Save. Spend. Splurge.

Am I greedy for wanting more money?

I was talking to a (closer) colleague (male) the other day, and he asked me if I ever wanted to become an employee…

I said:

No, I don’t think so. 🙂

He pressed me and said:

But why?

You get a permanent job, a stable income, you get to work with the people you like every day (DEBATABLE! I told him with a laugh), and you get vacations plus healthcare benefits etc.

I said:

Well. We aren’t in the United States.

Healthcare is not an issue. I’m already mostly covered by the government at $600 a year.

Also, the salary is not what I am expecting. I would need more money to consider being an employee.

Like a LOT more.

Him:

A lot more money? Like double!?

Me:

Yeah. At least. Or triple, taking into account taxes.

Him:

You’re so GREEDY!

That comment REALLY took me aback.

Am I greedy? Really?

Just because I know what I am worth, and I know I am not going to get paid what my value is if I become an employee for “stability” (I’d rather work half my career and have double the money saved, wouldn’t you?), does that make me greedy?

I know what I’m worth and I want to get paid what I am worth, or I don’t want to work.

I know I’m good at my job, (really good), I’m organized, I’m smart, I learn fast, I work hard, and I’m not only pleasant to work with, I’m also fun to work with and have a good happy personality.

I know all of this because these are opinions of others, and feedback I have had from other people.

I have had people TELL ME THIS to my face, and I have also had management tell other colleagues this behind my back, and then they told me what they said.

I WORK HARD at all cultivating all of that.

Sure, part of it comes naturally from my Type A, Alpha personality, but I also WORK at this stuff. It’s not by osmosis …

This is all worth $$$$$$$$. A lot of money.

My business

I also know that I have benefits with my own business.

I can control how much money I withdraw from my company which impacts my taxes, I can write off some applicable expenses for my job against my company.

See, if I was an employee earning what I earn now, let’s say $200,000, I would have to pay 50% of it in taxes to the government each year because I HAVE to realize that income.

So I’m out another $100,000 just because I’m an employee, and I only get $100,000 net in my pocket a year.

But now? I work with a career average salary of about $87,000 and I net far more than that in my pockets, because I don’t realize that income. 

I am not taking it out of the company, it’s sitting there, growing, being invested, and in my off years where I make a lower (or no salary), I can continue to withdraw the lowest amount I need to keep up on my living expenses.

I tell all of this to accountants and they ALL agree this is the best way to handle company money – to take out just what you need to live, keep it all in the company, invest it in there, and withdraw from the retained earnings as you retire.

I think of my company as my own personal bank in that way.

I invest all my earnings in there, and this asset I have, will grow until I retire, upon which I can withdraw more money and fund my golden years.

I like being my own boss

It’s a perfect fit with my personality.

I love owning my own company. I sort of get a kick out of telling people I’m a freelancer, and that I’m my own boss. It’s a nice thing to say, I’m proud of it, and I love it.

Maybe it’s because I’m a woman?

I hate to tie everything back to my gender, but I wonder if he would have said that to a guy friend.

To call him greedy, for wanting more money. Would he have said that to another man?

I don’t know I should ask him, to see what he says.

I’m not some gold digger you know.

Shouldn’t he be more impressed that I’m making my own money and I’m killing it?

It’s not like I’m living off the earnings of others. That’s not my hustle.

I don’t know many women can claim to do this, and I’m DAMN PROUD OF THIS accomplishment.

I want to encourage and empower even more women to stand up and crush it (I even offer consulting services on this), so the best way to do that, is to help them, but also to be a role model.

Look, bottom line is:

No one is greedy for wanting to be paid what they are worth.

You know what you are worth, deep down inside.

This is not bragging, this is internal, self-confidence in your abilities.

People who brag, are people who aren’t as good, but think they are and get all pouty when they don’t get what they want from stomping their feet.

Also, not everyone who is great at their jobs gets paid what they are worth because they just don’t negotiate and think they shouldn’t ask for more. This is hogwash.

If you are working twice as fast, twice as good and are a REAL asset to the company, you KNOW THIS. You aren’t coasting, you are killing it, and you should be getting what you deserve, money-wise.

There may be some people you know who do half what you do (or a quarter) and get paid double.

Does that sound fair?

No?

So don’t complain, get EVEN by negotiating, switching companies, and get paid what you think is fair.

There’s nothing wrong with having money, earning it, asking for more, and saving it so that you can secure your career and retirement.

This is just smart money and business sense.

8 Comments

  • SarahBit

    Best article I’ve read for a long time. Thank you so much, really inspired me. Love, Sarah

  • ArianaAuburn

    He is just JEALOUS!!! He is probably kicking himself because he didn’t think about doing what you do first.

  • Sense

    Maybe he didn’t understand the implications of becoming an employee for you? I would have also balked at hearing that someone would demand 3x their freelance salary if it weren’t explained to me plainly like you have above…

    Now that I have read why, I understand and would not say that you are greedy–just that your lifestyle & personality is best suited to being your own boss and a freelancer, and you’d have to be properly compensated to give all of that up.

  • Financial Orchid

    The difference between the next position up and my current position is about $5K excluding bonus and $7K after bonus. All of this is pre tax. After tax in terms of each bi-weekly paycheck, it’s about $150/paycheck. For all the extra work demanded on the next step up, I’m happy in my current position. I see more growth with my other income streams (market dictated prices still growing faster than stagnant wages) and capital gains per year.

    I guess it’s just my not so corporate aggressive personality. I’m probably better suited for some union or non corporate job that auto increases annually by seniority rather than by merit.

    Plus I am not interested in being pushed further up into a higher tax bracket accounting the total income. As an employee, that pay difference just goes back to deadweight tax.

    Different in an incorporated situation as you described.

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