Living the American Dream
When is enough enough?
I am 40 years old and as far back as I can remember, I wanted money. I wanted to become a lawyer so I could make lots of money. I wanted to write a bestseller so I could make lots of money. I wanted to marry a neuro-surgeon so I could spend someone else’s money. And no matter how much I made or how much I had, it was never enough. The more I had, the more I wanted, and I coveted it. Then I had none, but I spent it like I would again. Then I got a bunch of what I should have realized would be the most money I’d ever have for the rest of my life, and I pissed it away almost immediately, having nothing to show for it only a short time later. Now here I am, flushing out get rich quick schemes hoping I accidentally fall into one of those rare opportunities that usually only come once a lifetime.
I remember when I was young, people used to always ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was still very small, I wanted to be a cop in the day and an artist at night. There was a lot wrong with my way of thinking. First, I thought you had to pick something and that was the only chance you got. Second, I thought you had to choose only one, too small to understand the concept of free time and passive income streams. But what really shaped my views of life was when I was constanly followed up with “Don’t you want a career where you make a bunch of money?” This was obviously a rhetorical question and obviously the answer was yes. But to a child it sounded like cops and artists didn’t make anything so scrap that and become a lawyer or doctor was the narrative. From then on I was going to be a lawyer, what kind I never really delved into. Just the kind that makes a lot of money I guess. In adulthood, well after clearly not becoming one, I would still vacillate about that decision, even taking my LSATs in my 30’s as a last ditch effort at pursuing that dream. Turns out that was more work than I was willing to give.
I’ve always followed the money, albeit the easy kind, counting my dollars at the end of the night instead of zeros on my bank statement. These heart to heart talks about becoming a starving artist clearly left a mark on me and I’ve spent my entire life avoiding destitution while simultaneously becoming just that. There’s no telling what things I would have excelled at, how much talent was wasted, following those breadcrumbs of dough, but I know I am not alone. What percentage of people on Earth have put their dreams and aspirations aside to put a meal on the table for the night? More than the census could count. Living paycheck to paycheck, never getting ahead, fighting an uphill battle with debt, inflation, and this absolute joke of a housing market. There is no such thing as the American Dream anymore, if there really ever was.
So where do deadbeats go from here? I really don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you same as I don’t have an answer for myself. There is no end in sight, no reprieve from the inevitable. But what I have found to be true every single time is that the right thing to do is not always the best thing for you. There are loopholes to a lot of our problems, even if society looks at them like a black mark on your reputation. Did you know that Donald Trump has filed bankruptcy SIX TIMES!! Yes, six. Moved money around, liquidated companies only to move assets and reorganize. All legal. Obama used taxpayer’s dollars to bailout Wall Street with no questions asked, only to have top execs bonus themselves $20 million and file bankruptcy anyways. Did you know that $800k in the bank makes as much in interest as the median American income? This concept of creditworthiness is fake. Things happen, life happens. One missed payment or lost job and you’ve lost the only foot you had to stand on, here in the land of the American Dream. What kind of dream is that? It’s a fucking nightmare. I’m not saying don’t pay your bills or rob a bank but it’s time to get savvier with our low income having asses and start thinking like the rich do. It takes a little money to make more money and we all know cash is king. Does it matter how shitty your credit is when you’ve got a bag full of money? Nope.
These last few weeks, instead of sitting around thinking about how much I’ve fucked up, I’ve been thinking about how to get paid. What do I have that can add value to my life? What assets do I have that could potentially make me money? What bills are pressing today and what can wait til tomorrow, or never maybe? Small investments in land no one wants, high yield savings accounts, rental income - these are the things that can add value to your life and your wallet. IF you have a 580 credit score and decent debt to income ratio, you can use an FHA loan with 6.5% down to secure a piece of shit trailer on a plot of land that already is hooked up to city water and power. Invest 10-20k into eight RV pedestals and rent the spaces for travelers $50 a night. The home remains your primary residence, as per FHA stipulation and you now have eight streams of passive income bringing in up to $4800 a month or $57,600 a year. Pay that off in three years and do it again, or vacate the propery in a year and use the cash to pay for something outright. Instead of spending our short, delicate lives chasing a dollar that loses value every single day through the toil and hardship of real, actual work, we need to start thinking smart and making small moves with big potential.
Tonight I want you to go home and look at your finances and your projection for the next year. See if you have a smidge of cash to spare or potentially could if you made a few small changes. Then make those fucking changes and start moving in the right direction to set yourselves up for a whole new life. No one ever got rich going to work every single day for thirty years. People get rich using the system, parlaying assets to acquire other assets, and letting money make more money. It’s time to stop waiting passively for money to find you and get off your ass and go find it yourself.