Myth: A Good Salary Provides Financial Freedom
Each year, millions of college graduates enter the workforce looking for jobs and there’s one thing on their minds: how big is the starting salary?
Millions of currently-employed workers always keep their eye on the want ads looking for a job that what?
Pays a higher salary. Exactly.
What these people might miss is that a better salary will not guarantee them that they’ll be any closer to achieving the goal of financial freedom. In fact, it my end up costing them their financial freedom.
And here’s a few reasons why this is so:
No Job Is Permanent
As you jump to a job that pays more, there’s no guarantee how long it will last. That bump in salary may come crashing down a few years… months… and even weeks later.
Expensive Relocation
If your new job requires you to relocate, you may end up living in a town or city with a higher cost of living. Or, the new job may require an expensive commute.
The New Job Might Tax Your Time
A job that pays more, but requires more time negates a substantial salary increase. You may have to work longer hours. You may have to travel. Time is the most expensive commodity in your life and, if your new job robs you of time, you could be losing financial freedom one hour at a time.
Higher-Paying Jobs May Tax Your Sanity
Sometimes, jobs pay more because bosses know that your work will be harder and your co-workers are more mentally taxing than other positions. They may pay more, but the loss in your peace-of-mind may be too expensive.
Of course, this isn’t advice to abandon searching for a higher-paying job. What it does mean is that you should explore all the expenses that may be associated with the new position.
If personal financial freedom is your goal, you should also realize that the notion that working for someone else, no matter what the salary, can never guarantee you financial freedom. That must come from YOU! Financial freedom can be better attained by controlling your spending, creating and maintaining residual income streams, and investing exponentially. All of these are now in your power.
Once you can master those principles, you can hold a job… instead of having the job hold you.
This is the fourth post in a series about financial myths that make you poor. For more information, you might want to read the previous article in this series. It’s called: Myth: Your Tax Return Is Free Money.
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Related posts:
- The Job Myth: Jobs, Security, And Wealth
- How To Create A Financial Freedom Manifesto
- Weekly Wisdom: Financial Freedom is One Post Away
- Five Ways To Be More By Doing Less: Step 5–Gain Financial Freedom
- The Personal Financial Freedom Manifesto
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I'm George Ulmer. Matt and I started this blog and launched the Online Investing AI business. Our goal is to develop the technology to allow anyone to retire after working for 10 years.
is one of my favorite financial books of all time. It's an allegory about a guy who has a terrible job, and how he overcomes challenges to achieve his dreams.
A good salary keeps you from chasing your FREEDOM because it gives you a false sense of security. But you have to remember that their is no security in somebody else signing the front of your check.
Highly paid employees are the poorest members of society. Lawyers, doctors and other professionals think they are doing well financially, but actually most are 6 months away from being homeless. Why? Because their fixed expenses are as high as, if not higher than, their income. As soon as their income stops (due to being laid off, fired, disabled, etc.), their fixed expenses quickly eats up all of their savings.
This is really an eye opener. I agree that it’s not always a job that provides the ultimate security.
Right. I think there’s a paradigm that’s shifting.
It really is an eye opener.
True, you may make a really good salary today, but it is not promised to you next week. It seems like saving money (but hopefully not being miserly) is the only true way to financial freedom
Hi Abby-
Thanks for your comment.
I think saving, investing, and spending correctly form a solid base to earn financial freedom.