10 Things I Love About My Minimum Wage Job

Well I can't actually say I love the job yet since I haven't started, but here are ten reasons why I didn't turn my nose up at the job because it "only" pays minimum wage:

1. I can walk to work.  If the job was across town I may not have taken it because gas or a bus pass or commuting time or (horrors) the need for a second car just to get back and forth to work would have made this job equate to a lot less than minimum wage.
2. I get some exercise.  Because I do a lot of my freelance work sitting at the computer, my butt is getting wider by the minute.  I love the idea that I will be on my feet doing physical labor for four to six hours a day (plus the walk to and from work).  It's way better than paying for a gym membership and it's way better than relying on my own motivation to get me out and exercising.
3. There is no dress code.  Actually the manager said I need to wear a dark green shirt and black or khaki pants so I will hit up the Goodwill tomorrow--senior 50% off day--and pick up these two items for a couple of bucks.  I literally cringe when I think of the gobs of money I spent on my professional wardrobe when I had my business.  I was Macys' favorite customer and even got an "exclusive" credit card because I spent so much money there.  I wasn't exclusive, I was an idiot.  At this job there is no pressure to dress better than everyone else or to have the latest purse/heels/etc.  Thank goodness.
4. I have no kids to get a sitter for.  I seriously don't know how single mothers working minimum wage jobs do it.  If you have to pay a sitter these days where the going rate is $8 an hour if you have a couple of kids, you would come out in the minus if you work a minimum wage job.
5. No office politics.  Well I assume there may be some but I am hoping it is much less than at high pressure, professional level jobs.  I have Aspergers so I really don't understand office politics to begin with.  I was fortunate that by being self employed before I pretty much shielded myself from office politics at the businesses I worked for.  I'm hoping people at this job people just want to go and work and go home and skip the drama.
6. It's part time.  For people who need a job this is a troubling trend.  Many businesses want to keep their workers at part time so they don't have to pay benefits which is a terrible thing to do to people who need to earn as much as possible but for me this works out fine--I want to work a few hours a day then go home not slave away for eight hours a day.
7. It shouldn't be boring.  This store is always packed with shoppers when I go there plus the store always looks kind of messy and disorganized (I hope to remedy that) so it doesn't look like the workers will stand around and be bored which is perfect for me.  I once got a high paying, much sought after job basically handed to me by a friend but after three days I announced that if I had to be this bored every day for the rest of my working life I would die.  So I quit.  Everyone was shocked but I just can't be bored no matter how much I am getting paid.
8. I may come to appreciate the effort it takes to make the money I am earning.  I was looking for my social security card yesterday and came across our tax forms for the last decade, some of which showed six figure earnings.  I didn't appreciate it when I was making a lot of money.  I spent nearly every penny I earned on a whole bunch of stupid stuff and just assumed I would always simply earn more so there was no need to appreciate it and/or spend it well.  Sad.
9. I can treat the hubby.  The hubby has been awesome about supporting me the last couple of year (which I tell him.  Often.).  And while he will not say no to any purchase I want to make, I don't really ask for anything because I know we are living on a limited income and the money has to come from somewhere so I am loathe to even buy a pair of shoes if it will cut into money already earmarked for something else.  With a little extra spending money I can "treat" us to various things that we don't have the money for now--new smartphones, a cruise, etc.
10. This may inspire me to earn even more money.  Based on the 'objects at rest tend to stay at rest, objects in motion tend to stay in motion' theory, I am hoping that this small money-earning venture will inspire me to continue seeking ways to make even more money (notice how lazy and uninspired I was with my aborted November money challenge?).

So those are the things that have been churning through my mind.  Of course I will give you an update next week when I will have some actual experience to speak from.