Money and slavery. Why money is the burden.
Entry posted by Lorainfurniture
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Not to get too deep and philosophical on you guys, but I was/am trying to figure out the relationship between money and modern day slavery.
Yes, I said it. You are a slave, I am a slave, and likely everyone you know (there are some exempt from this) are enslaved. I was free once, and at one point I believe that most of us were free, even if just briefly. Ill get to that in a bit.
First it was "slavery", then It was called "indentured servitude", now its "career"
You are probably thinking "I'm no fucking slave! " but think about it like this. What are you doing tomorrow? Probably working. What would you rather be doing tomorrow? I can write a small novel about the things I would rather be doing other than working. The issue is that you need money. Why? because you have bills, and you need to eat/ feed your family. Money today is as much of a necessity as food/water/shelter. No work= no money= no food= no survival. This applies more to people who work hourly or salary. You work all week, and in return you are given X money. Wipe that taste of freedom out of your mouth. You can not do as you please with that money (realistically), you need to pay your mortgage, car note, insurance, and food. In the end, you are left with a few pennies to spend on something you might actually want. You are encouraged to buy the bigger house, the nicer car, "keep up with the jones's" type shit. Get yourself so far in debt that you literally will have to work until the day you die, and you still didn't pay your debt. Pass it on to your kids. Once you live within 90% of your means, you can't afford to take a single day off. Lose your job? you are 30 days until your credit cards a maxed, and now you can't make your mortgage payment. " Not working" for this type of person is simply not an option.
When you have no option, you are being compelled, or forced to do it. How different is it from the whip?
People have brainwashed themselves in to loving their "career". Its a coping mechanism. Your brain is trying to combat depression. Sure, I like fixing shit, I get a sense of satisfaction from it. But let's not think for a fucking second that I would not rather be touring Europe, or laying on a beach somewhere. If you truly would rather do your job than anything else, Im sorry my friend, you drank all the Koolaid and I can't help you.
When I was about 20, for a few years I was free. I didn't really know it, or appreciated it. I lived with my parents, I had no debt, and I was making a shit-ton of money as an antique/ furniture/ appliance dealer.(in that order) I went to Greece every summer, usually for about 2 ish months. I came back to a pile of cash, literally. In the early 2000's everything was basically cash or check, and I didn't really accept checks. I didn't have to work. I worked for the sport of making money. I certainly was not wealthy, but my need for money was ZERO. All of the cash I made was mine do with what I saw fit.
Needless to say that gravy train started to come to a halt around 2004, when the recession REALLY started. Antiques became worthless, and I had to pivot more to the appliances/ furniture. I met a girl, bought a house, got married, had kids. Slowly I find myself in need of more money. I must go in to work more. The burden started weighing on my shoulders.
Im at the point right know where I *think* I don't have to work, but really I do. My chains are not as heavy as most, but I am still shackled.
When you make so much money that the thought of "paying bills" never enters your mind again. You don't have to think for a second whether you can afford to go out to a fancy restaurant and order a $100 bottle of wine to go with your steak. The thought "lack of money" never crosses your mind. You go to work because you like making money. Making money is exhilarating, and I can only begin to understand that.
So, now what? How to break the chains? Release yourself from the burden of money/debt? Here is my easy yet impossible answer.
1. Eliminate your debt. The ultimate iron collar is your mortgage. Borrow $200k, pay back $600k. No shit. $1500/ month FOREVER. You are not going to stay at that house for 30 years, the banks figured out that you will move every 7.5 years. Ironically that is the time it takes to pay most of the front end loaded interest they push on you with that mortgage. 8 years in to it you barely knocked a few grand off the principle. You move and the clock resets. 30 more years. Its not a mortgage guys, its rent, but you are responsible for all the maintenance. Its what all us landlords hope for: A triple net lease.
Credit card debt is just a bit worse, you can negotiate with them and change your terms. Pay it off. Car notes are simple interest. i.e., you pay a fixed amount of interest for the entire loan.
If you need a bit of motivation, add up how much interest you pay every month. it will blow your mind.
This first step is where 90% of you will fail. People feel the need to compete, whether its to have the nicer car, shoes, purse, etc. The worst part is they want it NOW. So that $800 purse you just charged on your credit card will end up costing you $2400. Or, you will "consolidate" your debt and roll that purse in to your 30 year mortgage. Brilliant thinking on a purse that is realistically only worth 5 bucks worth of leather. The rest is perception. This is a hard thing to overcome. It took me a long time.
2. Make more money. The goal is to have an excess of money. The more "extra" you have, the less it will weigh you down, and actually start opening doors. If you work a salary job, you can't really change much. Get another job. Go scrapping, Uber, whatever. Personally I can't understand how people can work for only X dollars per week, no matter how much you work? It sounds like a recipe for lazy. Once you increase your cashflow, you can decrease your debt, and further increase your cashflow. Its like a snowball of money.
3. Adjust your lifestyle. If you haven't made your first million by age 30, chances are you may never. This doesn't condemn you to a life of servitude, only if you continue to ACT like you are rich. I don't live in a rich neighborhood. I do not desire expensive clothes. I don't care what kind of car my neighbor is driving. I don't need to show my money to anyone to get some sort of acceptance or validation. Everyone is putting on the facade of being well off, how many times have you been in that McMansion and they lose their mind over a $300 repair bill? These are the same people that are a paycheck away from homelessness. They just drive a Lexus in the meantime.
You can live a really good lifestyle off of a minimal amount of money. Think about how much money you would need if you had ZERO debt. No mortgage, no car payment, no credit cards, no student loan. Now imagine if you stopped buying those ridiculous Gucci bags, or Nike shoes. Sure, buy the things you like, but don't buy things just to try and achieve social acceptance. In the end, everyone is lying to everyone, and the only truly rich one is the guy selling the Gucci bag.
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