No one ever makes enough money. There, now that I said something totally implausible, it's time to make a bunch of exceptions for my wildly unsubstantiated statement that would have otherwise weakened the attention grabbing hook I was seeking in my first sentence. Hmm, that should probably be more than one sentence.
For the most part, it's the younger people at work who talk about money, mainly in the form of how the wish they made more or deserved to be paid more or how there are things they want to buy that they cannot afford because they don't make enough money. Hearing this sort of talk is boring at best, but more typically it is maddening. I say that because there are relatively clear mechanisms for how to work towards and earn raises at work for nearly all levels of employees. Thus, hearing people bitch about how they're underpaid would be laughable if they weren't so sincere about how they're being victimized by this apparently monolithic system.
I suspect it’s the young people for two basic reasons. First, they haven't figured out how the system works and how building seniority counts towards something other than a 5-year pin and a 20-year watch (or grandfather clock if that's your fancy). The other reason seems to be a bit of a generational gap. It's as if people around my age, give or take several years, expect something for nothing and believe that having lots of money is the same thing as being successful. They don't realize it's a very select handful who end up on Cribs living the apparent life of decadence. It's the expectation of instant gratification.
My own continuing experiences using Quicken to track my money, or should I say assets (which is actually a much more apt term) has been very illuminating. Outside of very low probability events (like winning the lottery) the value of one's assets does not really grow very quickly. A gain of 10% a year is respectable but hardly the kind of sexy growth people tend to dream about. Seeing the value of certain assets move up and down and contrary to one another on a computer screen adds a certain detachment to the process as well. Sure, it's my money, but it's mostly on paper. It doesn't feel like mine in an immediate sense though I certainly know that it's there for me and it's largely and reasonably liquid. The sense of detachment has probably helped make it easier to stomach the handful of large single day losses that I have witnessed. It also makes the handful of large single day gains seem generally less exciting. After all, it's just money. But it's my money.
By the way, I do make enough money.
1 comment:
If you have too much $$$, send some over. I just eke out a living. I eat at the soup kitchen. Sometimes I make a dump diving at the back of the super market. I buy stuff at Goodwill on Friday where everything is 50% off, and clothings are only $2 a piece. I collect cans and bottles, especially during the weekends at the parks where lots of people have picnic and throw away those containers. I take them to the redemption center to get some cash so I can shop some more at Goodwill. I stand at the street corner with a sign that read "begging for cash and food". I go to Fry's and Best Buy and sit down at the media center and watch TV for free. I go to the public library to use the internet. Sometimes I can even sneak a quick shower at some of the public park restrooms!!!
On a good day I just pretend to be a Costco shopper and walk in with a member so I can have all the good and free food and drink samples. At night I sleep in my old crunker at the church parking lot. America is such a great place to live even you do not want to be a millionaire. Ah, life is good.
Post a Comment