I remember when I first made $100,000 in a year. I believed all my financial problems would disappear after hitting that magical number.
However, in reality, my financial issues were worse than ever. I had $70,000+ in credit card and automobile debt, and I couldn’t take my family out to eat without using my credit card.
How was I making so much money at work but feeling so broke, behind, and bullied at home and work? The problem wasn’t with my income; it was with my mindset. I wasn’t taking care of money, so in return, money wasn’t taking care of me.
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Climbing from the ashes. The year I had finally had enough of the financial problems was 2019. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I committed to changing my life through my finances. Today (2023), I can take my family out anywhere without worrying about the price.
I understand how to leverage options trading, real estate, royalties, dividends, and business to extract what I need from the capital markets.
It took me about two years to convert from consumer to producer; I decided to become a capitalist to provide the best life possible for my family.
The Magic of Rents: Consistent Wealth
Let’s review what it feels like to be broke, behind, and bullied before I jump into the life of a capitalist. If any of this strikes a nerve, it may be time for a big change.
Being broke. There is no worse feeling than going to work for 40 hours a week and being broke on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
You are exchanging five days of your life to get two back. However, you are too broke on those two days to enjoy time with your family.
Instead of staying home and mending our budget, we use credit cards to soothe our pains. This starts a never-ending cycle where we must keep working to pay our credit cards because we use credit cards because we work.
The Magic of Dividends: Guilt-Free Spending
I spent 20 years in the military inside of this rat race. Although I made more money every year, I never discovered how to have $500 to $1,000 in my checking account for the weekend. It wasn’t a fun time in my life.
Being behind. Feeling behind is even worse than being broke. At least you can see that you are broke when you look at your online banking or credit score.
Feeling behind is an emotional response to what you see on social media, movies, and television daily.
Everyone online has it all figured out. They have a lovely home, nice cars, beautiful kids, and a wonderful spouse.
However, when you look at your life, it is full of chaos and drama. Most of the dysfunction stems from insufficient resources to make life more smooth.
The Golden Handcuffs of Lifestyle Inflation
When we feel behind, we take it out on our loved ones. We do this partly because we don’t have a solution to “get ahead.”
All we know as consumers and employees is to work more hours. However, the more we work, the less time we have with family.
How are we supposed to spend more time with family AND have the resources we need to provide for today and tomorrow? It is definitely a conundrum they don’t explain in school. By the way, the answer is passive income.
Being bullied. By not understanding money, we place ourselves in a position where work can bully us. They tell us what to do, and we have no choice but to do it.
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Passive Income Lemonade
Over the years, bullying will become worse in the workforce. Your boss doesn’t intend to bully you; you just need more money.
The only way to create a work-life balance is to be “work-optional” or financially independent. To reach this extraordinary milestone, you’ll have to understand saving and investing and the difference between the two.
You can also become bullied at home because your spouse or children want things you can’t afford. This pressure causes you to do something you would rather not do, but it’s part of the frustration of being behind, broke, and bullied.
Happy Financial Independence Day!
Changing your circumstances. No matter your debt, there is a clear path to financial freedom. It all starts with a change in mindset.
If you want to take charge of your life, control your money, and lead your family, you’ll have to understand how to do these things. It all starts with reading books.
I know that reading, writing, and arithmetic (the Three R’s) are not the popular answers; however, they provide everything you need to overcome financial adversity.
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Let’s do a quick rundown of topics you must understand after your first year as a capitalist. If you can grasp these early in your conversion, you’ll have years to improve your knowledge. The key in the beginning is getting the information in your brain.
Financial Mindset: Happiness Isn’t Free, Happy Cash Flow Retirement, Financial Security vs. Financial Freedom.
Budgeting: Determining Your Bare-Bone Budget, Building a Fully-Funded Emergency Fund, How to Create, Buy, and Build Assets.
Investing: Getting Started with High-Yield Savings Accounts, Time to Purchase a Certificate of Deposit, Treasury Bills vs. Notes vs. Bonds, Dividends Investing 101, Selling Covered Calls for Passive Income.
Real Estate: Five Ways to Earn Rental Income without Owning a Property, Renting Rooms to Family Members, Are You Ready to be a Landlord?
Royalties: Create Passive Income for Music, Photography, Art & Design, Video, Audio & Speech, Writing.
Business: Blogging to Financial Independence, Start a Food Truck Business, Start a Consulting Business, Start a Coaching Business
Putting it all together. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to becoming wealthy by leveraging capital markets. You must do what is suitable for your timelines and family situation.
The good part is that you can create the life you want. I stopped working at age 42. I write every morning and spend time with my wife while the kids are at school.
Conclusion. My writing career only pays around $200/month in royalties, but I trade options that bring in $2,000 to $4,000 monthly.
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I use my dividends to supplement my military pension. I use my rental income to supplement any part of my life that needs supplementing.
The key to my life is having multiple streams of income. However, I could only create these streams because I took the time to read books and figure out what I wanted and needed.
Most people will never become capitalists because of the high educational barriers of entry. Don’t worry; the obstacle is all from self-education.
If you can wake up early to invest one hour daily in your conversion, you’ll be surprised how far you will progress. It all depends on how badly you want your new life. Good Luck!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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