Why it is not…
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I won’t lie – I’ve become much more open about sharing honest thoughts on personal finance, and it’s clear people are hungry for something real, something authentic.
Today I dropped my child off at daycare with the same confidence as Alan from The Hangover when he’s strutting around. Then they asked me when I wanted to start bringing my second child. Wait, we’re already at that point?
They said from 20 weeks old. That’s a 5-month-old baby.
I was surprised because I thought there was some kind of minimum one-year rule , or at least until they can walk steadily. (No I’m not living in the USA where moms are forced to drop a 6-weeks-old infant in a daycare.)
Would you really want a full-time job with, say, a 6-month-old baby? Because I wouldn’t.
I once heard someone in Germany argue that 40 hours a week isn’t really that much work because it’s not even a third of the week. Sure, my friend. Sleep, socializing, cleaning, exercise, child-rearing, eating, rest – let’s just not count any of that.
Why don’t we pitch a tent in front of the workplace and make it 14 mandatory hours per day instead? That would be great. Very Western. That’s where we’re heading anyway with our Eastern souls wanting to belong.
I’m just saying we need to deal with these situations because they’re not impossible. Aging society, labor shortage, a pension system that was but no longer is, “start taking care of yourself” talks all over the internet.
The eight-hour workday is a huge lie, by the way.
Let me tell you because I still remember what it was like:
6:00 AM – My alarm went off and I almost cried. I hit snooze ten times.
6:30 AM – Dragged my reluctant body out of bed and made myself human, though every cell in my body protested against the day’s agenda.
7:00 AM – Ate and prepared my food for the day because I wasn’t throwing away a quarter of my salary on food every day. (Very wisely, I invested instead)
7:30 AM – Stuck in traffic, burning gas.
8:00 AM – Arrived at work.
5:00 PM – Until closing, I rotted there, waiting for it to end while colleagues hassled me.
5:30 PM – After another lovely traffic jam, I got home or went shopping so we’d have something to eat.
6:00 PM – Home by this time at the latest.
I didn’t see sunlight, didn’t exercise, and accomplished nothing else besides making money for someone else who wore a Rolex and also burned gas at the company, but at least drove a Porsche and lived in financial security.
That was exactly 12 hours of my life right there.
Bedtime at 10 PM, bath at 8 PM.
Between those times, I would have had TWO measly hours for myself, but I was a university student preparing for exams or doing assignment projects, and learning about personal finance so this wouldn’t be my life.
Listen, I don’t blame you if you’re fed up. If you hate it like hell.
I haven’t had such a job for a long time now.
But before I’d go back to such a place, I’d rather teach crickets to play violin, or come up with some modern nonsense and bake cookies for dogs, or win the title of the country’s fattest yoga instructor, than give someone else my LIFE time for forty measly hours a week again.
The Real Cost of Traditional Employment
Life isn’t meant to be lived with someone else always telling you what to do. I know because I’ve done it.
I’d rather be a finch breeder, even though I’ve never seen a bird up close.
A milk girl at the market, fertilizing chickens and hatching chicks.
I’d start a private daycare, even though I take my own child to someone else’s.
I’d iron by the hour, even though the last time I held an iron was in 2021 because I hate doing it and ask my cleaning lady to do it.
But if I have to choose between bad and WORSE, I’ll take the better option.
Because what could be WORSE than a burned-out fifty-year-old boss checking his watch to see how many minutes you’ve been in the bathroom?
Listen, I can calculate that if you spend 40 minutes in the bathroom every day during work hours, that’s more than 3 hours per week, which over 48 work weeks per year is 160 hours – nearly a week they’re paying you to use the bathroom.
A Different Path Forward
The traditional model doesn’t have to be your only option. With proper personal financial management, you don’t have to work for 40 years – you could potentially work for just 17 years and still achieve early retirement.
I don’t want you calculating how many minutes you spend in the bathroom.
I’d be much happier if you were the next person to tell me that you were finally able to put together your first million and how much earlier you can retire.
Because why do you expect to get into a good financial situation without financial knowledge, when even companies go bankrupt without financial management?
The bottom line is this: if you’re still calculating how many minutes you work versus how many minutes you spend elsewhere during a workday, that’s a sign that something needs to change.
Taking Control of Your Financial Future
The key isn’t just complaining about the system – it’s understanding how money works and taking control of your financial future. Whether that means building multiple income streams, investing wisely, or simply being more intentional about how you spend your most valuable resource – your time – the power is in your hands.
Your life doesn’t have to be dictated by someone else’s schedule. With the right financial knowledge and planning, you can design a life that works for you, not against you.
