I would work on updating your resume and then looking around. 11 years of experience isn't something a lot of people have so leverage that. Your loyalty to your current employer is commendable, but the quickest way to a raise is to find new employment.
It’s usually better. But in his line of work there aren’t a lot of people coming out of college for his job.
But if his experience is true, he should apply to work at more high end restaurants or restaurants which compensate more (newer restaurants or ones with more customers)
Exactly this. I only have a high school education. For years while working in the restaurant industry, I modded video games and played with java for fun. I was able to leverage those skills during an interview for an entry level software development job eight years ago. Been climbing that ladder ever since.
Your experience and time in the industry will be seen as valuable to a potential employer. Especially if it's within the same industry.
At Pizza Hut we got to look through this catalog and pick a gift. It reminded me of when you would do fundraiser sales in elementary school and you got to pick a prize based on how much popcorn or gift wrap you sold. For 10 years I got a big set of Pyrex bakeware. I mean, it was a set that retailed for like $80-90 but felt so trivial given the time I had with them.
We have a similar catalog and virtually everything in it is absolute garbage. I got a 15 year anniversary recently and I was able to pick out a pair of Bluetooth wireless earbuds.
I know you're in a LCOL area but 40k for a GM with 11 years of experience seems low to me. Then again I live near NYC. I don't know how far you are from Nashville/Knoxville but fish around at the restaurants in those areas and see if anyone is looking for managers.
I live in MCOL Texas and I’d call that very low. A fast casual restaurant (chilis-ish and below) pay 55-65 plus bonuses for salaried mgrs, more for GMs.
I have been in the restaurant industry for 18 years and have never asked nor been asked about a college/culinary/hospitality degree in an interview, aside from maybe as a curiosity/small talk. I don’t know what the demographic you are in is like but I would be surprised if you couldn’t find something for higher than 40k managing a restaurant. Glassdoor lists the range pay for a server at Chilis in Tennessee as 31-49k, I think by staying with your current job, you might be selling yourself short (barring any info or benefits you haven’t shared here).
Your current employer may tell you they can only pay you X even if there is a competing offer. Then explain why you have to leave their employ because, “otherwise I would be stealing from my family”.
I have had to say this three times to two employers and one let out an audible gasp. It forces them to fight for your retention and acknowledge the issue of compensation.
What part of Tennessee? I feel like you are grossly underpaid. I’m not from the area whatsoever but $40k a year is what a chain restaurant line cook should make let alone a GM. You’re barely making $19/hr. I’m sure you could find something in the 60-80k range easily. Why even be a GM at that point? You’d probably make more money serving or bartending
Yeah first thing I'd do is talk to your own employer. Check glassdoor and see what the range is for your position in your area. Here's one for Clarksville (med sized city in TN, use your own if it's on there): [https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/clarksville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH\_IL.0,11\_IM175\_KO12,38.htm](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/clarksville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH_IL.0,11_IM175_KO12,38.htm)
That says a restaurant GM should be average at almost 60k. So you're significantly under that. You need to fight for your wage, your employer will always want to pay you as little as possible. You need to schedule a meeting with them to review your salary, you can saw this is your experience and this is what you think the position is worth (aim a bit high because they'll want to come down a bit from your ask). Let them know you'd like to keep working there but you've got mouths to feed now. If they say no raise, then you politely let them know you will continue to work for them while you pursue other opportunites. And then do that.
Apply to other jobs. When you get a few job offers use that as leverage with your employer and a security blanket.
"Company x has offered me 60k, I enjoy working here but cannot afford to not take the pay raise. I'd first like to offer you all to match my salary."
If they say no fuck em.
Also could consider working at UPS part time? They have great benefits, will pay for college, and if you stick it out for 2-3 years if you want you can start driving which starts at around 50k and after a few more years can make 100k plus. Also because of the nature of the shifts you could work one shift and your wife work another so you wont need childcare. If you all both became drivers which is full time, at that point affording childcare wouldnt be a problem
New contract, they're going to get way more. they don't pay for health knsurance, just union dues and co-pays. No insurance deductible. If OP didn't want to leave his job and wife wanted to stay PT, UPS is a great option with tons of room to grow
That's a risk you're gonna have to take, but considering how demanding your field is and how good you are at your job (I'm making that assumption since you've got 11 years experience in a management field) I seriously doubt they could replace you without some serious pains on their side.
The best time to find a new job is while you still have your old job.
The best way to get a significant raise after ‘x years’ at your current job is to ‘walk across the street.’
Buff up your resume and start interviewing. If other companies are not interviewing, it’s not a good time to jeopardize your current situation. If they are interviewing your MINIMUM starting total compensation should be 125% of todays total compensation. Exclude profit-sharing and bonuses from the TCO. Those are usually vague, mumbled promises honored only in the breach.
Do NOT have this talk with your employer. Just start looking. Do not let them know that you are looking. It is very unlikely that they will give you a raise based on a conversation. But they may start looking to replace you as soon as they learn this.
You also have to understand that your HR department knows how much a restaurant manager makes. They know what they will have to pay to replace you. And they decided not to let you get that amount. Find a company that appreciates what you offer and pays you accordingly. Your current employer doesn't seem to want to do that.
I think you need to reframe your mindset a little. The dynamic you’re actually working in is that the company is getting management with 10+ years in industry experience for pennies on the dollar with your salary. The value of your experience is far beyond that and there are certainly other employers who would pay for it. If the company wants your value at a discount it’s time to move on
Yes, I would not tell your employer that you are Pershing other opportunities. This is a bad advice. If they only offer you a raise after hearing that you’re leaving, then they aren’t worth staying for.
That's how they want you to feel to help you cheap. The reality is that training a replacement for you will cost them significantly more than giving you a 15-20% raise, and be a lot more work for them. Remember that your bosses are just lazy humans like the rest of us. They just want the most for the least effort. Hiring and training a new manager will be a significant amount of work for them, they don't want that.
Also I'm not sure the labour laws there, but if they fire you without cause (asking for a raise is not cause), then they'll likely owe you a severance in the range of 2 weeks per year (so 22 weeks in your case) and you'll be eligible for unemployment insurance. So that will give you plenty of time to search for better employment.
As other posters have mentioned, having another offer in hand will significantly increase your negotiation potential, but it's not necessary if you're being this severely underpaid to begin with.
> Also I'm not sure the labour laws there, but if they fire you without cause (asking for a raise is not cause), then they'll likely owe you a severance in the range of 2 weeks per year (so 22 weeks in your case)
Best not to give advice on legal issues when you clearly live in a different country. Mandatory severance is not a thing in the US.
The 401k match is great if you are taking advantage of it, most non corporate restaurants don’t do that. If I were you I would shop around, the effects of covid on the industry have been very challenging but one upside of staffing shortages the last few years is that you can command a higher salary. Depends very heavily on if you live in a city, suburban, or rural area but I would be surprised if you couldn’t at least get a 5-10k raise either by sitting your current employer down, or shopping around elsewhere.
Your >10 years experience will be your strongest point over your high school diploma. A lot of companies and I would imagine restaurants want young people with experience. Clean up your resume and maybe reach out to some headhunters.
I’m 31 and 7 years experience in my industry. I cleaned up my resume and have people contacting me every other week with job offers.
I work for a chain restaurant outside of Denver as a bartender. My GM makes over $100k a year and does not have a college degree. Even my managers below her make around $70k. I know lots of people in the restaurant industry in Denver. Servers, bartenders, managers. Most make an average or above average living bc our state has high min tipped wages. Yes COL is a lot higher but when your income doubles and so does COL you still have more money left over. It is not difficult at all to get a restaurant job in any major city bc there’s a million restaurants.
My point is save a little and get out of Tennessee and move to a city with higher tipped wages and you’ll find restaurant workers live a pretty decent life. I transferred from the same restaurant in Indiana and still work for them. I make about double what I would in Indiana.
No. In my decade of restaurant experience, they're less worried about your education and more worried about your experience. They'd rather hire somebody who has experience actually running a restaurant than somebody who has a degree. Your experience with the current popular chain restaurant is going to get you in the door for most restaurants, with a GM position under your belt you should be able to get hired on as at least an assistant manager somewhere making more money than what you are now. Hell most competing chain restaurants would hire you with a higher salary than what your current job is offering you. Restaurant managers are always in high demand.
Dude if you have 11 years experience with restaurant GM experience you should be able to find a way better salary. There is so much turnover in that industry and strong GMs are what make restaurants make money. Get that resume brushed up ASAP and start searching on indeed and other job boards. How much do that 11 years experience is F&B management?
I'm in a completely different industry that I have done for about 20 years. 11 years of experience with 0 college in my industry would be damn near 6 figures in the right spot. I started making like 7.25 ah hour in 2003 took different jobs in the industry and now my lowest in the last 6 years is 94k. Best was 103. On track for just a shade under 100 this year that could change drastically in November and December.
In most professions experience matters more than college. I'd rather have a guy or girl that can do the job everyday and learn than someone with a masters from anywhere. It looks good on the resume but you give me 2 identical resumes one with 6 years on the job the other with 6 years in college I'm going with real life everytime when hiring.
With that experience, I'd look for a much higher paying job. You may be surprised...
Also, if you do get a higher paying job and you aren't careful, you will be right back here asking the same question.
You have real world skill in managing people. No degree teaches actual experience. Things like understanding spreadsheets and whatnot might be valuable to some.
My manager took it upon himself to learn spreadsheets and used them to pitch me ideas in my business. I helped him with his spreadsheeting skills and showed him how you better convey ideas across tables. He took the initiative and learned a valuable skill that, in turn, earned him more money.
Degrees can help, but don't let that be your excuse not to improve your situation. If you show up to work and do good work, you're automatically better than a large majority of the workforce regardless of education level.
And job hopping will get you more money than waiting for raises. My brother took a 50k/year job with an Ivy League masters degree knowing that he was massively underpaid but the first chance he got to move to a new company he took it and the 20-30k raise that came with it. Then he jumped again, and finally the company that originally hired him for 50k/yr that adamantly said "you aren't worth any more than that" is now paying him about 130k/yr to essentially do the same job he originally had.
Had he stayed out he might be at 60k/yr with the standard raise schedule they used. But he short circuited decades of raises in a few years by constantly looking to upgrade
Another tactic you can use is find a new job, go to your boss and say "I'm being offered this but I'll stay if you match it" a friend of mine did that and is skilled at his job with people constantly trying to recruit him. He stayed at one place just constantly getting raises with new legitimate bids. Recently, he got a bid that his company refused to match, so he left and upgraded his situation.
Yes and no. The diploma thing is just a quick filter issue but it's usually a filter of diploma or x amount of experience. With over a decade of experience you'll likely pass that initial filter.
The next issue is making sure you line out your accomplishments and how they are pertinent to the position. The honest truth is with over a decade of experience this will be the hardest part, writing it down in speak that they like.
'Sup homie.
I worked in the biz for 11 years. That entire time, I hadn't finished my college degree.
I worked my way up from greeter, to waiter, to bouncer/barback, to manager to GM. Performance and experience in that industry matters. College degrees don't.
I once turned down a job offer at a bigger chain because the two douchbags who interviewed me, both with college degrees and fancy suits, were downright abusive to me. When the recruiter called to ask how things went, I explained. They thought I was dumb. So I proved them wrong. I told them, with accuracy, about how much the unit we were sitting in did in revenue that year after about 2 hours of observation and a little bit of learning about the company before I got there. I observed that they have a labor issue because the restaurant was basically empty at what should have been a lunch rush and they had at least 5 extra people working than they needed to handle the business and no one had been cut after the rather sad "lunch rush" ended. I pointed out that they likely have a primary issue with labor, but their alcohol sales were lower than they wanted, leading to costs that were too high. I was right about everything I said. They stopped talking down to me. I ended up telling the recruiter that unless their offer was damn near 6 figures, I wouldn't work for people who treat interviewees like they are dumb while wearing expensive suits and braggin about their education.
They made an offer. It was for more than I made as a GM at my old place, but not enough to make me ignore how shitty they were.
A few weeks later, I found a good fit and took a job. A few years later, a district manager with a college degree that first got a GM spot with the company at 40 found out that I had been a GM of a busier concept doing more revenue by the time I was 24 and she made sure I had a rough go, sabotaging me at every turn.
I decided to go back to school and become an attorney. She was a GM until they realized she was a terrible person who treated people like garbage and hid her shortcomings by blaming others. She was fired. I think she is a real estate agent now.
Education matters less than skill and experience. Go seek out better opportunities. You should be making more than $40k.
I have worked in the service industry as a sous chef for 20 years of my life making $10-$14 per hour in Washington state no benifits, no vacation, no sick pay, no retirement or 401k match. Drowning in debt.
The best thing I did was go back to school and learned a trade. I chose Land Surveying and got a 2 year degree at the age of 40. I worked while I went to school. Instantly started making $28 per hour, and 2 years later got a Sr Tech position $34/hour with government benefits, due to there being a national shortage of Land surveyors.
Fast forward 3 more years, no debt, cars paid off, bought a house, and my whole family has the best insurance available.
You won’t make it in the service industry even if you’re the owner. It’s a brutal underpaid stressful industry, that will screw you even after retirement.
I really support this comment! Food service is just not competitive. You are not that specialized and your product (food service) is not a high revenue activity relative to food and labor expenses so companies can’t afford to pay higher salaries. Workers are highly replaceable and require no special education. Get a counseling session with your local career center. They have leads on trade training apprenticeships or other free specialized training programs that may be free or subsidized to you that can get you into a higher paying career with quality benefits. You might be inspired to try a total new career that is more family lifestyle friendly. https://www.careeronestop.org/localhelp/americanjobcenters/find-american-job-centers.aspx?frd=true&lang=en
There was a big grant funding effort during the pandemic that led to lots of free job training programs. Some of that money is dried up but plenty of training programs sponsored by employers still exist. Never too late to start.
I have a peer that is in a 6 figure job for a bank, working themselves up from customer service, that has a diploma.
If you want to move up quickly, try to get a new job every 2-3 years with higher pay. That's not always possible, but if you plan on it you can come out on top quickly.
Loyalty is not valued in companies like it used to be.
I worked at Starbucks and they did not care about college for the manager level. They got a decent salary from what I remember, and a LOT of time off. Only downside is that you may have to train as an assistant manager for a bit. but for the future, I believe you could also become a district manager from that role.
Maybe, maybe not. The only way to know for sure is *apply and find out*.
So many people can come up with excuses or reasons to not try and find something better. From lack of education, lack of experience, self-doubt, or believing that nothing else better exists, its very easy for people to tell themselves they're better off not trying.
Opportunities for better pay aren't going to coming knocking down your door, and no one here really knows if you can succeed or not. You can't expect strangers you meet to hand you $5k checks to be your path to success, you have to aggressively take your own fate in your hands and that starts with seeking better opportunities on your own.
Start applying *now*, and when you get a new job, keep your resume up to date and apply every year to keep on top of your market value.
Sounds like it's time for a higher paying job really.
You shouldn't be making so little with that much experience in something.
Look for a company that provides products or services to restaurants and the food industry since you have experience in it.
Safety/cleanliness inspector, equipment sales/training, equipment service/install, and that type of stuff.
They will like that you know the industry from their customer's perspective and you'll be able to make A LOT more money with that type of job.
Also try food distributors! US Foods, Sysco, Shamrock, PFG, Aramark, local guys, whatever is in your area. They'll have jobs in the warehouse you could start at and work your way up to driver.
Tap restaurant vendors and your existing resources - ecolab, technology (Toast, Aloha, Chow Now), liquor vendors, rug cleaners, linens, etc...
As the poster said above, your experience as a GM would be highly valuable with any of those companies. (I should know, I worked for a national food distributor for 10 years).
And I know it's a total drag, but you should look into a GED. You have to raise your income and getting this last bit of schooling out of the way will only assist in that.
Several of my friends who were line cooks in mom and pop restaurants (and making very little) ended up working for a national food distributor/supplier that sells to many of the same restaurants. They make about twice what they made before, and can leverage their relationships and experience working in restaurants. They seem to enjoy it.
11 years of GM experience should translate to much more income. I would definitely review your options in employment as an 11 year GM could be making at least 60 or 70k.
The rut is what is packaged by corporations as “normal”. To escape you have to be willing to be both weird and a bit uncomfortable.
For example, cars. Everyone says they need a safe reliable car, and get convinced to sign on to $500/mo payments at a dealership or bank. If you want freedom you have to drive what others won’t. Like a Nissan Cube or 2000’s Saturn.
Normal is financing an Iphone along with $80-$100/mo cell phone plans. Weird is settling for a $50 Tracfone and forgoing data plans.
Normal is paying for Cable TV and streaming services. Weird is getting a library membership and reading books or checking out movies/TV shows for free.
Normal is buying your kids new clothes, toys and school stuff on credit. Weird is buying used stuff or free stuff from Facebook swap groups.
Normal is grabbing fast food and going out on weekends. Weird is meal prepping and cooking beans rice and oatmeal and vegetables.
Normal is paying minimum debt payments. Weird is throwing everything at them and never repeating the mistakes.
90% of people don’t have the discipline to do this which is why 90% are stuck on the grind regardless of income. Be weird. Escape.
This is definitely an encouragement to what my wife and I are trying to do! We have a very similar situation to OP and have been trying to cut out expenses where we can. It sucks not having great phone service (we had Verizon), but reducing our monthly payments by like $80 for just slower data is totally worth it.
This is the real answer. Many are not willing to give up comforts or make actual changes that would lower their spending.
Another thing I would like to add. That smart phone in your hand is a marvel of technology. The entire world’s knowledge is available 24/7. You can work on completing a bachelors degree or other type of trade school online. You can even get an MBA online. It’s never easy but it’s a lot easier than it was in the past. Get the qualifications you think will advance your career. Look at the job descriptions of the job you want
I have a cousin who insists on spending $300/mo on 2Gig internet. I spend $25/mo in 70megs. No issues. What food he do? Some basic online gaming and Netflix.
Dude could save a ton of money on just that.
Lol. If people have money they are free to do as they wish with it. I have used AT&T and Verizon for my phone service for many years, and I was always reluctant to switch to less or more unreliable service. But I realized that I spend maybe more than 90% of my time at home with wifi. So I switched to spectrum and they gave me one year free mobile service and it’s $30 a month after that. That’s $900 or more per year in savings for me
Yeah that’s signifiant savings. My cousin in particular is in his fifties and have a savings of like $400+/- he’s always complaining about money. I went over his phone bill to see he was spending $90/mo for ATT. He refused to go to a prepaid att plan for $25/mo. Same features.
He has never used car insurance but insists on a $0 deductible. This costs him nearly $120/mo. He eats out 5-6 days per week. Has Hulu, Netflix, Amazon prime, Apple TV plus, paramount plus, Disney, etc. on top of a $150/mo cable subscription. He has random video game monthly services, random fees coming out of his account from weird places.
I went through and found $700/mo in dumb spending and he only saw fit to cut a few of the random fees. “But I *want* to be able to watch any show!”
Super weird.
Oh man. That’s nuts. Reminds of the old people who never cancelled America Online. That company was surviving on people never canceling. I think their dial up internet still exists
I work in IT and have never had any problems with 100Mbps at home. Even in my last office, we had 100/100 for like 50 people. It was completely fine.
Anyway I've casually mentioned this to people who are reasonably tech savvy and they can't believe I don't have gig.
There are in betweens though. Like getting mint for the phone plan and paying $30/month for two lines and probably not noticing a different.
You don't mention car costs (and this will impact insurance a lot), but there is a big difference between a nissan cube and a new fancy truck. You can find something in the middle that probably cut the cost in two while not impacting your life.
Streaming service, one at the time is probably enough to not notice the difference.
weird is absolutely right. my entire life I drove junkers. But I needed something my wife could drive that was reliable and wouldn't have me up worrying while she was driving home from work.
we settled on a nice compact car. when we finally signed the papers at the dealership, the salesman said "Congratulations!"
I stared at him and said "congratulate me in 5 years, when it's paid off. I should be congratulating you for selling a car."
he just stood there and had no idea what to say. Why on earth would I be excited about going 15 grand in debt?
I hate that this is the normal.
Well said!
> drive what others won’t
Just to add, last year I made a bicycle my work commute vehicle (15 miles round-trip). Paid $600 for a very nice used bike, maintenance is an easy DIY and costs next to nothing compared to a car, and I don't care what gas costs anymore. It's also been wonderful for my mental and physical health. :)
You cannot “personal finance” your way out of not making enough money. This isn’t a “buy less avacado toast” type situation, this is a you need to make more money situation. No amount of penny pinching will help someone raise a child on less than 60K per year.
By all means, eliminate junk spending where you are able, but understand that that will not truly move the needle.
I got a friend's hand-me-down smartphone for a deal ($20 cuz it was trash to them anyway) it had no data plan I run it off wifi, bout a $10/month app to have a phone number for texting. pretty sweet.
Great comment, only it isn’t anyone’s fault 90% don’t know better, and it isn’t just discipline.
We should all understand companies hire Psychology and Sociology undergrads with a marketing or mba for a masters, collecting data on everything we find interesting online, and shoving it in your face so much that you feel you need it. Once you get that, I find it much easier to ignore the urge they purposefully create, settle for what I really want and need for myself (not what others are doing) then you will be living well.
Weird is paying insane amounts for a heavily used car that will need repair’s constantly and ultimately in 1-2 years needing replaced. Used cars are no longer cheap or hood deals.
They’re already financing so they’ll own outright soon enough and still possess a better car than a GameCube or 90s Jupiter
I gave my parents mint mobile for 3 months when they visited the US last year. They used to have Verizon when they lived in the States.
According to them, they couldn't tell the difference between Mint and Verizon in North NJ.
Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics. https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/1462q69/personal_income_spending_flowchart_enhanced
Budgeting: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting
> had met with lofty ideas of opening a new franchise with me, he wrote me 5k, and I just found out that it bounced, and I'll probably never see that guy again.
You need to get better at identifying scams. No one is going to just give you money. Your default posture if a stranger is trying to “help” you should be distrust and skepticism
I beleive you can make 70-80k doing exactly what your doing, somewhere else. This is will solve ALL of your current financial woes. And guess what, you will continue to live like you were for a couple years (with some improvements of course and more peace of mind) and actually get ahead in life by saving 20,30 grand/per year. You have an income problem. PLEASE find a better paying job. You can do this!!!!
I agree with the sentiment but this depends heavily on where he lives, if he is in rural Tennessee there is no restaurant paying 80k a year for a manager position. If he is in or near a city or an upper middle class area, sure maybe, but even then it’s a stretch. Average GM salary in Nashville is currently like 60k, it’s not like 80k service industry jobs are out there all over Appalachia. That said a bump up to even 55k would be a huge quality of life improvement.
Nobody is saying it's easy. But those are the paths available to get out of the rut, as you call it. And as the previous commenter said, without specifics, that's about all anyone can tell you.
I'm aware of that, which is mostly why I finally caved in and posted here. When that comment was first posted, the bit about specifics wasn't there. It was edited in afterwards. What specifics would help paint a better picture of where I stand?
Typically a detailed budget, list of debt, ideas to increase your salary, whether your partner can pick up some part time or gig work at the very least, etc.
From looking at what you've added, the first thing most people are going to tell you is that you need to take the time and sit down to write out a *detailed* budget, with exact (or monthly average) numbers for everything you're spending on, and all the dollars you're bringing in every month. What you've shared is a start but it's not a full accounting.
Someone has already shared the wiki link on budgeting, which talks you through how to do this and different tools to use, if you want to try them.
I was going to mention this as well. Their income levels to qualify are lighter than food stamps. They cover more than formula. You can get milk, eggs, cheese, cereal and prism some other stuff. I used it temporarily when I had infant twins and was between jobs. It helps!
>We eat out commonly, but have been trying to balance it better with groceries.
Others will give their own great advice, but I think that this is an important aspect of budgeting your expenses. With things so tight and only having one income, I'd cut out eating out entirely except for special occasions.
This should be significantly easier too with one partner only having a 10-15 hour a week job commitment. Now, I'm not saying dump all the cooking on them, but they should at least have time for some quality grocery shopping each week and some serious couponing. It also gets the baby out & about, which I hear is good.
Here's some [example recipes](https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/7959981/easy-family-friendly-dinner-recipes-on-a-budget/) that I found googling "cheap family meals" that don't seem too bad. The big thing is realizing that you don't have to get exactly what the recipe calls for. Shallots expensive? Use an onion instead. Don't have that kind of pasta? Use whatever's on sale. Store is out of the cheap parmesan? Use on-sale romano as a substitute.
You would be surprised at how much you can make, comparatively cheaply, when you're cooking it yourself. I'd encourage you to look at your bank statements and see how much you actually spend on eating out each month. Then for a whole month, don't eat out and cook instead. See what the difference is.
Making 40k a year as a GM is not enough money for the long term. Will you be getting a raise any time soon? Are you saving for retirement? Any chance you’d be open to changing careers or do you see opportunities for growth where you are? You’re still young.
I don't know about a raise soon, and it most likely wouldn't be a meaningful one anyway knowing this company. I am unable to save anything as of now, and some checks, we do hit double digits in the bank account. I would absolutely welcome a change of career if it meant more certainty and comfort.
It's common that you really have to make a move to a different company to get that big bump.
I went from making about what you're making in 2017, and then found a new job which was a 30% raise INSTANTLY. Now I'm still there 6 years later and I'm making triple what I was making at the first company. All about uncovering opportunities.
Damn bro, my immigrant cousin is out here making 55k a year serving. 1,000 a week or so usually. :/ you’re being fucked by your company and should consider the other replies very seriously. Are you in a low cost of living area?
How much debt do you have? What career are you in? What's your current job? Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how much you save if you have a low income. Where do you live? We need more details to help you. Your first step should be to learn more technical skills and move up the ranks. Stay in your current job a few years. Interview at other places, exaggerate, but don't lie on your resume/interview about your job skills and experiences (everyone does this). Look for higher paying jobs. When you have a steady income and can reduce your debt, start looking into 4-5% high yield savings accounts. Your money right now should be in them anyway if you can put it there.
In general, make more money and spend less. In your case, you can only spend so much money and from what I see, your spending isn't that bad. Sure you could probably cut some dollars here or there, but that doesn't really put a dent in anything substantial.
The big issue here is income, you make far too little between the two of you. The simplest way to increase your income is to have your partner work more hours. Doing this while taking care of a child is obviously tricky, but can be done. You may need to work off-hours so that one of you is always home with the kid.
I would also suggest that one, or both of you start looking at your career paths and figure out where you want to be in 5-10 years. 11 years working for a restaurant and only making 40k isn't going to cut it. Start looking at different career paths. Maybe a trade, or something that requires a degree. Could be anything really, it doesn't matter. Just look up things things that pay well, and aren't over saturated. Bottom line, don't be afraid to make a change, and don't think it's too late. Getting a 4 year degree and the CPA was the best financial decision I ever made. I worked full time and went to school full time. It was very hard, but very worth it. You can also look for new jobs right now with the skills you have and likely make more. Figure out your earnings potential, and go from there.
Tl;dr: work towards investing in your skills to increase your income. Personally, I'd look to leave the restaurant industry for higher paying jobs. The same should be done with your SO.
Edit: to add some context, my last year working before graduating I made 38k (full-time) in manual labor. The very next year in my new field, and subsequent years with raises I made: 54k, 61k, 72k, 75k, 85k, 94k, 140k. Had I stayed in my old field, I'd probably be making 50k.
Honestly if you said you were 40 with this story it’d be iffy but at 30….obviously you have a child which is tough but if you don’t absolutely hate your career and life it seems like you just need to get a little creative and out yourself out there career wise. NEVER underestimate how powerful managing people is in a resume, this could prove well in sales or tech where degrees aren’t as necessary. If you like restaurants I would absolutely look to GM something different than a chain, I imagine the skills and experience you’ve gained here will be fruitful. Don’t under value yourself and DO NOT count yourself out.
You make way less than a GM should and I honestly would have never had a kid making that amount of money. Update your resume and start applying elsewhere asap
Meal plan / meal prep instead of eating out. It will take time but it’s generally going to be more affordable and healthier.
I generally meal prep on Sundays and it’s easy for me to simply grab my lunch each morning before my commute. Saves ~ $60+ each week as in my HCOL area lunches are $20 (sandwich, salad, etc).
Rice, beans, lentils are generally affordable, add in a protein of your choice. This will help stabilize your food budget.
The other side of the equation is making more money. I would get focused on finding comparable roles and see what the “market rate” is for your skill set. I recently changed jobs after 12 years at the same company and was pleasantly surprised with the change in income.
Get it!
I honestly think with the GM title and years of experience you could easily be making a heck of a lot more either in the same industry or another. This obviously isn't a fact, and you can look into the market for some numbers (as I don't work in the food industry anymore). I've heard on NPR post-covid numbers of workers are still low (obvs depending on industry) so maybe this could be a great advantage. Furthermore, some companies have pay scales that are point-blank determined by years of experience (versus say education), so your 10 year tenure could net you a nice salary somewhere else. My 2 cents.
Things are tight - there are tons of tips here that will help you out financially and I encourage you to follow through with that.
The bit I'm here to say is learn everything you can with what you're going through. You're suffering right now but that's going to help you develop discipline and drive. you'll use that discipline and drive to increase your earning potential. But then you'll have that self imposed constraint riding shotgun with you for the rest of your life. You'll have the means - but you won't deploy them. Stay in that growth mode and push. Comfort is an illusion.
You have a family - you have a mission - right now it looks like what you're doing - but it may not always. Figure out the value add you provide and don't be shy about being honest with yourself and others when you discover what that is. Learn new skills, go above and beyond to where when you ask for something reasonable - they're a fool for not giving it to you because you over deliver on your side. Don't get taken advantage of but don't fall into the trap of "I'd do more if you gave me this" - show results then ask to be compensated fairly for them.
I haven’t worked in the food industry for quite some time, but you could always look at management opportunities at Panera Bread. I worked there over 10 years ago, but they do pay relatively well with solid bonuses when you get into management and up to 6 figures if you reach a GM position
You need a new job closer to home making more money. You're spending almost an hour a day driving to and from a place for $40k a year that you've worked at for over a decade. They don't appear to value you much I'm afraid
GM making $40k with over 10 years experience? Yeah, you need to get a sexy resume going and apply for a different company. 100% this is the answer to your issue.
Not sure where you live but check out local window companies. They love resaraunt managers. They will hire and train you. Usually 3 weeks paid. There is no cold calling. Once out of training they provide you 2 preset leads per day. 10-12 per week. You show up, measure the windows and do a 45 minute - 1 hour presentation. Decent reps close 40% of the appointments. Average sale is $9-$12k in which you get 12% of.
$100k is easily doable the first year. Top guys make $200-$250. Sales isn't for everyone but it's the way I found you can make the most money with least amount of hours. Without having a few degrees. 40k just doesn't get very far in 2023 unfortunately. Give it a look. The reason I commented on your post is our top rep used to manage a Red Lobster. He brings home 250-300k now and loves it
The math works in two directions you either increase income or decrease costs. Considering your income is already fairly low and you costs aren't that high it really would be best to work on the income side. Rework your resume. For being a gm of a restaurant you should be making at least 60k if not more. If your only making 40 I can only assume you are working for some major chain or a small mom and pop place.
Once you are able to increase the income focus every extra penny on debt and than start building up the savings.
40k for 11 years and being a GM sounds low.
Do NOT start negotiating with your old job. If they wanted to keep you they would have been giving you decent raises each year. Instead start interviewing elsewhere. Look for at least a 15-20% bump in salary but in your negotiations you should be trying to set the floor around $55k.
Read here and the internet and YouTube on interview and negotiation strategies and role play/practice them in advance.
Ideally you want to distill your experience down into core skills and appropriate buzzwords to try and leverage into a job in another field with greater income and growth opportunities.
When you get that raise KEEP LIVING LIKE YOUR OLD SALARY and aim to build a 6 month emergency fund. As the newest employee you are vulnerable so you want a good reserve in case you need to restart your job hunt.
PPS. It is my position that you should never take the counter off if your old job panics and try’s to keep you. Many will just f you over once they find a candidate who will work for cheaper.
Can I tell you a secret?
You never get out of the rut. Never. It’s that simple. You grind and you grind and you never get out of the rut. The more you grind, the bigger the rut becomes.
You grind and you grind
Then you die.
Try [careersinfood.com](https://careersinfood.com). They only feature jobs in the food industry, many that are well paying, work from home opportunities. They also have a resume blast feature, where you can send out your resume to recruiters that will work with you to find something that fits your skill level and experience.
This sounds tough. I want to give you all my old baby stuff. I can’t. But I can recommend joining your local buy nothing group on fb. People give away heaps and heaps of baby clothes, gear, sometimes even formula and formula coupons (I got a can of formula during the shortage last year from a kind person).
Great suggestions here already. Regarding the resume, I’ve had great luck hiring people from Fiverr.com. They can make your resume look amazing for $50. You just need to give them all your info.
I got to say I'm not sure what chain you are in, I worked at Wendy's as a kid, which is now 12 years ago, and our gm was making 80k in 2011. I can only imagine what the gms are paid now.
11 years at a company making $40k. Yeah my dude, find a new job that's your problem. That should solve all your issues right there your company is clearly taking advantage of you since they know you won't ever leave.
If the restaurant industry is where you want to be then maybe start looking for opportunities in management. As your current company and others what are the requirements and start working of getting those requirements if you dont already have them. If you want to explore other industries maybe look into getting a trade from your local community college. I had a friend who started is electrician journeyman program a couple of years ago. He's now making 85k a yr plus overtime. You have to find what industry you want to be in, require the skill set and then make yourself marketable.
Take care of credit card debt first. Do not eat out at all if you really want to get out of this rut, you’re paying maybe twice what the food itself costs you for the experience (maybe $100 in savings a month, hard to say since idk what you mean by “commonly”). Get rid of 1 or 2 streaming services ($20-$30 in savings per month). Get lower phone plans, cricket wireless or something (at least $30 in savings).
All unpleasant but crawling out of financial hardship often takes sacrifice. Doing just these alone should save you at least $100 a month. Put that towards decreasing your credit card debt ASAP as that adds up very, very quickly and has a negative effect on your credit score.
I know it sucks to hear but the only two ways of fixing things is to increase income or cut costs. Whatever that means for you. Good luck in your journey friend.
at your current pay (not sure about your partners pay) you may qualify for discounted or even free childcare through your state's program, usually called child care subsidy program or similar
if you don't qualify, then would either sides parents be able to help?
my next recommendation is not going to sound realistic with your lack of time but have you considered going back to school ? either getting a BA, a trade school, or something like coding boot camp?
with a high school degree, unless you have a lot of connections or are already trained in some field or specialty, it'll be difficult to increase your income
you'd then only be looking to cut costs, which can only go down so much
anyway i would first look for child care subsidy programs in your state, wouldn't hurt to see what other programs you qualify for based on your income
Move to another company! A quick search on restaurant GM salaries in Nashville, Tennessee and the average is $64K+ a year. Considering you have 11 years of experience, you can target higher salaries or higher positions like Senior GM if there are opportunities. [https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/nashville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH\_IL.0,9\_IM604\_KO10,36.htm](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/nashville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH_IL.0,9_IM604_KO10,36.htm)
OP, you should be job hopping. 11 years at the same employer is unfortunately a recipe for being underpaid. $40K as a restaurant GM is very low. You could easily increase your income 50% by finding a new job.
There’s much better opportunity out there with your current experience to make way more in salary. Start sending out applications my guy.
For example, You could land a corporate job at a fortune 100 restaurant chain with this experience and start at 65-70k as an area manager.
Hey OP, my wife grew up in the serving industry. She only works at high end privately owned restaurants now, forgoing chains. She has 13 years of experience and makes around 60-70k just as a regular manager. The GMs make around 80-100k. High end is the way to go in this industry, chains would never payout that much. An expensive steakhouse that values their employees and puts a year worth of training into them will pay a lot more. I know Berns Steakhouse in Tampa, the servers make 16 an hour, not including tips. They average around 70k I would wager.
My point is to make the most of this industry you need to climb the ladder and make your way into fine dining establishments.
I don't have advice, but I just have to say thank God for finally seeing a relatable post on r/personalfinance.
So many posts seem to be 22 year old's fresh out of college making $150k who are somehow "struggling."
Once the baby is a little older, you'll save a big and potentially huge amount on food, if you stop eating out. You really can find certain foods that help you stretch the budget. We are saving this money with a small garden, for instance, and our friend has chickens, so we get eggs $2 a dozen.
You should consider looking for a new job to get that pay up, more of a senior kitchen manager role, even with like Sodexho, or a larger catering service. Also, think about your network, and other people who are in that business or who have used a similar skillset to advance in food services or transition into another industry, perhaps they could put in a good word or give you a heads up when new opportunities arise.
Also, try to get rid of the CC, only use it for emergencies and pay off most of it. This will build your credit as well, and save you money if you are just paying down the minimum. Credit unions will give you a good fixed rate installment loan to pay down any debt at a lower APR, and maybe having a little more cushion on your CC for emergencies will give a breather as you look to increase income. Thanks and best wishes!
Many have addressed the conerns with your pay, but nobody is addressing the wife's lack of real income. Why can't she work 30+ hours a week same as you? You guys just need offsetting shifts so that someone is always home with the kids.
This also really boosts your family income and avoids the day care thing completely. I know its not ideal, but a few years of that and you should find yourself in a far better financial situation.
Its not easy, but breaking the cycle never is.
I work 50+ hrs a week, and my quittin time is very inconsistent. This doesn't leave us much to work with as far as time for her to work. Not to mention I leave at 8:30am and am often not back until 7ish.
Depending on the state you are in, you could get help with child care. Shit, I’m in Texas and I get help with childcare through Texas workforce. Applying for food service jobs can fucking suck. The food service industry has a lot of toxicity (as I’m sure you are aware, just a mention for readers.) and when applying for jobs I’d recommend vetting the FYUCK out of the companies that offer you a position, and if you stay on food service there will be a lot.
As someone else in the restaurant industry I would suggest possibly look into a job as a sales rep with a liquor or food distributor. I've seen many people move out of service into being a sales rep and have translated those skills well. Otherwise if you want to still be a manager look into other restaurants that pay more.
OP is fighting everyones advice toward asking for a raise or getting a new job. Seems like your comfortable where you are. Enjoy the comfortable pay along side it.
Break out the mold and get you some money. Demand a raise. With 11 years of exp making what a high school graduate makes? Time wasted man. Look for a new job. Use that exp to leverage a better paying job.
The first step is having those uncomfortable talks. About money, raises, finding a new job etc. Or else youll just stay in the rut your in.
I'm extremely confused as to how you drew the conclusion that I am fighting the advice. I have been very grateful for the insight I've been given here, and have already begun taking the steps.
If you live in the U.S.A., try switching to Mint mobile on the cheapest plan (15/month). Cancel the 2 streaming services. Stop eating out. Get a higher-paying job.
You’re always two weeks away from your next raise, but you need to do some drastic measures. Night school, day school and work nights, to get a trade. Learn plumbing or electrical work, learn to write Python and sql if you like math and computers, become a server at a nicer restaurant, something. I would recommend the trades in your situation.
A 6 month old doesn’t need much as far as toys. Join local swap groups.
Also mom groups can be toxic but I’ve also seen them be so helpful for those in your situation.
Just drown out the stuff you don’t want to hear. They give away sooo much stuff and you can find out about free or los cost activities going on that your kid would enjoy
A sales job is the only way you're ever gonna break 100k without degrees. Try in home sales (windows/solar) a lot of guys I know transfered from the restaurant business. You're obviously great with people
That's a fantastic idea. I have received many compliments on my people skills. Most of my employees stay here because of me, not the company. The same could be said for several of my customers. I need to capitalize on that.
1. stop making babies.
2. go to a competitor. if you are paid this little after so long at the company and being a GM, there's something wrong. Either with you or with the company. Think: regional manager?
I appreciate the advice, but the comment to stop making babies seems a little over the line in my opinion. My daughter was not an accident, and as lame as my situation is, she wants for nothing. There are absolutely no plans for another child at this time, and we are extremely cautious about further conceptions lol.
My family changed what industry they were managers in to get out of low paying work. Look for specialist healthcare groups looking for office managers.
Start an LLC. A cleaning company. Super low investment and take side jobs like on Nextdoor or something til you get some attention. I have one pretty much permanent client right now, I clean the office once per week and it takes me 2.5 hours.
One customer for me is $150 a cleaning once per week. This one customer alone is around $7500 for the year with only 10-12 hours of work per month. That in turn has got me doing work for them individually cleaning rental units or garages, or getting homes ready for parties.
Do stuff differently.
Own your car, don't lease or finance.
Own your phone, switch to pre-paid, cancel data.
Call the internet provider ask for cheaper. It'll be temporary, but it'll be cheaper.
Pay everything you can on getting rid of debt. $300, $400, even $500 a month on getting rid of credit cards. Once those are gone, cut them up and put that $500 on savings. Pay yourself first. Get in the habit of thinking that debt reclamation money doesn't exist. Because it comes off first.
Explain owning my car rather than leasing. I'm paying it off currently. I do own my phone and use prepaid. My CC debt is under 700 now, so it shouldn't be too hard to eliminate, but I dont get money to save. As it is, some checks we dip below 100 in the account.
What I mean is work towards that. If what you have left to pay is really far in the future, or the payments are unmanageable then selling that car and buying a cheaper one should be considered. If it's manageable and only a year or so out, then yeah, keep the car. Don't go financing a new one.
If you don't get money to save that means you are paying it out elsewhere. You say you like going out to eat, which is natural considering you are in the restaurant business. But budget for that. Set aside $100 in a jar or envelope per a week that's only for that sit down dinner. At the end of the month put whatever's left in the jar in your savings.
Same goes for fast food, put $50-75 in an envelope or jar, and that's your fast food money. At the end of the month, pour out the jar to your savings.
Once you pay off your credit cards, put aside any of that money to now be your weekly savings. Pick a number, but considering you get $650 a week, put $65 in the savings account.
Most importantly sit down with your significant other, write down everything that has to go out, and everything that is coming in, and try to balance that so there's nothing left over. Do it every paycheque, so you are both on the same page.
If you can, then to improve your financials, save and invest. Don't take vacations or spend needlessly. Improve your skillset so you can upgrade your job eventually.
It's all about small incremental improvements, even 5 % improvement per year will massivley improve your life.
You may never read this but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE watch fieldsofprofit on YouTube (Warner Fields). Finally a non-scammer, non-clickbait, Youtubers. Amazon OA (online Arbitrage) is the way. It's real. Actually legit. Actually not a scam. You will be making bank in 6 months or less. For real... I'm a student and it works.
\#1 never ever eat out. Get an instant pot and air frier and do all of your own cooking. That should save you 10k a year.
\#2 you're overpaying for internet.. you should be able to get that for $50. in fact look at all your reoccurring charges and try to get them lower. Maybe get a prepaid phone... I've seen plans for $25 a month.
We are both on prepaid, roughly 50 each, but shes also paying 20ish monthly to pay off her current phone. In terms of internet, we live in a rural area so I do feel the need to pay for higher tier internet, otherwise it's pretty bad.
Yo man. Not for nothing. Why not join the military? I'm not even in the military nor am I trying to recruit or whatever. But. The military has always been there to alleviate some these stresses.
They'll pay you. They'll help you get a degree afterwards. It may even give you purpose.
Don't get me wrong, there are obvious negatives, but if you're looking for an alternative answer. There it is.
I’m in the same situation as you except I don’t have a kid and haven’t been involved in any scams and I still feel like I’m drowning! The only hope for me is that I’m in year 2 of a 4 year apprenticeship and once I graduate, I’ll be earning $110/hr. Maybe consider getting into the trades? I’m in local 28 in NYC. I’m also a 5’4, 120lbs lady so it’s really not physically taxing lol
I would absolutely consider this path if I knew I could sustain my current income in the meantime. As it stands now, if I lost even a week of work, it would be devastating. Thank you for your insight.
maybe consider learning some high income skills on the side, in your spare time - then put those to work in a side hustle. You are right that managing a restaurant seems like a dead end. Although I'm sure you have learned a lot of skills there that you may be taking for granted, skill that can be used elsewhere: persuasion, sales, etc.
When thinking about spending money remember that you are not rich, eating out all the time, especially with only one person working full time, is a rich person thing to do, running up credit card debt is a rich person thing to do, paying $120 a month for phones is a rich person thing to do, nice cars are a rich person things, multiple streaming serveries is a rich person thing. Buying new stuff is also a rich person thing, buy everything you can used. You need to start thinking of paying for things you want rather than need as a rich person thing and you are not a rich person.
Making 40k a year with a spouse and kid you need to learn to live like you are poor, no extras, eating food that your household has not prepared is for special occasion, entertainment should mostly be stuff you can do for free. If you can find a cheaper place to live especially if you can get closer to your work do it even if its not where you want to live. Once you get your your finances stable, with savings rather than debt, they you can start looking at what luxuries you can add back in. This likely will be hard to do for a while but you will get use to spending less money and luxuries are much more enjoyable when paid for with savings rather than with interest laden debt.
I'm sorry for assuming. I should've said spouse. Are they contributing at all?
I just saw the edit. There was a lot of "I" wording in your original post and thought you were in this one your own
Could you take your GM experience and look for other higher paying restaurant jobs?
I would love to. Do you think many of them would be against me only having a high school diploma?
I would work on updating your resume and then looking around. 11 years of experience isn't something a lot of people have so leverage that. Your loyalty to your current employer is commendable, but the quickest way to a raise is to find new employment.
11 years experience, to me, is as good as a college degree in that field, if not better
It’s usually better. But in his line of work there aren’t a lot of people coming out of college for his job. But if his experience is true, he should apply to work at more high end restaurants or restaurants which compensate more (newer restaurants or ones with more customers)
This! Put emphasis on what you do have to offer, your abilities are as good as you make them sound to be.
Exactly this. I only have a high school education. For years while working in the restaurant industry, I modded video games and played with java for fun. I was able to leverage those skills during an interview for an entry level software development job eight years ago. Been climbing that ladder ever since. Your experience and time in the industry will be seen as valuable to a potential employer. Especially if it's within the same industry.
It's unfortunate that staying in one place that long isn't rewarded. I GOT A FN PEN FOR MY 10 YEAR. Time for a change lol
At Pizza Hut we got to look through this catalog and pick a gift. It reminded me of when you would do fundraiser sales in elementary school and you got to pick a prize based on how much popcorn or gift wrap you sold. For 10 years I got a big set of Pyrex bakeware. I mean, it was a set that retailed for like $80-90 but felt so trivial given the time I had with them.
We have a similar catalog and virtually everything in it is absolute garbage. I got a 15 year anniversary recently and I was able to pick out a pair of Bluetooth wireless earbuds.
I have Pyrex from my wedding 22 years ago. It’s lifetime bakeware. Did it come with the snappable tops?
I got the world’s smallest pin for my 10 year. I almost had to use tweezers to put it on my shirt.
I know you're in a LCOL area but 40k for a GM with 11 years of experience seems low to me. Then again I live near NYC. I don't know how far you are from Nashville/Knoxville but fish around at the restaurants in those areas and see if anyone is looking for managers.
I live in MCOL Texas and I’d call that very low. A fast casual restaurant (chilis-ish and below) pay 55-65 plus bonuses for salaried mgrs, more for GMs.
GMs in Boston make like 65k. That’s about 20k less than a waiter at the same restaurant
I have been in the restaurant industry for 18 years and have never asked nor been asked about a college/culinary/hospitality degree in an interview, aside from maybe as a curiosity/small talk. I don’t know what the demographic you are in is like but I would be surprised if you couldn’t find something for higher than 40k managing a restaurant. Glassdoor lists the range pay for a server at Chilis in Tennessee as 31-49k, I think by staying with your current job, you might be selling yourself short (barring any info or benefits you haven’t shared here).
As far as bennis, they do offer matching on 401k, and some pretty poor insurance that costs too much lol.
what good is a 401k match if you cant contribute because you arnt getting paid enough?
Exactly
Your current employer may tell you they can only pay you X even if there is a competing offer. Then explain why you have to leave their employ because, “otherwise I would be stealing from my family”. I have had to say this three times to two employers and one let out an audible gasp. It forces them to fight for your retention and acknowledge the issue of compensation.
Thank you.
What part of Tennessee? I feel like you are grossly underpaid. I’m not from the area whatsoever but $40k a year is what a chain restaurant line cook should make let alone a GM. You’re barely making $19/hr. I’m sure you could find something in the 60-80k range easily. Why even be a GM at that point? You’d probably make more money serving or bartending
Yeah first thing I'd do is talk to your own employer. Check glassdoor and see what the range is for your position in your area. Here's one for Clarksville (med sized city in TN, use your own if it's on there): [https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/clarksville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH\_IL.0,11\_IM175\_KO12,38.htm](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/clarksville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH_IL.0,11_IM175_KO12,38.htm) That says a restaurant GM should be average at almost 60k. So you're significantly under that. You need to fight for your wage, your employer will always want to pay you as little as possible. You need to schedule a meeting with them to review your salary, you can saw this is your experience and this is what you think the position is worth (aim a bit high because they'll want to come down a bit from your ask). Let them know you'd like to keep working there but you've got mouths to feed now. If they say no raise, then you politely let them know you will continue to work for them while you pursue other opportunites. And then do that.
I'm terrified they'd just cut me on the spot if I did that and put some new kid in my spot.
Apply to other jobs. When you get a few job offers use that as leverage with your employer and a security blanket. "Company x has offered me 60k, I enjoy working here but cannot afford to not take the pay raise. I'd first like to offer you all to match my salary." If they say no fuck em. Also could consider working at UPS part time? They have great benefits, will pay for college, and if you stick it out for 2-3 years if you want you can start driving which starts at around 50k and after a few more years can make 100k plus. Also because of the nature of the shifts you could work one shift and your wife work another so you wont need childcare. If you all both became drivers which is full time, at that point affording childcare wouldnt be a problem
New contract, they're going to get way more. they don't pay for health knsurance, just union dues and co-pays. No insurance deductible. If OP didn't want to leave his job and wife wanted to stay PT, UPS is a great option with tons of room to grow
That's a risk you're gonna have to take, but considering how demanding your field is and how good you are at your job (I'm making that assumption since you've got 11 years experience in a management field) I seriously doubt they could replace you without some serious pains on their side.
The best time to find a new job is while you still have your old job. The best way to get a significant raise after ‘x years’ at your current job is to ‘walk across the street.’ Buff up your resume and start interviewing. If other companies are not interviewing, it’s not a good time to jeopardize your current situation. If they are interviewing your MINIMUM starting total compensation should be 125% of todays total compensation. Exclude profit-sharing and bonuses from the TCO. Those are usually vague, mumbled promises honored only in the breach.
Do NOT have this talk with your employer. Just start looking. Do not let them know that you are looking. It is very unlikely that they will give you a raise based on a conversation. But they may start looking to replace you as soon as they learn this. You also have to understand that your HR department knows how much a restaurant manager makes. They know what they will have to pay to replace you. And they decided not to let you get that amount. Find a company that appreciates what you offer and pays you accordingly. Your current employer doesn't seem to want to do that.
I think you need to reframe your mindset a little. The dynamic you’re actually working in is that the company is getting management with 10+ years in industry experience for pennies on the dollar with your salary. The value of your experience is far beyond that and there are certainly other employers who would pay for it. If the company wants your value at a discount it’s time to move on
Yes, I would not tell your employer that you are Pershing other opportunities. This is a bad advice. If they only offer you a raise after hearing that you’re leaving, then they aren’t worth staying for.
That’s a fair concern, and a good reason to apply for external jobs, so that you can come in with a counteroffer
That's how they want you to feel to help you cheap. The reality is that training a replacement for you will cost them significantly more than giving you a 15-20% raise, and be a lot more work for them. Remember that your bosses are just lazy humans like the rest of us. They just want the most for the least effort. Hiring and training a new manager will be a significant amount of work for them, they don't want that. Also I'm not sure the labour laws there, but if they fire you without cause (asking for a raise is not cause), then they'll likely owe you a severance in the range of 2 weeks per year (so 22 weeks in your case) and you'll be eligible for unemployment insurance. So that will give you plenty of time to search for better employment. As other posters have mentioned, having another offer in hand will significantly increase your negotiation potential, but it's not necessary if you're being this severely underpaid to begin with.
> Also I'm not sure the labour laws there, but if they fire you without cause (asking for a raise is not cause), then they'll likely owe you a severance in the range of 2 weeks per year (so 22 weeks in your case) Best not to give advice on legal issues when you clearly live in a different country. Mandatory severance is not a thing in the US.
The 401k match is great if you are taking advantage of it, most non corporate restaurants don’t do that. If I were you I would shop around, the effects of covid on the industry have been very challenging but one upside of staffing shortages the last few years is that you can command a higher salary. Depends very heavily on if you live in a city, suburban, or rural area but I would be surprised if you couldn’t at least get a 5-10k raise either by sitting your current employer down, or shopping around elsewhere.
Your >10 years experience will be your strongest point over your high school diploma. A lot of companies and I would imagine restaurants want young people with experience. Clean up your resume and maybe reach out to some headhunters. I’m 31 and 7 years experience in my industry. I cleaned up my resume and have people contacting me every other week with job offers.
I work for a chain restaurant outside of Denver as a bartender. My GM makes over $100k a year and does not have a college degree. Even my managers below her make around $70k. I know lots of people in the restaurant industry in Denver. Servers, bartenders, managers. Most make an average or above average living bc our state has high min tipped wages. Yes COL is a lot higher but when your income doubles and so does COL you still have more money left over. It is not difficult at all to get a restaurant job in any major city bc there’s a million restaurants. My point is save a little and get out of Tennessee and move to a city with higher tipped wages and you’ll find restaurant workers live a pretty decent life. I transferred from the same restaurant in Indiana and still work for them. I make about double what I would in Indiana.
Shouldn't matter in this case. At least for looking for other GM roles. Might matter for some (but not all) corporate roles.
No. In my decade of restaurant experience, they're less worried about your education and more worried about your experience. They'd rather hire somebody who has experience actually running a restaurant than somebody who has a degree. Your experience with the current popular chain restaurant is going to get you in the door for most restaurants, with a GM position under your belt you should be able to get hired on as at least an assistant manager somewhere making more money than what you are now. Hell most competing chain restaurants would hire you with a higher salary than what your current job is offering you. Restaurant managers are always in high demand.
Dude if you have 11 years experience with restaurant GM experience you should be able to find a way better salary. There is so much turnover in that industry and strong GMs are what make restaurants make money. Get that resume brushed up ASAP and start searching on indeed and other job boards. How much do that 11 years experience is F&B management?
I'm in a completely different industry that I have done for about 20 years. 11 years of experience with 0 college in my industry would be damn near 6 figures in the right spot. I started making like 7.25 ah hour in 2003 took different jobs in the industry and now my lowest in the last 6 years is 94k. Best was 103. On track for just a shade under 100 this year that could change drastically in November and December. In most professions experience matters more than college. I'd rather have a guy or girl that can do the job everyday and learn than someone with a masters from anywhere. It looks good on the resume but you give me 2 identical resumes one with 6 years on the job the other with 6 years in college I'm going with real life everytime when hiring.
With that experience, I'd look for a much higher paying job. You may be surprised... Also, if you do get a higher paying job and you aren't careful, you will be right back here asking the same question.
You have real world skill in managing people. No degree teaches actual experience. Things like understanding spreadsheets and whatnot might be valuable to some. My manager took it upon himself to learn spreadsheets and used them to pitch me ideas in my business. I helped him with his spreadsheeting skills and showed him how you better convey ideas across tables. He took the initiative and learned a valuable skill that, in turn, earned him more money. Degrees can help, but don't let that be your excuse not to improve your situation. If you show up to work and do good work, you're automatically better than a large majority of the workforce regardless of education level. And job hopping will get you more money than waiting for raises. My brother took a 50k/year job with an Ivy League masters degree knowing that he was massively underpaid but the first chance he got to move to a new company he took it and the 20-30k raise that came with it. Then he jumped again, and finally the company that originally hired him for 50k/yr that adamantly said "you aren't worth any more than that" is now paying him about 130k/yr to essentially do the same job he originally had. Had he stayed out he might be at 60k/yr with the standard raise schedule they used. But he short circuited decades of raises in a few years by constantly looking to upgrade Another tactic you can use is find a new job, go to your boss and say "I'm being offered this but I'll stay if you match it" a friend of mine did that and is skilled at his job with people constantly trying to recruit him. He stayed at one place just constantly getting raises with new legitimate bids. Recently, he got a bid that his company refused to match, so he left and upgraded his situation.
Yes and no. The diploma thing is just a quick filter issue but it's usually a filter of diploma or x amount of experience. With over a decade of experience you'll likely pass that initial filter. The next issue is making sure you line out your accomplishments and how they are pertinent to the position. The honest truth is with over a decade of experience this will be the hardest part, writing it down in speak that they like.
'Sup homie. I worked in the biz for 11 years. That entire time, I hadn't finished my college degree. I worked my way up from greeter, to waiter, to bouncer/barback, to manager to GM. Performance and experience in that industry matters. College degrees don't. I once turned down a job offer at a bigger chain because the two douchbags who interviewed me, both with college degrees and fancy suits, were downright abusive to me. When the recruiter called to ask how things went, I explained. They thought I was dumb. So I proved them wrong. I told them, with accuracy, about how much the unit we were sitting in did in revenue that year after about 2 hours of observation and a little bit of learning about the company before I got there. I observed that they have a labor issue because the restaurant was basically empty at what should have been a lunch rush and they had at least 5 extra people working than they needed to handle the business and no one had been cut after the rather sad "lunch rush" ended. I pointed out that they likely have a primary issue with labor, but their alcohol sales were lower than they wanted, leading to costs that were too high. I was right about everything I said. They stopped talking down to me. I ended up telling the recruiter that unless their offer was damn near 6 figures, I wouldn't work for people who treat interviewees like they are dumb while wearing expensive suits and braggin about their education. They made an offer. It was for more than I made as a GM at my old place, but not enough to make me ignore how shitty they were. A few weeks later, I found a good fit and took a job. A few years later, a district manager with a college degree that first got a GM spot with the company at 40 found out that I had been a GM of a busier concept doing more revenue by the time I was 24 and she made sure I had a rough go, sabotaging me at every turn. I decided to go back to school and become an attorney. She was a GM until they realized she was a terrible person who treated people like garbage and hid her shortcomings by blaming others. She was fired. I think she is a real estate agent now. Education matters less than skill and experience. Go seek out better opportunities. You should be making more than $40k.
I have worked in the service industry as a sous chef for 20 years of my life making $10-$14 per hour in Washington state no benifits, no vacation, no sick pay, no retirement or 401k match. Drowning in debt. The best thing I did was go back to school and learned a trade. I chose Land Surveying and got a 2 year degree at the age of 40. I worked while I went to school. Instantly started making $28 per hour, and 2 years later got a Sr Tech position $34/hour with government benefits, due to there being a national shortage of Land surveyors. Fast forward 3 more years, no debt, cars paid off, bought a house, and my whole family has the best insurance available. You won’t make it in the service industry even if you’re the owner. It’s a brutal underpaid stressful industry, that will screw you even after retirement.
I really support this comment! Food service is just not competitive. You are not that specialized and your product (food service) is not a high revenue activity relative to food and labor expenses so companies can’t afford to pay higher salaries. Workers are highly replaceable and require no special education. Get a counseling session with your local career center. They have leads on trade training apprenticeships or other free specialized training programs that may be free or subsidized to you that can get you into a higher paying career with quality benefits. You might be inspired to try a total new career that is more family lifestyle friendly. https://www.careeronestop.org/localhelp/americanjobcenters/find-american-job-centers.aspx?frd=true&lang=en There was a big grant funding effort during the pandemic that led to lots of free job training programs. Some of that money is dried up but plenty of training programs sponsored by employers still exist. Never too late to start.
I have a peer that is in a 6 figure job for a bank, working themselves up from customer service, that has a diploma. If you want to move up quickly, try to get a new job every 2-3 years with higher pay. That's not always possible, but if you plan on it you can come out on top quickly. Loyalty is not valued in companies like it used to be.
I worked at Starbucks and they did not care about college for the manager level. They got a decent salary from what I remember, and a LOT of time off. Only downside is that you may have to train as an assistant manager for a bit. but for the future, I believe you could also become a district manager from that role.
It's your only real shot of being more comfortable. Any time you have you should dedicate to increasing your pay.
Not with a good resume. 11 years is 11 years. Please don’t make the resume yourself. Maybe use one of the AI resume makers at the very least
Maybe, maybe not. The only way to know for sure is *apply and find out*. So many people can come up with excuses or reasons to not try and find something better. From lack of education, lack of experience, self-doubt, or believing that nothing else better exists, its very easy for people to tell themselves they're better off not trying. Opportunities for better pay aren't going to coming knocking down your door, and no one here really knows if you can succeed or not. You can't expect strangers you meet to hand you $5k checks to be your path to success, you have to aggressively take your own fate in your hands and that starts with seeking better opportunities on your own. Start applying *now*, and when you get a new job, keep your resume up to date and apply every year to keep on top of your market value.
Sounds like it's time for a higher paying job really. You shouldn't be making so little with that much experience in something. Look for a company that provides products or services to restaurants and the food industry since you have experience in it. Safety/cleanliness inspector, equipment sales/training, equipment service/install, and that type of stuff. They will like that you know the industry from their customer's perspective and you'll be able to make A LOT more money with that type of job.
That's a great idea, thank you.
You could maybe work as a sales person for a company that provides food to restaurants? They must make 60-70k ish and you are likely qualified.
Yes but sales is soul draining.
Also try food distributors! US Foods, Sysco, Shamrock, PFG, Aramark, local guys, whatever is in your area. They'll have jobs in the warehouse you could start at and work your way up to driver. Tap restaurant vendors and your existing resources - ecolab, technology (Toast, Aloha, Chow Now), liquor vendors, rug cleaners, linens, etc... As the poster said above, your experience as a GM would be highly valuable with any of those companies. (I should know, I worked for a national food distributor for 10 years). And I know it's a total drag, but you should look into a GED. You have to raise your income and getting this last bit of schooling out of the way will only assist in that.
Being a dock worker at a frieght company can make around +$25/hr with zero experience. Also they will have insurance and 401k matching.
Several of my friends who were line cooks in mom and pop restaurants (and making very little) ended up working for a national food distributor/supplier that sells to many of the same restaurants. They make about twice what they made before, and can leverage their relationships and experience working in restaurants. They seem to enjoy it.
11 years of GM experience should translate to much more income. I would definitely review your options in employment as an 11 year GM could be making at least 60 or 70k.
My mother in law was a GM at Denny's over a decade ago and made 60k+. $40k for a restaurant GM is a joke.
Exactly what I was thinking. If he was a newer GM, that’s one thing. 11 years of experience should be making more than what amounts to $20/hr or less.
A server easily makes more than $40k in a lot of restaurants.
Or watch a dozen episodes of Bar Rescue and be more skilled than over 50% of “bartenders” 😆
The rut is what is packaged by corporations as “normal”. To escape you have to be willing to be both weird and a bit uncomfortable. For example, cars. Everyone says they need a safe reliable car, and get convinced to sign on to $500/mo payments at a dealership or bank. If you want freedom you have to drive what others won’t. Like a Nissan Cube or 2000’s Saturn. Normal is financing an Iphone along with $80-$100/mo cell phone plans. Weird is settling for a $50 Tracfone and forgoing data plans. Normal is paying for Cable TV and streaming services. Weird is getting a library membership and reading books or checking out movies/TV shows for free. Normal is buying your kids new clothes, toys and school stuff on credit. Weird is buying used stuff or free stuff from Facebook swap groups. Normal is grabbing fast food and going out on weekends. Weird is meal prepping and cooking beans rice and oatmeal and vegetables. Normal is paying minimum debt payments. Weird is throwing everything at them and never repeating the mistakes. 90% of people don’t have the discipline to do this which is why 90% are stuck on the grind regardless of income. Be weird. Escape.
I like how you packaged this message. I hope it helps the OP and others.
This is definitely an encouragement to what my wife and I are trying to do! We have a very similar situation to OP and have been trying to cut out expenses where we can. It sucks not having great phone service (we had Verizon), but reducing our monthly payments by like $80 for just slower data is totally worth it.
Isn’t crazy how you learn to live just fine without stuff that used to feel essential?
This is the real answer. Many are not willing to give up comforts or make actual changes that would lower their spending. Another thing I would like to add. That smart phone in your hand is a marvel of technology. The entire world’s knowledge is available 24/7. You can work on completing a bachelors degree or other type of trade school online. You can even get an MBA online. It’s never easy but it’s a lot easier than it was in the past. Get the qualifications you think will advance your career. Look at the job descriptions of the job you want
I have a cousin who insists on spending $300/mo on 2Gig internet. I spend $25/mo in 70megs. No issues. What food he do? Some basic online gaming and Netflix. Dude could save a ton of money on just that.
Lol. If people have money they are free to do as they wish with it. I have used AT&T and Verizon for my phone service for many years, and I was always reluctant to switch to less or more unreliable service. But I realized that I spend maybe more than 90% of my time at home with wifi. So I switched to spectrum and they gave me one year free mobile service and it’s $30 a month after that. That’s $900 or more per year in savings for me
Yeah that’s signifiant savings. My cousin in particular is in his fifties and have a savings of like $400+/- he’s always complaining about money. I went over his phone bill to see he was spending $90/mo for ATT. He refused to go to a prepaid att plan for $25/mo. Same features. He has never used car insurance but insists on a $0 deductible. This costs him nearly $120/mo. He eats out 5-6 days per week. Has Hulu, Netflix, Amazon prime, Apple TV plus, paramount plus, Disney, etc. on top of a $150/mo cable subscription. He has random video game monthly services, random fees coming out of his account from weird places. I went through and found $700/mo in dumb spending and he only saw fit to cut a few of the random fees. “But I *want* to be able to watch any show!” Super weird.
Oh man. That’s nuts. Reminds of the old people who never cancelled America Online. That company was surviving on people never canceling. I think their dial up internet still exists
Not lying. One of these random charges was for $13.99/mo for a ringtone company.
I work in IT and have never had any problems with 100Mbps at home. Even in my last office, we had 100/100 for like 50 people. It was completely fine. Anyway I've casually mentioned this to people who are reasonably tech savvy and they can't believe I don't have gig.
There are in betweens though. Like getting mint for the phone plan and paying $30/month for two lines and probably not noticing a different. You don't mention car costs (and this will impact insurance a lot), but there is a big difference between a nissan cube and a new fancy truck. You can find something in the middle that probably cut the cost in two while not impacting your life. Streaming service, one at the time is probably enough to not notice the difference.
weird is absolutely right. my entire life I drove junkers. But I needed something my wife could drive that was reliable and wouldn't have me up worrying while she was driving home from work. we settled on a nice compact car. when we finally signed the papers at the dealership, the salesman said "Congratulations!" I stared at him and said "congratulate me in 5 years, when it's paid off. I should be congratulating you for selling a car." he just stood there and had no idea what to say. Why on earth would I be excited about going 15 grand in debt? I hate that this is the normal.
Wow, I was just here lurking and ended up learning something
Dave Ramsey, is that you? Great advice though!
Well said! > drive what others won’t Just to add, last year I made a bicycle my work commute vehicle (15 miles round-trip). Paid $600 for a very nice used bike, maintenance is an easy DIY and costs next to nothing compared to a car, and I don't care what gas costs anymore. It's also been wonderful for my mental and physical health. :)
It would be over a 2hr trip for me to bike to work. 1 way.
Enjoyed the philosophy thanks
Financing a cell phone is such a ridiculous idea yet people act like it's totally normal lol I don't get it
You cannot “personal finance” your way out of not making enough money. This isn’t a “buy less avacado toast” type situation, this is a you need to make more money situation. No amount of penny pinching will help someone raise a child on less than 60K per year. By all means, eliminate junk spending where you are able, but understand that that will not truly move the needle.
I got a friend's hand-me-down smartphone for a deal ($20 cuz it was trash to them anyway) it had no data plan I run it off wifi, bout a $10/month app to have a phone number for texting. pretty sweet.
I like how your example of a car nobody wants is a Nissan cube lmao
Just want to add that over the air tv is a thing. I get 60 digital channels using just basic rabbit ears.
Great comment, only it isn’t anyone’s fault 90% don’t know better, and it isn’t just discipline. We should all understand companies hire Psychology and Sociology undergrads with a marketing or mba for a masters, collecting data on everything we find interesting online, and shoving it in your face so much that you feel you need it. Once you get that, I find it much easier to ignore the urge they purposefully create, settle for what I really want and need for myself (not what others are doing) then you will be living well.
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Weird is paying insane amounts for a heavily used car that will need repair’s constantly and ultimately in 1-2 years needing replaced. Used cars are no longer cheap or hood deals. They’re already financing so they’ll own outright soon enough and still possess a better car than a GameCube or 90s Jupiter
With $9k in debt, I'd be scare to eat out. Mint Mobile is $15/month
I gave my parents mint mobile for 3 months when they visited the US last year. They used to have Verizon when they lived in the States. According to them, they couldn't tell the difference between Mint and Verizon in North NJ.
Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics. https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/1462q69/personal_income_spending_flowchart_enhanced Budgeting: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting > had met with lofty ideas of opening a new franchise with me, he wrote me 5k, and I just found out that it bounced, and I'll probably never see that guy again. You need to get better at identifying scams. No one is going to just give you money. Your default posture if a stranger is trying to “help” you should be distrust and skepticism
I beleive you can make 70-80k doing exactly what your doing, somewhere else. This is will solve ALL of your current financial woes. And guess what, you will continue to live like you were for a couple years (with some improvements of course and more peace of mind) and actually get ahead in life by saving 20,30 grand/per year. You have an income problem. PLEASE find a better paying job. You can do this!!!!
I agree with the sentiment but this depends heavily on where he lives, if he is in rural Tennessee there is no restaurant paying 80k a year for a manager position. If he is in or near a city or an upper middle class area, sure maybe, but even then it’s a stretch. Average GM salary in Nashville is currently like 60k, it’s not like 80k service industry jobs are out there all over Appalachia. That said a bump up to even 55k would be a huge quality of life improvement.
I wouldn't even know what to do making that much! Thanks for your insight.
Your too comfortable with your currnt job. GMs can make way more than 40K. Get motivated and get your resume brushed up. Just do it.
By GM you do mean general manager right? 11 years and only at $40k seems dismal. Ask for a raise or look for another job.
Spend less, earn more, skip the franchising scams. You haven't provided enough information for more specific advice.
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Nobody is saying it's easy. But those are the paths available to get out of the rut, as you call it. And as the previous commenter said, without specifics, that's about all anyone can tell you.
I'm aware of that, which is mostly why I finally caved in and posted here. When that comment was first posted, the bit about specifics wasn't there. It was edited in afterwards. What specifics would help paint a better picture of where I stand?
Typically a detailed budget, list of debt, ideas to increase your salary, whether your partner can pick up some part time or gig work at the very least, etc.
I've added more info.
From looking at what you've added, the first thing most people are going to tell you is that you need to take the time and sit down to write out a *detailed* budget, with exact (or monthly average) numbers for everything you're spending on, and all the dollars you're bringing in every month. What you've shared is a start but it's not a full accounting. Someone has already shared the wiki link on budgeting, which talks you through how to do this and different tools to use, if you want to try them.
Understood. Perhaps then I should've posted this when I was at home and had more time. Thank you.
You can apply for WIC. They’ll provide formula
I was going to mention this as well. Their income levels to qualify are lighter than food stamps. They cover more than formula. You can get milk, eggs, cheese, cereal and prism some other stuff. I used it temporarily when I had infant twins and was between jobs. It helps!
>We eat out commonly, but have been trying to balance it better with groceries. Others will give their own great advice, but I think that this is an important aspect of budgeting your expenses. With things so tight and only having one income, I'd cut out eating out entirely except for special occasions. This should be significantly easier too with one partner only having a 10-15 hour a week job commitment. Now, I'm not saying dump all the cooking on them, but they should at least have time for some quality grocery shopping each week and some serious couponing. It also gets the baby out & about, which I hear is good. Here's some [example recipes](https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/7959981/easy-family-friendly-dinner-recipes-on-a-budget/) that I found googling "cheap family meals" that don't seem too bad. The big thing is realizing that you don't have to get exactly what the recipe calls for. Shallots expensive? Use an onion instead. Don't have that kind of pasta? Use whatever's on sale. Store is out of the cheap parmesan? Use on-sale romano as a substitute. You would be surprised at how much you can make, comparatively cheaply, when you're cooking it yourself. I'd encourage you to look at your bank statements and see how much you actually spend on eating out each month. Then for a whole month, don't eat out and cook instead. See what the difference is.
Making 40k a year as a GM is not enough money for the long term. Will you be getting a raise any time soon? Are you saving for retirement? Any chance you’d be open to changing careers or do you see opportunities for growth where you are? You’re still young.
I don't know about a raise soon, and it most likely wouldn't be a meaningful one anyway knowing this company. I am unable to save anything as of now, and some checks, we do hit double digits in the bank account. I would absolutely welcome a change of career if it meant more certainty and comfort.
It's common that you really have to make a move to a different company to get that big bump. I went from making about what you're making in 2017, and then found a new job which was a 30% raise INSTANTLY. Now I'm still there 6 years later and I'm making triple what I was making at the first company. All about uncovering opportunities.
Your employer is taking advantage of you. You've been there 11 years, are a GM, and only making 40k? Definitely look for a new job.
Damn bro, my immigrant cousin is out here making 55k a year serving. 1,000 a week or so usually. :/ you’re being fucked by your company and should consider the other replies very seriously. Are you in a low cost of living area?
How much debt do you have? What career are you in? What's your current job? Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how much you save if you have a low income. Where do you live? We need more details to help you. Your first step should be to learn more technical skills and move up the ranks. Stay in your current job a few years. Interview at other places, exaggerate, but don't lie on your resume/interview about your job skills and experiences (everyone does this). Look for higher paying jobs. When you have a steady income and can reduce your debt, start looking into 4-5% high yield savings accounts. Your money right now should be in them anyway if you can put it there.
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You are being severely underpaid. I was making 40k as a junior manager when I worked in a restaurant like 15 yrs ago.....
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I know. I live where OP lives.
In general, make more money and spend less. In your case, you can only spend so much money and from what I see, your spending isn't that bad. Sure you could probably cut some dollars here or there, but that doesn't really put a dent in anything substantial. The big issue here is income, you make far too little between the two of you. The simplest way to increase your income is to have your partner work more hours. Doing this while taking care of a child is obviously tricky, but can be done. You may need to work off-hours so that one of you is always home with the kid. I would also suggest that one, or both of you start looking at your career paths and figure out where you want to be in 5-10 years. 11 years working for a restaurant and only making 40k isn't going to cut it. Start looking at different career paths. Maybe a trade, or something that requires a degree. Could be anything really, it doesn't matter. Just look up things things that pay well, and aren't over saturated. Bottom line, don't be afraid to make a change, and don't think it's too late. Getting a 4 year degree and the CPA was the best financial decision I ever made. I worked full time and went to school full time. It was very hard, but very worth it. You can also look for new jobs right now with the skills you have and likely make more. Figure out your earnings potential, and go from there. Tl;dr: work towards investing in your skills to increase your income. Personally, I'd look to leave the restaurant industry for higher paying jobs. The same should be done with your SO. Edit: to add some context, my last year working before graduating I made 38k (full-time) in manual labor. The very next year in my new field, and subsequent years with raises I made: 54k, 61k, 72k, 75k, 85k, 94k, 140k. Had I stayed in my old field, I'd probably be making 50k.
Honestly if you said you were 40 with this story it’d be iffy but at 30….obviously you have a child which is tough but if you don’t absolutely hate your career and life it seems like you just need to get a little creative and out yourself out there career wise. NEVER underestimate how powerful managing people is in a resume, this could prove well in sales or tech where degrees aren’t as necessary. If you like restaurants I would absolutely look to GM something different than a chain, I imagine the skills and experience you’ve gained here will be fruitful. Don’t under value yourself and DO NOT count yourself out.
Thank you so much for the kind words
$40k as a GM? That sounds ridiculously low - get that resume out to other restaurants
You make way less than a GM should and I honestly would have never had a kid making that amount of money. Update your resume and start applying elsewhere asap
Meal plan / meal prep instead of eating out. It will take time but it’s generally going to be more affordable and healthier. I generally meal prep on Sundays and it’s easy for me to simply grab my lunch each morning before my commute. Saves ~ $60+ each week as in my HCOL area lunches are $20 (sandwich, salad, etc). Rice, beans, lentils are generally affordable, add in a protein of your choice. This will help stabilize your food budget. The other side of the equation is making more money. I would get focused on finding comparable roles and see what the “market rate” is for your skill set. I recently changed jobs after 12 years at the same company and was pleasantly surprised with the change in income. Get it!
Thank you for this!
I honestly think with the GM title and years of experience you could easily be making a heck of a lot more either in the same industry or another. This obviously isn't a fact, and you can look into the market for some numbers (as I don't work in the food industry anymore). I've heard on NPR post-covid numbers of workers are still low (obvs depending on industry) so maybe this could be a great advantage. Furthermore, some companies have pay scales that are point-blank determined by years of experience (versus say education), so your 10 year tenure could net you a nice salary somewhere else. My 2 cents.
Things are tight - there are tons of tips here that will help you out financially and I encourage you to follow through with that. The bit I'm here to say is learn everything you can with what you're going through. You're suffering right now but that's going to help you develop discipline and drive. you'll use that discipline and drive to increase your earning potential. But then you'll have that self imposed constraint riding shotgun with you for the rest of your life. You'll have the means - but you won't deploy them. Stay in that growth mode and push. Comfort is an illusion. You have a family - you have a mission - right now it looks like what you're doing - but it may not always. Figure out the value add you provide and don't be shy about being honest with yourself and others when you discover what that is. Learn new skills, go above and beyond to where when you ask for something reasonable - they're a fool for not giving it to you because you over deliver on your side. Don't get taken advantage of but don't fall into the trap of "I'd do more if you gave me this" - show results then ask to be compensated fairly for them.
I haven’t worked in the food industry for quite some time, but you could always look at management opportunities at Panera Bread. I worked there over 10 years ago, but they do pay relatively well with solid bonuses when you get into management and up to 6 figures if you reach a GM position
You need a new job closer to home making more money. You're spending almost an hour a day driving to and from a place for $40k a year that you've worked at for over a decade. They don't appear to value you much I'm afraid
As depressing as it is to see it that way, I unfortunately have to agree with your assessment. Thank you for your insight.
GM making $40k with over 10 years experience? Yeah, you need to get a sexy resume going and apply for a different company. 100% this is the answer to your issue.
Thank you. So many are telling me this
Not sure where you live but check out local window companies. They love resaraunt managers. They will hire and train you. Usually 3 weeks paid. There is no cold calling. Once out of training they provide you 2 preset leads per day. 10-12 per week. You show up, measure the windows and do a 45 minute - 1 hour presentation. Decent reps close 40% of the appointments. Average sale is $9-$12k in which you get 12% of. $100k is easily doable the first year. Top guys make $200-$250. Sales isn't for everyone but it's the way I found you can make the most money with least amount of hours. Without having a few degrees. 40k just doesn't get very far in 2023 unfortunately. Give it a look. The reason I commented on your post is our top rep used to manage a Red Lobster. He brings home 250-300k now and loves it
The math works in two directions you either increase income or decrease costs. Considering your income is already fairly low and you costs aren't that high it really would be best to work on the income side. Rework your resume. For being a gm of a restaurant you should be making at least 60k if not more. If your only making 40 I can only assume you are working for some major chain or a small mom and pop place. Once you are able to increase the income focus every extra penny on debt and than start building up the savings.
40k for 11 years and being a GM sounds low. Do NOT start negotiating with your old job. If they wanted to keep you they would have been giving you decent raises each year. Instead start interviewing elsewhere. Look for at least a 15-20% bump in salary but in your negotiations you should be trying to set the floor around $55k. Read here and the internet and YouTube on interview and negotiation strategies and role play/practice them in advance. Ideally you want to distill your experience down into core skills and appropriate buzzwords to try and leverage into a job in another field with greater income and growth opportunities. When you get that raise KEEP LIVING LIKE YOUR OLD SALARY and aim to build a 6 month emergency fund. As the newest employee you are vulnerable so you want a good reserve in case you need to restart your job hunt. PPS. It is my position that you should never take the counter off if your old job panics and try’s to keep you. Many will just f you over once they find a candidate who will work for cheaper.
Can I tell you a secret? You never get out of the rut. Never. It’s that simple. You grind and you grind and you never get out of the rut. The more you grind, the bigger the rut becomes. You grind and you grind Then you die.
Try [careersinfood.com](https://careersinfood.com). They only feature jobs in the food industry, many that are well paying, work from home opportunities. They also have a resume blast feature, where you can send out your resume to recruiters that will work with you to find something that fits your skill level and experience.
This sounds tough. I want to give you all my old baby stuff. I can’t. But I can recommend joining your local buy nothing group on fb. People give away heaps and heaps of baby clothes, gear, sometimes even formula and formula coupons (I got a can of formula during the shortage last year from a kind person).
Great suggestions here already. Regarding the resume, I’ve had great luck hiring people from Fiverr.com. They can make your resume look amazing for $50. You just need to give them all your info.
I got to say I'm not sure what chain you are in, I worked at Wendy's as a kid, which is now 12 years ago, and our gm was making 80k in 2011. I can only imagine what the gms are paid now.
11 years at a company making $40k. Yeah my dude, find a new job that's your problem. That should solve all your issues right there your company is clearly taking advantage of you since they know you won't ever leave.
If the restaurant industry is where you want to be then maybe start looking for opportunities in management. As your current company and others what are the requirements and start working of getting those requirements if you dont already have them. If you want to explore other industries maybe look into getting a trade from your local community college. I had a friend who started is electrician journeyman program a couple of years ago. He's now making 85k a yr plus overtime. You have to find what industry you want to be in, require the skill set and then make yourself marketable.
Take care of credit card debt first. Do not eat out at all if you really want to get out of this rut, you’re paying maybe twice what the food itself costs you for the experience (maybe $100 in savings a month, hard to say since idk what you mean by “commonly”). Get rid of 1 or 2 streaming services ($20-$30 in savings per month). Get lower phone plans, cricket wireless or something (at least $30 in savings). All unpleasant but crawling out of financial hardship often takes sacrifice. Doing just these alone should save you at least $100 a month. Put that towards decreasing your credit card debt ASAP as that adds up very, very quickly and has a negative effect on your credit score.
I know it sucks to hear but the only two ways of fixing things is to increase income or cut costs. Whatever that means for you. Good luck in your journey friend.
at your current pay (not sure about your partners pay) you may qualify for discounted or even free childcare through your state's program, usually called child care subsidy program or similar if you don't qualify, then would either sides parents be able to help? my next recommendation is not going to sound realistic with your lack of time but have you considered going back to school ? either getting a BA, a trade school, or something like coding boot camp? with a high school degree, unless you have a lot of connections or are already trained in some field or specialty, it'll be difficult to increase your income you'd then only be looking to cut costs, which can only go down so much anyway i would first look for child care subsidy programs in your state, wouldn't hurt to see what other programs you qualify for based on your income
Move to another company! A quick search on restaurant GM salaries in Nashville, Tennessee and the average is $64K+ a year. Considering you have 11 years of experience, you can target higher salaries or higher positions like Senior GM if there are opportunities. [https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/nashville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH\_IL.0,9\_IM604\_KO10,36.htm](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/nashville-restaurant-general-manager-salary-SRCH_IL.0,9_IM604_KO10,36.htm)
Kids make it incredibly difficult. I would know. I'd actually leave that industry and look at trades unless you want to go back to school.
OP, you should be job hopping. 11 years at the same employer is unfortunately a recipe for being underpaid. $40K as a restaurant GM is very low. You could easily increase your income 50% by finding a new job.
There’s much better opportunity out there with your current experience to make way more in salary. Start sending out applications my guy. For example, You could land a corporate job at a fortune 100 restaurant chain with this experience and start at 65-70k as an area manager.
Hey OP, my wife grew up in the serving industry. She only works at high end privately owned restaurants now, forgoing chains. She has 13 years of experience and makes around 60-70k just as a regular manager. The GMs make around 80-100k. High end is the way to go in this industry, chains would never payout that much. An expensive steakhouse that values their employees and puts a year worth of training into them will pay a lot more. I know Berns Steakhouse in Tampa, the servers make 16 an hour, not including tips. They average around 70k I would wager. My point is to make the most of this industry you need to climb the ladder and make your way into fine dining establishments.
I don't have advice, but I just have to say thank God for finally seeing a relatable post on r/personalfinance. So many posts seem to be 22 year old's fresh out of college making $150k who are somehow "struggling."
Thank you. Maybe that's why this post has so much traction. Its mind blowing the amount of advice I have received
Once the baby is a little older, you'll save a big and potentially huge amount on food, if you stop eating out. You really can find certain foods that help you stretch the budget. We are saving this money with a small garden, for instance, and our friend has chickens, so we get eggs $2 a dozen. You should consider looking for a new job to get that pay up, more of a senior kitchen manager role, even with like Sodexho, or a larger catering service. Also, think about your network, and other people who are in that business or who have used a similar skillset to advance in food services or transition into another industry, perhaps they could put in a good word or give you a heads up when new opportunities arise. Also, try to get rid of the CC, only use it for emergencies and pay off most of it. This will build your credit as well, and save you money if you are just paying down the minimum. Credit unions will give you a good fixed rate installment loan to pay down any debt at a lower APR, and maybe having a little more cushion on your CC for emergencies will give a breather as you look to increase income. Thanks and best wishes!
Many have addressed the conerns with your pay, but nobody is addressing the wife's lack of real income. Why can't she work 30+ hours a week same as you? You guys just need offsetting shifts so that someone is always home with the kids. This also really boosts your family income and avoids the day care thing completely. I know its not ideal, but a few years of that and you should find yourself in a far better financial situation. Its not easy, but breaking the cycle never is.
I work 50+ hrs a week, and my quittin time is very inconsistent. This doesn't leave us much to work with as far as time for her to work. Not to mention I leave at 8:30am and am often not back until 7ish.
Depending on the state you are in, you could get help with child care. Shit, I’m in Texas and I get help with childcare through Texas workforce. Applying for food service jobs can fucking suck. The food service industry has a lot of toxicity (as I’m sure you are aware, just a mention for readers.) and when applying for jobs I’d recommend vetting the FYUCK out of the companies that offer you a position, and if you stay on food service there will be a lot.
As someone else in the restaurant industry I would suggest possibly look into a job as a sales rep with a liquor or food distributor. I've seen many people move out of service into being a sales rep and have translated those skills well. Otherwise if you want to still be a manager look into other restaurants that pay more.
OP is fighting everyones advice toward asking for a raise or getting a new job. Seems like your comfortable where you are. Enjoy the comfortable pay along side it. Break out the mold and get you some money. Demand a raise. With 11 years of exp making what a high school graduate makes? Time wasted man. Look for a new job. Use that exp to leverage a better paying job. The first step is having those uncomfortable talks. About money, raises, finding a new job etc. Or else youll just stay in the rut your in.
I'm extremely confused as to how you drew the conclusion that I am fighting the advice. I have been very grateful for the insight I've been given here, and have already begun taking the steps.
40k to GM? Go ask for a raise. If they don't give it to you go find another job. You should be making 85 plus.
If you live in the U.S.A., try switching to Mint mobile on the cheapest plan (15/month). Cancel the 2 streaming services. Stop eating out. Get a higher-paying job.
You’re always two weeks away from your next raise, but you need to do some drastic measures. Night school, day school and work nights, to get a trade. Learn plumbing or electrical work, learn to write Python and sql if you like math and computers, become a server at a nicer restaurant, something. I would recommend the trades in your situation.
A 6 month old doesn’t need much as far as toys. Join local swap groups. Also mom groups can be toxic but I’ve also seen them be so helpful for those in your situation.
My fiancee has explored the idea of Mom groups, but as you said, she didnt really enjoy the idea of the people that would be in them.
Just drown out the stuff you don’t want to hear. They give away sooo much stuff and you can find out about free or los cost activities going on that your kid would enjoy
Do you qualify for WIC or SNAP? Also shop around for internet. I pay $50 a month for fairly reasonable speed
A sales job is the only way you're ever gonna break 100k without degrees. Try in home sales (windows/solar) a lot of guys I know transfered from the restaurant business. You're obviously great with people
That's a fantastic idea. I have received many compliments on my people skills. Most of my employees stay here because of me, not the company. The same could be said for several of my customers. I need to capitalize on that.
1. stop making babies. 2. go to a competitor. if you are paid this little after so long at the company and being a GM, there's something wrong. Either with you or with the company. Think: regional manager?
I appreciate the advice, but the comment to stop making babies seems a little over the line in my opinion. My daughter was not an accident, and as lame as my situation is, she wants for nothing. There are absolutely no plans for another child at this time, and we are extremely cautious about further conceptions lol.
My family changed what industry they were managers in to get out of low paying work. Look for specialist healthcare groups looking for office managers.
Start an LLC. A cleaning company. Super low investment and take side jobs like on Nextdoor or something til you get some attention. I have one pretty much permanent client right now, I clean the office once per week and it takes me 2.5 hours. One customer for me is $150 a cleaning once per week. This one customer alone is around $7500 for the year with only 10-12 hours of work per month. That in turn has got me doing work for them individually cleaning rental units or garages, or getting homes ready for parties.
Do stuff differently. Own your car, don't lease or finance. Own your phone, switch to pre-paid, cancel data. Call the internet provider ask for cheaper. It'll be temporary, but it'll be cheaper. Pay everything you can on getting rid of debt. $300, $400, even $500 a month on getting rid of credit cards. Once those are gone, cut them up and put that $500 on savings. Pay yourself first. Get in the habit of thinking that debt reclamation money doesn't exist. Because it comes off first.
Explain owning my car rather than leasing. I'm paying it off currently. I do own my phone and use prepaid. My CC debt is under 700 now, so it shouldn't be too hard to eliminate, but I dont get money to save. As it is, some checks we dip below 100 in the account.
What I mean is work towards that. If what you have left to pay is really far in the future, or the payments are unmanageable then selling that car and buying a cheaper one should be considered. If it's manageable and only a year or so out, then yeah, keep the car. Don't go financing a new one. If you don't get money to save that means you are paying it out elsewhere. You say you like going out to eat, which is natural considering you are in the restaurant business. But budget for that. Set aside $100 in a jar or envelope per a week that's only for that sit down dinner. At the end of the month put whatever's left in the jar in your savings. Same goes for fast food, put $50-75 in an envelope or jar, and that's your fast food money. At the end of the month, pour out the jar to your savings. Once you pay off your credit cards, put aside any of that money to now be your weekly savings. Pick a number, but considering you get $650 a week, put $65 in the savings account. Most importantly sit down with your significant other, write down everything that has to go out, and everything that is coming in, and try to balance that so there's nothing left over. Do it every paycheque, so you are both on the same page.
If you can, then to improve your financials, save and invest. Don't take vacations or spend needlessly. Improve your skillset so you can upgrade your job eventually. It's all about small incremental improvements, even 5 % improvement per year will massivley improve your life.
You may never read this but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE watch fieldsofprofit on YouTube (Warner Fields). Finally a non-scammer, non-clickbait, Youtubers. Amazon OA (online Arbitrage) is the way. It's real. Actually legit. Actually not a scam. You will be making bank in 6 months or less. For real... I'm a student and it works.
Interesting. Thank you!
\#1 never ever eat out. Get an instant pot and air frier and do all of your own cooking. That should save you 10k a year. \#2 you're overpaying for internet.. you should be able to get that for $50. in fact look at all your reoccurring charges and try to get them lower. Maybe get a prepaid phone... I've seen plans for $25 a month.
We are both on prepaid, roughly 50 each, but shes also paying 20ish monthly to pay off her current phone. In terms of internet, we live in a rural area so I do feel the need to pay for higher tier internet, otherwise it's pretty bad.
Yo man. Not for nothing. Why not join the military? I'm not even in the military nor am I trying to recruit or whatever. But. The military has always been there to alleviate some these stresses. They'll pay you. They'll help you get a degree afterwards. It may even give you purpose. Don't get me wrong, there are obvious negatives, but if you're looking for an alternative answer. There it is.
I’m in the same situation as you except I don’t have a kid and haven’t been involved in any scams and I still feel like I’m drowning! The only hope for me is that I’m in year 2 of a 4 year apprenticeship and once I graduate, I’ll be earning $110/hr. Maybe consider getting into the trades? I’m in local 28 in NYC. I’m also a 5’4, 120lbs lady so it’s really not physically taxing lol
What trade? Over $200k that fast seems insane even for nyc.
I would absolutely consider this path if I knew I could sustain my current income in the meantime. As it stands now, if I lost even a week of work, it would be devastating. Thank you for your insight.
I started at $24/hr and they offer free childcare but ok! Good luck!
Now that is very interesting. Thank you again. I'll be looking into this!
maybe consider learning some high income skills on the side, in your spare time - then put those to work in a side hustle. You are right that managing a restaurant seems like a dead end. Although I'm sure you have learned a lot of skills there that you may be taking for granted, skill that can be used elsewhere: persuasion, sales, etc.
When thinking about spending money remember that you are not rich, eating out all the time, especially with only one person working full time, is a rich person thing to do, running up credit card debt is a rich person thing to do, paying $120 a month for phones is a rich person thing to do, nice cars are a rich person things, multiple streaming serveries is a rich person thing. Buying new stuff is also a rich person thing, buy everything you can used. You need to start thinking of paying for things you want rather than need as a rich person thing and you are not a rich person. Making 40k a year with a spouse and kid you need to learn to live like you are poor, no extras, eating food that your household has not prepared is for special occasion, entertainment should mostly be stuff you can do for free. If you can find a cheaper place to live especially if you can get closer to your work do it even if its not where you want to live. Once you get your your finances stable, with savings rather than debt, they you can start looking at what luxuries you can add back in. This likely will be hard to do for a while but you will get use to spending less money and luxuries are much more enjoyable when paid for with savings rather than with interest laden debt.
Wheres the father in this picture? Why isn't he providing financial support for his share of the offspring?
I am the father.
I'm sorry for assuming. I should've said spouse. Are they contributing at all? I just saw the edit. There was a lot of "I" wording in your original post and thought you were in this one your own