THE TRADITIONAL PHRASE “bread and butter” (as in, “this job is my bread and butter”) denotes some core occupation that almost exclusively contributes to putting a meal on the table, not necessarily limited to this dietary combination which excludes soup and dessert as well as a main course.
The convention of just having one job which is reflected in one’s calling card is no longer always applicable. Even for senior levels, multiple jobs, and even multiple companies, albeit belonging to the same group, is quite common.
The term “gig economy” is no longer applicable just to the millennials in the work force. With the now acceptable “hybrid” work schedule consisting of partly working from home and occasionally dropping by the office (or mall), the traditional single occupation requiring a commute from home to office has been disrupted. Even the single employer concept is now no longer the norm.
And what about hobbies?
Is selling fruits to the neighborhood from one’s leisure farm in a nearby province a revenue stream worth mentioning? What about collecting art and then accessing the auction market? And then there are the stocks listed in New York? This avenue is not always revenue-positive as losses can occur even when investing in a hot AI stock — sold too soon or bought too late?
In these times of multi-tasking (the ability to mess up several tasks simultaneously) and the availability sometimes of only part-time employment (we need you to come only three half-days a week and you get no medical coverage) it is essential to designate one occupation as the main revenue stream.
In the old economy, most people only had one job expected to cover their living expenses and leave enough savings. Even in a DINKY household (Double Income, No Kids) the two paychecks of the spouses come only from two distinct jobs. Nowadays, the paychecks big or small, regular or sporadic, feast or famine, can come from different efforts if they are to cover the expenses they need to.
One working class category belongs to the “underground economy,” meaning undeclared as taxable. Such gig jobs are characterized as variable, contractual, outsourced, project-based, free-lance, and of a multi-customer variety. (Sometimes, no repeat customers.) Actual working hours are variable, sometimes less than an hour and on a “pay-as-you-go (or come)” basis. It may not require a college education and may be availed of while classified as a “working student.” There is no calling card needed, just a telephone number. One example is a columnist. (You may be thinking of other possibilities.)
Another socio-economic category surfaced even among those still in their prime as far as a career goes. The NINJA (No Income, No Job or Assets) is a type that has arisen among those below 40, unmarried or with a small family. If they lose their job in a cruise ship, do they just go back to the ancestral home and live with their parents?
Do career executives still retire at 65 years old? Formally, they may leave the company that used to be their “bread and butter” and go off “spending more time (and money) with the grandchildren.” But even this phase can include some income streams from consultancies, board memberships, and investments.
Executives not yet due for mandatory retirement (still eight years away) are also getting pushed out with their golden parachutes folded away. The cash from an enhanced early (or forced) retirement package replaces the smaller but steady cash flow of employment.
Maybe, the phrase “bread and butter” as a reference to an income-generating career is outdated. For one, it is too Western. But a substitute like “rice and dried fish” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue and seems to refer to a poverty diet. Anyway, life is more than a snack.
The more generic way of referring to the cash flow that pays one’s monthly expenses should be a straightforward phrase like “income stream.” This has a more liquid (as in cash flow) connotation than toast and jam. Income flows anyway seldom prove adequate, whatever they’re called. In politics, the flow can be a gushing reserve which can vary in terms of sources.
Liquidity from income streams is important especially when there is a cash crisis. As Warren Buffet puts it: “When it’s low tide, you can see who are not wearing shorts.”
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
