Something fishy about financial security

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.