Secure Your Financial Freedom
(with your current paycheque)
An Essay

Ever feel like there is too much month left at the end of the money? Having a hard time making ends meet? Are you wondering if you will ever get anywhere financially? If you answered yes to any of these questions you are like most people, struggling along from month to month just able to meet their financial obligations and living in fear of layoffs or company downsizing.

In this essay I want to introduce you to the tools and understanding that can help you change all that. I will show you how you can keep more money in your pocket and work fewer hours, while improving your quality of life and reducing the environmental degradation of your planet.

Get behind the wave

Do you remember swimming in the ocean as a kid? Remember the waves as they crashed in on the beach? If you were in front of the wave the water was pulling at your legs trying to knock you down and then the wave would crash on top of you sending you in a tumble towards the shore where you found yourself with sand in every orifice of your body. If however you trusted in your understanding and dove under the wave to emerge just on the other side of the crest, behind the wave, you found yourself in calm flat water that seemed tranquil and peaceful by comparison.

Being under financial stress is like swimming just in front of the waves of life. Most of us do it by choosing a lifestyle that is just beyond our means. We have countless rationalizations and excuses why we need the extra suit or hat, the dinner in a fancy restaurant to "celebrate", the trip to "get away from it all" or the new this or that. We purchase these things, usually on credit with the plan of paying for them "soon". All the vendors of luxury items work hard to part us from our hard earned cash and count on our credit to take the immediate sting out of any purchase.

To demonstrate the contrast let me draw two simple pictures for you. First lets consider Joe. He decides he deserves a "higher" standard of living and that he is really underpaid. Joe takes home $2,500 per month. He has carefully mapped out his expenses and spends his $2500 on a mortgage, a car loan, utility bills, and some credit card bills for the new stereo, ski trip, or whatever. He has nothing left over at the end of the month but enjoys all his toys.

Sally on the other hand has decided that her $2,500 in take home pay is going to build her a future of financial security. Sally rides her bike to work so has no car expenses. Sally rents a modest condo close to her work and enjoys fixing it up and sharing it with friends while they cook healthy meals at home. Sally believes in recycling. She actively looks for previously loved books and other items to divert them from the dump and give them a new lease on life. Sally has become vegetarian because its cheaper and healthier to eat a meatless diet. Her smaller living environment and healthy lifestyle has focused her on reducing her consumption and lessening the impact she has on our ecosystem. As a result of these choices, Sally saves $1000 per month in interest, living and transportation costs.

Now fast forward one year and see how things look. Not much has changed with Joe. He is still breaking even every month except since a few "unexpected" expenses have boosted the balance on his credit cards he has decided to take out a consumer loan to consolidate his payments and reduce the interest he pays on his balances. He still has his credit cards though as he uses them to "track his expenditures". Because more money is going to interest now he finds that there is less money for the extras he has come to depend upon.

Joe feels he deserves to be paid more for the work he does. He is constantly looking for a better job and therefore is never totally present in his current position. This does not escape the attention of his employer and the issue of pay and performance are constantly on the minds of both Joe and his boss.

Sally in the meantime has developed a small cushion of $12,000, which she has invested in secure government bonds that will earn her and extra $420 in interest next year. She does not think much about her finances anymore and takes pleasure in the simple joys of caring for her home, her family and her friends.

Now fast forward five years down the road. Joe has lost his job. He did not survive his company's last downsizing during the economic downturn. While looking for another job his unemployment insurance was not enough to cover his bills so he went deeper into debt. After three months he was fortunate enough to find another job with the same pay but now he has to work more hours, has much lower seniority and is constantly worried that he will be downsized again.

The wave is starting to crest over Joe's head. The increased debt load has also increased his interest payments and now he finds it harder to find the money to pay for his lifestyle. Still he trudges on because he knows in his heart that he is underpaid and will soon land that big contract or make that connection that will bring him the income he deserves. Then he will pay off his loans and everything will be fine. In the meantime the financial stresses are taking their toll.

Sally's world looks a lot calmer. She is now firmly positioned behind the wave. When the economic downturn two years ago caused her company to look for ways to downsize Sally was pleased to negotiate a 3 day work week. Her company was happy to accommodate her because Sally has proven to be a loyal and satisfied employee. By this time though her nest egg had grown to over $50,000.

Sally found herself living a life of leisure. Working only three days a week she had the equivalent of over three months of vacation per year. She found time to spend with her aging father, volunteered in the community, planted a garden at the communal garden plot and really got to know her neighbours where she lived by taking long walks through her community. She loved her work because she was refreshed and eager to return to it once a week.

Now we fast forward another 10 years. After the recession ended Joe's commissions increased and he started to earn the money he always knew he deserved. To celebrate the success Joe decided to move to a bigger house. The Real estate market was booming and interest rates were still at an all time low. He sold his first house at a handsome profit and was able to secure a large mortgage to leverage himself into his dream home. The increased costs of insurance, taxes and of course the necessary furniture and fixtures to fill the larger house used up all of Joe's increased income and then some.

Interest was still the biggest expense item for Joe but he had the lifestyle he always dreamed about. He worked Saturdays now to catch up on the paperwork that his commission job required him to do so he could devote five full days to just selling. Once a week he would sneak home during a lunch break and purvey the beauty of his home while he wolfed down a sandwich. Except for this brief visit he didn't see much of his house in daylight for six months of the year because it was dark when he left for work in the morning and dark when he returned at night. That was ok though because once every summer he would invite all his "friends" form the company where he worked for a barbeque in his back yard.

Joe did not have much time to care for his home so he had hired a cleaner and a gardener to keep it in shape. That was just as well though because Joe would have found it hard to do the work on his own anyway. The fast food and poor eating habits have taken its toll on Joe as he now is almost 100 lbs overweight. His legs are sore a lot and he doesn't sleep so well at night. Last year his doctor told him he had Type II diabetes and would have to start taking better care of himself or face probable cardiovascular disease. Joe was trying but his bills were there every month whether he felt good or not and he had to keep working. So what could he do?

Sally had enjoyed her leisure time until the economy rebounded two years after we saw her world last. When her company wanted her to work full time again she hesitated at first. She had come to enjoy her leisurely morning tea while reading the Monday morning paper. Still she knew that she needed to secure her retirement and so she decided to go back to a five-day week. Now eight years later she could see that it was the right move.

Even with the three year recession Sally's little Nest Egg had swollen to a $182,000. She still had no debt and her sustainable lifestyle, riding her bike every day to work, cooking great meals at home and living a stress free existence has kept her in perfect health to enjoy the fruits of her labor. She had moved a couple of times within her neighbourhood and had now found a wonderful little townhouse with a bright sunroom that was well constructed and required very little heating or air conditioning to keep it comfortable. Well I think you get the picture. You can follow Sally and Joe into the future in your own mind and see how their lives are likely to play out. Joe has painted himself into a corner and if anything at all goes wrong, like a heart attack that throws him out of work for a while for example his life could end up in shambles. Sally on the other hand could loose her capacity to work and continue living her lifestyle for 10 years on her savings alone. Or she could invest the money in a rental property that would pay her a regular income or buy the townhouse she lives in and install some skylights. Her world is a wealth of opportunity and options. And through it all she was there for her father during his sunset years, has had the time to develop solid friendships and has not neglected her family.

Now I know your situation is unique. You have issues that Joe and Sally do not have. Still you can see the contrasting paradigms that take two people with the same income to vastly different futures. What follows are some ideas, references and helpful links that will help you to build a sustainable lifestyle that is more like Sally's than Joe's.

Frugal is cool:

Back in the sixties we would say "Cool Man!!" when we thought something had particular merit. Well the 21st century version of this sentiment is "Frugal Man!!" Being frugal does not mean being cheap. It means being smart about the way you apply your own resources and the resources of the planet towards improving your personal lifestyle.

First take inventory of the things you own and use. How much of it do you use in your day-to-day life? Place a little piece of red tape on each item of clothing you have and remove it only when you actually wear that piece. After a year give away all the pieces that still have little red tape on them. You didn't use them for a whole year, you are likely never going to use them. When you do need a new jacket or something chances are you can find it at a used clothing store in your town for a fraction of the cost of a new one. And if you can't go ahead, spend the money on a new piece knowing that you will wear it regularly.

The reality is that we tie up most of our hard earned income in items that we hardly use. We buy all those kitchen gadgets to make cooking easier and then don't have time to use them. Why? Because we have to go to work to pay for them and the larger kitchen needed to store them and the electricity to heat that larger kitchen and to run all the gadgets and the insurance on the house to keep it all secure and … and… and… So after a long day at work we go out to dinner instead and spend more money. Make sense? Have you done it yourself?

Food to fuel your success

Fact is our consumer driven lifestyle has removed us so far from the basics that most of us have a hard time preparing a decent meal. Oh sure we can flip a burger on the barbeque or whip up some macaroni and cheese but how much do we really know about the food we eat? Not much. Turns out that once you learn about food again you will discover that food that is good for you, can taste good, is good for the planet and is cheap. This subject is much to large to do justice here but taking charge of your nutrition, the fuel that drives your success is interesting, challenging and fun. Here are some basics though that will help you get started:

1. Reduce or eliminate your sugar consumption. Indiscriminate sugar consumption leads to insulin resistance, which turns into type II diabetes and then into the dreaded cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the modern world by far. 2. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of saturated fats primarily found in animal products and hydrogenated vegetable oils which are often found in convenient or snack foods. Both are linked to the gradual blocking of your arteries causing heart attack and stroke to end your life before you get a chance to enjoy your rewards. 3. Eat Vegetarian whenever possible. More than 80% of the grain we grow and much of our drinking water goes to feed livestock that we kill for food that will kill us. Improve your environment, stop the slaughter and improve your health my making the right dietary choice. 4. Read the labels and take control of your food. Understand where it comes from, how much gasoline it burned to get here, and how its processed. Learn about the ingredients and how they affect your overall health.

Your food choices are your first and primary opportunity to make a difference in your life and the lives of your children and grandchildren. Your power in a democracy is to choose the way you spend your money. By spending it on sustainable products that enhance and support our health and our ecosystem you are voting for the survival of our species. By buying fast foods and animal products you are voting for our destruction.

Get smart about transportation

Matched only by Television, the Automobile is the number one contributor to our demise. Far from giving us the freedom its manufacturer's ads promise in fact it enslaves us and keeps us captive to a treadmill of deterioration. The Canadian Automobile Association has estimated that the average Canadian directly spends $9,000 per year on a vehicle. For Sally and Jim this represents three and a half months of their working lives every year. Loosing your car can translate into an immediate 3 month annual vacation!! Talk about freedom!

Sitting in the car also does nothing to build your body's fitness, promote a healthy metabolism or counteract the inevitable cardiovascular disease that results from a sedentary lifestyle. Riding your bike or walking to work on the other hand puts you ahead of the game on all these fronts.

Changing your transportation to walking or cycling is like getting your very own time machine. First you have to work less to sustain your standard of living, second you will feel better and have more energy to do things in the time you have available and third you will likely live a longer healthier life in your retirement. It's a win, win, win situation. Ah you say but you live too far from work to walk, ride a bike or take the bus. That is a circumstance that was about by the fact that you were already enslaved by your car. Without the temptation of the car you would have chosen to live close to your work or work close to your home. Imagine a world where people actually did that? No traffic jams, no air pollution, no endless acres of pavement, less crime, less health problems, more community.

Ok here is a simple way to make the change. When the opportunity presents itself, like when you want to sell your house or change your job, take out a map of your city. Lets assuming you are selling your house. Take some coloured markers and draw in the bus routes within a 30 minute bus ride from work. Now draw in the bicycle paths or designated bike routes for that same area. The region that falls within 3 blocks of these routs is where your new home will be.

If there is truly nothing there, as for example if your employer chose to locate so far away from people and civilized transportation links that it is impossible to reach them by any means except a car, quit your job and find another. Chances are that your employer, with such a narrow-minded attitude will not survive the changes that will wash over us in the next twenty years anyway.

What to do with all that extra money?

This is the hardest one to respond to. All I know is that if you embark on this road to a sustainable lifestyle you will have more money and time than you have ever imagined. You will be more relaxed, find more joy, laugh more, meet more people, and feel better about yourself and your role in this world than you have ever felt before. Your life will truly be longer and richer.

Reference links and Books:
Get A Life by Wayne Roberts and Susan Brandum
And Wayne’s new Book Real Food for a Change
Diet for a new America by John Robbins of Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Fame
Diet for a small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe and her new book Hope’s Edge
The last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann
Hamilton’s Ecological Footprint
An example of sustainable food alternatives
New Roadmap Foundation