What's the Ramsey solution to a government salary?
Dave has often cited that one of the largest demographics of self made millionaires are teachers, which financially is pretty similar to my position (pay, benefits, retirement).
I'm a government employee.
My salary is dictated by the state budget, so I know for a fact that I won't be getting even a COL adjustment for at least 2 years (until the next budget is passed).
There is zero over time.
There are zero bonuses.
There are zero performance incentives.
There is zero negotiating salary.
All positions at other locations have same salary (since dictated by the state), so moving to a "competitor" isn't an option.
There is nearly no room for promotion (my organization has 4 steps, top 2 are just 1 guy each. Only realistic promotion is to a supervisor which people typically hit after 15+ years on the job. Some of my peers have been working for 25+ years and are at the same station / pay grade that I am).
I keep a VERY tight budget, I've been a 'rice and beans' guy my whole life, I drive a decade old Honda - etc etc. My only real expense and debt is my mortgage, which I assume Dave would say "you can't keep the house". But if I can't make more money in my job, and I can't really cut any expenses - where is my out? How do I get ahead?
Right now the only thing I'm considering is getting a 2nd job part time, but those are typically only paying $12-14 an hour and won't move the needle much in exchange for never seeing my family.