[Atlantic]

Seen this linked today elsewhere from another forum member.

Although its only a short post it does breakdown the mindset of savings/spending quite well.

Quote:

It was definitely the most potent idea of Rich Dad poor dad, but it really didn't sink in until I read TMF because it was explored outside real estate in such a comprehensive way. It all boiled down to the answer to this one question...

We see it on here all the time: "I have a thousand dollars, I have five hundred dollars, I have ten thousand dollars..." and the inevitable conclusions: "Should I go to school? Should I buy a car? Should I buy a boat? Should I blow it on a vacation?"

Reach into your pocket and grab whatever money you have. A dollar. A dime. Doesn't matter. Hold it and look at it. The difference between freedom and wage slavery, between working till you're old or retiring when you're young, is that you look at that, and stop seeing an opportunity to consume. When you have a little windfall and you're not in the fastlane, if you spend it on frivolities like a sports car or a cruise, you look as stupid as a fisherman who goes out to hook some blue fin tuna, but right as the school is swimming beneath his boat, he opens up the little tub of bait he brought along and starts shoveling the dirt and worms in his own mouth, greedily slurping down the little squirming maggots and telling everyone how awesome it tastes.



Meanwhile, 400lbs of prime seafood is getting away. Where are you? Choking down your little bit of dirt and tricking yourself into believing that it was worth it.

If you trade time for money, your money shouldn't be for consumable frivolities. It's not for designer clothes, or iPhones, or Sunday Ticket, or a Mustang GT. Shop at Wal-Mart or Marshalls, drive a $1200 Geo Metro, get a Republic phone, cancel your Netflix, and spend your money to get free. Even if you're really, really hungry, take that bait, hook it up, and get it the hell overboard. Let your stomach gurgle, you'll be eating good tonight.

Money is your best bet to earn more money. Until you're meeting needs at such a high volume that money is available in excess, the little bit you do have, whether it comes from a job or a lucky break from somewhere, should only be spent one way. There's only one fastlane answer to the question "I am in the slow lane and got X amount. What should I buy?"

Buy something to meet the needs of others.

Spend your money in a way that causes it to be multiplied rather than consumed.

http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/communit...ads.52906/

[Kdog]

Great post. Reminds me of the countless friends who are consumer drones and fall for the financing trap lifestyle.

[JayJuanGee]

There certainly can be a multiplier effect when a guy engages in strategic planning with finances - living well within his means and investing a portion of his savings... in order to hopefully create more and more passive income to such a level that the passive income begins to become more than the amount that he needs to live.

Yet there are other components to this thinking as well, b/c sometimes it is easier said than done and to be able to follow through - for example, one might become afraid of debt, but if debt is used for financial multiplication purposes, then the debt may be o.k... such as student loans or business loans or house loans... or sometimes even kinds of sock investments - NOT always easy to measure how those bets are going to turn out, though.

Ultimately, each guy should monitor and plan his own situation in order to keep some kind of finger on the pulse.. and even can be good to project finances ahead in order to understand the extent to which being frugal now may result in an ability to be spend more freely a few years down the road.

[Isaac Jordan]

While there's a lot to be depressed about these days (fatties, the economy, the progressive takeover of America, etc.), I often try to remind myself of the amazing opportunity men of today have presented before them.

For what may be the first time in the history of humankind, men today have the opportunity to become truly free. Thanks to modern technology, the red pill, and an increasingly globalized society, if you can save up enough money (or build up a business) to the point of obtaining a reliable, sufficient passive income, you can do almost whatever you want. Whatever you want!

Imagine being able to wake up on any given day and do whatever the hell you feel like doing. Surfing in Cali. Heli-hiking in Canada. Sipping wine at a cafe in Paris. Get a dart board and a map and go to town.

Imagine all the possible experiences men of the past missed out on, because they got married at 23 and bought two cars and a house and had four kids and had to work 40 hours a week 50 weeks a year until they were 65 and too old and sick to do anything because they didn't know about paleo or stronglifts or ACV and zinc. Think about all the guys who were drafted into wars or got suckered into six figures of student debt or accidently knocked up a golddigger.

If you're young and have access to the internet, you not only have the world at your fingertips, you have all the knowledge that has ever existed. There's no excuse to spend your money on toys and trinkets when you can buy your freedom!