How
to get off the rat race?
This
is a board question and it of course depends mostly on your wealth level.
I will outline a few most common scenarios here. First you must understand
that there is no magic trick that can do it for you, but you must do it
yourself. Also it will take time… years.
If
you have substantial amounts of money, income or future inheritance etc.
look at your life situation and make a plan as to how you can get off the
rat race in few years. It may first look like there is no way out of it,
but if there is will, there is a way. Scale down with housing, summer
homes, boat, cars etc. Move to a cheaper area or a city or even a cheaper
state. There are many way you can cut your day to day living expenses to
half and save/invest the other half.
If
you are a business owner: have a plan to work only a few days a week. Most
often it’s the business owners that are so attached to their businesses
that they will die while at the ‘captains’ wheel. They think that only
they can lead the company (big ego).
Sell
or give part of the business to some loyal employee or to your children
and start working part time until you can take off permanently. When you
sell your business just make sure that you will have a steady stream of
income… you may have to take a cut in pay, but if you scale down your
lifestyle a bit that should not matter that much.
You
don’t have to wait until you are 65 or older. You can retire while you
can still enjoy traveling etc. Yes you can travel and have fun even when
you are 75 years old, but there is a huge difference what kind of travel
or hobbies you will enjoy and can do in your 40’s or 50’s or in your
70’s.
This
is actually a very important point that many people forget: Many people
tend to think that once they retire in their 60’s they will enjoy travel
and all the good things in life that they have been dreaming about, but
many of us will be dead by then. Many will be too sick to travel and the
rest will be too tired to do anything else but to go to a cruise ship. Yes
that can be fun too…. but it’s not the same as traveling while still
relatively young. Remember that you will be young and middle-aged only
once.
Most
of our lifestyle is for other people and not for us. It’s all about
keeping up with the Joneses. Every key in your key ring is also a
responsibility and cost you money, time and worry.
If
you are a regular worker who wasn’t borne with a silver spoon in their
mouth; you can still get of the rat race, but of course it will take time
and effort. All this is pretty common sense stuff: save money, even a
little bit a week will help, cut down on your expenses etc.
You
can try to think some other form of additional income that can help you
when you ‘retire’. Something that you could do whenever and wherever.
Writing a book, consulting, online sales, Ebay, part time work, etc. Try
to make you hobby to a part time business or income creator.
The
most important thing any one of us can do is to learn to invest wisely. Investing
into stock market is pretty much the only legal thing that a common man or
woman can do to get rich on the side. With a good investment plan you
can make over time substantial amount of money as a second income.
I
suggest that you will start educating yourself about investing and the
stock market. On the internet there is a lot of free information and
bookstores are full of good books about investing.
In
order to make money with stocks you need a good system. Do not start
throwing money into stock on your own. You will lose your money for sure.
There are many successful investment systems that will keep you money safe
and over time will make your savings grow. It may take years, even tens of
years, but ultimately you may make enough that you will have a steady
stream of income from stocks etc. in order to retire on it, or at least it
will give you an additional income to make your life more comfortable.
If
you don’t like my system look for another one. There are many different
kinds of systems and you will find the one that works for you. Just
remember some basic things when looking for a investment systems:
It
they don’t offer a at least a one month free trial period, there is a
reason for it: their system sucks.
If
they don’t tell you their performance, there is a reason for it; it most
likely sucks.
If
their system is too risky like options, futures or currency speculations
don’t do it, unless you are really experienced trader. Huge returns of
future trading makes it look like a great way to get rich, but futures are
very risky even with a good newsletter.
If
someone is touting 400% yearly returns, they are twisting their numbers.
It is surprisingly easy to twist your performance to look good. So be
careful. Check if the result real and something that you may be able to
archive in the future too. Are the good result mostly because a few
lucky picks or is it something they do continuously. Do check that this
stock system can be profitable in bear market condition too; in other
words it must do shorting or to invest in inverse funds too. Don’t be
afraid of a newsletter that is not making hundreds of presents especially
in a investment environment that we are right now. It’s difficult to
even brake even during a year like this.
If
the system is difficult or risky do implement skip it. You don’t want to
wait for a year in order to be fully invested. Look for a system that is
easy, relatively safe and has a positive return.
Don’t
run after hot tips… where they come from a friend, internet chat room or
a stock newsletter, usually they are not for regular traders, but for
speculators.
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My
personal story is an example of what I write about above. I sold my
business in Los Angeles 2002 and took off. I would have made much more
money had I stayed, but by living very modestly on rentals in Finland and
Thailand and driving a small Chevy I can get by with a surprisingly little
money. If I start buying expensive houses and cars I will end up going
back to work (the rat race).
For
the past six years I have travelled all over in Asia; I live 6 months in
Finland on a small summer house by a lake and 6 months in Thailand free as
a bird. Now I do what I love to do: I write blogs and books, I help other
writers with their books and also I like to help people to get financially
secure. In other words I do what I want to do.
I
liked my business in LA, but still after 20 years in the custom furniture
business it was time for something else. I am glad that I left LA and that
I had the foresight and especially the courage to jump out the business
life. I may even return to it one day, but for now I live the vagabond
life.
I
actually think that many people would like to get off the rat race, but
they are afraid that what others may think etc. For many it’s not the
money, but vanity and ego that keep them going to work that they may even
hate. There’s absolutely nothing wrong to do a job that you like, but
how many of us do? Not many. It takes a lot of courage to make major
changes in your life, do you have what it takes?
This
is also something to think about: The truth is that most things you buy
because you try to make you feel good. We feel bad and we think that a new
car or a boat will make us feel good and happy again. And they usually do,
but just a moment. Buying a new house or remodeling the old one is often
just distraction to our pain, sorrow and despair!!!!! Next time you
find yourself in an electronics store buying yet another TV, stop for a
moment and try feel what you are feeling and see what is ailing you.
Our
life situations are so variable so it’s impossible to have a plan for
everybody in this space. You must make a plan for yourself. Get your whole
family involved. That can actually help you to create a healthy family and
set your children to the right direction and not to this ‘I want
everything now; me me’ way of life that most kids are going today. You
want your kids to be responsible happy adults… not ones that are in debt
to their ears by they are 25 years old.
I
am sorry that there is no magic trick that will do it for you. Most people
end up wasting their lives waiting for a miracle like Lottery winning or
some other miracle that will never happen. Most people who read this above
text will close this page and move on… to next unattainable pie in the
sky dream that will deliver them untold riches and happiness. But I hate
to be the one who will burst their bubble; it will never happen. Don’t
end up being one of them. Take a charge of your life and little by little
transform it to the way you want. It will take time and effort, but all
good things in life do.
It
actually is very simple: have a plan and stick to it. I am sure you have
heard the old study that was conducted about 40 years ago in some
university in US: They asked the graduation students that if they have
plan/goals for their future; 20 % of them did. About 30 years after they
took a close look at the lives of these former students, and found out
that the 20% of the students that had clear goals for their lives owned
about 80% of the combined wealth of all the students in the study.
The
lesson from this is: you must have some goals and plans for you future in
order to get somewhere. Otherwise you end up drifting with the masses and
doing the same that everybody else is doing, which is staying in the rat
race for the best part of your life. You will be just a cog in a wheel.
And
you must realize that this kind of planning is for the long term not for
next year… if you have children that you must get out of the nest; this
plan could be 10 to 20 years down to road. And even if you don’t have
any major obligations that you must take into consideration, usually a
major change in lifestyle must be done gradually and it has to be planned
often years ahead time.
Take
a charge of your financial destiny. Have a plan, stick to it and you may
end up with a lot of money or at least you will not most likely end up
with a huge dept that drowns you. Your life – up to you!
My
summer home in Finland.
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One
summer I ended up taking care of this cat family with my lady friend. This
half wild cat gave birth in a nearby barn and we fed them and ultimately
found homes for all the cats. That was my main ‘job’ that summer. I
remember thinking that time that here I am an ex business man taking care
of some wild cats… I must be nuts, but that summer ended up being a
great experience that I will not forget.
I
take a sauna every night and after jump into this lake… if you have
never experienced this, you cannot even imagine how good it feels. It’s
one of those little pleasures that are cheap, but out of this world.
Your life is all about choices and what you want out of it!
Rule
#1: Live Within Your Means.
I'm going to paraphrase Dickens...
Income $50,000, outgo $45,000: happiness.
Income $50,000, outgo $60,000: misery.
This website has Warren Buffett's secrets to a happy life...
The proper balance of emotional and material wealth creates a fertile
ground for a secure and content life.
More
info on my books:Timo Amazon Books