In the current day and age, people often look into materialistic items rather than ones that are beneficial to them. People often ask,
“Why are you still driving that old car of yours?”
“Why dress so simple when you can afford branded goods?”
Personally, I have owned a couple of these items before and realized that the happiness you get from such goods are just temporary and after going through that, I would prefer to have my money invested and help me to achieve my future goals. To many people out there, financial freedom means driving a brand new sports car, flying in business class, wearing designer clothes and shoes. To some, it can be living a debt-less life, or the freedom to do whatever you want.
Being able to sacrifice all these fleeting materialistic happiness allowed me to achieve my personal financial freedom faster. Although many of my close friends are getting married, driving new cars and buying houses, they’ve become enslaved towards these goods and would have to work every month to repay the loans taken.
For me, the golden rule of thumb when it comes to purchasing things is that if you have to think if you can afford it, you can’t afford it. As long as you would have to think about it, you can’t afford it. If you really can afford something, you wouldn’t have to think about it. You could just pay for it in cash and not give a damn. That’s the true meaning of financial freedom for me. Knowing how to protect your investments can also give you an advantage and financial knowledge as you grow.
I wouldn’t lie, fancy watches and branded cars do spark joy in me too but the sacrifice is just too much because I appreciate my freedom more than having to purchase something that would give me a short term joy.
The point is, our generation now alongside the influence of social media changed the way we look at things. We constantly look at other people’s achievements and think to ourselves “Hey, I could do that too!”, or want the things that your favorite influencer is having/using. Do keep in mind things like this that are posted on social media are only the HIGHLIGHTS of people’s lives.
Yes, I’ve purchased these short term materialistic joys before in the past. I’ve spent my money partying, and my fair share of the things I’ve mentioned above. I’ve learned that when it comes to a business, you will need to keep reinvesting your profits in things that would provide you even more profit in the long run, and THAT’s how you are able to achieve your sense of freedom.
You are in control of your OWN financial freedom.
Jeremy has been running several online businesses behind his laptop for the past 5 years and he has worked as a freelance web developer previously. A trained marketer by profession, he also has Ruby on Rails and web development knowledge. His forte lies in eCommerce, SEO and content marketing. He’s been featured on Vice, Thrive Global, YFS Magazine, Forbes and several other publications. He prefers to connect with people on LinkedIn.
