Real wealth is not in buying things, but in having opportunities. An opportunity to leave a job that you hate, create good living conditions and immerse yourself in your favorite hobbies and projects.
People who can't afford anything understand that rich people have freedom of choice. But money buys freedom not only for the rich. They give everyone a choice, however, to varying degrees. Freedom begins already when you earn your first money.
Most people will not hesitate for a long time where to spend their first small salary: pay for utilities, buy food. Few people will do otherwise.
But when we get out of the poverty line, the options for what to spend our money on increase exponentially. We can eat fruits and vegetables, not potatoes, we can drive our own car, not in a crowded bus, buy new clothes and appliances.
Remember how you got your first salary. What feeling did you have when you were able to buy something for yourself for the first time, fill the gas tank, have a normal lunch in a restaurant? Most likely, it was great.
But after six months, this pleasant feeling disappeared, and a new level of consumption became the norm. It was at that moment that you were faced with a choice: to leave the previous standard of living and simply postpone what remains, or to increase requests along with the income level.
It is commonly believed that money is a trap, they say for a reason: "no money, no problem." But money does not limit us, on the contrary, it makes us free.
Another thing is the irrepressible thirst for consumption, this is really a trap. Eat in posh restaurants, buy designer furniture, get a haircut in elite salons and all that stuff. When you can afford it, the first few months it really brings pleasure, but then it becomes the norm.
So you start looking for "something more" again - luxury, new experiences, a new level of comfort, in order to get used to it again for a couple of months and get used to it. It's a vicious circle.
And what is the result? You have almost no choice left. You don't have any freedom, and every month there are huge bills.
Such consumers do not understand how money can give freedom, because they need money only to buy, buy and buy, even more, even more gorgeous. As a result, they remain in the same prison, just as dependent on everything in a row — their work, their loans, their irrepressible thirst for consumption.
The fact that most people make such a choice does not prove that money is an addiction and a trap, and you should not treat wealth badly. At least, it's strange to work for money all your life and at the same time pretend that you don't care about them at all.
You just need to realize the real purpose of money, and it is not to buy more and more expensive things, but to be independent.
Infuriating work? Send everything and leave. Did you want to travel? Choose a country. Need to visit sick relatives in another city? Anytime.
And you don't need millions for this, you just need to spend a little less than you earn, month after month, and understand what you really need — freedom or a bunch of luxurious things.
