Work. 95% of eligible Americans do it.
I started working for minimum wage at age 13. Before that, I worked for my Dad helping out on his job sites. Sweeping floors, carrying trash, but I always wanted to hammer or saw something too. Apparently power tools aren’t for kids under 10 years old. For my mom, it was working at the convenience stores she managed re-stocking shelves, and yes once again, taking out the trash. Oh, and re-stocking the cold drinks in the cooler. That should have been called torture! My hands got so cold!
Eventually, I graduated up from family jobs to a real job at the local grocery store sacking groceries. I still think that was one of the most fun jobs I’ve had. Sacking groceries, checkout lines, sweeping and mopping floors, restocking shelves, and helping people to their car with their groceries. Once again, it paid minimum wage or close to it.
After graduating from high school, it was time for college, and I was a bit more ambitious with what I wanted to earn in compensation. I moved up from minimum wage to $7 per hour while working for RPS (Roadway Package Systems), and then it happened. I landed a $15 per hour summer job with P.I.E. freight company! My world was rocked. I was making $600 a week! Along with that jump came a shift in my expectations and what was possible with my income. As a young man and college student, I had reached a break through!
So many of us go through a similar experience of working and making money. Thinking in terms of single dollar increment raises. A $1 per hour raise blows us away! After I got out of college and landed my first engineering job, that’s exactly the world I lived in. Once I knew I could earn $15 per hour, I knew one day I could do it again, and I did. But sadly, I couldn’t imagine anything much more than that. $15 per hour is roughly $30,000 on a 40 hour a week job. $20 per hour is $40,000 per year. $30 is $60,000 per year. Hourly Rate x 2000 hours of work.
So ask yourself this question, how much money do you want make for your 2000 hours of work per year? $40,000? $60,000? What about $100,000? What about $250,000? More?
The idea of making $250,000 per year may sound ridiculous to many people who read this article, but it is doable. Lots of people are doing it. Why not you?
We can all work to make money, but working doesn’t have to be the only way we make money. Many people make money by developing multiple income streams. They start with a typical job, and develop supplemental income streams
Making More Money
So you want to make more money? I applaud you. Don’t settle for the status quo, every day routine. Expand yourself.
Grow yourself. If you want to make more money, you have to grow yourself. You have to make yourself more valuable by learning and increasing the value you offer.
Look for opportunities at work. Can you contribute at work on a higher level? Sometimes opportunities are right around the corner. Don’t wait for opportunity to find you, go looking for it.
Be excellent. Do the best work you possibly can. Sloppy work won’t get you very far, and it definitely won’t make a you a highly valuable and top paid employee. Be excellent. Do excellent work, and money will flow your way.
Might be time for a job change. Many people get stuck in a lower paying job because they get comfortable. You work the same hours whether you get paid $30,000 or $120,000. Why stay with a company that can’t pay you or won’t pay you more for your work? Think about this. If you make, $60,000 a year, that’s like working 2 years for $30,000 a year! Land a $120,000 a year job and thats 4 years at $30,000 or 2 years at $60,000. Don’t get stuck in a low paying comfortable job.
Develop income streams outside your typical JOB. Developing multiple income streams can let you keep your day job and make extra money to help build wealth faster. You can start with side work, a hobby, or even a small business on the side. Millions of people are doing what is called an MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) or Direct Sales. While MLM has a bad stigma in the United States, millions of people are successful in using to make money to supplement or even replace their entire income.
Rental Properties. Rental properties and real estate are historically a great income stream. Whether you’re flipping properties or buying a few rentals, you can make money in real estate. Starting with a low cost townhome rental can get you going or even renting out a room in your house. AirBNB makes it easy to find short term renters or if you like stability and a little more security, look for a longer term renter.
If you want to build wealth, multiple income streams will help you do it. I waited a bit longer than I should have to create my own multiple income streams, but I’m working hard to put them in place now. We have purchased 2 rental properties over the last 2 years. Now I’m engaged with Wealth Generators , a good MLM based around investing and helping people build wealth. They’ve created some investing tools, financial training and money management tools to help everyday people succeed with money. It’s right up my personal finance and wealth building alley. For more information on Wealth Generators, drop me an email. tony @ tonybradshaw.com
If you want to go the MLM route, there are tons of good companies like Melaleuca, Advocare, Kyani and others. If you are interested in one of these programs, I’ll be glad to connect you to some very awesome people. Drop me an email. tony @ tonybradshaw.com
How much more do you want to make per year and put towards your wealth building? $6,000 per year? $10,000 per year? $100,000 or more perhaps? It’s all up to you and what you choose do. The more money you can sock away into your passive investments or building your income streams, the faster you will become a millionaire and the more people you will be able to help with the wealth you’ve built.