If you read my post on Saturday about my new job, the one thing I didn’t mention was my pay. Since I never talk about how much money I make on here (obviously, I’m a public blogger for heaven’s sake!), I’m not going to tell you exactly how much I’m ranking in with this new job.
However, since it is a contract job and essentially an entry-level job at that, I will say that the pay is almost exactly what I was being paid when I first started my old job 3 years ago. So…not a lot.
Although I’m super excited to have a regular paycheque again, it was kind of a shock to realize that I had basically gone back in time with my budget. I know this isn’t permanent or anything, but it is a hard pill to swallow when you’ve been in the workforce for 4 years and moved all the way to Toronto in hopes of getting a better job with better pay.
That being said, the silver lining is that making a new budget for myself has been an absolute breeze! You know why? Because I actually saved the budget I used when I had just moved out and started my old job, so I’m able to use it all over again. As I mentioned, during my first year at my old job I really didn’t make that much, though I did supplement my income by teleprompting on the side. Even still, I was determined to save as much as I could to build up my net worth and my hard work paid off when I successfully saved up $8,000 in that first year.
Sure, that was a tough year, and I was probably the most frugal I’ve ever been in my life, but it is comforting to know that since I did it once, I can do it again. And it also just goes to show that if you want to build a nest egg or pay down debt but don’t have a big salary, it is possible if you want to put the effort in. I’m living proof that you don’t need to make a lot of money to be financially free and responsible.
Have you ever had to use an old budget because your salary changed or decreased? What was your experience like?
