The number one thing people will never complain about is that they could use more money.
The number one thing people will never complain about or blame when they have too much money is money.
The obvious reason for attaining more is fewer problems and more bliss yet behind the vast amount tends to be a broken relationship that spreads like a lethal virus.
The reality is, itâs impossible to believe a harder life, more problems, less privacy, loneliness, and lack of purpose are found with more until one steps foot into that dangerous state.
Sadly, moâ money = moâ problems happens to be the case for 90% of the top .1% and above. Unless you were a financial literacy prodigy and never blindsided by money or obsessed with it, money is bound to become an addictive drug in your life. You must tame it. Itâs the price you pay and itâs a hefty one.
Itâs not entirely your fault. The environment, the media landscape, our idols, icons, competitors, neighbors, car dealers, salespeople, tv shows, red carpet appearances, Kardashians, titles, positions, Zillow, Robinhood, and housewives infiltrate oneâs reality and blindside people into believing money is the end all be all. Everything will be fine, perfect, healthy, fit, and beautiful with more. Sadly, that cannot be true.
Thankfully, and thatâs not a typo, it doesnât work out that way. In fact, if we had everything, we would have no purpose and desire to discover what we are capable of. Money would hypnotize us since thatâs all we have to keep our sanity afloat. You could have a thriving relationship, be in your prime years in tip-top shape and be the healthiest creature on earth, yet without a goal and mission, you will still feel lost.
Many celebrities and those we deem âwealthyâ according to the Forbes 500 list, red carpet or Googled net worth are poor inside. Itâs all for show. If the pieces seem to be aligned in tip-top shape, something must be holding them together, not gorilla glue but the Helmers classroom-type about to break apart after a few days.
We really donât know each other or the shape of our financial lives. On here, I write all the time how looks are extremely deceiving. Consumer credit card debt is nearing $1 trillion at $804 billion, Americans owe $14 trillion collectively, and 80%, 8 out of 10 Americans is in some sort of debt yet luxury retailers, the real estate market, and car dealers thrived during the pnademic.
Americans still have a lot of work to do on the stealth wealth lifestyle but they are getting better. Itâs difficult, especially with lifestyle inflation creep. On that note, maybe itâs a blessing in disguise wages arenât keeping up with inflation entirely so we can stay rational and not over-spend. As the cost of living continues to increase nationwide and the median income in coastal cities is close to a top 10% income to live comfortably as the median average home price is ~$1.5m in San Francisco and New York, people need to pay closer attention to what they are consuming. What you consume, you become. It has become harder than ever as weâre bombarded, overwhelmed and inundated with promos, sales, and ads all over the place from our pockets to TVs.
Peaked
When one feels financially free and flexible, itâs hard to predict or notice it since it is a continuous process. Once one gets to the invisible official stage where they can hold off on working for their time and save more of it earning passive income, prudent investors and consumers tend to actually continue and push through since it becomes a lifestyle habit at this point and theyâve found a way to enjoy it.Â
Arguably this is the best solution to never falling into any financial traps. Once you believe you should keep going even if youâre stable and secure, nothing can hold you back since you have another purpose in life, besides earning!
This stage usually includes:
-Owning 5â10 passive income sources along with primary earnings
-Emergency savings (cash or liquid securities-treasury bonds at varying maturities, money-market, I bonds, CDs, US Savings bonds) that cover 6â12 months of living expenses
-Own hard tangible assetâââpreferably primary residence fully-paid off
-Alternative assets (real estate, farmland, collectibles, artwork, crypto) or private market securities (venture debt, capital, real estate crowdfunding/syndicates)
-Own no âtoxic debtâ= credit card, car loans
-Own intellectual property or tax-deductible business
-Feel healthy, that you add value somewhere, are supported/loved, and have a network you can lean on just in case
-No liquidity crunch or need to draw down principal in case of emergency
-Able to fully max out your retirement accounts from your employer (401(k), 503(b)) or individual (IRA, Roth IRA, Keogh, SEP-IRA)
-Can afford to take a break/vacation or some sort 2â3x a year
-Have a will and ideally trust for your assets and peace of mind for your beneficiaries in place
-Enjoy learning and embrace mistakes, failures, comebacks with a financial buffer
-Net worth ideally is 20x your gross income or 50x your annual expenses
-Aggressively saved and invested at least 40% of income for at least 5â10 years
-Donât feel the need to retire or pull back from earning simply due to age, boredom or laziness
Feel free to add your own preferences as to how financially free and flexible feels. It takes massive commitment and diligence but anyone can get there. No IQ or special talent is needed. Through unwavering commitment and dedication, anything is possible. If you never quit, how can you ever lose right?
If I were you, I would always be thankful for my constraints and limitations. As a child of immigrants, I certainly had mine growing up in NYC, one of the most expensive cities in the world. I started working at age 11 since I knew adopting a student of life mindset would suit me better long-term. I started investing in my Roth IRA as soon as I had earned income and invested in myself daily in the classroom and outside, primarily understanding the markets, honing my hard and soft skills, and practicing trading with play money since I barely earned at age 11 and didnât want to risk my parentsâ hard-earned savings coming from Europe used to build a better life here.
If you were given everything, it would actually be harder to do anything. Be careful what you wish for, especially when you get to this stage: the black diamond path of too much wealth, overreliance, and no direction.
Danger Zone
This danger zone resembles a black diamond ski path. People with vast amounts of wealth, letâs say $1 billion or above are warped up in their own reality. They lose touch with the outside world and thank their employees for funding their space tourism travels or believe they have the power to pump a meme coin âto the moon!!â. There are only a few thousand individuals in the world that have this dangerous power. I wouldnât consider them lucky. Their circumstances might have made them so and if they went back, followed the exact same steps that got them here, they wouldnât be in the same place since to achieve above-average wealth, around 80% of your wealth is due to good luck, fortune, timing, and connections. I read the other day that if the wealthiest people on earth were placed on an island, alone, not with their employees, they wouldnât be able to survive any better than anyone else. To accomplish anything, they need a whole crew, roughly 800k employees in Bezos case. To go fast, you go alone, to go far, you go with a team.
With the overreliance on money filled with exuberance, most of these folks end up living devastating and ridiculous lives of the top 0.001%. They are as likely to be divorced, miserable, go into bankruptcy, eat junk food, and die prematurely as anyone else. Reliance on anything gets people in trouble. Not the good fortune in itself.
Balance is true serenity. Sadly, balance doesnât exist in their dictionaries since they belive they are worthy of much more which causes trouble in the end.
These troubled folks typically include:
-Early stage young founders/CEOs of public/private companies/Fortune 500s/unicorns/giants with an inflated immediate upgraded lifestyle
-Children who inherited a massive windfall
-Lottery winners-90% of them end up in a worse spot than where they started prior to the win
-Athletes, celebrities, retail traders, and those who follow âget rich quickâ paths in the spotlight with no financial literacy or purpose beyond the dough
-Those obsessed with earnings and thatâs the only thing that occupies their life
Doesnât this sound awful?
Pressure is privilege but it wonât be once you think outside of the box and whatâs really important in life. Once your basic needs are met which is proven to be around an income of around $75k, money will still be relevant and top of mind, but enjoyment and appreciation for bigger things in life start happening.
Family Dynasty Turmoil
I donât know about you but the top .001%, above/below and around that Iâve learned about, researched, viewed, encountered, and once admired, I now feel pretty bad for.
Money is a drug and can be the most harmful thing to people with no bigger mission. Up to a certain point, there should be a cut-off, a wealth ceiling of some sort. No one in the world should have billions to spend since. At that point, it is guaranteed to be spent on pure wants that they only have a reason for. The government (could) possibly put their vast amounts of wealth, or a quarter of it to better use such as paying down the national debt, cutting taxes or the giants should strive to donate it, eradicate hunger or fight climate change. Why are the ex-wifes of billionaires donating the most? Why not themselves? Instead, they refuse to and fund their lofty metaverse goals pouring $10 billion into projects to only lose it. At least that taught Metabook a lesson.
Up to a certain income, $75k, once our needs are met and we have all the necessities covered such as food, security, safety, and hopefully feel loved, after that, thereâs only so much happiness you can acquire until you start feeling purposeless. With too much wealth, everything seems like a transaction not a connection. You are programmed to think in a way that happiness isnât a part of.
If you want a relevant example on how money REALLY messes with your head, observe the Disney granddaughter who is making a documentary revealing how her own family and prior and current chief executives and top management earned millions in compensation plus stock options while theme park employees earned minimum wage, $15 per hour having to decide between paying for meds or living in their car.
With less, money means more. It is sacred since you have limited wants. It enhances the quality of your life since basic goods mean more to you in the short run simply for survival. As humans, we are needy and as consumers we are sticky. We want things ASAP and compare ourselves to the point where we donât realize we are indebted to a strangerâs wants.
According to reports and Disneyâs granddaughter, the family was as corrupt morally and internally with their wealth as the fictitious, Roy family on the hit show Succession. The Roy family battles over the successor for the CEO/Founder which happens to be the father. Throughout this series, the audience gets a glimpse into the familyâs lives, turmoil, troubles, thought processes, dangers, roles, mental illnesses, alcoholism, bigotry, hatred, abuse, and drug abuse. Iâm not one to watch TV, a materialistic item I can easily avoid, but Succession caught my eye as it portrays a striking message about how money can really mess with your head. Too much of anything is a bad thing.
To spare your sanity, feel free to find out yourself what happens to the Vanderbiltâs, Anderson Cooperâs family, and the Murdoghs, which some say the Roy family is loosely based on.
In sum, be careful what you wish for. The grass isnât greener on the other side. It will always look better because money is green.
If you have everything you need, thatâs all you need. Real happiness is cultivated inside. If you want more, chase after it. No one is stopping you but remember earlier than later, too much of a good thing is dangerous.
Moderation with everything, especially earnings.