The Overtime Trap
——————————————————————- Read This First
There’s another side of this that doesn’t get mentioned enough as an employee.
It’s the “overtime trap”.
Definitely more prevalent in blue collar work, but when you see several hours come in with time and a half pay, it’s addicting.
You start to feel like whenever you need money, you can print it.
You have a trip to go on? Cool, just work a little OT to pay for the trip
You want to buy a “new toy” for yourself? No biggie, just work some OT.
From an outside perspective, that might sound like a sweet deal.
But it’s a slippery slope of trading time for money.
You’re not building ANYTHING.
You’re tied the hours you work.
You’re never home.
And none of it comes with you when you retire. It’s quick cash. That’s all.
What’s dangerous is that most OT is temporary.
You can’t ever count on it being there. But people do.
You’ll see people spend as if the OT will always be there and then when it’s not, they’re panicking to find more.
So how do you play it? You build something OUTSIDE of your career that will make money while you sleep.
Use your OT to fund your biz, not your toys and then grind until that side hustle makes more than your main gig. 🚀