The other day I was thinking about what I really want to do with my life.  Ultimately I want to be a stay at home mother when the time comes, but I don’t know how long that’s going to be.  If I don’t get pregnant within the next six months or so, I’ll probably very seriously consider going part time and doing things I love with the rest of my time.  One thing led to another, and I realized there are many different career options I could have gone with.  I’m pretty happy with banking; I don’t love it but I don’t hate it either.  However, I definitely wouldn’t have thought that’s where I would make my career.  Here are some of my dream jobs:

-Zookeeper.  I’d love to work at a zoo with exotic animals.  I love giraffes, and I think it would be awesome to work with them every day.

-Traveler.  Having some type of job where I travel to fun places to work would be awesome.  I have traveled a few times to different cities to train people with the bank, and I think having a job where they paid me to travel like that would be cool.  I don’t think I’d want to be gone all the time, but maybe a few days a month would be fun.  Or I could get paid to review food and hotels and eat and stay places free.

-Personal assistant. I think it would be fun to be a personal assistant to a celebrity or someone rich for a little while.  I think after a few months it might get old though, so let’s pretend it’s a temporary position.

-Housewife.  I think this would be fun if I had activities planned where I could hang out with friends during the week, or volunteer to do things I’d like to do.  It would be fun to help others and not have to worry about working.

-Blogging! I think blogging full time would be a great profession because I could work from home and do something I love.  I just need to figure out how to make more money blogging, and I’ll be all set!

I think if I were going to go back to school I’d probably go back and study nutrition.  I had considered going back to school for nursing a few years ago, but then realized that probably wasn’t such a great idea because I don’t believe in a lot of the western medicines that are shoved down peoples’ throats.  I know that medicine is necessary in certain situations, but I think some medications are prescribed unnecessarily to people these days.

I think it’s fun to daydream sometimes, and I also think it’s funny that so many people work jobs that they would have never seen themselves working.  It will be interesting to see what my career is in ten years!  I hope that no matter what I am doing at that point that it makes me happy.

What is your dream job?

The other day I asked the question: “How much money do you make?“.  That post got a lot of responses from many people who were comfortable sharing how much their annual salaries are.  I think overall more people were comfortable sharing their finances with other people than not.  I thought it would be fun for anyone that wanted to share their salary to do so here.  I’m going to allow anonymous comments so that no one has to be public with their money if they don’t want to be.  And for the people that don’t feel comfortable with everyone knowing their business, they can comment anonymously and share without revealing their identity.

I’ll have to approve comments manually, so if you do comment with anonymous it most likely will go into moderation and I’ll be sure to approve it as soon as I can.  If you want to play along, please comment with:

-Your annual base salary.
-What state or area of the country you live in.
-Your job title or position and a short description if it’s unclear.

I think it will be neat to see how salaries vary from positions and areas of the country.  I know that some salaries may sound high or low at first, so please keep in mind that someone who makes $70,000 and lives in Washington DC may experience the same standard of living as someone who makes $45,000 and lives in Indianapolis.  Obviously these are numbers that I pulled out of my head and aren’t completely accurate, so don’t hold me to them.

Let the fun and games begin!

When I was in eighth grade I was assigned a project on budgeting.  We were told to go home, ask our parents how much money they made, and come up with a budget based on those numbers.  I remember at the time I was too shy and also knew better than to ask my dad how much money he made.  I knew that was a taboo subject.  I ended up making up a number I thought was a good salary and went with that.  A few years ago, my dad shared some financial information with me and told me not to tell my mother.  I laughed, listened to what he had to say, and then kept it to myself.

I’ve turned to my parents for financial advice many times.  What’s really funny is that they don’t know how much money Mr. Money and I make.  However, my “adopted parents” do because they help us every year with our taxes.  It doesn’t feel weird at all knowing that they know how much money we make, but I almost don’t want my parents (or my inlaws) knowing how much money we make.  I guess it’s as though I feel like they assume that we make more money than we do and I don’t want to disappoint them.

I think it’s interesting to try to guess peoples’ salaries.  I honestly don’t think I’d want to know how much money people made, especially friends or family members.  I think when you know too much about someone’s finances sometimes it can cause jealousy and problems.  For instance, if I had $2,000 in my emergency fund and my friend knew it and was going through a hard time they may ask to borrow money.  If I decided to turn them down because I think you should never let friends borrow money, then the friend may think I am cruel and heartless because I’ve denied them a loan.  If they didn’t know how much money we had in the first place that wouldn’t be a problem.

I’m proud of how much money I make but I also don’t think it’s that great of an amount.  My husband makes more money than me, and we can definitely live off it, but by no means are we rolling in the dough.  He’s worked very hard to get where he is and I’m very proud that he loves what he does, so I think that’s worth more than him working a job he hated but making $20,000 more a year.  I’d rather have him happy than rich and miserable.

I think it’s funny how money can be such a taboo subject.  I prefer to keep our salaries to ourselves but many others don’t mind sharing how much money they make each year and that’s fine.  To each their own. I’m curious whether I’m in the majority or the minority.  I know my family is very private when it comes to the numerical details of their finances, but I know that’s probably not the case with all families.

Do you keep your salary and financial life private? Would you share your financial info with family and friends?

Five years ago Mr. Money and I lived in Colorado. We were both working for a RadioShack store and Mr. Money was also teaching snowboarding. While we worked at RadioShack, we met this very nice woman who bred miniature horses. She was so sweet and kind, and the pictures of her horses she brought in were beautiful. She knew that I had grown up riding and training horses, and one day she asked me if I’d be interested in working with the horses.

I couldn’t say yes any faster than I did.

So I quit my job (with health insurance) and we moved out of our condo into a house on her property. We agreed that she would pay us $10 an hour each for our work. I would be responsible for cleaning barns, breeding horses, doing paperwork, and any other things she wanted me to do. Mr. Money would be the handyman. Fine and dandy, right?

We thought that because we weren’t paying any rent (she said that the house was worth $500,000 and would rent for $4,000 a month so that was included in our “salaries”) that we would come out ahead. Well, after a few months of working there and realizing that we wouldn’t be able to live on $10 an hour and no health insurance, we decided that we needed a change. We decided Mr. Money would attend culinary school, and set forth on searching for a school. We had considered moving to Denver, but in the end decided we’d rather move to where we live now. We probably should have just stayed there.

Thankfully, Mr. Money enjoyed culinary school, we ended up liking where we live, settled down for awhile, and just have been living life ever since. At times, I miss being around the miniature horses and working with them. I also miss the peace that was living out in the middle of nowhere on the ranch. It was quite the experience! I’m thankful that I’m still not picking up poop everyday though!

What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had?

Seriously? 17.5% unemployment? Yes, if the government would measure unemployment as they did 80 years ago.  The government’s calculation of 7.2% unemployment does not take into consideration millions of Americans who could not find a job or could not get full time employment.  So, if you’re that person with the master’s degree that’s working part time at your local grocery store, you’re not included in the calculation.  Technically you have a job.

The government also tracks the “U-6″ rate, which includes discouraged and underemployed workers.  Right now it’s 13.5%.  Currently we’re at a 15 year high for unemployment.  The number of Americans filing for unemployment is at its highest level in a quarter of a century.

During the Great Depression, unemployment hit 25%.  But that wasn’t until 4 years after the stock market crash.  1 in 4 Americans was out of a job.  We think 7.2% (or 17.5%) is bad?  Hopefully we won’t see 25%.  That would be devastating.   My advice?  If you’ve got a job, thank your lucky stars.  Keep saving all you can, and be as thrifty as possible.  You can never have too much money saved!

source

A few months ago I decided I had enough of my current position and that I needed a change.  I was tired of supervising and being responsible for everything on the teller line.  When they eliminated my office manager position in February, I decided to give the teller supervisor position a try.  I kept the same pay, but my job responsibilities greatly shifted.  Instead of being responsible for opening accounts, meeting sales goals, and managing the office, I was in charge of the teller line and spent every day working as a teller while supervising the staff.  It just wasn’t something I was interested in.  I figured I had a few options: quit and find a new job, look for a new position within the company, or go part time and transfer to a new branch.  All sounded good to me, but I didn’t really want to give up my 5 years seniority plus vacation time.

I decided that the best idea would be to try to find a new position within the company.  I searched the available postings and found a position for a relief team member.  When you’re on the relief team, you travel to different branches to help out when they are short.  I figured that position would be a good change of pace for me since I wouldn’t be stuck at the same branch every day and have to deal with the crap that comes along with it.  Plus, the branches I would be going to would be happy to see me because they are short and would most likely be nice to me.

The only downfall about the position was that it was a lower pay grade than I had been.  I talked it over with Mr. Money, and despite everyone’s shock at work, I accepted the position.  I figured the less stress the better, so why not.  I was tired of always being stressed out about work and thinking about it.  I didn’t want to live my life that way forever.  I don’t want work to be my whole life.  That’s the last thing I want. I also figured that if I accepted this position it would be easier for me to go part time if I chose to, or even quit when we have kids.  I figured it would be a win-win situation.

I’ve been in my new position for over two months now.  I’ve been hesitant to write about it because I was afraid people would think I was stupid for taking a pay cut.  Sure the economy’s bad, I’ve got bills to pay and savings goals to make, but what’s the point of life if you’re miserable?  I’ve found myself much more relaxed and happier since I’ve been on the relief team.  Sure, it’s not perfect every day, but nothing’s going to be.  I’ve learned to let a lot of stuff roll off my back because if something bothers me, I know I’m not going to be there permanently so it’s really not that big of a deal.  It feels good.

I always thought that career decisions would be based mostly on money.  I am thankful that I’ve gotten past that and have the ability to do something that I really wanted to do, versus being tied down to making more money because my lifestyle demanded it.  I’m happier now, and that is worth more money than any pay raise or promotion.

Would you take a pay cut to do something you really wanted to do?

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

Have you ever wondered what “good” money is? Is there a such thing as “bad” money? I don’t think so.  I hear the term all the time, in various instances.  “He must make good money.” I’ve never heard someone say “He must make bad money.”  Unless it was someone talking about a poorly made counterfeit bill.

It makes me wonder exactly what people view as “good” money.  I like to think I make a decent salary, but I don’t know if I’d consider it good money.  It pays the bills, and I have enough that I can pay down debt and focus on saving money at the same time.

I know that there are wide salary ranges depending on the certain career path and location.  For example, a customer service representative in Milwaukee, Wisconsin may make $12 an hour, while a doctor there makes $100 an hour.  In California, the customer service representative may make $20 an hour and the doctor makes $200.

I’m a firm believer in it’s not how much you make, it’s what you do with it, so good money to me may not be good money to someone else.

I think a decent salary is around $45,000-50,000 a year, plus benefits.  Where I live, the cost of living is decent, so I could make that go pretty far!

What do you consider “good money” when it comes to salary? Where do you live?

I think I hate my new job. I don’t know if it’s necessarily that I don’t like the position, but I’m having a hard time going to work lately. I just don’t want to go and I have copious amounts of anxiety about it. It’s really not fun.

I think part of the problem is that I went from being the office manager of my branch to being on the teller line which almost feels like a demotion. When I was the office manager, I sat at a desk all day and opened accounts, serviced customers, and worked on loans. Now I’m running transactions and providing customer service. Don’t get me wrong; I like it, but I think I feel like it’s a step down. To make matters worse, my coworker is now at the desk and I’m at the teller line and it’s almost degrading.

I’m very thankful that my pay didn’t get cut and that I got to keep my job, but I’m almost wondering if I should have asked to be transferred to another location. I almost think that it may be better. Then again, I do enjoy the location, hours, and clientele that is at my current branch. So I’m stuck. I’m totally not loving what I do right now.

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

One of my dreams is to be able to work for myself from home. I’d love to accomplish this by photography, graphic design, selling my crafts, soap making, and dabbling in whatever other interests me. I want to create things, and being a banker sometimes just doesn’t cut it. I long for something new, something different, where I can put my skills to use.

At the same time though, when I do take on a wedding photography client, proofing the pictures can be such a pain I sit there for hours, analyzing (and over analyzing) the shots. I work for so long editing the pictures that my eyes get blurry and I start to get a headache. Not good at all!

It makes me think- I love photography and taking pictures. When it is a job though, sometimes it is more stressful than it is enjoyable. For instance, this weekend I am shooting a wedding and I’m already nervous about it! Even though I know it will be fine and everything will turn out well, I still worry.

I just need to realize that nothing is perfect and that in the end, what doesn’t kill me will make me stronger. As long as I’m enjoying what I do, that’s all that matters.

What do you think- do you think if you had to do something you love as “work” everyday, would it become a chore?

image from ragnarfreyer

Now is not the time for fantasies. With the horrible economy, housing market, and environmental issues, it’s not the time to be dreaming of moving or radically changing your life. Or is it?

I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I am homesick and want to move closer to my family. I think before we actually have a baby I want to be near my family for support and so they can experience it as well. Unfortunately, they live in Michigan, and we all know that is the worst state for unemployment right now. So what do we do?

I’m the type of person that is always wishing and dreaming. I’m envisioning a house on land, my own little homestead with many animals and environmentally friendly. I’d love to build a “green” house. Mr. Money sometimes tells me I need to just enjoy the things I have and not wish for other things. But I tend to disagree- without fantasies, life is boring.

I’ve been down in the dumps lately and I think it’s partly due to the fact we’re going into winter, and partly due to the fact that I’ve spent so much time with my family lately that I am dying to be living back there. The thought of moving back there and having Mr. Money on board gets me really excited. I dream of him finding a job at a good restaurant in Ann Arbor, buying a house and fixing it up or building a small dream house, and just living happily ever after. The only thing is- reality sets in sometimes and squashes my dreams.

While I’m a dreamer, I’m also a realist (or maybe a pessimist!) and I think about all the things that could go wrong and how silly I am for even entertaining the thought about moving to Michigan. I should be grateful that we both have good jobs with benefits and can comfortably live right now when so many people are struggling. So many things could go wrong and we could lose so much money if we decided to try to sell our house soon and move up there. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.

What do you think- is now the time for fantasies?

This post was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at A Gai Shan Life!