Why it is not worth living in the past

The old financial model no longer serves us. I mean, do we really live in the same world that existed 10, 20, 30 years ago?

To put it in perspective, let’s take a look back at the good old 1990s. Aside from the gadgets and trendy styles going in and out of fashion, consider your daily life for a moment. How often do you go online to search for something? How often do you text? Do you use your cell phone more than your home phone? Do you still have a home phone? What would your life be like without these tools?

I know that I really can’t imagine life without my iPhone, iPad, iMac, text messages, the Internet, and all the things that help me function on a daily basis. (My staff think I have an Apple addiction, but I’m pretty sure it’s just jealousy.)

But in 1990, the World Wide Web was just being invented. Just like eBay, Google and Yahoo. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace weren’t even thoughts in anyone’s head yet. So no one sat down to play Mafia Wars and update the world to the minute details of their lives. This was before the era of Dot Com Millionaires and online dating, shopping and well… online anything! This is a new world.

Twenty years ago we were still building the technology that would allow us to dial on our huge bulky computers, now we walk around with cell phones that can do everything but wash our car. And I’m pretty sure it will be next. So if so much has changed, why would the way we handle our money be the same?

The fact is that money is a concept, not something real, static and immutable. Paper money is no longer backed dollar for dollar for gold in the treasury. President Richard Nixon did away with that in 1971, forever changing the way our economy works. He has lost any semblance of real value. It’s all in perception. (And to be honest, it always has been, even when backed by gold. I mean, come on, who initially decided that some shiny bits of gold in the dirt would suddenly be valuable enough to trade for something you can actually eat, use or live in?)

Money means something because we create a social contract to allow it to mean something, and we all more or less agree on what can be exchanged. (Some of us might feel the lesser part of this statement if you’re being scrutinized with credit cards and bank fees and now labeled a leper because of your credit score, but you get the idea.) It might as well have been beads, marbles, or shark teeth. Although it is true that shark teeth could pose other problems that our paper money has completely avoided. But hey, maybe we’d be more careful with what we spend if we knew we’d have to play tooth fairy with the great whites to pay for those latest and greatest must-have apps.

I am not suggesting that you discard all the old wisdom. There’s still a lot to be said for having a 90-day reserve and organizing your budget to live below your means, rather than way above your means, which is where most of us have been. Life happens and you need to have some instant cash to handle those rainy days, or you’ll end up inundated with bills you can’t pay and swimming in out-of-control credit card debt. But whoever told you to wait until you have your savings, 401K, IRA, and all credit cards paid off to start investing is simply wrong. That old school philosophy will simply get you nowhere but bankruptcy and worse, debt slavery.

Our current society does not really prepare people for financial education. Our universities are wonderful in teaching Kant and Shakespeare. You can learn a lot about the underwater sea world or the outer regions of space. Goal money? Not so much. It is a sad commentary on our world that we know so little about something that affects our lives so profoundly. The rich understand money. They use the money, make it work for them, and play the game to get ahead. The poor and the middle class pay for this ignorance with debt and stress.

It’s time for the everyday Joe and Jane to ditch the old notion that going to college, buying a home, saving, working hard, and investing in your company’s retirement package will help you get ahead in life. It doesn’t. It never did and it certainly never will. It’s a system designed to keep the rich rich and the poor, well, you know. It’s time to challenge the system and recognize that there are better ways to build wealth. Ways that really work. Real estate being one of the largest. It’s time to end the excuses. “I can not afford it”. “I don’t have a down payment.” “My credit is beyond repair.” “I have a foreclosure, no one would ever lend me.” “I don’t know anything about investing.”

There are ways around all these objections. There are systems that can allow you to invest now, just as you are. It’s time to get excited about your life again! Recognize that there is a very real and doable way to catapult yourself out of debt and live a life of true wealth.

It’s time to think outside the box, or the bun or whatever. In fact, throw out the box altogether and start thinking for yourself. And let’s think of some creative ways to get around the standard objections most people have to investing and building wealth. Look, there’s a reason Warren Buffett is one of the richest men on the planet. He doesn’t think like you. He is a contrarian investor doing the opposite of you. Don’t you wish you were more like him?

Right now Warren Buffet is not selling. He is buying. The problem is that you can’t buy because you don’t have the money or the credit. Or, simply, you do not have the means. The banks are not lending you. You are not ready to take advantage of this economy. That is why you should be open to alternative ways of investing. That is why you have to look for experts who can help you.

Oh really! I know this sounds like a fairy tale, but I’m here to tell you that you can have that happily ever after you’ve always dreamed of. No, I’m not going to wave a magic wand and wipe away your problems, but I’m going to be that unreasonable friend who pushes you out of your comfort zone and tells you to stop making excuses and start making something happen with your life. . Now is the best time of our lives to invest.

Although here is the key. You have to really start! You can’t change the direction a ship is heading if it’s dead in the water. In the same way, we cannot change the trajectory of your life if you are not moving in any direction. (Going deep into debt doesn’t really qualify as a direction, by the way.)

If you want to see something change in your current circumstance, then you have to change. You have to change the way you think about investing, how you prioritize your money, and how you think about the strategy needed to build wealth. The more you resist, the more you live in the past, the longer it will be before you see something really change in your life. But if you’re ready to make some changes, then there are people who can help you in ways you never imagined.