Thread by @robertoblake

The path to independence and more personal power is not some “guru secret”. (THREAD).

You don’t need luck beyond good health either.

A steady income, a disciplined mind and a plan are what you need:

Think about what a healthy lifestyle looks like in EXACT TERMS, and with an EXACT budget for you.

Get a clear picture in your head. Attaining those resources over the next 10 to 15 years is probably reasonable but not the next 1 to 5.

That’s what ppl struggle with.

Start with frugality.

Don’t buy unnecessary things, and only buy things of quality that make your life better or can make you money.

Do not buy emotional comfort with your hard earned money when you don’t have enough of it.

Set goals, and work toward your goals. People demonize hard work, and says it didn’t get them anywhere.

When audited they were not working towards a specific goal or frankly for themselves.

Their hard work achieved plenty for other peoples goals...

Important goals:

Self employment
Homeownership
Emergency Fund
Retirement Investment.

These 3 goals may feel out of reach but they are important financial milestones.

To be independent you have to “stop making other people rich”.

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur but you do need to become self employed with a side hustle if you’re not financially comfortable right now.

That extra money will speed your way to a down payment on a house ($10K-$30k).

Renting makes someone else rich.

The difference between paying rent and paying a mortgage is that one day down the road you own the house if you don’t screw up.

That value stays with your is passed to descendants

Rent money makes someone else rich. Changing your priority to homeownership is freedom.

A side hustle where you are self employed also means you can invest in getting resources and skills that can help you earn more money overtime or change your career path.

You don’t always need school or a degree. Specialized trades pay very well.

But as long as you are an employee you will always be making someone else rich.

They will always be earning the majority of the value that you create.

If you want freedom you need to take responsibility and ownership of your career or vocation.

Some people will tell you everyone can’t be an entrepreneur but for most of human history there were not corporations. Almost everyone was self employed.

So yes everyone can in fact do that and once upon a time they did. They gave up freedom for security or the illusion of it

Speaking of security. A side hustle allows you to either build an emergency fund, invest in the stock market, or invest in retirement.

Currently I keep an emergency fund out of old paranoia.

But I invest more than I save bc it grows my money.

Another thing that makes someone else rich, is paying more taxes than necessary.

Obviously you need to pay taxes, but money put into tax advantage retirement accounts puts more money toward your future instead of in the governments hands.

That’s a good thing.

The best hands for your money to reside in and to use your money are your own.

Stop making other people rich.

Commit to putting your money to work in your interest and for your own family.

Commit to putting your time to work for your benefit more than anyone else’s.

There is nothing wrong with you building generational wealth to emancipate yourself and the future generations of your family from having less choices....

And being beholden to others or at their mercy.

Money is a tool for freedom. There is nothing wrong with getting more of it

You can do so without stepping on others but you will have to accept the level of selfishness that comes with having firm priorities and being ruthlessly frugal.

It’s not a flattering trait to be fiscally disciplined and conservative. But it’s a strong quality to have.

Take all of this with a grain of salt. I’m not a financial advisor and I’m not your financial advisor.

But you’ve been convinced that money is the root of all evil.

The desire to dominate others is.

The simplest method of domination is dependency to an abusive entity...

If you want freedom, understand this: everyone is rewarded according to their contributions.

That sounds pompous until you realize you NEVER enjoy overpaying for anything, so you avoid it.

Guess what? So does everyone else. Think accordingly.

Increase your level of skill and you will increase the value you can create for others.

If you learn to specialize you are harder to replace.

Rarity is consider value. Increase your value by acquiring difficult skills. If it’s easy, it’s worth a lot less.

Commit to skilling up

If you’re in a bad situation consider how you might work with others in similar circumstances to improve each other’s lives.

Immigrants families have learned the value of this and working together and sharing their resources.

Don’t expect others generosity, only an exchange.

Learn to rely on the concept of equivalent exchange.

Being the beneficiary of generosity takes away some of your agency and self-esteem.

I remember feeling of resenting being a “charity case” of some of my friends. It hurts your confidence.

Never be beholden to others.

Start building multiple income streams. You don’t need anyone’s intervention for that or even to start a business.

You can start a cashflow side hustle if you can read this tweet, with the resources you already have and GOOGLE.

Even making $20/day extra is $6K a year.

Start small but stay consistent and growth focused. A seed becomes a sprout, a sprout becomes a plant, a plant becomes a tree, a tree becomes a forest.

It takes time and care.

The same is true for your own future.

Make the commitment to a specific future.