Author Archives: Kristina Tahnyak

Good Morning DINKS.  As dual income no kids couples we all have jobs and we all earn an income.  We recently discussed why we all work so much; maybe we all work so much in order to save money, maybe it’s because we really love our job, or maybe we all work so much just to pay our monthly bills and maintain our current lifestyle. Today I want discuss the fruits of our labour, let’s examine our current income and how much that income is worth.

For some of us our income may just be a means to an end, it may be the source that helps us pay our bills each month.  For some of us our income is the source of a lavish lifestyle that allows us to take vacations, buy a home, save for retirement, and purchase a car.  For some others our income is a direct reflection of our personal skills, professional qualities, and education.

Why is your income so important?

Our income is basically our financial lifeline. Our income determines our quality of life, our savings capacity, as well as our disposable monthly income.  Our quality of life includes where we live, what we eat, how we enjoy our free time, and when we can afford to go on vacation.  Our quality of life can also determine who we chose to spend our free time with, because people with similar lifestyles and spending habits tend to spend time together.

For some people income may not just be a means to an end, it may actually be a dream that we are working towards.  Maybe some of us are working towards achieving our ideal income because it is a dream lifestyle that we hope to someday achieve.

Do you feel that your income represents your professional qualities?

Our income may be a direct reflection of our personal skills, professional qualities, and education.  I know some young professionals who have declined an offer for their dream job because they didn’t feel that the income was a direct reflection of all the skills and qualities that they could bring to the corporate table.  Corporations do not always offer an annual income that reflects an employees personal skills and professional qualities.  Corporations usually low ball their annual income offer because they are trying to get the best employees at the lowest possible cost.  Unfortunately this could make employees feel undervalued.

What is your ideal income?

Maybe your ideal income is a specific number such as $150,000 per year.  Maybe your ideal income is a number that is unheard of in your field.  Maybe your ideal income is a number that represents a dream lifestyle that you want to have. Or maybe your ideal income represents exactly how much you think your personal skills and professional qualities are worth as an employee.

If your ideal income is a direct reflection of your skills and qualities as an employee does it represent what you currently bring to the table with your past experience, or does it represent the future growth of the type of employee that you potentially want to be?

Photo by chefranden

Hello DINKS.  Yesterday a colleague of mine at our bank branch made a comment about “working class” people.  I wasn’t personally offended by the comment, but it did make me start thinking about our society and how people view each other in different professions. Is it possible that in 2012 we are actually still living in a society defined by classes?

My colleague looked out of a window at our bank branch at the traffic flow on the street and said “What are all of these people doing out in the middle of the day? Don’t they have jobs?” My immediate response to him was “They may be on vacation or they may be shift workers who are on their way to work or just finishing their shift.”

The concept of shift work is not foreign to me. I grew up a household where one parent worked rotating weekly shifts in a factory and the other parent worked 9 to 5 in an office.  The thought didn’t even occur to my colleague that there is an entire working world outside of a 9 to 5 work week.  He comes from a family where both parents work 9 to 5 in an office and people who work in factories, retail stores, and other “blue collar” positions are in a class below them.




My father worked rotating shifts in a factory for 30 years.  He earned a very good salary that supported a family with two young children who grew up to both graduate from university.  The medical and dental benefits were paid by the company which came in helpful when my sister and I needed braces to straighten our teeth or medication when we were sick.  Overtime was always a paid option at a rate of time and a half for employees who worked in the factory.  If my father chose to work on the weekends he was paid overtime at a rate of double his normal hourly wage.

My mother worked 9 to 5 in an office.  It is very possible that the working environment was more pleasant in an office environment than it was working in a factory, but the benefits were not necessarily comparable. My mother often put in extra hours at the office in hopes of advancing her career, but she was never compensated for her overtime. In your opinion what differentiates a “Blue Collar” worker from a “White Collar” worker? Maybe it is the annual salary, maybe it is the place of work, or the working environment, or maybe it is determined based on the extra employee benefits.

The concept of different classes is slightly more complicated than the difference between an office building and a factory.  People often determine classes based not only on our place of work and our type of work, but also our annual salary and our position title.  I think that it is very offensive (not to mention extremely rude) to call someone “working class”. If we all have jobs and if we all work aren’t we all “working class”?

Photo by Matt512