If you just came from my Chiang Mai Budget post, you know that I’m spending $750/mo here.
Like I mentioned at the end of the article, I have the option to live a more luxurious lifestyle, but I like to save at least 50-75% of my income.
You might think that’s a crazy high percentage, but in reality, it’s what you should be saving too.
Why? Let me first explain with a story from my life. (I highly recommend you watch the video as it packs a much bigger punch).
Money And Happiness
Before I moved to Florida in August, 2014 to finish up my college degree, I was working in an inbound call center selling travel insurance. I had a full-time salary + commission, and I was still living with my dad at the time.
This allowed me to save a huge percentage of my income, as I didn’t have any rent or food expenses. All I really spent money on was gas and any kind of random entertainment I got myself into.
My bank account was growing at a rapid pace, and I found that nothing could make me upset. Each direct deposit that entered my account would be the best feeling ever as my balance rose to uncharted territory.
Eventually the summer came to a close, and it was time to make my big move to Florida with dreams of a better life than boring Connecticut.
I had managed to save $10,000 in only 6 months at the travel insurance gig, which at the time was a lot of money for me.
Anyway, the first few months in Florida were a blast, but eventually my bank account would dip lower and lower, and I was feeling the exact opposite of what I felt when my money was growing.
I was getting anxious, depressed, and worried that I was going to run out of money and be forced to get a job again. And I knew I wouldn’t get anything close to as good as the travel insurance gig, which I actually enjoyed most days of the week.
I quickly realized that spending money doesn’t create happiness, GROWING it does.
Your money is like a microcosm of yourself. Your money goes up, you go up. Your money goes down, you go down.
And then there’s like how most of Americans live, where their money never goes up, and never goes down. It just stays at a low neutral level for their whole life, while their job slowly kills them.
If you don’t want that to happen to you, you have to aggressively SAVE. And none of this 5% annual savings bullshit either. That probably doesn’t even cover annual inflation, so in reality you’re not saving anything.
You need to be saving at least 50% of your income if you want to escape the rat race.
And yeah it’s going to suck at first, and yeah your friends won’t want to hangout with you, but if you really want to be happy and financially secure for your future, then you have to make some sacrifices in the present.
Remember, if you’re not saving money, you’re losing money. And if you’re losing money, you’re losing yourself.
The Last Piece Of The Equation
Now, even if you have a high paying job and you manage to save 50-75% of your income, you’re still not free.
The reason is because it’s literally impossible to stay happy over a long period of time while working for someone else. Humans weren’t designed to do that.
The second you stop working, is the second your income comes to a halt. And when your bank account starts to decrease, no matter how much money you have, you won’t be as happy as when your account was growing.
If you have a big chunk of change, yeah you’ll still be reasonably happy, but if you watch your bank account slowly dwindle away for years, it will cripple you into depression and possibly take your life.
I’ve seen it happen close up, but that’s a story for another time.
In order to break free and truly be happy, you have to develop passive income streams to where your time is separated from your money, while also saving more than you spend each month.
The best way to do that is to either learn a valuable online skill, or start a business. And believe me, I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s the only way to achieve long lasting freedom and happiness.
If you want some guidance on how to do that, leave me a comment below, or send me an email. PS: Please do some research and make it specific though, don’t just say, “help me, what do I do”.
L2W Uber Hacking
Lastly, if you need to make some money immediately and have the ability to save the majority of it, I’d recommend driving for Uber and living in your car.
This option would put you in full control of your income, while not having to pay any rent or traditional living expenses.
You’d meet a lot of people while driving (girls too), and it would also give you the freedom to work on your own projects.
That was my back up plan if my businesses never worked out, and I actually think it would be a lot of fun.
And I know that a lot of guys want to drive Uber, but either don’t have a car, or don’t have a new enough car to be accepted.
Luckily, Uber came out with a new program where you can rent a car for cheap on a month-to-month contract, with no milage limits.
Check out the Rideshare Guy if you want to learn more about it, as he has a lot of valuable content on how to do it.
Final Thoughts
Alright guys, that’s it for tonight.
Most people will go their whole lives without learning many of the truths I share on L2W, so use this knowledge to your advantage and you will have a huge leg up in life.
Drop me a comment with your thoughts and questions, and be sure to vote in the poll below.
Catch ya next week! – Brian