How much money are you making?

How much money are you making right now?

I mean, as the time ticks by, are the dollars and cents racking up? And how does the rate at which you make money compare to other people in the US?  They say that comparison is the root of all unhappiness, but, when it comes to salary and money, I don’t really know.  I mean, I hate to admit it, but I very easily lose perspective on where I fit.
I have a friend who tells me I should look at side jobs and find ways to make my technology skills serve me better when it comes to money.  He knows that, although I do make a very nice living, I have way too much consumer debt and feel the stress of that.  Also, he’s an artist and very independent in a lot of ways.  He’d love to see me, and all his friends, get out from under “working for the Man”.  But, I’m not sure that life is for me.
Especially when I look at a site like Salaries In Real Time and see how long it takes a starving artist to earn the money for a simple fast food burger.  And, when I compare that to how quickly I make enough money to pay for a burger, well, I think how crazy it is that I always feel like I’m short of cash.  It’s ridiculous and I have to do something to change that.
Anyway, the site lets you put in your salary and watch the time spin and the money rack up.  And, it has some jobs and celebrities calculating at the same time your numbers run, so you can compare.  It’s fascinating and mesmerizing, but, at the same time, it can be a little sickening if you also think about all the places your money is going and how it’s being wasted almost as quickly.

So, in any case, you’ll probably see more finance and money related links posted on Friday here, along with some of the other changes, as I try to get my, and subsequently our, finances under control.  I hope this process isn’t too hard on my poor wife.  At least, not harder than the financial abuse I’ve dealt her so far.  Ugh.