The Day My Salary Was Cut
I Saw It Coming
It was about eight months ago, just before the holidays.
I knew it was coming.
The vice president and I have always gotten along well. Near the end of the day, he stopped by my office.
"They just cut my salary," he said. "I wanted to give you a heads up."
The moment he walked away, I knew I was next.
A few months earlier, I had asked for a raise. The answer was:
"You're doing a great job. I wish we could, but money is just too tight right now."
So when one of the owners stopped by my office the next morning and said,
"Can we talk in the conference room?"
I already knew why.
Oddly enough, I almost felt relieved. The waiting was over.
I don't remember much of what he said. He explained profits were down. Contracts had slowed. The company had to make difficult decisions.
Then he told me my salary was being reduced by $20,000.
I was stunned.
Twenty thousand dollars was more than I expected.
My wife and I had just decided we were finally going to replace our aging minivan. We'd been saving to buy a used one with cash, around $25,000.
As he was talking, I wasn't thinking about spreadsheets or budgets.
I was thinking,
"There goes the van."
It Changed More Than My Paycheck
It felt like someone had taken an entire year of saving away in one conversation.
More than anything, I realized something that has stayed with me ever since.
This could happen again.
I started applying for jobs almost immediately.
The problem is that my job doesn't fit neatly into a résumé.
I manage HR. Payroll. Contracts. Operations. IT. Construction projects. Government compliance.
I wear a lot of hats.
But my title makes me look like a middle manager.
Most of the jobs that match my résumé pay about what I make now—or less.
Finding another job that pays what I made before the pay cut has been much harder than I expected.
I Started Chasing Options Instead of Income
That realization changed the way I think about money.
For years, I believed my paycheck was my financial plan.
Now I see it differently.
Instead of trying to maximize my net worth, I'm trying to maximize my options.
I'm trying to build income streams that don't depend on one employer.
I'm trying to lower the amount of money my family needs each month.
I'm trying to make sure that if my paycheck disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn't destroy the life we've built.
Why I Built My Freedom Numbers
That's why I stopped focusing only on net worth and start asking different questions. How much of my life could continue without my paycheck? That question eventually became one
of my Freedom Numbers..
Every number is trying to answer a single question:
How free am I to walk away from my job if I had to?
Would I actually quit tomorrow?
Probably not.
I'd still give two weeks' notice.
But every once in a while, I daydream about waking up to my alarm going off, or my boss calling, and instead of feeling panic...
...I imagine rolling over, hitting snooze, smiling, and going back to sleep.
That image reminds me why I'm building this life.
