What does it mean to be a provider? What exactly are you providing and how much of it are you supposed to provide? Like most men, I thought that I had all the answers. I was working hard in my job, getting promoted, buying a house, and paying the bills. But then something happened. I realized that this wasn’t enough.
In the Marine Corps, I am surrounded by “Alpha Males”. God’s gift to testosterone. And of all this masculinity, only 1% can hold the rank of E-9. So, according to the rule of numbers, I am in the top 1% of the top 1% of testosterone. If I were to subscribe to this line of thinking, which I don’t, I wouldn’t have to prove my manhood to anyone.
In the Marine Corps, and in general life, I have done enough things to certify myself as a man. I joined the Marine Corps, protected US Embassies aboard, deployed to Afghanistan, got married, had two sons, and bought a house. By any metric these things are amazing.
How the Rich Buy Their Bling
However, until recently, I didn’t truly understand what it meant to be a “man”. Over the last few months, my wife and I have truly gotten ahold of our finances. We have been able to invest $6,000 a month. This is well over her salary. In fact, twice as much as her salary. So, for all intents and purposes, she can retire today and we would be fine.
Currently, Kris is working from home and getting a decent salary. Nothing about work stresses her out. So why not take the easy money. It’s a good life. But, we both know that she can retire herself at any moment.
As a man, this is an amazing feeling. To have learned enough about the world, and to be able to support your family with pure knowledge and action. To look back at when I was an E-7 and she was a supply warehouse manager, both working our butts off. Coming home tired and then going to our second job of taking care of kids and the household. Now, we work WAY less and make WAY more.
Our Kids Need Financial Education and Assets
This all comes down to financial education. It has nothing to do with deployments, weight-lifting, get-rich-quick schemes, or using debt. It has to do with words like passive income, lifestyle inflation, return on investment, and limited liability corporation.
I chuckle a little bit when I am in the gym and men are trying to prove how manly they are. Their muscles are budging to the max, and they are grunting and sweating everywhere. I just keep it moving on my elliptical and go home and read a book. This book will set my family free. Free from the constraints of money, stress, and worry.
So how do you get on the path to financial freedom? It’s easy, you decide to get on the path to financial freedom. The moment you invest $1 into a dividend-paying stock you have started your path. When you receive your first dividend, you have officially received more passive income than most Americans will ever receive. A great book to start with is “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.
Women, a lot of you are choosing to go through life without a partner. That puts you in the driver’s seat. You will then have to take the reigns and drive towards financial independence. There is nothing hard about becoming financially free. The conflict is trying to get it done while you can still enjoy it. This requires financial education.
It Feels Good to be in Control of Our Finances
Men, it is our time to become great again. Most of us have a higher purpose, we just need to aspire to find it. We can do it! We may be embarrassed by our current financial situation. Trust me, I was too. However, that can not be our limiting belief. We are bigger than fear and regret.
Once I reached the pinnacle of my profession, I surveyed the land from the mountain top. As I looked across the vast regions of the earth, I realized that I hadn’t achieved enough. I still had another peak to climb. This one would last a lifetime. I realized I was on the mountain of financial independence.
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