This post was originally published in July 2015 on my previous blog. I was shocked at how much I had earned over the years but I was even more shocked at the fact that I could not say where it had went and had nothing saved. Since hitting the publish button three years ago I had been tracking my spending in an excel spreadsheet, then moved onto an app that allows me to track my income and spending.
Because I am still shocked at the amount I made and by the fact that had nothing to show for it, I thought it would be cool to publish it on my new blog. As of today’s publishing, I am debt free, save almost half my salary (would like to buy a house) and I still track my spending.
After looking at my net worth for the second quarter, I started to wonder how much would I have if I had saved more after deductions and living expenses. So I sat down and wrote out each job I had and calculated what I made from each job. Although it was fun to go down memory lane and think about the experiences I had at each job, it was also very depressing to know I cut myself short in the savings/investing department.
Grocery Bagger
I started working really young. As soon as I turned 10 I wanted a job, I wanted to have my own money. I wanted to work for what I owned. So I asked my mom If I could get a job packing groceries and she said sure. As a grocery bagger, I worked every Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm and made $50. Once school got out for the summer I worked two days a week, working the same hours and making the same amount per day. I loved being a bagger, the bigger orders got you bigger tips. One Christmas, this lady had two shopping carts full of groceries and I got a $50 tip. Best day of my life! So from age 10 to 14, I worked at the Marketplace as a bagger and over the 4 years, I made about $13,000
Shampoo assistant
The next job I had was a shampoo assistant. Well, it was more like, shampoo girl, receptionist, cashier, janitor, hair stylist. This job was amazing. I applied to be a summer braider, (we braid tourist’s hair and put beads on the end) but ended up learning so much more. This job taught me management skills (people), responsibility and time management. When school was in I made $100 every Saturday and $500 a week when I worked during the summer. I worked here for two full years and then on and off for the third. With this job, I made about $24,700 during the 3 years.
Cashier
MarketPlace: I started working at the grocery store where it all began. Now, I was working 20 hours during the school year and 40 during the summer. This is when I really started to focus on my hustle. I was in my last year of high school, in this Computer Science Program where I was interning at the local cable company (10 hours a week), and in the Class of ’67 and ’07 mentoring program. Seeing the pay stub say $339.00 every week made it all worth it. I only worked at this company for a year because I found another company that paid $21 an hour. This year I made $22,035.
Supermart: At this job, I got the chance to work in every department besides the butcher’s counter. Now that I was a college student I bumped up my hours during the school week to 25 hours and made sure whenever they called, I came in. For the two years I worked there, I brought in about $51,870.
Accountant Assistant
When I took this job, I was taking a pay cut ($15/hour) and was only working for the summer. But I was gaining experience in the field I wanted to work in, so I was fine with it. If it wasn’t for the owner of this company I would have never applied for scholarships or realize that I definitely wanted to be an accountant. At the end of the summer, I made around $7,800.
Auditor
Intern: I worked as an intern at the company that would one day crush my spirits. As an intern during the summer, it is not much to do and they invite you to every social event, so you think “OMG! If the work environment is like this, I can see myself working here” So with a false sense of reality and the $10,000 I made that summer, I signed my life away. Not really my life but a 3-year contract (feels like forever when you are unhappy) for when I graduated from university.
Associate: I started this job wanting to make it to the top, then I was like I will stay until I make senior, and then four months before my contract was up I was like get me out of here! Don’t get me wrong I am truly grateful to have worked there because I learned a lot about people, the business and myself. Working at this company for three years, earned me $161,000.
After all these jobs, I’ve made roughly $290,405. But if I subtract deductions of $39,040 and living expenses of $123,000, I should have about $128,365. Where the hell did all that money go?! The honest answer is I don’t know. Well, really it is more of, I don’t remember. And now that I am on this journey to financial independence, It bothers me that I didn’t save more. Like I said, it’s depressing.
It also makes me mad because I could have had a down payment for a house or I could have invested it or I probably wouldn’t have debt. I know with money you can’t play catch up (even though I wish I could) because once that opportunity is gone, it is gone. So now I will use this little exercise as motivation for my long-term goals, I don’t want another 16 years to go by and still have nothing to show for it.
This is such a nice summation of how we barely realise our money getting spent. We all crib and whine about having less money but sometimes fail to make the most of what we have anyway.
I am also a recent convert to the bandwagon of tracking my expenses. It’s an eye opening life changer. A few months and I am already spending lesser while feeling happier about it. Hopefully, a few years down the line I will have enough to see where my money went.
Thanks Aparna! Tracking my expenses is definitely one of the best financial decision I had made after doing this exercise. I am going to do a post for the tracked expenses just need to figure out what the time will be.
Great story and lesson to share. I also like that we get a 3 year update to see where you are now after realising this.
The first time I did this exercise I too was mad at myself at how I had wasted so much money! I used that feeling to really put some plans in motion and now I’m about 4 years into it and doing well. We can’t take back the past but we can use it to motivate us to do better now and into the future.
Thanks! Even though I am way better with tracking my expenses, I sometimes wish I could go back with the knowledge I have now. Just to see where I would be.