Stop thinking about money

“more than I wish I had more money, I wish I didn't wish that I wished that I had more money.” - me (jack friks)

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Money mind intrusion

A lot of life is spent undergoing hardships that at their core, are money problems. So it only makes sense for anyone who can use “money” to buy things to put a high level of importance on money.

Lately, however, I’ve been in this weird spot about money… I know I want more of it, but I don’t really at the moment need a whole bunch more of it.

I’ve taken a lot more time to focus on things that give me freedom, & not just financial freedom, but the freedom to do what I want with my time.

at the same time now when I’m not focusing as much on money there creeps in many bad money thoughts each day, thoughts that almost feel like they aren’t even my own, like some external voice is peeking into my mind’s business:

“How will you ever get enough money to buy a house at this rate?”

“Aren’t you kind of a failure? you’re not even making any money anymore.”

“Is the long-term vision you’re after really going to pay off? don’t you need more money now?”

”What about what people think about you until you make it big? You don’t want people to think you’re stupid because you’re making less money than you were before”

Thoughts like these come up often, & a lot of them I have been able to fight off through reading about people who are on a similar path to mine. (Highly recommend The Pathless Path by Paul Milerd)

But this entire scope of financial worry is worrisome, my brain loves to pester about MONEY MONEY MONEY, financials & more even when they are what’s least important to the current thing I’m focused on.

I don’t think these thoughts will ever completely go away, but I do think there’s a path of trial & error that may grant a new type of financial freedom, not one where I have unlimited money & never have to worry about money ever again, but a form that allows my bad money thoughts to f**k off at least a little bit more.

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Financial freedom (the new kind)

Financial freedom is defined by Investopedia.com in their article on how to reach it is as follows:

Financial freedom—having enough savings, investments, and cash on hand to afford the lifestyle you want for yourself and your family— is an important goal for many people. It also means growing a nest egg that will allow you to retire or pursue any career you want—without being driven by the need to earn a certain amount each year.

To me, this is an awesome goal & I wouldn’t mind reaching it either.

Butttttt, there’s something missing… well actually there’s a lot missing.

What about the journey or path to reach financial freedom, this should matter a whole lot too, right? So we can enjoy our lives to a higher degree while on our way to this ambitious goal to be financially free.

& then another big piece of this financial freedom puzzle is not just to find a path you enjoy, but also to do it while not worrying too much about money.

This may be a luxury state don’t get me wrong: there will be money worries, but what I mean when I say “worrying not too much about money” is really to be at a point of having less of the “bad money thoughts” I talked about earlier.

The crowds of people who are headstrong on F.I.R.E (financial independence retire early) or Grinding into their 60s until retirement: all of these people are looking to a point years and years out to be free from their current burdens of money & whatever takes up their time currently (that they would rather didn’t)

This is the majority state of people in life, they are trying to aim for a place that’s years away to be free, happy & much more wealthy.

To me, & the life I would like to aim to lead, that is as much of a solution to financial freedom as is a sandwich with no bread.

The new form of financial freedom I propose is not a chase but rather a constant realization that no matter how much money we have we will not be free from the sorrows & worries of the every day, & we should feel freedom in the constant realization of that itself. — while also focusing on what matters most to us (not as to how we are perceived by others, but what really matters to US)

Of course, we cannot snap our fingers & have our minds reformed to be happier & wealthier, but a lot of things can be molded to how you think about them (maybe even your bank account balance).

If you look at the majority of rich people they are not any more happy than they were before they were rich, maybe even less so, so why are any of us spending the majority of our lives on the Financial aspects as opposed to the Freedom part of financial freedom?

Our bank account may also notice a difference if we choose to pay more attention to where our money is being spent, & try to live below our means…

Living below your means

I’ll probably end up writing an entire book about this at some point, but living below your means is a modern superpower & I’m feeling amped about it so I’m throwing it below my bad money thoughts.

At least in the sense of freedom it is & has been for me, & I certainly wouldn’t be typing this message If I hadn’t been one frugal mother friker for the majority of my life.

If there’s one thing I’d say the people on F.I.R.E do well it’s this, they figure out how to live below their means & then budget EVERYTHING, run all the numbers, and take it to the most extreme levels.

Now, I don’t think the extremes are even necessary necessarily, anyone living below their means is subject to witness more money in their bank account compared to if they aren’t living below their means.

So instead of Bill who makes $4000 a month earning another $500 a month, he could just… figure out a way to spend $500 less a month.

Suddenly Bill now has an extra $6000 a year to go on a few vacations or to spend on that thing he has been saving up for, or to put towards a down payment on a house or to… not spend it at all & retain some extra cushion for if anything is to go wrong he won’t worry nearly as much about money.

Living below your means essentially takes away a lot of worries & allows you to have much more freedom in your life overall. I’ve been lucky enough to naturally adopt this type of spending of my money, but anyone can try for themselves to see how much more freedom they will add to their lives.

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Summary, TLDR & Wrap-up Conclusion

I've come to the realization that although money is important, I want to prioritize things that bring me freedom and not be overwhelmed by financial concerns.

I'm exploring a different kind of financial freedom that includes enjoying the journey, not just the destination. Living below my means has become a superpower for me, adding more freedom and reducing worries. I highly recommend trying it to experience an increased sense of financial freedom.

— this TLDR was brought you by ChatGPT, if you want the real soul of my writing then go back & read the actual goods 😉 

That’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed reading this or maybe found it even a little bit useful. If you did: thank you.

Until we meet again (or you read another part of my writing somewhere)

sincerely, from your my mom’s basement

your friend,

jack ♠️