Choose a Career - (W2:D2) Debt-Free Millionaire Podcast

Real Life: Now that you have picked the income streams you want, let’s go over this again, because you may want to change your mind. The first and best questions to ask before choosing a college, career, or job are these: Who are you, really? What is it that you want to do for the next 30-40 years? What will pay you what you want to make? Where are these jobs located?

Conflicting Statistics: Experts say that, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, people change their job at an average of three to seven times in their lifetime. But, they also have these very interesting statistics, as well:

1. Older generation was looking for:
   1. Increased pay – good paying job for a family;
   2. Career Stepping Stone – They wanted to find ladders to success, and were willing to work;
   3. Benefits – Wanted health insurance and retirement;
   4. Solid Business to Employ Them – They wanted to have a stable job for 25 years, and then retire.
2. Millennials want these things, but if it’s a risk and unstable, that is okay, at a younger age:
   1. Feel like they belong – Emotion and belonging;
   2. A Movement - They want to make change;
   3. Influence/Popularity – They want to be known by their peers and complete strangers;
   4. Studies – A job based around their interests;
   5. Feel good – They want to enjoy their work hours;
   6. Make money – They want to make more money to buy new things, to advance their status.

BONUS: Your Spouse's Income:

Real Life: Along your path, you may gain a spouse or partner - which can be great! You can’t always assume you will get married, or sadly, that you will stay married. The sad truth is that you don’t always control this. As it has been said in the past, “it takes two to tango.” It’s not all your decision, but is based on your partner’s, as well.

When you do get married, it is an incredibly happy occasion, where you join two lives. There are many positive things that come with it. One benefit, is that you get to spend more time with someone you love and are best friends with. Another, is that you can join two incomes. You may even add children.

The great thing about the financial aspect is, though you can add two incomes together (2+2=4), for an increase, your expenses don’t increase the same percentage. When you get married, it’s more like joining two households, and paying less (2+2=3). Does that math make sense? Think of it more like this: when you get married, you add your expenses (food, shelter, needs, wants) to their expenses (food, shelter, needs, wants), and you pay for one rent/mortgage, almost double the food, utilities are one - plus a little more, needs are decreased, and wants are decided on by both of you. For most, your date money decreases, because you aren’t trying to impress as much, but instead, sustain. So you don’t have to be as fancy - pizza and a movie will do just fine for a date.

Spousal income is great, because it comes with little strings attached. In society today, some married couples keep their income separate, but financially it makes more sense to add them together and pay expenses out of one account. Some married couples have their own accounts on the side for spending money not monitored by the other spouse and this is okay also. If you choose to have one account, you simply add them together as you become one. It is no longer “my money” and “your money,” it’s “our money.” This is how the law sees it, and this is how to see it if you want your finances to be easier to monitor.. No longer can you say, I can do with my money how I see fit, it’s more of talking together as a married couple and finding the best way to move forward with how you manage your money.