LifeHacker published an article recently called, How to make more money in 2019. Basically, the article surveyed five people, collected some of their financial particulars, and asked what their plans were for earning more money in 2019. Here’s the short list of money-making strategies I gleaned from the article:

  • Work a second job
  • Reduce frivolous spending
  • Establish and stick to a budget
  • Acquire more skills (programming, negotiating, etc.)
  • Acquire certifications, graduate degree, etc.
  • Take on more work responsibilities in hopes a raise will follow
  • Find a new job that pays more
  • Increase your financial literacy through reading and research
  • Set meaningful financial goals

The salaries, jobs, and ages of the interviewees lined up like so:

The age/salary progression seems reasonable: the older interviewees tended to earn more than the younger ones.

The Applications Engineer resides in Michigan, the Data Specialist in Portland, Oregon, and the rest in California. Given that California and Oregon have some of the highest costs of living in the country, I just don’t see how the four that live in those states can fare on those salaries, particularly the Data Specialist:

The interviewees also estimated their expenses versus savings. Here’s what I gathered from the article (I couldn’t get a good estimate on the expenses of the Applications Engineer, so I left her out):

First, it seems to me that we’re not hearing the full story from the Data Specialist or the second Writer. You’d have to be pretty extraordinary to be saving 40% of your income let alone 75%!

In September 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a Consumer Expenditures report where they listed average expenditures at a somewhat higher percentage:

More interestingly, the average income they listed in the report was pre-tax. As taxes tend to constitute the biggest expense of households, I would expect that savings slice to shrink even further.

A few of the interviewees mentioned that they’re still paying off student loan debt, which, sadly, seems all too common these days. In particular, the Data Specialist, who’s working for a non-profit in Oregon, is working off some $60k in student loan debt. That combination of factors makes my head hurt.

All said, as a parent, I must do what I can to a) beef up my own financial literacy and b) pass what I know on to my kids so they’re as financially prepared as possible.