Are Your Dreams of Financial Independence dead?

What do you think?

Are they dead in your mind, forgotten and rotten?

Or are they still alive in your thoughts, but has been placed in the backseat?

Or maybe its all you could think about. That’s why you are here in this platform in the first place doesn’t it? Doing your best to achieve it.

Photo by Sebastian Voortman: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-walking-on-fence-1548769/

A little trip down the memory lane, do you still remember the time when you’re still a little child, when your teacher asked you this question;

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Some wanted to be a fireman, some wanted to be a doctor, while many wanted to be an astronaut. Some even wanted to be social media influencer! But life being what it is, those answers changed over time. And it did for me as well.

As cliché as that question might be, and as universal it is, I can’t help but ponder about the same question even today. Of course, the answers are different from a person to another. It’s also an open ended type of question where there are no real right answer.

When my teacher asked me this question, I’ve always answered that I wanted to be a doctor. I want to save life! What a noble dream that was. Didn’t know years later that I had genuine fear of blood. Well, that dream didn’t take too long to get shattered. That’s why I’m an engineer today instead of being a doctor.

I’m sure everyone else experience the same thing. But there may not be many thinking that they would have the dream of being financially dependent since they were a kid. Perhaps even none.

I’ve always wondered why that is. Why the dreams change so much for many of us.
One of the obvious reason is because of our economic landscape. Years ago, it will be enough for a person to have just 1 job to provide for your family. If you only have one and it has been working great for you, you might be one of the outliers.

Today, it may take more than 1 job and 1 side work to fully provide for the family. In the next 20 years, the economic landscape will change again.

Photo by Quang Anh Ha Nguyen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/jumpshot-photography-of-woman-in-white-and-yellow-dress-near-body-of-water-884977/

The good news is that having a side hustle or even working for yourself is no longer a dream. With platforms like Medium, Fiverr, Upwork, Crypto, Youtube, and many more has allowed us to dream more than just 1 possibilities in life when it comes to financial sovereignty.

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But, with good, there are bad as well. I find that need to be said.

When it comes to pursuing your dream, you have to consider not just yourself, but also the people who are closest to you like your spouse and kids.

One wrong step and you could send them to the streets.

This is why I advocate for financial literacy before jumping into your dream interest. But no matter how prepared you are, life will surprise you.

Having plan B, C, D and etc. is no longer optional.

Although technically, it isn’t unethical to do so, but yet there are stigmata that sticks to that type of decision as it is one that could affect the people around you. It is a big decision that could have disastrous effect should you failed that business down the road.

Photo by Lázaro Revoledo : https://www.pexels.com/photo/back-view-photo-of-man-sitting-on-gray-concrete-road-2230119/

I can vouch for that — I’m currently working independently.

Not a day goes by where I kept on rethinking my decision.

I do not come from a wealthy family nor do I inherit anything from my great gramps. I‘m married and have a child on the way. I worked on and off for different companies, primarily as a project engineer.

I quitted my job for quite some time now to build businesses along side few side hustles. It felt cringe for saying that. But it is what it is. I’m not doing super well, but well enough that I am not in a position of desperation.

Photo by Bas Masseus: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-broom-and-cart-1109171/

All I can tell you is that it takes time.

Lots of it.

Lots of failures.

Lots of learning.

Lots of standing back up.

No magic formula. No habits building. No productivity hacks. None of those will truly work. They could make your life easier, but that’s about it. Still, nothing beats persistence.

In fact, I consider myself lucky because of the people around me and the events that happened in my life.

For example, if my father did not have bad money habit that ultimately lead our family down bankruptcy, I would never view “Financial literacy” to be interesting and important. Thank god for the existence of autodidact and the abundance of resources.

Just in case what I’ve said made your eyebrow frown, I’m not saying that work is for idiots who wasted half of their lives stuck in traffic. To be fair, most working people are really smart people. I am not here to discredit any of their work or its importance.

Their jobs are important.

That is how it has been for our gramps, and that is how it will be for hundreds of years to come.

Photo by Timur Weber: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-holding-a-piece-of-cardboard-with-writing-on-it-standing-on-the-street-9533092/

This is where it gets muddy.

Some people think its best to stay in your line, work till you die, provide for your family along the way.

Some people think its best to quit your miserable job and be your own boss.

Some people think its best to stay in your line, start a side hustle, once it become more stable, then you quit your job and be free forever!

Some people think its best to not get a job entirely.

Who knows which are right. There can only be one correct answer, right?

Here’s an interesting way of looking at it. In fact, all of it might be right — constrained by your own unique situation.

My point is not everyone is lucky to have opportunities knocking on their door. To be honest, opportunities are rare. It is even rarer if you don’t take the initiative to look for one.

In reality, and in my experience, there are no doors most of the time — you build the door, and knock on it. So to speak.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Typically, most youtubers and finance gurus says that this is how someone’s journey to pursuing their dream would look like:

School -> Work -> Quit job/Laid off-> Create a Business -> Success / Failure -> Find another job

Or

School -> Work -> Save enough money -> Quit job -> Create a Business -> Success / Failure -> Find another job -> Try again & again

How mine looks like:

School -> Work -> Save enough money -> Quit job -> Create a Business -> Success / Failure -> Find another job -> Save enough money again -> Invest (tradfi/gold/crypto) -> Learn business startups -> start doing businesses as side hustles until it can run on its own -> Use some of the saved & invested money for expansion -> Fail -> Modify/Rework failure ventures -> Quit some of the business -> Start another one -> Today

To be honest, most people has similar “flow” as I did, if not worst. But the reality of pursuing your dream is much more complicated than most people made and said it would be.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Keeping it simple could work too.

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

A good friend of mine does not have good paying job and he does not inherit good fortune from his parents and grandparents.

But somehow his financial stability beats those that earn 10x his salary. How he did it? What is his secret?

Simple. He refrained himself from buying stupid stuff.

He committed to put at least 20% of his salary into his investments.

He made sure another 10% of his salary goes into “Emergency” fund.

That’s it.

Work -> Paycheck -> Invest first -> Spend when necessary-> Rinse and repeat

He loves his job as it provides food and fees for his family and do not plan to stop anytime soon. In bad times, his investment will cover most of his expenses for years to come.

He kept up his insurance for just in case situations. He invested a little in crypto knowing its volatile and risky and does well himself. He treated any profit from crypto as bonus.

In another 10 or 15 more years, he will be able to retire and move back to his home village. That is his dream. And he will have all the money he ever needed.

“But, but, but, not everyone is lucky enough to have surplus on their paycheck!” — You will have surplus on your paycheck to save and invest if you cut your spending on:

• Entertainment money
• Excessive utility bills
• Eating out
• Useless subscriptions on top of another useless subscriptions.
• Designers clothing and accessories
• Habits — smoking, drugs, po*n, party, whatever.
• Second car, house, everything
• List stupid stuffs here

My friend did not do anything special, or super hard. He just cuts off whatever he deems as “Useless Crap”.

. . . . . . . . . . .

As a result of my persistence and a little bit of shame of past failures, I have been doing well and I hope to continue so, while my investments bear fruits in the future through the power of compounding. In case it's not obvious enough for you my readers, I'm patting myself in the back. Of course I am! I'm surviving the great crypto innovation without getting myself squashed beyond speculative games.

I refuse to spend money on unnecessary things like sport cars and bikes (as I deemed them stupid, not from an engineering standpoint, but as a luxury items).

I’ve continued growing passive generating investments through traditional finance and decentralized finance, and probably will continue doing so.

I’m still proud of my academic accomplishments, but those days are gone, as the experience that I have in life and business ventures out weigh them in terms of importance. Of course, due to the job I had as a Project Engineer has boosted my knowledge in businesses and general management skills.

Thinking back, luck plays some role into my life. Not many could survive life without 9–5 work. While opportunities knocks on my door without me ignoring them most of the time.

But then again, maybe I won’t be an engineer in the future, but I strive to be someone who could provide for my family in less conventional way, the way that I know how and I plan to pass down my knowledge to my future kids. I would be proud to be just that.

If only I could answer that to my teacher years ago.

Photo by G_Masters: https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-standing-by-decorated-van-for-christmas-18386877/

What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment if you have something different in mind.

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