Anyone who reads this or any personal finance content out there is most likely already in the top 20%+ earners in the U.S., let alone the globe.
In this world of abundance and ‘not enough(ness)’, paradox of choice is a dillema. There are far too many unhealthy, so-called ‘worse’ options on our screens to the grocery store nowadays to choose from that provide instant dopamine hits that feel 1000% better than anything.
For goodness sake, I can’t even sit down to read a book for 30 mins, let alone look out the window on the train without being sabotaged by my phone within the next 20 seconds.
Let’s get back to the simple life before algorithms destroy us. As a 21 yr old, I would like to explore this distant world ASAP.
But only a tried and true investor and consumer will be able to block out all the noise and put that best investment in themselves for the long-term, sacrificing short-term hits. Luckily in this 21 century, you don’t need $250k to dish out to learn all of this precious material! All you need is somewhat of a stable internet connection to connect to my blogs or access to a coffee shop of some sort that can pay your wifi for you. Your world becomes your oyster when it comes to getting unbeatable high-speed access to information.
Last night I found ~45 mins to do nothing before my strict bedtime of 9:15 pm to wake up at 5:30 am to work out like a freak. I kid you not, I spent a good ~36.5 mins scrolling HBO, Hulu, and all streaming giants that hate each other to no avail. What better waste of time right?! By the end of it I just decided to watch mindless cable tv.
That was easy. Mindlessness is everywhere.
While I was working this summer at a top investment bank in NYC, I knew what I was getting into and what hours to expect. The thrill and excitement were unbeatable! Being able to work with a team of that caliber felt like going back in time as part of my HS JV tennis team again!
The workload nor schedule wasn’t as crazy in asset management compared to in other arms of the business such as IB or PE, although 2022 has been pretty quiet for business deals, M&A transactions, and SPACs/IPO executions altogether with no more cheap capital thrown around and valuations back to fundamental levels.
Ironically although bad news is good news these days when trying to predict a recession, September’s unemployment rate is truly resilient once again. (That means it’s good, but also bad because investors will then expect the Fed to hike even more aggressively to get the FFR to around 4–4.15%).
See what I mean!
Everything is relative! Good or bad, we’re never safe in the markets that’s why safeguarding your assets through a 6–12 month of living expenses in cash cushion is key! But especially within IB, companies expected the golden goose days and frothy speculative nonsense from 2020–2021 to last. Spoiler Alert — it didn’t and hiring freezes and slowdowns are now real although once again, non-farm payrolls (a.k.a non-farm jobs) and job openings still rose in the month of September but not as high as expected. Good and bad news once again.
You feel what you pay attention to so focus on the bright side will ya?!
This summer, working 10–12 hr days in-person and a few extra hours in the morning and in the evening at home were common to wrap up ‘time-sensitive deliverables’. Although that may seem tough initially, while working with enthusiastic team members and on various projects, the work flew by, not to mention there was a steep learning curve I enjoyed pushing myself through — better than any classroom can possibly teach you.
It’s important to remember long doesn’t mean boring! Although many projects in certain industries such as consulting and finance have deadlines that are usually EOD, many people are curious as to why. After all, making investment decisions with billions on the line shouldn’t be a fast-paced decision made over a client dinner. It requires patience, dedication, and time. Time in the markets beats timing the markets at the end of the day!
Whether work is really due EOD or not, it’s certainly one of the greatest motivators and accelerators towards getting any work done. Since my pet peeve is procrastination, I thrive off of deadlines like this, especially during the summer! When working for any client, an individual, or institution, you want to go above and beyond and the delivery must be flawless, especially on the buy-side which means what you expected to get done tomorrow and hand in without any changes, you should expect to eventually be judged, scrutinized, and need another layer of work added on tomorrow! Embracing constructive criticism is essential, especially if working in a state with the longest reported working hours.
The cycle never ends! Welcome to the capitalistic world where you must set your own boundaries, if possible.
Fortunately, there’s no better time to feel comfortable doing so than today when BYOB (be your own boss), flexible and hybrid work are trends here to stay in numerous sectors. But beyond that, if you don’t have total flexibility with your commute or hours, adopting the right mindset and digging into nurturing your EQ is essential.
It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to anything that matters most. I probably learned more about myself and how to not get flustered and deal with various types of situations, people etc. than anything this summer! You can enjoy even the most painful experiences if you find some silver lining in them.
I believe any kind of pain will eventually lead to pleasure down the road and sacrifices not only make us stronger but more appreciative of what we’ve gone through.
Study Hard
When I came across this newly released study of states where Americans supposedly work the longest, I was initially surprised but then dug into the research further and quickly discovered/remembered that someone always has it worse and better than all of us.
Isn’t it crazy to realize that someone is working tirelessly to get to your current position?
No matter if you’re a student or a hard-working professional at the top firm I interned at this past summer, there’s already so much to be proud of.
When I think about the hours, sweat, tears, and sacrifices I’ve made to get to this point, my frame of mind goes to ER doctors or those on the front lines, and then it immediately pushes me to work 10x harder. Just like finance is all relative, it’s all in the frame of mind.
My initial assumption as many of yours probably is that coastal cities must have the most grueling work hours and schedules. After all, there’s just so much competition and it’s harder than ever to get by that working longer not harder is sometimes the name of the game in big cities just to get noticed amongst the sea of fishes!
Generally, the more flexible work one has which tends to correlate with higher pay, think tech, consulting, engineering, etc., the longer they work since it can be from anywhere, anytime. Setting your own boundaries can be tough, especially with kids where you can technically be online 24/7 and things will never actually end however in-person, if you’re a waitress at a restaurant or owner of a small business boutique let’s say, once you close your doors for the day, you’re done!
What I’ve found from the most meaningful pursuits and roles I’ve had the opportunity to partake in my 21 years of life is that the more I end up thinking about it, not out of necessity or as a task/chore frame of mind but instead out of appreciation and something I look forward to, that’s when I know I enjoy that particular role the most.
When you think about something often and new inspiration, ideas, and perspectives transform your way of thinking and flow easily, that usually entails you really appreciate the work and live + breathe it. That’s how I always feel about my work writing for all of you here spreading awareness around personal finance and helping shrink the gap between the have and the have-nots! I can’t stop thinking about the mission day in and night and don’t want to since it’s truly a meaningful pursuit of mine!
Hard-Working States
Believe it or not, just because the median annual income or average net worth tends to be the highest in coastal cities such as NYC, SF, LA, to name a few, it doesn’t mean we actually work the longest! In fact, in some parts of the rural U.S., people are logging longer hours than one who may earn 20x more in the middle of nowhere.
With the Heartland and Sunbelt states seeing skyrocketing homeownership rates since the lockdown era of 2020 and companies moving to cut their corporate tax burden in half, most recently Tesla with its new HQ in TX, the wealthy don’t only reside on empty Billionaires Row in Manhattan anymore! Less flashy and flexible is the new real rich. Stay tuned for a juicy article on this soon!
For reference, WalletHub which conducted this survey based its ranking on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which estimated the mean number of hours worked in the past year for workers aged 16–64 yrs in 2020.
Since the US has one of the longest workweeks, not to mention the shortest weekends as a result, roughly 1,791 per yr or 34.4 hrs per week seems to be the norm here.
According to the World Economic Forum, let’s investigate how these states stack up:
#1 Alaska — average workweek 41.4 hrs
#2 Wyoming + North Dakota — 40.1 hrs
#3 Texas — 39.9 hrs
#4 Louisiana — 39.8 hrs
Let’s unpack this further. What do you immediately notice? These states aren’t exactly situated in one particular region of the country, let alone separated by a body of water with Alaska, have varying temperatures and a variety of industries and fields spanning each respective state.
So why are these states at the top of this not-so-proud list?
All these states seem to not be as attuned or comfortable in the Zoom world and have the largest presence in the manufacturing, mining, industrials, and raw material processing space where no work can be done via Zoom. Maybe robots, but in-person is strongly recommended and usually required. Algorithms can destroy our decision-making abilities (read above) but can’t rule the world, yet!
The states with the shortest workweeks: Vermont, Oregon, and Rhode Island have more office and or remote options.
When you think about your respective industry and gauge the number of hours per week you put in, how does it add up?
When it comes to industries that span across the nation that are also high up in the ranks these include: real estate, government, and agriculture as well as oil and gas extraction. Commodity drilling along with real estate will always be fierce and needed but government? Honestly did not expect that with government shutdowns, insider trading, recesses, and all the bureaucracy that goes on 24/7 ~250 days a yr. The priorities are just not straight these days.
One of the positive signs that has emerged out of 2022 is that the middle class, arguably the hardest-working Americans and the largest share of immigrants turned into entrepreneurs have seen wage gains outpace inflation higher than any other income class.
Even billionaires are in a ‘weak’ spot losing $50bn collectively YTD; although don’t feel too bad for them, I’m sure they’re just fine! But with the middle class now seeing 41-yr high inflation eat into their paychecks more than ever, they feel even more pressurized to work come the holiday season, and many work on the front lines with grueling schedules as well.
Whatever you do, wherever you are across the nation, remember that longer doesn’t always mean better but the opposite could also be true! Longer could fly by! There are far too many paradoxes in the economy after all. Read here what I mean! Take care of yourself first in order to take care of others which means maintaining health as a priority, a priceless investment that cannot be replaced no matter how much you earn.
Health = wealth. Less = More. Smarter > Harder.