Lesson #1

In order to decide how much money you need, first you need to look at money the right way. Money is not the main goal in life and getting more money is not the greatest pursuit. Look at money how it is, money is a tool. Money is a tool that you can use in life, but you have to use it properly. Just like how people have to go through training to work heavy machinery or a father teaches his son how to use a power tool or saw, you have to use money carefully and you have to know what you're doing. Figure out what you're wanting to do financially and take the steps to get there. Whether your goal with the extra money is something responsible like starting a savings account, getting credit cards paid off, paying extra into a car loan, or your mortgage, or something fun like a yearly vacation, a new house, or a new car, you need to have a plan in place before you start.

Looking over at the Business Unit, in Lesson #1 - Do I need to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in my work, we talk about the national averages for the household income and normal standard of living. Looking at those stats is a good basis for deciding how much money you need or want. About $70,000 a year after taxes, is the national average for the normal standard of living for a family of four. If we can bring that home every year, we're already doing better than over half the country.

Assuming that we are adequately providing for our family and we're bringing home the $70,000 after taxes, we can now look at how much we want to make a year. We need to keep in mind though, that any excess money that we bring home above that $70,000 doesn't become our driving focus and control our lives. The whole point is to provide for our families and spend time with them. How much more can you make a year and how much time with the family do you have to sacrifice to do that?

I can't tell you what you need to make a year, all I can do is give you the tools that can help you decide what your family needs. This is something that you need to sit down with your spouse and talk over with them. Consider what your situation is financially and what your budget is. Consider the needs of your spouse, your children, and the needs of your spouse needing help with raising your children.

I'm under no illusions that all jobs have equal pay, in that a fast food working is obviously not being paid the same that the CEO of a major company would be paid, and that they won't be able to afford the same luxuries in life, with a million other jobs in between that pay differently.

What is the solution then? Do we pay fast food workers more? No, the fast food industry isn't what you want to make a career out of. Nobody desires to say at 40 that they work at a fast food restaurant. It's great for high school kids or college students that need experience or just need a part time job because they don't have time to work full time in school, but it's not meant to be a career for everyone and it's not enough to provide for a family.

If you're wanting to get to the point of making a certain amount of money in a year, you won't be able to do that making minimum wage, so what can we do to get to that point?

Step 1: Get a Job - Where everybody starts out, maybe you're a high school student getting their first job, maybe you experienced a lay off, or you're just coming out of an incarceration. Step 1 is that we just get a job, even its minimum wage, we need to get a job.

Step 2: Don't Be Satisfied - Unless it's your dream job and you're making exactly how much you want a year, we never want to get satisfied with Step 1, we always want to be able to go up a step until we get to the point we want to be. Don't let yourself get stuck in the mindset of "I'm a fast food employee and that's all I'll ever be" or "I'm fine where I'm at".

Step 3: Finding the Next Job (for those making minimum wage) - If we're making minimum wage and we're struggling to find the next job, what can we do to make a dollar over minimum wage? Do we have to do overnight security for a year in order to reach this step? Can I get a job at a grocery store or a gas station that makes more than what I make now? What can I sacrifice to get a job where I can make more than minimum wage, to make me more marketable for the next step?

Step 4: Finding the Next Job (for those making above minimum wage) - If you're making over minimum wage, you're most likely in a position that you have better options on how to advertise yourself than those making minimum wage. It's important to keep in mind in this step, that main focus of work, is being able to provide for our family. When we look for the next job, make sure that you're not compromising your balance of work and salary with your time with family.

Step 5: Start a Side Hustle - If you're close to what you want and you don't need to switch jobs or careers, consider starting a side hustle. This gives you more freedom with your time and if you do it right, it can be a lucrative endeavor.

Step 6: Dream Job - You finally made it, after repeating the other steps as needed, we finally got to the point where we have the perfect balance of money and family.

While I can't give you exact answers on how much you need to make, I hope that this provides a good starting tool for you to determine that yourself without sacrificing time with family.