About two months ago, we decided our income could not sustain our lifestyle, and by lifestyle, I mean food. It actually wasn’t that bad, but I’m sure most can identify. I don’t believe we waste too much money, but raising a family of six on one income and no raise for three years begins to eventually take its toll, and that moment occurred about two months ago.
I found a part-time job as a custodian working 20 hours a week which means I would have left the house at 5:45am and return home at 9:15pm with only an hour break in between with most of that break time used to drive from job to job.
The day I was to decide to take the custodian job I stopped by my friend’s office because I saw his car in the parking lot. My friend is a money-man, not that he’s made of money, but he knows numbers and is very wise and knowledgeable when it comes to the issue of finances.
We chatted and I told him about my new job. I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of being away from my family so much, but custodial work is honest work and taking the job would mean doing those extra things a parent wants to do for their children, like karate lessons, gymnastics lessons and the extra money we’ll need if we expect our 16-year old to be able to drive. I know it might sound shallow, putting these things above spending time with my family, and on many levels, it is. But we don’t go on vacations, we don’t go to movies, and we don’t engage in pari-mutuel betting, at least, not since “the incident…”
My friend listened, then offered a solution. I could work for him for eight hours a
week doing marketing, PR, communications, and other duties as assigned and he would pay me the same salary as the custodian job paid. Of course, I took the offer and I’ve been employed for two months. It’s been one of the funniest jobs I’ve ever had—ranks right up there with stuntman for a wild west show, but that’s another story…
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