The saying goes ‘a penny saved is a penny earned,’ but there’s value in understanding what a penny is, in the first place. It’s a little bit of an abstract thought, but by adjust your perspective on money, and how it works in the modern age, you can approach the concept of wealth, at least as far as career choice goes, in a manner that will help you find your appropriate financial path. Consider three items when it comes to understanding what savings and what earnings are – taxes, investments, and equality.
Taxes
When choosing how to earn money and how to save money, keep taxes in mind. There are different state and federal taxes. There are taxes on cars, luxuries, births and deaths, gifts, inheritances, and the list goes on. There are different tax brackets for different income levels, anddifferent tax brackets for different kinds of jobs. Having at least the basics down about where your money comes from and goes to with reference to taxes will help you achieve financial equilibrium, as well as keeping you in a happy place mentally and emotionally about the state of your wealth. Ignorance is no excuse when there are black and white rules about income and outgo in this regard.
Investments
Investments also can alter your overall perception of money, savings, earning, and value. You can invest in companies, in ideas, in organizations, in a million different types of funds, in stock markets, in real estate, and on and on. There are ways tobecome rich instantly, and ways to lose everything in a fraction of a moment, especially in the age of digital financial transfers. “Good” investments go “bad,” and “risky” investments make people rich. Smart people make bad decisions. Lucky people make random decisions that turn out right. Investments are an intriguing gamble, and should be viewed as such, rather than a solid foundation.
Equality
Ideally,equal work should produce equal pay, but all across the world, there are gender and race gaps when it comes to income. It’s a peculiar but widespread phenomenon, and even in an enlightened world where everyone knows it is happening, there is still a resistance to leveling out the playing field for workers. When choosing a career, keep in mind that these income inequalities exist, and are written into the structure of money and value as it stands right now. Hopefully in our lifetime, this will change, but until then, the valuation of time in terms of finances is not going to follow a straight line for men vs. women, and for majorities vs. minorities in different cultures.
Money in itself is an abstract concept, but if you take a moment every once in a while to meditate on its value and perception, and the way it ebbs and flows across cultural and legal platforms, it can be an eye-opening thought process.
