Why Financial Independence Is More Valuable To A Blue Collar Worker

Jobs are traditionally grouped into two main categories, white collar and blue collar.  White collar work is generally defined as work being performed in an office setting that does not require manual labor.  For all my post-college life I’ve done white collar work.  But I did mostly blue collar work from ages 16 to 22.  Blue Collar work is defined as

“work that entails physical labor such as in a factory or workshop. Blue Collar work is more directly tied to the output generated by the firm, with identifiable intangible results”

In general people tend to associate white collar work as higher paying than blue collar.  But this isn’t always true, and some jobs do not fit the categories very well.  For instance many doctors, engineers, and architects do both white collar and blue collar work by the definitions. 

And I have a plumber friend who makes over six figures a year.  He jokes that he makes plenty enough to afford properly fitting, non butt-crack-showing pants.  

However, in general when one thinks of a blue collar job it’s typically a factory worker or a truck driver.  The latter is one of the most common jobs in the country

But lower pay isn’t really the reason financial independence is more valuable to a blue collar worker.

 

More Than A Mouse Finger

I don’t think many would argue that being financially independent is a good thing.  Whether you choose to “retire” or not when you reach it (whatever that means), being financially independent gives you a huge safety net in case of job loss or other unexpected catastrophe in life. 

If you lean towards desiring early retirement, it allows you to do that as well. 

Let’s face it, no one would say “Nah… I really don’t want to have $1 million in the bank.  But thanks for asking, you’re a true sport.”

The Mouse Finger, Building Bulk One Click At A Time

For blue collar workers who tend to have more physical jobs, financial independence is even more valuable than for others.  If you’re a white collar desk jockey like I’ve been most of my career and you drop a bowling ball on your foot and break your toe, it’ll hurt.  You’ll go to the doctor and have your foot or toe put in a cast or splint. 

But you can still come to work. 

Sure, crutches suck, but there’s probably no reason you can’t do your job and continue collecting a paycheck.  Even if you break your precious mouse finger you can learn to use the mouse with the other hand.

It’s a totally different story for many blue collar jobs.  If you’re a woodworker or work in a factory where you can still sit most of the day you might still be able to work with a broken toe.  But if you’re a truck driver, roofer, or have to be on your feet all day, you’re screwed.

Thousands of blue collar jobs fall into that category, arguably most of them.  Now you’re on sick leave or short term disability – if you’re lucky enough to have those benefits.

 

Personal Risk Becomes Job Risk

I have a cousin in this exact scenario.  He works a blue collar job up in Baltimore and doesn’t get any paid leave.  He’s on his feet all day and operates light machinery like industrial copiers and shredders. 

A broken toe would likely render him without a paycheck for a while.  He knows this, I’ve discussed it with him before.  I didn’t go in a dissertation about financial independence or FIRE because I’m still an anonymous blogger and who knows, he may have read my blog before.  I’m still small but growing fast 🙂

My cousin even once asked me about my love of so-called “extreme” sports like mountain biking and rock climbing.  “Aren’t you worried about getting hurt?” he asked.  “Sure” I said, “No one wants to get hurt”.  I brushed it off.

But I thought about his question later and it was obvious that embedded in the question was an implied understanding that, for him at least, getting hurt could likely mean not getting paid.

Of course some serious injuries would prevent me from going to work and clicking a mouse.  But such an injury would have to be much more severe than a broken toe.  Maybe I should wrap my mouse finger in bubble wrap when I go rock climbing 🙂

I have sick leave, and disability benefits.  He doesn’t.  In my case, if I were unable to come to work I would still get my full paycheck or a majority of it, for a good while.  My cousin is a pretty good athlete and in shape.  I didn’t ask him but I expect he probably forgoes some activities and sports due to a fear of getting hurt and not getting paid.  That’s unfortunate.

 

In Conclusion

You may be thinking “Isn’t this when an emergency fund is for”.  Well, yes, an emergency fund can surely be handy to pay the bills and have money if you get injured and aren’t collecting a paycheck. 

But it just shows another major reason why being financially independent is more important for the truck driver. I wouldn’t have to use my emergency fund in such a case. 

In the end, we white collar jockeys do have some job risk.  Sitting all day is not good for your health.  And there’s carpal tunnel syndrome.  I had a mild case of it for a while, and it sucks.  But after those two the non-mental hazards of a desk job start to decline rapidly. 

But for blue collar workers both the on-the-job hazards and the risk of not being able to work due to an injury outside of work are way way higher.  That’s why financial independence is so much more valuable to a blue collar worker.

Being that I’m already FI and have come to really dislike spending extended hours under fluorescent lights at a desk job, the possibility of getting a blue collar job one day so I can work outside and stay physically active is definitely in play.  Doing trail maintenance in a beautiful National Park?  Count me in. 

If I ever took a job like that in the future it would be for pleasure, I don’t need the money.  And if I got injured and couldn’t continue in the job due to my injury it wouldn’t matter at all.

Another reason I’m so grateful for achieving FI, it opens so many doors.

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Dave @ Accidental FIRE

I reached financial independence and semi-retired in my mid-40's through hard work, smart living, and investing. This blog chronicles my journey and explores many aspects of personal finance including the psychological and behavioral factors that drive our habits.

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33 Responses

  1. Somewhere in the FIRE community I read that blue collar workers are far less likely to pursue financial independence and that they’re more likely to spend on things like big, expensive, gas-guzzling trucks for personal use. For those who are self-employed, they run the additional risk of not saving for retirement because they don’t have 401ks and may not be likely to set up a self-employed 401k. Like you said, they could be the ones who need it most due to risk of injuries.

    I sustained an on-the-job injury nearly 2.5 years ago and still struggle with pain on a daily basis, though I’m starting to regain full range of motion. Fortunately, my hospital found a light duty job for me after I was out of work for about a month, so that I could collect full pay and benefits again. Not everyone has that luxury, even some physicians. Surgeons spend their careers operating on people, though they see patients in clinic as well. But the bulk of their career is spent doing procedures. A broken leg or hand could easily put them on the sideline for a few months. So we’re also not immune from potential loss of income. It’s a scary state to be in. Fortunately, I have a significant emergency fund in case the worst happens. Hopefully it won’t! But this is definitely a topic worth raising in the blue collar community.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Sorry to hear about your injury and I imagine you’re on your feet for much of your job. I envy that, but also realize per my post that it adds extra risk.

  2. You make a great point that I haven’t even thought about before. I wonder if “status” buys are more important to people who do jobs traditionally thought of as traditionally blue collar, like truck drivers. Does it become more important to show off your money if you do a job that our society might categorize as less desirable, even if you make way more money than an office worker? I have no idea, I’m just wondering if you’d thought of that aspect…

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      I’m not sure about status buys, but having grown up in a blue-collar environment I think it’s just doing what your friends do. Just as upper-middle class suburbanites gravitate towards the ridiculous $50k BMW SUV, the blue collar guy feels he needs a truck. Because their friends have them.

      • Howard says:

        Of course, one has to get to work somehow. The bigger expense related to vehicle ownership is turnover (replacing every few years, leasing, etc). So a big truck might look like an expensive option, and certainly it is relative to a smaller vehicle so long as the overall ownership habits (driving it until it dies, for example) remain consistent. But just looking at a blue collar worker driving a truck tells you very little about their overall expenditures related to vehicle ownership.

        • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

          Very true. I was just making the point about how we all as people tend to fit onto our “tribes”. For a guy in rural Kentucky, having a Honda Fit when all of his friends have pickups would be unusual. He’d probably get razzed a lot. I bought cheap cars when all of my friend had nice ones and that’s exactly what happened to me. I enjoyed being picked on 🙂

  3. xrayvsn says:

    Never thought of this line of thinking but it makes perfect sense. The more you depend on your body for an occupation, the more at risk you are. That is why Profesional athletes like football players usually have a clause in their contract that they can’t do at risk activities in the off season, etc because of the chance of getting hurt.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Yep, pro sports got smart years ago and many of the top athletes have limitations on what they can do in the offseason.

  4. Another great post, Dave. And spot on about the impact of injuries on many blue collar jobs. I wonder what the stats say about savings rates and asset levels of these workers I’m guessing both are low, which puts them at even higher risk. I hope your cousin finds this post.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      I haven’t seen any savings rate data but I imagine it’d be somewhat less. I could be wrong. But as I said the perception that all blue collar jobs are lower paying is wrong, many blue collar folks make more than an English major trying to find a way to make that major pay.

  5. i work in manufacturing, as you know. while i’ve mostly been technical support i have done periods of this blue collar work for a year or two at a time. many of my best friends on the site are production operators and here’s the thing: even if you’re healthy enough and not classified as “injured” the nature of this work can just plain wear you out after 25-30 years. it beats you up just working the long hours even with the assistance of technology. that would be my best argument to save and invest. a good friend just took a retirement incentive buyout around age 58 or 59 and we was walking like an old man at that age.

    y’know what else i’ve been percolating on (if a little off the subject)? there’s no gender wage gap in a union factory. so if you’re a woman in a lower paying gig like retail or some cruddy office work, chug on over to the factory and get used up physically for higher pay and good benefits. the pay gap will be gone as the pay structure is what it is. the world needs pipe fitters and welders too.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      You have a unique perspective on this and thanks for the input. Reminds me of that Caddyshack quote “well the world needs ditch-diggers too”

      There’s lots of news about women being underrepresented in STEM jobs, but not so much about them being underrepresented in plumbing, construction, roofing, welding, etc etc. Seems odd….

  6. My joke with all my buddies when we are mountain biking as we get older is about pushing the limits, it usually goes like this “I didn’t do that jump, heck at our age we need to make it to work on Monday” . So yes there is absolutely a need to have a safety cushion financial…as for the jump, well a safety cushion would work there too lol

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      I don’t do much jumping anymore unless the terrain looks safe and there’s a clear and flat landing. I don’t heal fast anymore and breaking something is just not an option. It’d be great to have a jump set up where I could land in one of those styrofoam pits though 🙂

  7. Blue collar works are tough on your body. My parents worked in the restaurant industries for years. You can do it when you’re young, but your body can’t handle the stress when you’re older. Exactly why blue collar workers need to save for retirement. You’re right about white collar jobs too. There are some injury risks, but you can always move to blue collar jobs later. I think it’s much more difficult the other way around, blue to white.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Restaurant work looks HARD. I’ve never done it, but kinda want to try.

      • I forgot to mention. My dad’s arm was broken once and he couldn’t work normally for weeks. It was a huge deal because we didn’t have much money and my mom was working only part time. The boss found a new employee and my dad had to find a new job after he got better. It was a tough time.

        • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

          Wow, that’s exactly the scenario I’m talking about. That must’ve been tough indeed

  8. With my husband as a construction foreman, we’ve talked about this quite a lot. It’s not just the guys who can no longer work – but the ones for whom work is increasingly painful every day as they get older. The goal is to not make him work if his body is broken but to have an option to do something else / less strenuous / nothing at all. 100% agree there are bigger stakes when your job relies on the strength of your body.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      I wrote this post for you 🙂 But you brought up a great point I didn’t mention which is about not being able to work as long. I focused more on the acute injury potential but the long term body wear-out is obviously a risk as well. Thanks for the great comment as always!

  9. Abigail @ipickuppennies.net says:

    Yep, I’ve always been concerned with blue collar workers not having a financial plan. Like Angela said, it’s not just about getting hurt. It’s about getting older. At some point — far sooner than most white collar workers — they’re just not going to be able to work anymore. At least, it’s most likely. You don’t see a lot of old plumbers or HVAC people, for example. They’re physically demanding jobs. And as bodies age, those demands can become unreasonable.

    At any rate, excellent points in the piece. I hope your cousin gets some financial backup going. Maybe you can nudge him along without outing yourself?

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Great points. Ironically my plumber is pretty old and last time he was here he was joking about how everything hurts and how he doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be doing it. I’ll keep working on my cousin 🙂

  10. KB says:

    This is a very interesting article. I am fully in the grey area you allude to at the start of the article. I’m an engineer that works mostly on site. My actual title is Construction Technical Director. I’ve spent my last 3-4 years or so with work boots on my feet and even before that I was on sites around the world for 3-6 months a year.

    There is one aspect you didn’t mention that I believe is worth mentioning. Manual labour is hard physically. Getting up in the morning at 45 (like I am now) hurts a little more than when I was 30. It’s very difficult to keep doing a blue collar job until you’re in your 60’s. There will come a point when doing a manual labor job is not possible.

    I’ve consciously tried to develop multiple skills – project engineering, project manager, technical site assistance, writing technical papers, vendor inspections, construction planning, commissioning… even learning new languages (I’m currently fluent in 3 and functional in 2 more) in various fields to make myself more employable within my company. It has worked well to keep me busy but I believe my versatility will also help me at the tail end of my career.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Another commenter brought that up as well about not being able to work as long. Very very true in most cases I’m sure. Some like truck drivers can probably go well into their 60’s but others not so much.

      Your job sounds interesting, you get to move way more than I do!

  11. My mom has worked in factories for decades and it has totally taken a toll on her health. Standing on her feet all day for 8-12 hours a day does that. She’s so tired that all she wants to do when she gets home is veg on the couch and watch soap operas. She’s physically much older than her actual age.

    But my mom has always been frugal and doesn’t care for consumerist stuff, so she spends hardly nothing. If it weren’t for healthcare, she’d totally qualify as FI.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Sounds like your Mom taught you frugality very well 🙂 Also sounds like she’s a badass and hard worker, I hope she gets her well-deserved rest.

      • steveark says:

        I wasn’t blue collar but I had a couple of hundred blue collar employees working for me and a few hundred white collar workers. It certainly seemed to me that the number of employees we had who became disabled was much higher in the blue collar work force. Conversely the average pay for the blue collar workers was higher than for the white collar workers.

        • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

          Thanks for that testimonial Steve. And interesting that you validated the point I made – blue collar should not necessarily be associated with lower salary.

  12. Jibon Roy says:

    Thanks for this article! Tell me about taxes. Our plan is to travel across the United States and work from our RV. How do we do with state taxes as we travel from one state to another? Curious, Lourdes

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Jibon I’m no expert on that but I believe you have to have a registered home or domicile with the Federal Government for income tax purposes, regardless of how much you live there. I’m sure you can find the info you need on RV websites, Cheers.

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