My entire adult life I have had what I would consider a love / hate relationship with money.
At a fairly young age I bought into the belief that education was the key to making money. I genuinely believed that a good education would give me the life I dreamed of. A good job. Security. Money. All of it.
But it didn’t work out that way.
I got the good education. In fact, I went much farther than I ever expected. Three University degrees, two formal licenses, and hundreds of hours in professional development courses and seminars.
Sure, I’ve held some great positions throughout the years. I have worked in a management capacity for well over twenty years, been a director for almost 10, and even had the opportunity to teach post secondary in the Faculty of Business. I’ve taught Finance, Economics, Marketing and several business courses.
What about the money?
Student debt has been a huge burden. It still is. I owe so much money that sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to pay it all off.
But the most painful part of my journey has been that I’ve never made the money that I thought was commensurate with my education and experience.
I have been told in numerous job interviews that I am “over-qualified”…wait is that a real thing???
Even the jobs that I did get with the fancy titles came with a really low salary and most with no benefits at all. You get sick. You don’t get paid. You want holidays. You don’t get paid.
I’ve lived my entire life pay-check to pay-check. It’s been a constant struggle.
I’ve had superiors tell me to dumb down my resume. I’ve literally been told just before giving a presentation to a large group of people to remove the slide that showed my education. “You need to be more relatable” I was told.
I’ve never understood why money came so easily to others, yet for me it has been a constant fight.
I recently had a conversation with a young Accountant, and she told me her rates begin at $220. I nearly fell off the chair. OMG what I would do with $220 per hour.
Did I get the wrong education?
When I think about the life that I want it does not necessarily involve millions. I just want to be able to pay my bills. I want to be able to go to a store and know that if I see something, I like that I can buy it without thinking about it.
I want to have an emergency fund. I want to be able to pay off my debts. I want to figure out what the heck I am going to do for retirement.
And in the midst of trying to sort all this out I want to share my journey. To share some of the things I know, some things I have learned along the way, and even some I don’t have a clue about that I thought we could experience together.
Savings Blogger is a sanctuary for women. It is a blog dedicated to saving time, saving money, and saving your sanity.
So, if you are struggling with money. If you are not sure what direction to take in your life. Maybe you want to start an online business, but don’t know how. Maybe you too want to plan for your retirement. Or maybe you just need a soft place to fall.
Join me in this journey. Let’s figure it out together.