We’re All Living in One Big Rat Race
Aw, the weekend. I love my weekends. Maybe it’s because I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do on weekends. I can live the way life is supposed to be lived. It’s treacherous out on those Minneapolis streets this afternoon from freezing rain and now a fresh coat of snow, but I don’t mind. I have plenty to keep me entertained and occupied right here in my cozy, clutter-free apartment. But, feeling the day, and weekend for that matter, slipping away from me, I’m once again pondering why we all do this to ourselves. Why do we only get 2 days out of 7 each week to live our lives on our terms?
We’re Taught that Spending Drives the Economy
Spending. It’s what we all have to do if our economy is to make it. If we want to keep our jobs, we must get out there and buy, buy, buy. If we want the stock market to go up, we must spend, spend, spend. And if anyone even tries to say we shouldn’t, shame on them. After all, we MUST keep our precious economy going.
But have you ever stopped to think about it? Why do we need all this crap? Why do we need to have all the conveniences we have come to rely on? One thing we seem to all forget is the effect that this has on our quality of life. It’s not positive. It’s negative. To be able to buy all this crap, we have to sell the majority of the prime of our life (our 20′s through 60′s). In case you didn’t pick up on what I meant by that, we have to go to work. Sometimes, we like going to work everyday, usually 40 hours or more per week. But many times, we grow to dislike doing this. The thing we too often aren’t thinking about is that most of it is self imposed. We are forced to go to work because we keep on spending all the money we make.
I Value My Life More Than The U.S. Economy
Sorry U.S of A., but I value my life more than I value the GDP of our economy. I’m sorry if you’re not able to generate nearly as much money in revenue from taxes as you spend each year. I guess you just don’t have the money to do the big things you’re trying to do. I’d love to help, but I don’t want to live in slavery my entire life, as I’m under the impression that this is a free country. And since it is a free country, I’m free to save my money instead of spending it. I care about my future more than your economic indicators.
And I care too much about all of you to see you keep buying into this whole mindset. The thing is, we don’t need all this junk. We don’t need to consume like crazy, just because we can. It is hurting us. Every dollar we spend today is a dollar we could have used to build financial independence with but will now have to go earn back. Our lives are ticking away and ending one day at a time. Each dollar you spend instead of investing in your financial independence, is a dollar that you’ll have to go earn again. Don’t you see the correlation between this and a rat in a wheel? Anyone who is consuming like mad and thinks that their spending will bring them happiness is like a rat in a wheel. You’re going round and round and round. Eventually, you’re going to fall over and die. The question is, are you going to stop running before that happens?
First, Stop Running. Then, Get Off the Wheel
Fortunately, I stopped running a few years ago after only a couple years of running. I’m challenging you to stop running too. You may be running the rat race if:
- You are not financially independent and are not saving a HUGE chunk of your income
- You spend more than you earn
- You think nice things will bring you more happiness than financial freedom
You’re not on a path to financial freedom if you’re not saving a HUGE percentage of your income. My question to you is, why are you not? Do you know that you’re like a rat in a wheel, burning time, spending your life’s energy and getting nowhere?
Are you buying a new car because you need something “safe” and “reliable”? Are you buying a new house because you don’t want to “throw your money away” on rent? Did you get the new iPhone because you “need” a super high-speed data connection? If that’s true then I suppose you also “need” your satellite TV subscription, that new Coach purse, those new boots, that new 70 inch LED TV and that new dining room furniture set for Thanksgiving this year. Remember, when you buy that new Nissan, Honda, Toyota or Acura, you’re signing yourself up to run many, many miles on the wheel in the future, instead of jumping off that deadly course.
Let’s Let The Economy Worry About Itself
The economy can worry about itself. If we all stopped “needing” these unnecessary waste-of-money gadgets, sure those companies would go out of business, but companies that offered value in ways that we did need would thrive. Oh no, there just may not be enough jobs available to employ every adult in the country for 40 plus hours per week. But if we were all spending less than we made and either were at or striving for financial independence, we wouldn’t need to work that many hours anyway.
After all, if we bought half the crap we buy now, why would we need to work the same amount of hours? Exactly, we wouldn’t. Just think of how much our quality of life would increase if we could spend more time with our family, spend more time with our friends, cook more home-made meals, grow a garden, walk a lot more, exercise, and enjoy the nice days but stay in on the icky days. Just imagine how different our great country could be and how happy we would all be if we stopped playing this game and stopped running in circles, like rats in a wheel. As Mr. Money Mustache says, WAKE UP DRONE PEOPLE!!! There is a better way to live.
Category: Getting Ahead
Preach it, brother!
I’m with you. I got off that wheel a few years ago. Or, at least I partially got off. I’m still working just as much as I did back then, but obviously now am doing it with a purpose and a plan. I’m not just blindly running place.
The more I really entrench myself into financial independence the more I think I’m not doing enough. My original plan was to retire, or become financially independent, by 40 years old. But, that’s a full 10 years from now. Yeah, 40 isn’t old…I know that. But, that’s 10 years of my life I’ll never get back. Life is only lived once and I want to see/do/eat/smell/feel things…not spend 50+ hours per week at a job wilting away.
I’m strongly considering getting to the point where once I reach 40-50% of my expenses through passive income quitting my full-time nightmare and getting a part-time job where I work less and live more. Imagine being able to “semi-retire” in your mid-30′s.
Best wishes!
DM,
Great chatting with you last night. I like your thinking and agree with it. Life is meant to be lived and the fact that we can change our future by working our butts off and saving a huge chunk of what we make is exciting. Like Ross said above, we may be only afforded this loophole because of everyone elses willingness to comply with the normal way of life.
I may be selfish, but I was always more concerned about my well being vs. the economy. I have more control over myself vs. the economy.
Agreed. We do have control over our lives but not over the economy. It’s exciting the things we can do with our lives if we REALLY put our mind to it, isn’t it?
Great post. I think you effectively captured my new outlook on life.
I do often think about what might happen to the US Economy if there really was a mass conversion to the frugal lifestyle all at once.
Entire industries would go out of business, the economy would tank, and weird shit would happen. I think we’d be able to come back from it, but it would become harder for people to work hard for 10 years and then retire (I think). It seems like we are only afforded that loop hole because everyone else wants to continually spend 96% of what they earn.
Obviously, it’s not going to happen, but it’s interesting to think about.
Ross,
You may be right. I suppose something like that would collapse the economy. Like you mentioned, I too believe that we would come back from it. It may very well be that we are only able to do this because of everyone else’s willingness to comply with the normal way of life.
If that’s true, I feel slightly bad about using everyone else to make this happen in my own life. But after all, they can do it too if they put their mind to it so I shouldn’t feel bad about it. I still believe however, that all of us could have happier lives with more free time and less stress if we just quit spending money on junk we didn’t need. Those industries that produce wasteful and unnecessary goods and services, well we just don’t need them.
Instead of producing junk, I think we’d be better off not producing but just enjoying life.
Kraig,
Another great post. I am glad that you are drawing attention to the correlation between spending and working. More people need to understand how that dollar must be earned again.
Best Regards,
Faye
Faye,
Thanks for stopping by and for liking my post on Facebook.
The fact that each dollar we spend must be earned again is the single most important reason that I hate spending money. When I spend money, I feel not only that I’m giving up a part of my past time, but I also feel that I’m giving up some of my future time too because I’m going to have to go earn back that money. This will be happening for a while until I reach financial independence. If my investments have to go earn that money back instead of me with my time, that’ll be just fine. I have no problem with that.
My time and energy is just too darn valuable to be giving away unnecessarily.
You are right but the total debt of a nation is actually what matters. So add personal debt from buying that 70″ LED TV and other luxuries to the state’s debt and everything becomes clear – either you buy something or the state does. One way, you become poorer and the other way the state becomes poorer. Whichever way, the nation loses. Same over on this side of the pond.
Rampant consumerism is a quick fix promoted by governments driven by the electoral agenda. In the US that is every 2 years with a year’s politicking before each. At least during a second term, your President can look to the longer term but there are still elections for the House and Senate Unfortunately the corollory is to have longer electoral time constant ie an elected dictatorship. Hmm. Some choice, eh? South Korea spring to mind?
We need a longer term view.
John,
Yes, we do all need a longer term view. It’s too bad that consumerism is so highly promoted and it’s a shame that the promotion of how it hurts our lives isn’t done more. If people really understood how spending, spending, spending hurts their lives, they wouldn’t do it. That’s what happened to me. I started understanding it and it was all downhill from there.
Hi Kraig! I found you through Free in Ten Years.
What really scares me with the situation you’ve described is the way so many people are desperately sick of the race and they KNOW that the work-spend-work-spend lifestyle isn’t making them happy – but when anyone suggests that there’s a different way to live, they reject the idea without even considering it.
Hi Sophie,
Welcome! I’m glad to meet you. I see you have a blog too and I’ll be checking it out.
Regarding those who just don’t consider escaping the rat race, it is really too bad. I care about people too much to want to see them running round and round in the rat race. The main reason I’m blogging is to get the message out there on how saving has improved my life and how it can help other people do the same. Being on top of your money can mean more than having money in the bank. It could be the difference between being happy and being unhappy because in one situation you’re trapped, but in the other, you’re free.
Hope you see you around here again!
I figure there are plenty of people buying loads of crap out there that I don’t need that will keep the economy running. Let them do it. I’m perfectly happy doing my own thing.
B&TB,
Yes, it is good (for us savers) that 99% of people spend everything they make. It makes for a pretty easy way to save money and become financial independent early in life. I mean, it’s not easy because it takes many years, but it’s possible. It seems crazy that something like this is so possible because we’re all raised to think that it’s not. Like you, I’m happy doing my own thing too!
Kraig, first let me tell you that I really admire the passion that you have for achieving financial independence and living life on your own terms. You articulate your ideas very clearly and are firm in your convictions.
I just happen to totally disagree with them.
Admittedly, I’m weird. I love my job. When people talk about getting depressed on Sundays because they know Monday is just around the corner…I have no idea what they’re talking about. But aside from that, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with deriving happiness from contributing to society. Early retirement die-hards always counter this by saying: but after you retire, you can still work, just do work that you love. But…it’s still work. A lot of people LIKE to work. I just think that our society has started to equate work with hatred and dread when it doesn’t have to be that way. “Work that you love” can also be work that you’re paid for.
Anyway, I could go on and on. I just wanted to put another point of view out there.
TeacHer,
Thanks for stopping by and for offering your thoughts. No hard feelings. I’m glad you love your job. It sounds like you’re doing great things. I enjoy my job too most of the time, but feel that I want to be prepared for a time in the next 30 years when I won’t enjoy my job. I also want to have the freedom to work on something else as I become passionate and excited about it.
It isn’t often that people are as honest in their comments as you were here. Thanks again for stopping by and for commenting.
Hi Kraig.
I just found you’re blog through Dividend Mantra’s. I have to say that it’s a very good read so far.
Just as Teacher I love my job and won’t leave it, but the point you’re making that you might get tired is a valid one. So is an eventual downfall in the economy which can happen anytime, that is my biggest fear and the reason why I hoard money in the same fashion that you guys do, I’m way to lazy to blog about it though haha
That being said I am against these kind of posts whenever anyone writes them. Sure everyone would do well to get out of the rat race, but to me it just feels like you guys are justifying your own way of living. There’s nothing wrong with being in the rat race, the fact is that a lot of people I know wouldn’t want to have their time off to spend more time with their families, grow a garden or walk more or any of those things. Instead they’d sit around and watch sports, play games or similar egoistical things depending on which generation they belong to. This is something I’ve noticed while reading a lot of blogs. Most guys/girls striving for FI seems to be very family oriented and that is a big reason for them to strive towards the goal.
I read somewhere that guys(in particular) are derived in to two groups, the nesters and the wanderers. I dare say that most FI bloggers belong to the first group, while I personally belong to the second group.
I dare say that I don’t strive for financial freedom to gain more time with my family, go out walking or do any of those things. I strive for it to stay in the rat race, as you guys call it, but with the added security that if there’s a bump in the road I’ll survive it without any problems until I can get back on the rat race again. Most people would probably love to go traveling for a year and see the world, but after that most people would want to get right back on that wheel, I guess that’s one of your points as well and as such a valid point, but it’s also a point where most people empty out their savings to do so.
My point is that there’s a lot of people out there that have a better life from being on that wheel, and to not be able to see that, to me, is having a very limited view of people. If someone is “forced” to be productive and strive to get a salary instead of laying at home being a couch potato doing nothing with their life I think that wheel is a good thing. Granted those people won’t agree with me. And obviously we have the “exceptions” like me and teacher who actually love their job, and this group of people are a lot bigger than most bloggers take in to account, in fact I’d dare say that at least 80% of the people I know would never quit their job even if they won 10 million dollars on the lottery tomorrow.
Anyway! Sorry for the ranting, I’m just allergic to this view on the rat-race. I love all other posts I’ve read so far and keep fighting for your freedom
cheers / Henrik