Want to get Wealthy? Read this!!

It’s been a minute, hey guys. New year new resolutions right? Well, it isn’t for me, was to drop this article on the 2nd of January but well, my old friend, procrastination came to visit. Anyway, here it is. Full disclosure, I didn’t write this article all by myself, it’s a collection of thoughts from financially savvy prospects, I mostly follow on Twitter. They emphasize on building wealth and I thought, hmmm, this would be good for my audience. Let’s dive in…

Unpopular opinion: Money can buy happiness. Probably you don’t agree, right? We often get to hear the statement, “The Love of money is the root of all evil.” I disagree. I think it should be, “The Lack of Money is the root of all evil.” We often go to our extremes when we lack money; we steal, we kill, and we engage in immoral behaviors to get money. As compared to when we already have it and try to acquire more, now that’s the love for money. Get it?

Let me share my ideas on getting wealthy and investing:

· Money is a tool, use it to build wealth. That wealth can provide time, location, and financial freedom. These types of freedom equate to all kinds of happiness. Use your money to invest in assets that will appreciate or create cash flow. This will buy you freedom and you will own 100% of your time. You can do what you want, when you want, where you want and with whomever you want. Money will eliminate the stress and anxiety that not having it creates.

· Possessions aren’t a sign of wealth or happiness. Status symbols such as expensive luxury cars, designer clothes, mansions, and watches don’t make you rich. They make you LOOK rich, classy, and flashy but in reality, you might not be. The goal should be to become wealthy, not look wealthy.

According to Morgan Housel, the author of The Psychology of Money, money flexing with status symbols won’t buy you respect. People may be in awe of your car or the Rolex on your wrist, but they’re admiring the item, not you. The lesson Housel shares is that: money flexing with status symbols won’t buy respect. Housel argues that people often covet status symbols because they want respect. When others admire your possessions, you assume that they’re admiring you. However, he contends that when people admire your status symbols, they barely notice you. Rather, they imagine how much other people would admire them if they owned that symbol.

· On the other hand, wealth symbols such as real estate, ETFs, businesses, stocks, and Crypto (at least what works for me) enable one to earn passive income, facilitate cash flow and in turn, get wealthy. Portfolio income and passive income should aid your earned Income from your 9–5 job. Money solves most of our problems. It makes our lives easier and that’s why money is one of the most important things in life. The biggest privilege that money can create, is complete freedom and control of your time. True wealth is measured in time, not cash.

Use the 5–9 strategy to replace your 9–5. If you can work 8+ hours a day, 40+ hours a week for someone else then you can use your evenings from 5–9 pm to learn new skills which you can be paid for. Skills such as writing, video editing, transcribing, etc can help you get way ahead in life. In the current world where no employment opportunities, skills are your best shot at getting ahead in Life. Create multiple streams of income from a side business or side hustle, so that working 40+ hours a week becomes a choice, not an obligation.

Many income-generating hobbies or skills that people know or can learn have been replaced by scrolling social media for hours. Watch the documentary “Social Dilemma” and learn how social media is a big distraction in our lives. And turn off your gadgets! Every day you have 24 non-refundable hours. Time is your greatest asset, you do not get back lost time, do not misuse it.

· You work for active income, but passive income works for you. Referencing Warren Buffet’s quote, the greatest investor of all time, “If you don’t figure out how to make money in your sleep, a day may come when you lose sleep due to money.” Use active income to invest in passive income, so that passive income replaces your active income. Passive Income includes investing in Assets such as stocks, Crypto, and real estate. Invest in these assets so that they replace your liabilities over time. First, your passive income will cover your daily spending, then it will cover your rent, then will pay your loans, then it will cover your salary. Soon as you come to see it, you’ll be the next Jeff Bezos or who knows, the Next Elon Musk but without 6 million dollar companies to run. Ha ha…

Financial freedom is having enough passive income to cover your living expenses. Financial freedom creates time freedom. Create financial freedom to enjoy the passage of time. Build wealth, so that a job becomes a choice and not an obligation. Building wealth will create complete freedom and control over your time.

What are you doing to optimize your money to achieve financial freedom and build wealth? Let me know, in the comments below.