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Have I got a job for you.
As a boy I was into tropical fish. I had several tanks, I raised fish and tried to sell them – anything to make money. At one point I had eight large tanks of fish.
At 13 I wangled my way into a job after school and Saturday at a pet store for $5.00 a week and the occasional free fish.
After all these years I finally learned the money in tropical fish is not in the fish, but in taking care of them. So, if you are looking for a post-retirement gig or just a part-time job, I have the job for you.
Yesterday I was in a doctor’s waiting room fascinated with a 55 gallon tank of fish. While there, a guy arrives and starts cleaning the tank. We chatted – about fish – and I finally asked what it cost for the tank maintenance service. I visit here every two weeks or so he said. This cleaning will be $350. I silently gulped. I have been lobbying Connie to have a tank of fish with no luck, but I thought if I had it maintained I could make a deal. But $350 a pop? I don’t think so.
Further discussion revealed his fee was $150 the first hour plus $2.00 a minute thereafter – more for a salt water tank. My mind drifted to those fish tanks I cleaned for $5.00 a week, admittedly in 1956, still only $59.16 in 2025. Back then it was about equal to $0.30 an hour- not as good as my next summer job in the town library at $0.75 an hour- the minimum wage was $1.00 in 1960.
As I said, (almost) anything to make money. I worked in the base library the first time I was in the army too.
One of the reasons I spent nine years in school at night to get degrees was that I couldn’t afford to stop. For several years my VA education benefits exceeded the tuition cost because the VA benefits were based on family size so each child brought more tax-free income.
Today two of our sons work part-time jobs to make ends meet. One started a home improvement business-he is quite good at it, last week a customer gave him a $1,000 tip. He also collects scrap metal which can be lucrative, especially discarded copper pipes and wires, not what you might expect for someone with a masters degree, but I must have set some type of example.
The other son gets up very early to drive a school bus for needed income. He sells real estate by day – no sales, no pay.
You do what you have to do, not for luxuries, but for present and future necessities.
What triggered this post was an article that claimed to list what is necessary to live a good life. The travel item of $6,000 a year for a family caught my eye and made me think of how many people set their priorities.
Whether it be cleaning up after fish, pleasing demanding homeowners or shuttling loud schoolchildren, you do what is necessary to meet your financial needs and goals. That’s the way I see it anyway.
One critical element that seems missed from most personal finance advice is that, for at least some of your life, you need to work really hard. The might mean overtime, weekends, nights, the difficult task that no-one else wants.
The trouble is that advice like “work really hard” isn’t very glamourous and won’t get you many likes.
I don’t think that I have ever known a financially successful person who did not work hard for most, if not all, of their working years. Success without hard work is very hard, if not impossible, to achieve.
I worked hard throughout my career, and both of our daughters criticized me for being a so-called “workaholic.” I did what my job required and achieved some degree of financial success. It was just part of the deal in my chosen profession. Now both my daughters work really hard in their careers and additional part-time jobs, but I am too polite to suggest that they may be on their way to becoming “workaholics,” too.
You are sure right about all of that.
What knocked me for a loop was that the two sideline jobs I had I enjoyed more than my full-time job.
My wife Suzie worked three jobs in the lead-up to our wedding; we had to fund the whole thing ourselves. I guess she was motivated knowing she was getting me as a husband! 😂
I can’t claim to have had more than one job, but in the years after founding my company, working 100-plus hours per week wasn’t unusual. It’s just what you did to earn a living for your family. Work becomes your world if that’s what’s needed at the time.
We paid for our wedding too (1968), while I was in the army. My parents gave us a $25 US Savings that cost $12.50. Connie made all the arrangements by herself. I got home two days before. Ten days later I left her to get back to the army post. They were tough times.
Flash forward 20+ years and we paid for four weddings and four college degrees.
Yeah, weddings have definitely changed. One of my daughters is flying home from London early next year to start looking at venues. I’m soon going to have a front-row seat for the whole spectacle. At least I should get a few good yarns out of the 18 months of organizing ahead of us.
Weddings in the US, especially in the Northeast are out of control. What is sometimes spent is ridiculous. $200 or more per guest and often hundreds of people.
We went to a wedding a few years ago and had to go to Florida. The couple was divorced six months later.
seems like the money spent on the wedding could be better used by the couple for a down payment.
Preaching to the choir. I gently suggested a small, intimate wedding and a nice chunk of money towards a house deposit… daughters sure can give you a cutting look when they want to, lol.
Oh boy, I had just gotten past a divorce and was in the most financially difficult time of my life when my oldest was getting married. I could only afford $10K, and that was borrowed money. My daughter felt bad about taking it. I told her $10K didn’t even buy a decent used car, which made her feel a bit better about it. I also suggested they could do a tiny wedding and use the money towards a house if they liked. They did consider it, but ultimately decided on a nice wedding.
Like your son, the real estate salesman, I took a second job selling two-way radios to make ends meet during my short and unsuccessful stint as a registered financial representative. Then when I started my tax prep business, I worked part time driving an 18 wheeler for several years.
It takes determination, a strong work ethic, and a fair amount of luck to get to the finish line.
Yes it does. Some of the complaining I hear these days, some claims things are rigged, unfair or opportunity is blocked by the wealthy really upset me.
I just read about two 20 something’s who developed an app to assist AI programmers. They sold it and instantly became billionaires – good for them I say.