dream | act | succeed

I guess everybody has heard about people that claim to be “financially independent“. But what does that even mean?

The moment I close my eyes and think about a better future for me, myself and I. We just can not understand the philosophy behind the being financially independent thing. Sure, if I would have 2 million dollars right now in my bank account, I could live in the way I am currently living for the next 200 years easily! But honestly, that’s not what I and people in general do.

I would buy a house and a couple of Porsches and the money would be gone already, right?

As you can see, it’s not that easy. The moment people have money, well, they change their lives! Just have a look into one of these fancy documentaries about lottery winners that made a fortune over night and you will see what I am talking about! Therefore, being financially independent doesn’t necessarily mean to just have a bunch of money sitting around somewhere on the Cayman Islands. It’s also the way you live your life that is so important! Do you live beyond or beneath your financial situation? Do you spend more money than you earn? Or do you drive around in an old car even though, or because you have a ton of money sitting around in your bank account?

There is a book that you should definitely check out when it comes to the topic of money. It’s called “The millionaire next door” by Thomas Stanley. Because this guy actually explains it right a way! It is not about the watch at your wrist, or the cloths you are wearing. It’s all about the mindset you have and the way you spend your money.

Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and, most of all, self-discipline.

thomas J. Stanley

Sure, that’s a hard thing to understand, especially if you want to get going in the Porsche owner’s world, but it’s the truth and as we all know, it can never harm to just get a second opinion on something, right?

You may see another doctor, just in case, because you don’t think that it will be really necessary to get your heart glued together after your girlfriend split up with you, right? Therefore, especially when it comes to the topic of money, you shouldn’t be stingy after all and in fact listen to other people and their perspective on the topic.

Living a very mediocre life? Hell no, that’s nothing for me! But we need to be realistic, right? The moment you start to talk with people about the topic of money a lot of them seem to struggle to “keep up” with. Financially but also courageously.

Über Geld spricht man nicht, Geld hat man.
You do not talk about money, you just have it.

This is a very famous German saying. And in fact a lot of people follow this norm. It’s just not really the thing people want to talk about! When in fact, it is actually quite necessary to talk about it!

It doesn’t matter what you want to do in life, you can always improve upon your situation. But why don’t we try to get better in the “money” related stuff as well? Why is this something we don’t talk about?

Being financially independent is something I do not think that can really exists. Why? Because the moment you “progress” in life, your expectations change with you. Each and everyone of us has a “concept” of this world we are living in. This is the mindset you have, the stuff you expect to happen to you or not and things like this! You want an example? For me as a student, I guess it is not a surprise to anyone that I do not earn a ton of money at the end of the month. Therefore, owning a Porsche in the future is quite an achievement. But just imagine being Jeff Bezos for a minute or two and you can already afford a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo S with the money you would have earned in those two minutes. Do you think that he has any appetite for a car like this? Maybe, but it’s just such a small investment for him that he doesn’t even want a car like this. He most likely want something better. Something more special, something more unique. But the thing is, that the perspective changes everything. What the Porsche 911 Turbo S is financially for Jeff, is the decision on buying one single paper clip for me.

Therefore, sure, money will make someones life easier! But it will also change your life! You might think about traveling to a nice place next year and already saving up a bit of money here and there. And of course, it would be nice to be in a position where you can simply afford to travel four times a year easily. But would you still do the same trips you do right now? Or would you change the destinations? The durations? The activities? The amount of money it costs?

Being financially independent, well, this seems to be a thing for people like me! People that can endure things. People that control themselves and actually force them into things that are not even necessary. When it comes to the topic of money, I simply have a different concept in my mind than most of the people out there. But hey, everybody can do whatever they want, right?

Theoretically you can reach a point in life where you will “feel” financially independent. But actually being independent? I don’t think that this is even possible! The moment you have something, others want to have it as well. Sure, this might remind you of Kindergarten, but in fact, it will not change in someones life.

If you want to be financially independent you need to stop somewhere on your way to the top and say: “Enough is enough! I am satisfied with how my current life is! I will not strive for more! I will not buy more stuff! This is all I need!” And then, well, eventually you might get in fact financially independent.

The secret about money? There is non! But always have one thing in mind! Just ask yourself what your neighbors would do? And then most likely do not do this, but in fact the exact opposite. They will most likely have new cars every two or three years? Well, have an old but reliable car, or something that will retain its value. For example an old Porsche 911 😂🙈. Instead of using a Rolex to tell you the time, a two hundred dollar watch will do the job as well!

The ultimate tip?

Create a statistic in which you will document any financial transaction you are doing. Every single bill you pay, every product you buy, just everything. After that you can create categories and figure out how much money you actually spend on what and how much money you earn with what. Sure, you might do not see the point in this because you think you have already quite a good life. But it can never harm to get a second opinion, right? Just look at your numbers and you will see what your life really costs. Knowing about your financial past, this will help you to predict the future. You can calculate stuff like how much money you can save up, or how much money you actually need for difficult times and stuff like this.

In the end, it will always depend on you. If you will not be satisfied at one point or another, you will never become financially independent.

See you next time!