My first job, when I graduated from Rutgers University, was working for a small boutique hedge fund on Wall Street, 40 Wall to be exact. I was making a whopping $20k/year and I was commuting from Morristown, NJ—which for those of you who don’t know, is like commuting from Timbuktu. So after rent, utilities, commuting costs, and food, there was essentially nothing left. I was the definition of a person “living paycheck to paycheck.”

Every day, our trader would arrive early and stay late—never leaving his desk. I would very often grab his lunch for him at a local deli. I didn’t want anyone to know I really couldn’t afford to eat out so I scoured the menu for the cheapest sandwich I could find. The winner was a cheese sandwich! But, I figured out if I chose provolone over American cheese, a kaiser roll over bread, added lots of shredded lettuce, mustard AND mayo, it didn’t change the price and it became the most amazing sandwich ever! To this day, that sandwich will make my mouth water. 

Sometimes, in life, we don’t live high off the hog. Although those times weren’t financially easy, I look back on them with fondness because I figured it out. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, we need to hunker down and get through a rough patch. But don’t for one second forget how capable and resourceful we are! These challenges require us to think and thinking is good! Really good!

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
Beth

P.S. You all know what I am having for lunch today, right?