Have a Worse Car Than Your Neighbor

Being financially free is not the same as making a lot of money … is better.

Photo by @jonathanbean on unsplash.com

The vigorous defense of saving is not a doctrine currently imposed. It is not “chic,” because it does not favor consumption, because it does not impose social norms or rules. It is sober. It is revolutionary. It is radical. It simply consists of living the life you want, without impositions. Now, saving seems easy to do. It consists of not spending everything you generate. But when the time comes, it is extraordinarily difficult.

Let me tell you something:
One of my father’s nephews recently said, “Uncle, I did everything you asked me to do: I went to university, finished my degree, worked, got married, took out a mortgage, went on vacation, bought the car. Now I’m out of a job, out of money, and with debts to pay. What did I do wrong if I did everything you told me? Lesson: “Have a worse car than your neighbor”.

The secret of SUCCESS is to build a good safety net underneath that allows you to launch yourself without fear of falling. This safety net is called financial freedom. It is the number of months you can live without reducing your standard of living if you quit your job today. It is calculated by adding up all your disposable and liquid money and dividing it by the fixed and variable expenses for the month. The result is the number of months you can live without earning an income.

Having FREEDOM is much better than having luxury cars. When you are free and living the life you want, you don’t need toys to show others that you have achieved success. The more financial freedom you have, the more success you will have in your work because it allows you to be more yourself.

The advantages of financial freedom are threefold:

1. It allows you to set out to realize your dreams.

2. You are more successful professionally.

3. You live happily and calmly. “The main obstacle to being happy is fear” (Anonymous). Being financially free is not the same as making a lot of money … is better.

SAVING DOESN’T WORK. 60% of people can’t survive. Human beings tend to spend all the money they have in their pockets, whether it is a little or a lot. The consumer society constantly pushes us to do this. To go against the established system, it is necessary to make a great effort of will, which not all of us have.

The way to overcome our unwillingness or a better option consists of asking your bank to separate a part of your salary every first day of the month and automatically put it in a savings account without you meditating on the operation. The first month you save costs a lot because you know that you will earn more money, but you don’t have it available. The second month will be easier, and from the third month on, you won’t even remember. Let others do what they want.

WHAT I DO — The golden rule of investing is to invest only in what you know is just what I do. If you don’t know about finance, hire an expert who knows how to invest your money well. Some people work hard every day to save, yet when it comes to investing, they get carried away by hearsay...

The silver rule, therefore, is that if you don’t know how to invest, hire an expert to advise you. Find at least three investment advisors and compare what they offer you. By visiting them, you will learn a lot from what they tell you: you will distinguish between the good professional and the not-so-good. We visit many stores searching for a good price for jeans, but we forget to do the same in managing our investments.

THE RICH OPERATE THE SAME — Stanley and Danko conducted the most rigorous research to date on the habits and lifestyles of millionaires in America. The results of the study made them rethink everything they thought about millionaires:

Sam Walton drove an old station wagon to work. Carlos Slim refuses to wear a luxury watch and literally says “I’m sober and so are my kids, out of pleasure, out of conviction, not out of discipline.” 37% of millionaires drive used cars. The rich hold the money they have earned in high regard. The nouveau riche, on the other hand, are slaves to the image. Sam Walton, the founder of Wall-mart, had a great passion for airplanes, but he always bought them second-hand.

Maybe This Will Work For You

#1: Have a car worse than your neighbor’s:

This applies not only to the car but to any product: why buy a carbon alloy bicycle of the latest model if you are going to use it a few times a year? To put your habits into practice, before buying any item, ask yourself: Do I really need it, and will it make me much happier? If the answer is yes, wouldn’t it be better to buy it second-hand? Having a car worse than your neighbor’s means living below your means, not getting carried away by what others are doing, but spending money on what makes you happy.