The Fundamental Problem With ‘Getting a Second Job’
You sip your decaf coffee on the heels of finding out that inflation has just hit its highest level since before you were born. This reality is brief, then you keep working hard on your side hustle, refilling your coffee well into the evening hours.
After finishing up some final tasks for a client, you open an email from a large bank that is labelled, “how inflation is good for you”. As your curiousity spikes and the thought of the lifeboat coming to save you from the words on the screen, you read on…
Point #1 — Save money. Not bad advice, just obvious. Heck, I have taught that to a grade 7 math class. Although helpful, it still doesn’t fully make one feel comfortable with ole grandpa inflation.
Point #2 — Leverage Assets. A bit better. Certainly helpful for those who are in a certain income class or those who are already well positioned to combat inflation.
Point #3 — Get a second job and make more money. Terrible.
Here are 5 reasons why…
1. Ownership of Inflation
Who the hell is responsible for 40-year inflation highs anyway? By suggesting the reader get a second job to help make more money and keep up with inflation, it still doesn’t explain who is responsible. It’s deflective. Why is this a recommendation to begin with? Why is it my responsibility as a reader concerned about inflation to get a second or even a third job because the math that I don’t control is forcibly spinning out of control by those who are paid to control it? Makes no sense to me. Telling the reader to get a second job is like saying, “well, you have to accept these poor economic outlook you have by treading more to make more money” without addressing the issue of how we landed in the river with no life jacket in the first place.
2. Happiness
Whatever happened to the days when it was celebrated and encouraged to come home from your work when the work day was done to live comfrotably and happily with your family? By encouraging people to get a second or third job, are we creating an illusionary life whereby “someday” we out pace this magical demon of inflation, put in an honest days work, and live happily ever after with our families? According to the advice from this big bank, nope. Not a chance. Work more. Work harder than ever before. You must choose more work over more happiness and connection with family or Saturday night card parties.
3. Passionless Work
Do you care deeply about the work that you do? Driven by a deep sense of purpose and fulfilment through the value and skills you bring to the world? Passionate about making the world a better place? Well, according to the rules of inflation and this big bank suggestion, apparently none of that matters. Only making more money does.
Just work.
Dig ditches.
Sell Ponzi schemes.
Hack crypto.
Do whatever it is you got to do to stay ahead of inflation. After all, “I just needed a second job” is a good enough excuse for shady work that just keeps us running toward inflation. I guess you can worry about passion, adding value, and bringing your unique skills to the world in 2100 or something like that. At a time where robots are being built to do passionless work, we are becoming much the same when we heed this advice.
4. Unending Hustle Culture
Hustle, hustle, hustle, hard. — Ace Hood
I am all about the side hustle life — but as a choice rather than an obligation. Once a side hustle becomes an endless obligation, passion can easily decrease as can creativity and innovation, which are at the core for entrepreneurs and side hustlers. Forced creativity and robotic work done out of obligation rather than authentic, innovative craftsmanship is a slippery slope and can be detrimental over the long haul. We can easily become slaves to an unending hustle culture in order to “keep up” rather than bringing our unique gifts and authenticity to the world in how we show up and what we choose to do.
5. Does Not Consider Opportunity Cost
I was recently connecting with friend of mine (also a side hustler), who talked to me about opporunity cost. By definition, opportunity cost represents the potential benefits an individual, investor, or business misses out on when choosing one alternative over another. Because opportunity costs are, by definition, unseen, they can be easily overlooked. In times of hyper-inflation, yes we need to protect the downside, but what if we aren’t able to see the downside because we are too busy working 2–3 jobs to keep up? Life should be a slow roll not a race to our eventual death. The goal is to actually slow down death so it remains as far out as possible.
We need to consider the ramifications of hyper-hustling in a hyper-inflatory time or we risk losing our health and wellness altogether. For example, if working a 3rd job to “keep up” is causing you more stress and less time to be healthy and active, if you end up getting sick due to increased stress over time, will you have lost all the money you were trying to gain? Something to think about.
Rather than succumbing to the out of control inflationary flywheel by taking advice from a big bank atop Bay street in Toronto, here are 10 ideas you may want to consider to combat hyper-inflation from a guy who is living it out in the trenches just like you:
1. Question who is really responsible
Rationale: When you are losing in the game of monopoly, you can start to see very easily who around the board is making you poor at every turn. Maybe we need to look around more in our own lives to see who is causing your purchasing power to decrease.
2. Hold those responsible, accountable
Rationale: We live in a time where people have lost sight of who works for who. The government works for the people and not the other way around. We need not forget this when it comes to passing the buck.
3. Invest a little in
Rationale: Good inflation hedge while it’s under 75K/coin. After that, it’s potentially too late (IMO).
4. Continue adding your value to the world, regardless of the money it makes you
Rationale: At the end of the day, if everything unravels at least you can put your head down at night knowing that you are adding value to the world which tends to pay dividends over the long run.
5. Find ways to align your passion with you profession for as long as possible
Rationale: The world is a better place when people are working out of their passion areas and we need to make the world a better place.
6. Read more books to understand the cards that are stacked against you
Rationale: Education will pretty much lift you out of anything. My top 3 books to read to help understnd and better combat inflation 1. Quit Like A Millionaire 2. The
Standard 3. Think and Grow Rich.
7. Annually add 10% more to your rainy day/emergency fund
Rationale: To keep up with years of hyper-inflation.
8. Become vegetarian or pseudo-vegan
Rationale: Bacon is up at least 8% from last year. Milk and cheese even more. Try finding a butterball turkey under $80 in North America. If you want to save at the grocery store, it may be time to change up what you eat.
9. Re look at all your monthly payments and trim down everything that is not adding value to your family or essential to your life and/or business
Rationale: In the animal kingdom, all the animals start looking at each other differently when the water dries up, you should do the same with your money.
10. Pay off your highest interest debts as fast as possible so you can invest as fast as possible
Rationale: Just a good rule of thumb that I’ve learned. If it works, why not share it?
Conclusion
At the end of the day, no matter how the big institutions spin it, their bottom line is about making money, not protecting your money or keeping you alive and well. This is a hard truth but an important distinction to remember when we read articles from big banks.
We may be on the hyper-inflation roller coaster for the next few years and so the best thing you can do is to start asking questions, really dig in to find the answers, and to continue protecting the downside at all costs (no pun intended). Comment below if you have any other strategies that can be helpful for folks navigating the waters of hyper-inflation.
Ryan
—
Previously Published on Medium
—
Shutterstock image
The post The Fundamental Problem With ‘Getting a Second Job’ appeared first on The Good Men Project.