The One Question To Ask Before You Save Any Money

Why do some people save money while others do not?

This is a question I have asked myself often throughout my own life. You clearly know how to save money, so I won't bother explaining it to you in further detail.

So why can it be so hard to save money?

Because saving money isn't about knowing what to do, it is about having the why to keep doing it for the rest of your life.

What is your why?

Whether you care about money or not, it is hard to ignore the fact that much of our time revolves around working to make money. You don't need to care about money to realize this simple fact.

Money buys you the most important asset in this life, time.

How often have you been told to save money and invest in a 401k? You have probably been told this spiel since thousands of times. And yet, have you ever stopped to think about why you want to save your money for a period in time so far into the future?

When it comes to creating freedom, we need to understand why we want that freedom first. What does freedom look like for you? Your answer might be different than anyone else's but it is only for you to answer. No one can tell you what a good life looks like except for you.

Freedom for me, simply put, is the ability to care for my family and spend more time being of service to others on my own accord. Freedom for me is having the flexibility to take that lower paying opportunity for more valuable work. Freedom for me is having the choice to do what I want without someone else telling me what to do. Freedom for me is having enough assets to hand down to my children so that they can get focus more of their time on creating a valuable impact on this world.

Sure, we can't avoid getting a job and working for someone else when we start. But it isn't your bosses responsibility to make sure you achieve what you have defined as freedom.

One example I often think about is the traffic in Chicago. As I drive down Lake Shore Drive, I see people in such a rush to get somewhere that they risk their life to speed past others. And more interestingly, I see the same people, simply speeding up just to keep up with others.

And for what? To avoid feeling left behind?

The way people drive isn't much different to the way people live their life. There are plenty of people who spend their life keeping up a lifestyle simply to please other people who could care less.

I know because I have dealt with this in my own life too. In keeping up with 'The Joneses', we forget what we have defined freedom to be for us. I was lucky enough to realize this early enough in my own life.

What have you defined as freedom? And how can you be sure that what your definition of freedom wasn't set by somebody else's expectations of what a "good life" is? You may only find that answer with some real self reflection, and even then, only time will tell.

But one thing is for sure. When you have let go of your ego and all the material things that come with it, what do you really want? Maybe that question is a lot easier to answer so let's go with that.

Imagine you are 80 years old, looking back at your life. I mean really try to imagine this situation because simply passing through the exercise won't do you any good. What will you define as the things that really mattered when you are coming towards the end of your life? Will it be a Porsche or time with your kids? Will it be a designer jacket, or the time you spent with your mother?

When you start to imagine your life from the perspective of an 80 year old, you may find the things you value now aren't so valuable after all.

When you have defined freedom as the ability to do more with the people you love, then saving becomes more than just putting money away in a bank or investments. It becomes the medium through which you achieve that freedom.

And that to me has made all the difference...

Money isn't just a piece of paper, it is the physical representation of time.

And how you choose to spend that time is completely based on what you have decided freedom to be for you.

Cheers,

Emin Okic