Freedom vs. Building Wealth

[holidayad_]

I've been wrestling with this dilemma: freedom versus building something solid in life.

During and some years after college, the path seemed clear - grind hard, stack cash, build assets. The classic blueprint.

But increasingly I question the logic of killing yourself for decades in such an unstable world. You slave away for 30-40 years building something, then some crisis, pandemic, war, or inflation comes along and eats everything you've built.

Looking at older guys, many followed the "right path" and now they're chained to jobs they hate or businesses that drain their soul.

On the flip side, living without plans or building anything substantial doesn't sit right either. I've seen too many men who chose to "live in the moment" only to hit panic mode years later when they realized they'd established nothing.

It's like we're forced to choose: either lock yourself into a career/business and sacrifice your freedom, or keep your freedom but live with the constant anxiety of not building anything lasting.

I'm currently flirting with the idea of taking a gap year, bartending and seeing what happens.

What's your take?

 

[plumber]

we are mortal. the path is only one, we can not try another and see.

#1 make sure you feel good. if feeling like its hard to decide, take a look at if feeling good. should feel optimistic, decisive, strong. if not take a look at why. this is priority one.

#2 it doesn't take long to build something, when you choose to do it. really no missing out, it can be done quick.

#3 a sabbatical is very healthy.

#4 see #1 again.

 

[BaronOfHair]

I'm currently flirting with the idea of taking a gap year, bartending and seeing what happens.

What's your take?

Be cagey, if you decide to do so south of the border, especially around Matamoros https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Mark_Kilroy

 

[Oatmeal31]

I've been wrestling with this dilemma: freedom versus building something solid in life.

During and some years after college, the path seemed clear - grind hard, stack cash, build assets. The classic blueprint.

But increasingly I question the logic of killing yourself for decades in such an unstable world. You slave away for 30-40 years building something, then some crisis, pandemic, war, or inflation comes along and eats everything you've built.

Looking at older guys, many followed the "right path" and now they're chained to jobs they hate or businesses that drain their soul.

On the flip side, living without plans or building anything substantial doesn't sit right either. I've seen too many men who chose to "live in the moment" only to hit panic mode years later when they realized they'd established nothing.

It's like we're forced to choose: either lock yourself into a career/business and sacrifice your freedom, or keep your freedom but live with the constant anxiety of not building anything lasting.

I'm currently flirting with the idea of taking a gap year, bartending and seeing what happens.

What's your take?

You certainly don't have to slave away for 30-40 years if you are financially responsible and invest properly. People who work their whole lives have poor spending habits. They are idiots let's be honest.

 

[Free_Agent]

Get both. It’s completely achievable. It’s also important to have purpose and drive towards a goal what ever that is.

I was a late starter . Began investing in income producing commercial real estate in my mid 30’s.

Took me approx 15 years to hit a 8 figure NW. this wasn’t some huge portfolio either. A small business with 2 locations and 4 commercial rental properties and a few single family home flips.

If I hadn’t gotten married and eventually divorced I would’ve retired way earlier or with way more likely.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Faulty logic and faulty assumptions leads to faulty conclusions.

"I think my life is passing me by..."

Brother down...

 

[ThisIsSparta]

I've been wrestling with this dilemma: freedom versus building something solid in life.

During and some years after college, the path seemed clear - grind hard, stack cash, build assets. The classic blueprint.

But increasingly I question the logic of killing yourself for decades in such an unstable world. You slave away for 30-40 years building something, then some crisis, pandemic, war, or inflation comes along and eats everything you've built.

Looking at older guys, many followed the "right path" and now they're chained to jobs they hate or businesses that drain their soul.

On the flip side, living without plans or building anything substantial doesn't sit right either. I've seen too many men who chose to "live in the moment" only to hit panic mode years later when they realized they'd established nothing.

It's like we're forced to choose: either lock yourself into a career/business and sacrifice your freedom, or keep your freedom but live with the constant anxiety of not building anything lasting.

I'm currently flirting with the idea of taking a gap year, bartending and seeing what happens.

What's your take?

What is freedom, what is wealth and how can you be poor and free or wealthy and free?

Both terms are relative, depending on your definition.

F.e. " wealthy is not the one with a lot of money but the one with few needs" or "how much does freedom cost?"

Would, spending a lot of money to pay for expensive medical treatment that prolongs your life, be an act of freedom?

Does enough "fvck-you-money" buy freedom when you tell your boss or customer to fvck off?

 

[BeExcellent]

Advice from the old lady:

You are 25. Presumably you have a long time horizon. I agree strongly with @plumber on this and @Free_Agent too. How you do and what you do in life is determined by what you value (what makes you feel good, but not in a strictly pleasure pursuit or hedonistic way.)

Prepare yourself to seize opportunity. Perhaps you may already have an education, and that's a well advised path, but I've seen plenty of people become successful without college too.

Guard well your health. At 25 you should be healthy and fit, but start now with clean eating and limitation of vice (smoking, drinking, drugs, all nighters). When you are in your 50s you can still be in great health, but don't habitually abuse your body....otherwise your body may fail you or succumb to disease later in life, which robs your quality of life and chronic disease treatment is extremely expensive. Therefore stay healthy as long as possible and avoid chronic disease.

Chose well those you surround yourself with. You are generally a similar composite as those closest to you. If you see a successful person, be curious, ask how they got where they are. Cultivate contacts with successful people and seek to learn from them. Often they enjoy sharing what they know although few will implement and embody it.

You CAN have quality of life (meaning time and money) but you are going to have to make a plan, then work your plan to get there.

It all starts with what you value: Your "WHY".

For me it was freedom at a certain lifestyle level.

I built a 7 figure net worth on a bachelor's degree level education while having 3 children and fully supporting a family of 5 (I was the sole breadwinner).

I chose a career where I traveled for business and worked from home since the late 90s. That allowed me maximum time efficiency and I also built a passive income of income properties to buy back my time (replace my income). I maximized freedom and looking back I've had periods where I had to stretch and work really hard, but I've also been able to enjoy the process and the ride. I have very low debt, do not overspend, and still enjoy an affluent lifestyle. I had a couple of successful mentors, but nobody "gave" me anything. I built it myself.

And this is including going through a divorce and remarrying along the way.

Today I could retire and live off my passive income, but I still work for now to provide my children a college education and also enjoy some pursuits that are relatively expensive....

So figure out what you want (Your why)....From there you figure out the what and the how, and that will be individual to you.

 

[zekko]

I'm currently flirting with the idea of taking a gap year, bartending and seeing what happens.
What's your take?

If you're currently on a successful track, you might regret interrupting it to "waste" a year. I've always thought your 20s were about improving yourself, although I had plenty of fun too. I have never regretted the hard work I put in to succeed, in fact it makes it more satisfying to know I earned it. Do people regret the work they put in at the gym? It's the same thing with finance. Especially for a guy your age, you can really set yourself up for the future. Anyway, isn't bartending work too? Who's to say you wouldn't get sick of doing that?

 

[BackInTheGame78]

What is freedom, what is wealth and how can you be poor and free or wealthy and free?

Both terms are relative, depending on your definition.

F.e. " wealthy is not the one with a lot of money but the one with few needs" or "how much does freedom cost?"

Would, spending a lot of money to pay for expensive medical treatment that prolongs your life, be an act of freedom?

Does enough "fvck-you-money" buy freedom when you tell your boss or customer to fvck off?

You don't need money to be free. Just go live off the grid somewhere...you will be completely free...might not see another human again unless you actually want to.

I mean, you'll just trade one form of work for another...but this time instead of working for a living, you'll be working to survive...foraging for food and water and maintaining viable shelter will take up a substantial amount of your day.

And you'll likely find that Mother Nature is often cruel and unforgiving far more than any human society.

 

[Vanderdonck]

No matter what you do, you're always free. You could commit ten years to a 60 hour per week job. Ten years and one day later you can quit if you're unhappy. Everything has a cost and a benefit. Just figure out what makes you happy and what you're willing to give up to get there.

 

[Bible_Belt]

You don't need money to be free. Just go live off the grid somewhere...you will be completely free...might not see another human again unless you actually want to.

I mean, you'll just trade one form of work for another...but this time instead of working for a living, you'll be working to survive...foraging for food and water and maintaining viable shelter will take up a substantial amount of your day.

And you'll likely find that Mother Nature is often cruel and unforgiving far more than any human society.

That sounds like a lot of small farm owners I know. But that's what they want to be doing, so they put in the work.

The "do what you love" advice sounds naive, but I think all the people who are the best at something love it. That's how they got there. If you're not doing what you love, eventually you will be competing against someone who does, and there's no winning that battle. Someone like that never stops working, because to them it isn't work.