Money Basics Monday: The Real Labor Behind Financial Freedom
Labor Day is a reminder that every paycheck, every overtime shift, every calloused hand tells a story of hard work. But here’s the catch: working harder isn’t always the same as building financial independence. The men and women I work with know what it takes to put in the hours, but too often they’ve been left out of the conversation about what to do with the money they earn.
Think about it this way: your money should be clocking in right alongside you. If you’re working 40+ hours a week and your dollars aren’t pulling their own weight, you’re leaving opportunity on the table.
Here are three basics to start with:
Pay yourself first. Even setting aside a small percentage of each paycheck builds a safety net over time. It doesn’t have to be big, 5% adds up faster than you think. Start small, stay consistent, and increase when you can.
Protect your income. Life insurance and disability coverage aren’t luxuries, they’re shields that make sure your hard work doesn’t vanish if something unexpected happens. Just like you wear safety gear on the job, your finances need protection too.
Don’t let debt steal your labor. Interest is money on the job, if it is interest you are earning from your investments, that money is working for you, if it is interest you are paying on debt, that money is working for the bank or the credit card company. Knock down high-interest debt before it grows into a second job you never asked for. Every dollar you pay in interest is a dollar that could have been working for your family.
I once had a client tell me, “I’ve been breaking my back for 20 years and I still feel like I have nothing to show for it.” When we looked at his finances, the problem wasn’t his effort, it was that his money was working harder for the credit card company than it was for him. Once we shifted just a few habits, he started to see progress, not overnight, but steadily, like a building project that takes shape brick by brick.
This Labor Day, ask yourself: Is my money clocking in for me or for the bank, the credit card company, or someone else?
The good news? With a few basic shifts, you can put your money on your team. Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t just to work hard, it’s to make sure your money works just as hard as you do. With the right planning you can be in charge of your own crew of dollars, each putting in the sweat equity daily, so you don't have to.
Want a visual? Think of it this way.
The average American wage in 2024 was $61,984. At 40 hours per week, that averages $29.80/hour. (Before Taxes)
$1000 invested at a modest 6% return in 2005, would be $3310 in 2025. That is more than triple! You turned that $1000 into an equivalent of working over 111 hours! Those are dollars working for YOU!
$1000 borrowed in 2005 at 8% for the same time, would be a total of $2006.40 you would have paid back. It would take you over 67 hours to pay it back (BEFORE taxes). Or to put it another way, you cut the value of your pay in HALF, because you only realized value from $1000, but had to work 67 hours to get it (pay it back).
This isn’t about predicting the future, it’s about showing how time and compounding change the value of your labor.
So, on this Labor Day, celebrate all your hard work for the year and think about having an entire team of dollars working FOR you rather than for someone else and decide how your labor outlook can change next year and 10 years from now.
Enjoy the time with family and the burgers and beverages. FYI, I like my burgers medium and my brew ice cold, just in case you need someone to invite to the party.
-John Flick