People think that being rich makes men free when in reality it makes them vulnerable. Some of the freest people in the world are people who are not destitute per se but people who can move the things they own easily at will to wherever they like whenever they feel. You see, the more stuff you have, the more you have to insure, and the more likely you are to be robbed. Also, the more money you have, the more, I have found, women will expect you to pay in order to woo them. Far too many people are wage slaves because they rely on that money for life as they know it to continue. Eventually, they end up having to do something they do not like because they can't earn that much somewhere else.
Most people increase their expenditures as their income rises. Since I bought my house, my financial status has stabilized and risen, not because of Obama but because of my own efforts. Aside from the fact that I like that house, I see no point in moving. If I bought another house now that the market has "recovered", the differential would consume all the increased funds I earn and leave me at the same standard of living as I enjoy now. I have neighbors and friends and coworkers who are house poor, having to pay so much to make the mortgage that they cannot furnish their house. I tutored a young lad whose single mother made good enough money to live in an affluent neighborhood but who had no chairs in the common areas so we sat at the kitchen table when I worked with her son. Other people reward their increased affluence by purchasing things for which they have long yearned. Some of these are purchased on credit. Well, in that case, they don't own their stuff as much as their stuff owns them. To keep up with the neighbors or keep appearances, far too many people spend money they do not have. Most people who look like they have money have already spent it. The saddest category are the people who incur so much student loan debt that it takes them their entire life to pay it off. Since I don't have any debt, I don't have to earn as much just to break even, and I fall into a lower tax bracket, so I win that way too.
I constantly argue with people about what belongings are assets and which are liabilities. Although I count my house among my net worth, it belongs to that class of belongings that are not mobile or liquid. A thing might have a market value that seems high, but ultimately it's only worth what someone is willing to pay you. Furthermore, you have to get insurance on a house, a car, on jewelry, on art work, on firearms, etc., so that after you acquire them you must pay to protect them. Many arguments about home ownership point out the upkeep costs, which also count as expenses. Anything you buy is only worth money at the moment that you sell it. Until then, it's something to which you must pay attention lest a thief or lawyer, but I repeat myself, move it from your asset sheet to his own.
Perhaps the saddest group are the people who are chained to their desk because they need a certain amount of money. An old acquaintance of mine from high school who works as a pharmacist asked me about quitting to teach high school chemistry. Unfortunately for him, I know that not only will he not enjoy teaching at that level but he won't enjoy the paycut. Far too many of us must keep a job to keep a lifestyle, because we are used to being wined and dined or having the best of things, and in order to keep up with our neighbors or keep ahead of them we must continue to earn more. Recently I made the mistake of trying to attract the attention of a woman who cost more than she benefits. I know many people who must earn a certain wage to keep a spouse/significant other. Far too many women in Vegas expect men to go broke for them when they don't offer anything that other, cheaper women offer as well. It has been said that there are no ugly women, only poor ones, for any woman can be surgically transformed into a beautiful woman, and some men manage that as well! Then there are those sad few who must keep a job they detest in order to live a certain way to keep their friends. Their friends stay with them because of the crumbs that fall from the table. When the gravy train dries up, the fair weather friends fly away.
During the budget crisis, when the Department Chair told me I was on the layoff list, my morale remained high because I am not living paycheck to paycheck. I do not need them to pay my bills. I look forward to work on Monday because it gives me purpose and potentially productive opportunities. In that way, I am one definition of success. I like my job and I get paid to do it sufficiently that I afford all that I must and much of what I like. Far too many of the people I know who have money spend money to look wealthy, and in so doing they bind themselves to their jobs. Really wealthy people do not do something they hate, because they spend less than they earn. Almost all the people I know who get a financial windfall immediately spend it. They blow their "tax refunds" on stuff; they buy a new car with their raise; they get a newer, larger, and better house when they get a better job, or they sink money into remodeling an old one. In essence, earning more doesn't help them live better, and they obligate themselves. In fact, I think they often give raises to people who are old or people with children because they know they can lock those people into those jobs. With financial obligations, those people are less likely to leave, whereas I may go at any time because I have money in the bank and don't rely on them to meet obligations. In fact, I work, and I work out, and then I do whatever I like because I am neither accountable to nor responsible for anyone except my own soul. They cannot make me a slave, because I am saving my money for my children if I ever have any so that I can share with them the cool things and experiences I enjoyed and enrich their lives that way.
I already wrote about having an emergency reserve. I keep money in multiple accounts so that it's easily reachable in a pinch at the amount I require. I can buy whatever I like whenever I like (within reason) because I live simply. Money buys me experiences. Money is less a master than it is a tool. I use it to have a rich life.
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