(TLDR Version: Money gives you the freedom to make the changes you want in life.)
I haven’t been to any kind of Day Job in over a month…and it feels AWESOME. Instead I’ve been editing the fourth draft of my novel, studying Japanese, working on this blog, finishing a handful of other writing projects, and taking on a few editing projects, which combined total more than a full-time job while paying decidedly less than full-time money. I’m able to do this chiefly for two reasons:
- I saved up a bunch of money (six months worth of living wages, to be exact) before I left my Day Job
- I have more income lined up for mid-summer when I leave for my teaching job in Japan
Both the income safety net and the upcoming job make it possible for me to avoid Day Job work and focus on what I really want to be doing: establishing myself as a writer.
Or, to put it more simply, having enough money makes it possible for me to do that.
Having Money Lets You Do Things
For the sake of brainstorming, let’s look at a list of things you can do with money:
- Buy awesome stuff (cool cell phones, fancy blenders, wall-to-wall carpeting, etc.)
- Live a more comfortable lifestyle (certain kind of house, certain kind of car, etc.)
- Travel to amazing places
- Stay on the cutting-edge of technology (buying newer cars, newer cell phones, etc.)
- Develop sweet, rewarding hobbies
- Buy conveniences that save you time and energy (dishwashers, prepared meal services, voice-activated thermostats, etc.)
- Do good things for the world around you (donate to charities, loan money to friends, etc.)
These are all pretty great things (I’m a particularly big fan of the amazing places one), but there’s a bunch of other stuff money lets us do that belongs on a different kind of list:
- Not work a job you don’t like
- Leave a job you don’t like so you can look for one that you do like
- Work on a creative project that doesn’t pay right away (or at all)
- Buy supplies or equipment for said creative project
- Take classes/get an education
- Take on unpaid or lower-paid positions that offer training (internships, etc.)
- Move somewhere new to pursue more opportunities
What makes the second list different is that everything on it helps you better yourself and the work you do. Everything on this list also requires money—and the more money you have, the easier it is to do basically anything there. For example, the more money you have, the longer you can afford to cover basic living expenses without working, and the more easily you can pay for college without having to do Day Job work on the side so you can focus on your actual goals.
Simply put, money allows you to make a life change, especially one that involves a change in career or making awesome creative projects like the ones I talk about on this blog.
A lot of the changes on this list also require that you have extra time to make those changes. Having money gives you that extra time because you’re not wasting all the time you do have working a Day Job you don’t care about just to cover your expenses. To bring it back full circle: having money allows you the time, resources, and ultimately the freedom you need to make changes in your life.
Money as a Tool
Each of us has a set amount of money in the form of either savings or an income stream. If we spend a lot of money on things from the first list (expensive cars, amazing trips, voice-activated thermostats, etc.) then we’ll have less money remaining to use for the things on the second list (making life changes, doing awesome creative projects, etc.).
Some people aren’t interested in the things on the second list. Maybe they’re satisfied with their current jobs and don’t have any creative work they want to pursue, and that’s OK. (Actually, it’s more than OK because you’re pretty damned lucky if you’re where you want to be!)
Other people, like most of you reading this, want to pursue the things on the second list. In that case you’ll need money to gain the freedom you need to make those things happen. So use it wisely, grasshopper.
My main MO with money is to use what I have wisely so I have more freedom to do the things I want to do. I keep a budget every month so I know where I stand financially and avoid unnecessary purchases in my day-to-day life. That means I cook a lot, live in reasonably priced (and sized!) apartments, take care of my trusty used Volvo S70, and try to fix or reuse things I have when they break. I’m also a big scrounger of free and low-cost furniture—a good portion of my apartment furnishings came from stuff I found on the street and cleaned up, including the wheeled office chair I’m sitting in right now.
Making these kinds of choices doesn’t bother me because I see them as small steps to building the creative life I want, since not wasting money gives me the freedom I need to make that happen.
Woah Woah Woah There Cowboy—What if You Have to Support a Family and Kids?
This philosophy’s a lot easier for me to spout since I’m a childless guy who flies solo, meaning my stakes are a lot lower because I only have to take care of one person. I do believe, though, that supporting a family is just another part of the Time–Money–Freedom trade-off, as writer and parent Charles Hiebner can attest.
One More Thing…Money Gives You the Freedom to Escape From a Bad Situation
Sometimes we work jobs we don’t like because we feel we don’t have any other options, as I talked about a few weeks back. Sometimes we just don’t like these jobs because they’re annoying, but sometimes there’s something worse going on, like your company’s exploiting its workers or having a negative impact on the world around you. Maybe you’re also being exploited and feel a desperate need to get out.
A lot of people stay at jobs that destroy them because they feel they don’t have a choice—but having money and the freedom that comes with it gives you options for getting out (finding a new job, moving to a new city, etc.). I’ve known a lot of people who’ve been stuck in jobs they feel like they can’t escape from because they need the money, and that sucks hard.
If you’re one of those people, I encourage you not to despair—there’s always a way out, and if you can somehow save up enough money you’ll have a much better chance at grabbing it. It doesn’t take a king’s ransom, but the magic word is enough—the absolute bare minimum you need to make that change happen.
I’m hesitant to give a lot of catch-all advice here because everyone’s bad situation is going to look different, but in one way or another we can all consider ways of leveraging our income to give us more freedom by cutting out unnecessary purchases. If that’s not enough (or possible), consider other options you might have available: taking a second job or side gig, finding a temporary job that pays more even if you can’t stand it, looking into government aid (including student loan deferral!), or just plain borrowing money from a friend, bank, or credit union (preferably if the interest costs are low…).
These are fucked-up financial times we live in where opportunities are quickly being taken away from a good portion of people who need them the most, and in a more ideal world we’d all have easier inroads to getting the life we’re after, but until we can create that more ideal world, rather than giving in to a shitty situation our only real option is to find the strength to fight against the forces holding us back by using all the cunning and direct action at our disposal.
Closing Thoughts
In every case, though, the steps are the same: plan out what kind of life change you want to make, figure out how much you might need to make it, then take any steps you can to make it happen. Again, the specifics are going to look different for everyone and take varying amounts of time, but the basic principles are the same.
The most important thing to remember is that money is a tool that gives you the freedom to get the things you want. Use it wisely.
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