Episode #15 | Holiday Marathon
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Episode 15 of Wealth Nation is a special holiday episode, recorded live on Bitwire’s Holiday Marathon with our editor, Dave Moyer. We talk about the pressure of holiday gifts, and how that factors into people loosing their jobs, making money versus loosing money for your employer, what you should think about when considering leaving your job to start your own business, buying a house in the current housing market, and take a random question about investing in backup heat for your home.
Show Notes
The Pressure of Holiday Gifts
Do you feel like the people around you expect you to spend money on them? A lot of people feel pressure during the holidays, but remember not to let that pressure get to you. It should be a fun and happy time, not one filled with stress and building credit card debt!
Working For Someone Else vs. Working For Yourself
Somewhere I heard ‘You always make money for whomever you work.’ So my question then would be your opinion of the truth of that statement, and in general are you better leaving to work for yourself or stay with a day job? Assuming that most things are equal, I personally think the independent option sounds better.
-Daniel Voyles
This question is so tough, and we deal with it all the time. In fact, everyone votes on this matter every day of their lives when they choose to either go to work, or stay home! And there is no one right answer for any person, and even the same person’s attitude will fluctuate over time.
First let’s dispel a myth: ‘You always make money for whomever you work.’
Good lord! That is NOT true. I’ve had plenty of employees who have done nothing but lose the company money and waste time and resources. Some of them even thought they were adding value.
Now, it is true that some employees make a lot more money for the company than average. And those employees should be rewarded, and normally are with continued employment and sometimes promotions. But make no mistake about it, when you are working for someone else, they are gambling that you will actually earn them more than you cost them.
So the real question is all about risk tolerance vs. risk aversion.
If you are the kind of person who is in a position to finance a risky undertaking, AND you are the kind of person who is not scared of taking risks, then it might be good for you to be in business for yourself. But there is so much more involved in working for yourself than for others too:
- Performing a specialized job vs. being a jack of all trades
- Being the idea person, and the person who executed on the plan at the same time
- Self motivation vs. external motivation
- Loneliness vs. sense of community
- Peer recognition vs. no attention
So, other than the possibility of making more money, what is the value of camaraderie you get from working for others? And what’s it worth not to stress about every detail as opposed to just your job?
Buying a house in a down market
This is a great time to buy a house if it’s an investment you can afford to make! You can get a bigger house for less money and a lower interest rate. If you’re thinking about it, be sure to evaluate just how much house you can afford, considering all the expenses that come along with it, and if your employment status were to change.
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter, leave a comment with your thoughts, and if you have a question for a future show, be sure to let us know!
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