Don't remain a slave of the government

Work, spend and lend money. That's what most people do all their lives before they can retire. People work all their lives and by the time they reach their retirement age, they are still financially dependent on someone else: pension funds and the government. 

How can it be that people who have worked for decades and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars are not financially independent when they retire? And this in an era where money and opportunities are available like never before in history.

The answer to these questions is simple: conformity. Conformity means doing the same thing as everybody else. When you think about it, isn't it strange that almost everyone follows the same path? Everyone goes to school, finds a job, takes huge debts and keeps working for the rest of their lives. Did you ever notice nobody tells you how to handle your finances?

Many older people are financially struggling. They have little or no income because they are retired. They rely on pension funds or government benefits. The truth is that the government deliberately keeps people financially stupid. Thanks to the government, you never get the most out of yourself. After all, there is always a safety net called:

Every country has their own government benefits. What if the government decided tomorrow that the above “services” would be stopped immediately? How many people would still be able to make ends meet? I think there would be an alarmingly large number of people who would have a major problem. Would you still be able to make ends meet if all the tax benefits you currently have would disappear?

What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow and there is no more unemployment or other benefits? You still have to make money. When there is no longer a safety net in place, only then you really start looking for success and get the most out of yourself. On the other hand, you can't just stop giving people money and leave them to their fate. So the "problem" can’t be solved just like that. But you need to realise that if you are dependent on third parties for your income, you have zero control. Just think about pension funds having some bad investment years. This will directly impact the income of the elderly and there is nothing you can do about it.

You should ask yourself, why did I not learn anything about investing or keeping healthy finances at school? Isn’t that one of the most important things you can learn in your lifetime? Do you realise that most “educators” already tell you it’s ok to lend tens of thousands of dollars to start an education before you even make any money?

You are already in large debt before you even start making money

I can recommend a book that will provide better information about building a business than an entire MBA costing $80k will. And that’s not just me, there are many people who actually followed a very expensive MBA and thought the book gave more insights than the entire MBA course. Meanwhile, you are already minus $80k before you even start earning money. Find out what book this is at the end of this article.

They don’t teach you how to invest or how to keep your finances healthy. Because they don’t want you to know. That is a direct consequence of our current monetary system. This entire system is only based on one thing: spending money. You are tempted to spend money every day so that’s what people do. It’s no wonder nobody has any money left when they retire. What will happen if people start saving and investing money? Then spending money will stop and eventually the entire monetary system will collapse.

One that does not spend money does not bring anything to the economy.

What if everybody would stop spending? Most companies would go broke. The monetary system would collapse. 

"Bicycles are the slow death of the planet."

A banker made the economists think this when he said:

“A cyclist is a disaster for the country’s economy: he doesn’t buy cars and doesn’t borrow money to buy. He doesn't pay insurance policies. Don't buy fuel, don't pay to have the car serviced, and no repairs needed. He doesn't use paid parking. Doesn't cause any major accidents. No need for multi-lane highways.

He is not getting obese.

Healthy people are not necessary or useful to the economy. They are not buying the medicine. They don't go to hospitals or doctors.

They add nothing to the country's GDP.

"On the contrary, each new McDonald’s store creates at least 30 jobs—actually 10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 dietitians and nutritionists—obviously as well as the people who work in the store itself."

Choose wisely: a bike or a McDonald's? It's something to think about.

~ Emeric Sillo

The system only works if you (and everybody else) keeps spending money. The only thing they don’t tell you is that it’s not in your best interest.

Spending money: You only live once

This is a statement that people often use to indicate that you should also enjoy your life. Enjoying life often happens to be related to the amount of money you spend. That's what I hear from many people around me when I talk about the subject of becoming financially independent. In other words, enjoy life as much as possible because tomorrow could be your last day. So you'd better spend all your money now because it might not be possible tomorrow! Of course there is some truth in this but it’s not very realistic. What if you are eighteen years old now? Should you enjoy your life by spending money because there is a chance you won't be alive tomorrow? You'd better make sure that you are financially independent before you turn thirty so that you can enjoy the complete freedom you have for the rest of your life.

What happened to the dreams of people who continue working until they can retire? The majority of these people have virtually no money, no dreams fulfilled and cannot do what they wanted to do. Simply because they have not dared to take risks. You only live once, so why should you spend your whole life working for someone else and remaining dependent on the government or other third parties for your finances? Isn't it better to take a risk with the possible outcome that you can live a life that 99% of all other people can only dream of?

I can tell you right away that once you are stuck in the system, you are trapped.  You just signed the biggest debt of your life (a mortgage). In the meantime you still have to repay your second biggest debt of your life: college debt. You have to pay the bills. You have to make money by working. You are stuck with colleagues and bosses that you can’t choose. You are stuck to your work schedule. Would your boss agree if you tell him or her this afternoon that you’ll be gone for the next three months because you want to take a world trip? Probably not. You are stuck. And the older you get the more stuck you’ll become. Because you don’t stop spending money, you start earning and spending even more money. Bigger house, bigger car, better smartphone and you name it. 

It’s important that you do not spend all your money on all kinds of things because you might not be there tomorrow. The life expectancy for the average person in the entire world is seventy three. Chances are you’ll reach seventy and perhaps even eighty or ninety. But If you want to enjoy (financial) freedom later in life, you have to start at a young age.

Conformity in practice

If you stick to conformity then you already know how you will live your life. Simply by looking at the people around you. After all, you are doing exactly the same things as the people around you. So you will live exactly the same life. Of course in your own way but the basis remains the same. All these people depend on a monthly income, are stuck in their house because of a mortgage, etc. Chances are that later on you will also depend on government benefits or a pension. Chances are you'll have to work until you're seventy before you can retire (depending on your current age).

By becoming financially independent you break through conformity and do not rely on any third parties (government) for money. Why is nobody financially independent before they turn forty?

As an experiment, go have a chat with a colleague and discuss the subject of becoming financially independent or investing in general. Tell them the information you can find on this website. Make a thoughtful plan for yourself to start a business and tell your friends/family. Almost everyone will react negatively to it:

People don't know any better. It’s way out of their comfort zone. They stick to their own principles and the things they have learned in their lives. Anything outside of that is scary and is a big risk. But practice shows that this is not the case. If that was true, everyone would be working for someone else, no one would be a millionaire and everyone would have to work until they can retire.

Conformity means you'll be dependent on government safety nets. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but keep in mind that the government has total control over your finances. If they decide to cut benefits or change the rules there is nothing you can do about it. 

Make your dreams come true

There is a study about how many people actually make their dreams come true. Only 8% of the entire world population make their dreams come true. While this is hard to measure, it does make sense. How can you make your dreams come true if you have to pay the bills each month? How can you become a millionaire if you are working for someone else year after year? Why do people spend billions on lottery tickets? There is clearly a need for owning a lot of money. But the fact is, you won’t become rich by working for someone else. Meanwhile, everybody works for someone else. Instead, they buy lottery tickets by the billions. That does not make sense at all.

You can learn to live with having to work for someone else day in and day out until you retire. But you can also go exploring. Looking for opportunities to retire much earlier. Becoming a millionaire or earning enough money to cover the bills without working for it and not worrying about money for the rest of your life. 

Your future starts now

We live in an era where it is almost impossible not to be financially independent or broke. Yet everyone is financially dependent on the government and most people are broke. Where did all the dreams go that people had when they were kids? People think they can buy their happiness through a lottery ticket. Each month eagerly looking at this month's lottery numbers to see if they have won anything. You only have to win once... Unfortunately, that chance is 1 in 100 million.

Retiring at 67 is no fun at all. After all, you've been working all your life. So what are you going to do with the sea of free time you suddenly have? Many people simply don't know what to do with this free time. The beginning of the end begins today. Right now, to be exact. How you live the rest of your life is up to you right now, not tomorrow or next year. The sooner you start investing the sooner you can reap the benefits. The main goal here is:

You want to be in control over your finances and life.

By all means, you can do whatever you want. Nobody cares. So just make your life as comfortable you want it to be. If you want an extraordinary life, that will take an extraordinary amount of action to make it happen. If you don’t want to depend on third parties like the government or pensions funds for your future income, then take action and find out how other people do it. When you want to retire is your own choice. Only the sooner you want to retire, the more actions you have to take.

I’m here to help you get on the right path. To get you a stable financial future that might last forever. Unless our planet gets hit with an asteroid… Where to begin?

1. What is your goal?

Want to stop working or retire early? Then you might be interested in becoming financially independent. Read my in-depth guide about financial independence.

       2. Do you want to invest money in the stock market?

Read the following guides in order:

Don’t just read guides, books or watch videos, take action! Action is the only ingredient that will make or break your (future) plans. You can read thousands of books but If you only read them and not put action in making progress then you might as well stop reading. Don’t start investing at a certain age, start right away. Learn everything you need to know and just start. Don’t let third parties like the government and pension funds rule your future.