As I have detailed in an early post. Last year I found myself fired from my position because I refused to go along with the unethical policies and practices our university president outlined for us. I lead the resistance against him and his policies and consequently I was one of the first people fired under his rule. Scrambling to find a new job, with less than a month before the academic year started, which is suicide for an academic, I took a position changing oil at the local dealership. Holy shit what a humbling moment that was! Not only had I recently been a college professor but I had restored multiple vehicles in my youth.
Working at the dealership was a major adjustment for me. I was 30-31 and had to get re-accustomed to physical labor. The other thing that blows about working in the automotive industry….working holidays and weekends. Saturdays were now mandatory. Eventually, I was able to get a job at a great university mid-way through the semester, quite the accomplishment but probably mostly due to good fortune. However, I am a major gear-head and wished to keep on at the dealership for supplemental income and to rebuild my savings, they didn’t take much of a hit because I was able to control my spending well but I was scarred from the experience and wanted more of a cushion in my emergency fund.
Fortunately for me, my service advisor agreed to keep me on. How could she refuse, I offered to work every Saturday and come back on full time in the summer when I’m on break at the university. One day, while mired in self-pity about how much I was working 6 days a week and teaching 9 classes in a single semester (a year and a half contract at most institutions) I started doing the math. Yes I know I promised minimal math on the homepage and I will keep my promise. 52 weeks in a year X 1 day a week equals 52 extra days I could now work during the year. Now, even I have some what of a social agenda so I don’t actually work every Saturday but I do work most of them. By working approximately 60% of the Saturdays during the year I net an extra 31 working days, or an extra month of paid work per year.
No this is not always fun but when you are in the wealth accumulation phase of your life finding an extra working month a year can really add up depending on how much you can earn. Let’s say you make 15 an hour (I’ll leave taxes alone for simplicity) 15*8*31= an extra 3,720 dollars. Close to 10% of the median American salary. Not bad, do some simple compound calculations and you can see how this can be a powerful way to boost your investment returns, pad your savings account, cut your mortgage balance….etc. I still enjoy working on cars and plan to continue to keep this practice up. Additionally, because of my nice schedule as a teacher I get to double dip on all vacation, snow, and summer days. How much are your Saturdays worth to you?
