If you order a Sunday paper, it’s possible that you also get a Parade Magazine. It’s usually only 12 or so pages, and you might have noticed the one for August about what people earn.

I find it fascinating to see the different occupations and how much people can earn doing things that surprise me. Below you can read about some of them I found interesting.

By the way, I am not bothering with the movie stars that you can look up on Google and find out what they earn, like Ben Affleck (50) estimated at $55 million for the year. That’s about $27,500 per hour for a typical 40 hour week! I remember my neighbor, Ray Romano, was earning $22 million for 13 weeks of work. Nice work if you can get it!

So let’s talk about the kind of people you might know, or did not even know existed.

Courtney Chartier is a 43-year-old woman who earns $160,000 per year as a rare book archivist at Columbia University in New York.

Robert Nissenbaum is a 53-year-old man who teaches people how to use a kayak and earns $28,000 per year in Puget Sound in Washington state. I don’t know if he does this year-round. But if he rented a one-bedroom apartment near me in Los Angeles he would spend 80% of that income on rent. Maybe he lives with his mom. Or maybe he’s married and his wife supports him. And he has piles of credentials for what he does.

Monrae Tuggle is a 28-year-old woman who is a marketing coach in Atlanta, GA earning $160,000 per year. The average income for coaches, like a life coach, is around $56,000 per year, or about $27 per hour. Creating a niche, and knowing how to market, can result in a better income. Monrae doesn’t even have a website and can’t be found on Google or LinkedIn.

Kristie Wolfe is a 39-year-old woman who decided to create an AirB&B business. She earns over $325,000 per year by providing rentals. She used to work in a potato factory in Boise, Idaho and when her employer decided to get rid of a six-ton model potato she got it for free. Then she spent $32,000 in construction costs to convert it into a house with a bathroom and rents it out. Prior to that she already had three AirB&B rentals.

Do you even know what a Foley artist is? Greg Barbanell is one in Pasadena, CA. He earns $119,000 per year making sound effects for movies and television. It can take years to master and is a highly specialized job.

Did you enjoy this little diversion? If so, please let me know.

To Your Prosperity,

Rennie