I would have earned exactly zero dollars. Nothing. Bubkis. Zilch. You get the point, I trust. So that was one possibility for my summer, sit on the couch and earn no money at all. I know plenty of people would have selected that option because “my time is more valuable than that”. Well, mine is more valuable than that, but not the “that” you might think of at first.
The fact is, working hard for a low (in my experience, at least) wage brought money into the house. In fact, instead of making zero dollars over the summer, I made thousands working for minimum wage. Now which scenario is better? Not hard to beat zero dollars, especially when it gets into thousands of dollars. I could have whined that my time is more valuable than minimum wage, but the truth is, it’s not right now. Given the choice of nothing or something, something wins.
So for all the whiners who are just being lazy (yes, I said it), get off your butt and earn a paycheck. More to come.