Earning a living is not enough – managing those earnings needs to happen too!

In our society we are expected to go to work to earn money so we can support ourselves by paying for housing, food, transportation, and even some entertainment; we call it “earning a living”.

Have you considered the level of effort you are going to put towards “earning a living”?

Let’s say you go to work full time when you are 25 years old. You work a job that is 9 – 5, Monday through Friday. And you work 50 weeks out of the year. That equates to 2,000 hours worked per year.

You hope to retire at 65: if you do, you will have worked for 40 years. If you work 2,000 hours per year for 40 years, you will put in 80,000 hours of effort to “earn a living”.

My suspicion is, you have not thought of your work life like this. Now the question is – how much effort have you put into learning how to manage those earnings you will work for so long for…

We have an education system that grooms and prepares us to enter into the workforce – but surprisingly little is done to educate us on how to manage the earnings we are expected to work for. This fact has been a major challenge. We have people working but not getting ahead, and feeling like the harder they work the deeper the hole. Money is the number one source of stress. Stress negatively impacts every aspect of life.

Employers are beginning to recognize this and are engaging in programs to help.

Those employers offering 401k plans, life insurance, Short Term & Long Term Disability and similar benefits are in fact offering a financial wellbeing program through what they offer. But how do you know what should be a priority for you personally? If you are up to ears in debt, it may be difficult to see the value of engaging the company’s 401k plan.

One of the newer trends is for employers to look at employee wellbeing as an overarching part of the corporate culture. Putting together a strategy that addresses the overall wellbeing of their employees. This includes financial wellbeing. Some of the simplest initiatives include free resources for their employees to get their questions answered, to training and support.

If your employer offers a wellbeing program that includes financial initiatives, you owe it to yourself to look into it, so you get the most out of your 80,000 hours spent “earning a living”. Money is a tool, learn how to use it properly.