Money Lesson #5: Do Whatever You Want

But You Earn This

This post is 1,350 words, a 5-minute read. Enjoy!

This is a continuation of our Money Lesson Series, the Final Lesson. Hope you enjoy it.

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The Final Lesson and the most important lesson of all. As you improve your financial position, the most important thing is to ENJOY OUR FLEATING EXISTENCE.

I have shared this verse from Ecclesiastes a lot and I will continue sharing it because I believe this is the ultimate goal in life:

"That it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart." - Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

In Money Lesson 4 Part 3, I used water to describe the different phases we go through with money. Money Lesson 5 takes that idea to its conclusion.

This is the gaseous state. The phase where you are set free to do whatever you want with your money. Some describe this as having F U Money.

Understand that having F U money doesn't mean you have so much money that you can say “F**K YOU!!” to your boss tomorrow and walk off without any consequences. Or you can do anything you want without having to think about it.

Having F U money just means you can make certain decisions that make your life so much sweeter regardless of the cost.

When I started my financial journey, I was in $20,000 worth of debt (credit card and taxes). F U money at that point was going to either Chick-fil-A, Bojangles, or Zaxby's on my way home from work on the last day of my shift (12+ hour shifts). The three-option depended on the shift I had just finished working.

• If it was my night shift where I worked 6 consecutive nights.

  • On my way home in the morning, I was either getting a Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Bojangles or getting a Chick-N-Minis Breakfast meal from Chick-fil-A.

• If I had been working the day shift, where I worked 7 days straight.

  • On my way home in the evening, I would get the Zaxby's Wings and Things Meals with Nibblers.

In that season of life, NO ONE COULD TELL ME I WASN'T RICH when I bought those meals. It made everything I was doing worth it.

Another season of life was ensuring that I could spend at least $50 on my siblings and parents for Christmas. It was also ensuring I could at least send $25 to everyone on their birthday.

Another season of life was ensuring I had a travel fund to be able to see my family regardless of where they were.

In my current season of life, it is being able to drop $50,000. I mentioned in Money Lesson #4 Part 2, that I reduced my retirement investing slightly. This is the reason for the reduction. This is the reason why. Not gonna lie still coming to terms with this one lol. I'm a recovering money hoarder.

The Final Lesson of money is simply this. After you take care of business, you get to do whatever you the EFF you want. Regardless of what others might think.

It is realizing that there aren't any rules on how to do this. Once you do the basics, you get to choose what you want your life to be. You get to decide how you want to live your life which means How you want to SPEND YOUR MONEY!

Three Words of Caution on This Phase:

1. Choice is EARNED

   • A truth no one likes to admit. Choice is neither something you deserve nor is it something you are entitled to.

   • Choice is something you EARN! The hard choices you make earlier are what give you the ability to make the seemingly easy choices later.

     • Word of Advice: MAKE THOSE CHOICES ONCE! Examples:

       • Automating your savings and investing

       • Automating your debt payoff

       • Creating a money plan

2. Every time you say yes to one thing. You automatically say no to everything else. Every choice comes with a tradeoff aka Opportunity Costs.

   • As you make certain decisions, there is an invisible cost you have to pay. A few examples:

     • My choosing to spend $50,000 on a wedding means I am giving up about $380,000 to $503,000 in 30 years. It means delaying buying a new house. It means delaying replacing both of our cars that are dying (My AC just went out 😱😭 and the radio in her car doesn’t work).

       • But for us, it is WORTH IT. (Still coming to terms with it lol)

     • Choosing to pay off a debt might mean not being able to travel with friends for a period of time.

     • Choosing to buy a new car might mean prolonging the time to pay off your student loans

     • Choosing to buy a house means taking longer to quit a job to start your business.

     • Choosing a higher-paying job with more responsibilities might mean less time with family

     • Choosing to chase early retirement might mean not being a part of many near-term life celebrations.

3. Whatever choice you make, ensure they are truly yours.

   • Because the sucky part is most of the time you will never be fully okay with the choice you make. Because you are aware of what you are giving up.

   • The goal is to embrace the time and season you are living in. Accepting the present for the gift that it is and looking forward to the hope of the future that you will one day have.

     • A mix that I am still learning to live in every day.

Just like the phases of water, we hardly stay in one phase forever. We sometimes revert from the free-flowing phase to the restrictive rigid ice phase. It is all part of the process. Learning when and how to go back and forth is key to becoming much better with our money. It is something that I am still learning how to do every single day and it is worth it as I get better with my money.

I hope these Money Lessons have been beneficial to you. If it has not, please let me know what I missed and where I strayed. Everything I shared is out of my personal experience and may be missing details or nuance that would help others. I would love to hear how you have navigated your finances in different stages.

I have never been married, had children, lost a job, started a business, been solely responsible for my parents, dealt with hospital bills, or a plethora of things people deal with every single day.

I selfishly want to learn from you who have dealt with these things. So please if you have any lessons that you believe would be beneficial. Reply to this email or comment below. I hope to hear from you soon.

And thank you all so much for spending your time reading my ramblings. It means the world to me.

God Bless You

Generosity>greed

✌🏾

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Recommendation Section

A new podcast I am loving is called 50Fires. It is by Carl Richards, a recovering Financial Planner and Advisor, who although could help other people with their finances. Had a difficult time talking about money with his wife and children. It has quickly become one of my most anticipated podcast to listen to every week.

Morgan Housel in Quiet Compounding talks about how good things tend to happen slowly and is easily missed. He breaks the 4 ways that is either ignored or implemented in life.

Nick Maggiulli in Selfish talks about how we can easily be caught up on the "Me Show" then we miss out on all the things that truly matter.