All I think about these days is money

I’ve been thinking about a piece of advice I received a while back when I had just begun working.

I was in my early twenties, fresh-faced and eager to please and learn.

I remember I was sat down by my boss and was told to make sure I am doing the job for the right reasons.

“Don’t think about how much money you are going to make, just make sure you work to build a name for yourself first, you know? Establish yourself in the industry first,” he said.

I carried that with me for months.

I was just thinking, with the naivety of someone who had never seen a pay cheque or experienced the shock of having a big chunk of it taken by the government, that that kind of mentality would get me very far.

I’m now in my mid-twenties and I am not a fan of that piece of advice anymore.

I mean, how can I not think about how much money I am going to be making? That is insane.

My boss was well-meaning, I believe, but come on! Is that what capitalism wants us beginners in the rat race to think?

All I ever think about these days is money!

I know I cannot possibly be the only one. We are all thinking about money literally every other second of the day.

I think about how much I have in my pocket, how much I have in my bank account, how much I have saved up, how much more I need to be making to survive another day in this concrete jungle, lest I have no choice but to pack my bags and go home, in disgrace.

And I’m not even a vain or superficial person. I don’t consider myself to be one at least.

But for heaven’s sake, I just want money. Or more money.

Even if I am just a few years into this career that many people have stayed in for years because it is too sweet to leave.

It is normal to want more money, isn’t it?

More money would mean getting ahead and climbing some corporate ladder of some sort. That would take several years.

The other option would be to get as many side hustles as I can to meet the deficit. To the peril of my mental health, I imagine.

I kind of want to have more money right now. And nobody should make me feel bad about that because these are the times we are currently living in.

Climbing a corporate ladder is meaningless if you are not living comfortably and meeting all your needs — within your means, of course

And this isn’t a Millennial or Gen-Z thing about wanting instant gratification.

It’s about giving young people what they are due and not short-changing them one bit.

Giving them all of their coins simply because they are talented, capable and well-equipped to do the jobs that they are doing and more.

Whether it’s an entry-level or a senior level, young people should be paid all that they are worth.