Meet Jae Byun, a math teacher and basketball coach in Orange County, California, who’s making a six-figure salary doing what he loves.

Originally majoring in business economics at the University of California, Irvine, Jae initially set his sights on a financial industry career. However, after completing internships in that field, he felt a desire for something different.

During his senior year in 2013, he accepted a coaching position at his former high school in Orange County, guided by the stability and income potential his coaches emphasized in the teaching profession.

“It wasn’t going to make me a millionaire, but it was going to allow me to have time and freedom. That really appealed to me,” he said to CNBC.

Born in South Korea, Jae moved to California at a young age and grew up valuing hard work, learning from his truck driver father and spa worker mother. His parents were concerned about him at first and disappointed that he took a career in education, but eventually, they came around with the fact and loved that Jae now lives with them. Jae is paying them $800 for rent and helping with household expenses, even though they told him that he didn’t need to.

It took Jae about six years to reach his current salary of nearly $115,000, including coaching stipends and summer programs. He actively manages his money, saving half of his monthly income and investing in retirement accounts. Even with some unexpected expenses, Jae remains committed to financial stability.

Looking ahead, Jae plans to generate extra income and ensure a comfortable retirement for his parents.

Featured Image Source: CNBC

In the pursuit of early retirement, Francis, a 42-year-old electrical engineer, made headlines when he quit his job in 2017 with a substantial $1.2 million in savings and investments.

At the time, he embraced the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, a concept that advocates for financial freedom and early retirement. However, Francis’s unique journey and subsequent return to work shed light on the misconceptions surrounding the desire for complete retirement.

According to CNBC, upon leaving his engineering role, where he earned a $120,000 base salary plus additional equity and bonuses, Francis discovered that a life without work became “really boring.” Contrary to the belief that most people aspire to retire early, he contends that what individuals truly seek is a sabbatical or extended break from their careers, typically lasting a year or two.

He had $1.2 million in savings and investments when he quit his job, and he shared that the trick to getting there was spending as little money as possible. First, he paid off his house, which cost $22,000 a year. Then, he tried hard to spend as little money as possible on everything else. 

He cut out things like streaming services and even went without a cellphone for a bit. Francis is also really good at using credit cards to get points, and he has more than 20 of them at a time. This helps him get extra value for his money.

Even though he enjoyed two years of not working and traveling, Francis got a bit bored and decided to start working again in 2019. But this time, he focused on his YouTube channel with 350,000 followers, making videos about money topics. It turns out people loved it, and he now makes around $10,000 a month from YouTube. This money covers his living costs, and whatever is left goes into his savings.

“Now I no longer call myself ‘retired’ because I am putting in my full-time effort into YouTube,” Francis shared to CNBC. “I’d like to put a lot more work into it and grow it … I think it’s a work in progress.”

Featured Image Source: CNBC

Guangdong Dongpo Paper, a paper company based in Guangdong, China, is reshaping the conventional corporate bonus structure by tying annual bonuses to employees’ physical fitness levels.

Chairman Lin Zhiyong recently revealed an unconventional program where the size of the annual bonus is directly proportional to the number of miles an employee runs each month.

Under this fitness-centric initiative, employees must achieve a monthly running target of 62 miles to qualify for an annual bonus equivalent to 130% of their monthly salary. Those covering a more modest 31 miles per month still earn a bonus equivalent to one month’s salary. As an added incentive, employees who sustain a pace of 31 miles per month for six consecutive months are rewarded with a complimentary pair of running shoes.

Lin Zhiyong, who has scaled Mount Everest twice in 2022 and 2023, justified the program and said to Business Insider, “My business can only endure if my employees are healthy.” 

While some employees have embraced the initiative as a novel way to stay fit and earn extra income simultaneously, social media platform Weibo has witnessed skepticism.

Critics question the feasibility of expecting employees to run two miles daily to meet the ambitious monthly target, speculating whether the company aims to transform its workforce into track athletes. Concerns about potential health risks have also surfaced, with some individuals fearing that the rigorous physical requirements may lead to injuries or health complications. 

Despite the mixed reactions, Guangdong Dongpo Paper’s innovative approach to employee incentives has sparked discussions about the delicate balance between workplace motivation and individual health, leaving observers curious about the long-term impact of this incentive program on both the company and its employees.