Our Modern Struggle: Financial Independence

Key Points

• Pushing oneself out of debt can be seen as a parallel to Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the Mountain

• There are many reasons why people stay in debt, but Instant Gratification is in this author's opinion the main reason why people struggle with debt

• There are many ways to push yourself out of debt (and getting the boulder to stop rolling back down the Mountain), some of these ways are explored in this article

(Image Courtesy of Berto-Meister.Blogspot.com)

According to the Myth of Sisyphus published by Albert Camus in 1942, Sisyphus is punished by the Gods to push a boulder up a Mountain for all eternity. When Sisyphus finally reaches the top of the Mountain with the boulder, the boulder rolls back down to the start of the Mountain only to have Sisyphus begin pushing the boulder back up the Mountain. This process goes on and on for all time.

I believe this scenario is equivalent to the modern day struggle many of us face in dealing with our finances. We work hard all day in jobs many of us don't like. Day in, Day out. Week after Week. Month after Month, Year after Year, hoping to get ahead and stay ahead. We struggle financially to make ends meet. We look forward to a mythical goal of "retirement" or to become "debt free", only to see a financial catastrophe happen. These financial catastrophe's may not only bring many of us worse off than we were previously but it can quickly become demoralizing to see the boulder go back to the start of the Mountain, but possibly seeing the boulder and our dreams rolling down the road past where we started as well.

Did you know the number one reason people go into debt is medical bills?

(Image Courtesy of Onecentatime.com)

Watching the boulder go all the way back to the start has actually happened to my wife twice in her life time. As she finished paying off all her bills, catastrophe struck she need to have her gallbladder removed. Many years later as she just finished paying off the gallbladder bills another financial set back occurred, this time it was a stroke. I saw this happen to a number of people and as a result I recently applied for long term health care in case of a long term medical need.

(Image Courtesy of Bankonyourself.com)

Of course, it doesn't have to be medical bills which set us back financially. In my life, I have finished paying off credit cards now for a third time. The first time, I didn't really notice the amount because I felt it was insignificant and I was in my early twenties. The second time I paid off my all my credit card debt I was in my late twenties or early thirties. This time it was a over $25,000. I swore at that time I would not go into credit card debt again. Unfortunately, I didn't learn from my mistakes and this last time I am now in my forties. I am avoiding the boulder and the Mountain as much as I can. I cut up my credit cards and only pay cash now. This last time the amount was well in excess of $50,000 and it still pains me to think about.

How can this article help you: Identifying Instant Gratification

(Image Courtesy of Turkmmo.com)

I like video games, especially World of WarCraft. In World of Warcraft, players can post items on the Auction House (Market) and have them bought by other players for gold. Rare items or items which take time to accumulate can go for a very good price and tend to sell very quickly. The reason is Instant Gratification. Players want the top gear, resources, reputation and they want it now without spending the time grinding content or levels. World of Warcraft has noticed this trend and will be glad to help a player exchange real dollars for World of Warcraft gold (via their time tokens).

When I was growing up, and maybe you heard it too the previous generations motto's were "Work hard, save your money, and in time good things will come." or "Save your penny's for a rainy day." Today the new generation's motto and influence seems to be whatever the real house wives of New Jersey indulge in. Or, maybe you have seen this commercial on TV, the lady purchases a pair of shoes which have been previously used from an app on her phone for $100 and she says with a straight face without this app I would have paid over $700 for the same product. It gets even worse when you look at the television you are currently watching "The Jersey Shore" or "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" or other reality TV shows don't include or reflect the hard work many of us do on a day to day basis. This trend of Instant Gratification i.e. Keeping up with the Kardashians has only exacerbated the influence mass marketing has on us. Saving for a rainy day is no longer cool or chic. Everything is now swipe it and drive.

(Image Courtesy of Zimbio.com)

Unfortunately, this practice of slaving all day at work and not saving is now going to the Millennials

Millennials are now the current generation of workers entering the workforce and pushing the boulder up Mountain. In my opinion, Millennials can be labeled as the embodiment of Instant Gratification, especially in the age of technology where everything and anything is available through an app or a smart device. If you want something one click it and done. If they are not educated they will repeat the same mistakes we made or continue to make.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/want-to-make-millennials-mad-talk-about-saving-for-retirement-2018-05-16. Stories such as Want to Make Millennials Mad Talk About Retirement. Or that 66% of Millenials have nothing saved for retirement https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/07/retirement/millennial-retirement-savings/index.html.

Thinking back, I was very fortunate when I started my career at 21 years old. My father at the time sat down with me and looked over my retirement benefits (which I still contribute to.) He said this is actually a great system, you should start off by saving 10% a pay check right away so that you will get used to having that amount deducted from your pay check now so you won't miss it later on and you won't over extend your pay later. I still thank him everyday for this simple advice, which I am glad I followed.

Can You Identify These Two People

I was in a financial class one day taught by Ryan C. Mack, author of the book Living in the Village. Ryan Mack showed two slides on his power point, the same two images as above and asked us to identify these two people. One person made over 200 million dollars in their career and has now declared bankruptcy. The other person was a janitor who lived frugally his whole life and donated a large sum of money (8 Million dollars) to the community when he died. Their respective articles are attached below. Before clicking on these links can you identify these people?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2012/02/21/allen-iverson-earned-over-200-million-in-his-nba-career-hes-now-broke-say-what/#2197951534fe
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2939593/Man-lived-modestly-leaves-millions-surprise-donations.html

Picture of Ryan C. Mack Author of Living in the Village (Courtesy of Thepmshow.tv)

The Struggle Can Be Won

Removing credit card debt, living modestly, applying for long term health care, investing in my 401K, working overtime, and identifying Instant Gratification are simple steps in trying to help me succeed in moving my boulder (debt) off my mountain and goals (retirement and being debt free). Not everyone's boulders or size of their Mountains will be the same. You should start by identifying your boulders and the size of your Mountain. One other final piece of advice I can give you before ending this article is to see yourself the way you want to see your self.

(Courtsey of Baseballhall.org)

I was listening to a recent Phillies game on the radio and Larry Anderson (L.A.) said Steve Carlton told him to always think about where the ball was going to end up before he threw the pitch. If you see yourself throwing wild, you will throw wild. If you see yourself painting the corner, you will strike the batter out. I have to agree with both L.A. and Steve Carlton. I am a HUGE believer in self motivation and more importantly self visualization. If you can see an end to debt, and visualize your self being debt free, you can become debt free. If you see yourself always in debt, and you see yourself always having the debt, the worry, the fighting over bills, the struggle then that's how you will always be.

Author's note: This article is all my opinion and should not be relied upon for predictive behavior or outcome of any financial decision, tax implications, or investment performance. It is all my opinion. You can follow me on Twitter @TheMoonknight77 where I mainly follow NWBO, send prayers for cancer patients and post Steemit articles on topics which I enjoy. Yes I am NWBO Long and a share holder.