Why I Accepted a Job Offer For $10k Dollars Less Than I Make Now

I’ve accepted a new job with a small tech/advertising company, which I’ll be starting in less than two weeks now. The catch? My salary will be decreasing by a little more than $10,000 a year with this new position when compared to my current job. I know what you’re probably thinking. It seems odd to take a job with less money, right? After all, generally when trying to build wealth your goal would be to increase your earnings over time. So why am I taking a step backwards here?

Let me get a little philosophical here. Can money buy happiness? Maybe it can, but my guess is it probably doesn’t. Needless to say I wasn’t exactly happy with my old job so I decided it was time for a change. When that change was offered to me I decided to take it, even when they stated they couldn’t offer me what I was earning now for my starting salary.

I am taking some risk with this new job, of course. In my mind the benefits outweigh the negatives, which led to an easy decision.

Here’s what’s great about this new job:

• Job duties that I’ll actually enjoy
• Lots of opportunity for growth, both professionally and monetarily
• A fun work environment
• The chance to apply skills I picked up in college
• The office is across the street from Sprinkles Cupcakes

The not so good:

• A pretty substantial upfront pay decrease
• The office is across the street from Sprinkles Cupcakes

There you have it. My mind was decided as soon as I ran through that list of pros and cons. Coincidentally I’ve reworked my budget since then and realized that with very little sacrifice required I will actually be able to save more with this new position than I was with my previous one. Stay tuned as there is more to come on that later this week!