Henry Unite

Money (25)

This is how I (25 years old and broke*) currently think about money.

Die Dirt Poor, Or Die Super Rich

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ – Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

I don’t really care which way it goes: if I die dirt poor, or if I die super rich.

I would prefer dying rich. But if I die poor, I just want to make sure I die doing something that brought value to others.

Investing

The best investment by far is anything that develops yourself, and it’s not taxed at all…Whatever abilities you have can’t be taken away from you. They can’t actually be inflated away from you. – Warren Buffet

Here is a breakdown of my portfolio:

I’m leaving all my chips on the table.

All the money I make goes into building something of value in the world.

If I run out of money, I will cut my burn and make more so I can do it again.

Don’t Own Things

Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them. – Seneca

Here is a list of my material possessions:

Material possessions are just liabilities in life that burn your money. You have to insure them. You have to perform maintenance on them. They widen your exposure to risk. You have to consider traveling with them, and they weigh you down.

Personally owning a house or a car is a scam. They are just ways to expose your life to economic conditions. The only place you need a house or a car is the suburbs.

Do not live in the suburbs!

You should live in a city, or a farm.

I personally do the former. A city is a great place to live because there are jobs, there are ways to commute to jobs without a car, and there are ways to live cheap and ways to live not-cheap depending on your circumstances.

I keep all my belongings down to a single suitcase. I do this so that I can pick up and move at any moment. I find it important to be ready when opportunity comes knocking on your front door.

When I was fed-up with my job in Miami and there were not opportunities in that region during those particular market conditions, I was able to pick up and move to San Francisco where opportunity was plentiful.

Don’t Want Things

No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do possess. – Seneca

TLDR; If you want things, you’ll spend your money on bullshit.

Here are the things I want in life:

As for everything else in life, all I say is: fuck off and leave me alone.

That being said, we are people, and there are things that are nice to have.

Here are the things that I find nice to have:

These are things that I don’t care if I have or not, but I’ll spend my money on if it’s within my means.

Short Term Living

I typically will live somewhere (like an Airbnb) for a month, or two, at a time.

I would rather pay more money and not be obligated to staying in one place, then to pay less money over a longer period of time.

I want to mitigate my exposure to risk in different economic conditions. So if it is harder to find a job in a particular market condition, I have two options:

The last position I want to be in: is one where I have a 12-month lease and the market dictates that I can’t continue to afford it halfway through.

Another reason short-term living is great, is because I don’t need to buy furniture. Furniture is another material possession (like cars and houses) that weigh you down.

Eating Out

We should eat to live, not live to eat. – Socrates

I buy coffee everyday; sometimes I buy it two, or three, times a day.

I think it’s important to call out because of the typical “saving $5 on coffee at Starbucks in the morning” saying.

When I was single, I would order Uber Eats every day because it was convenient.

If something makes my life more comfortable living, and it’s within my means to afford it, then I will just buy it.

Social Capital

Giving is in essence a flow of your loving self to others. When that happens, it sets up a flow of supportive energy back to you. When we say you must give to receive, it’s not that you give a thing in order to get something. Rather it’s a way of explaining how the abundance of life flows. If you are not feeling that flow of abundance coming to you, then the first thing to ask is if you are creating a flow of giving from yourself. You don’t need to manipulate or control your giving. Simply give what you can with a full heart. And don’t try to control what you will be receiving either. Know that you will automatically receive exactly what you need. – Deepak Chopra

It is important to invest in good people that surround you.

It is intangible, and hard to judge when to do, but I enjoy buying gifts and treating people to nice dinners that have done right by me.

It is a great way to spread joy, show appreciation, and plant seeds of favor that compound into the future. I don’t count my returns, and I don’t keep score.

Pay Your Taxes

Nothing will ever befall me that I will receive with gloom or a bad disposition. I will pay my taxes gladly. Now, all the things which cause complaint or dread are like the taxes of life—things from which, my dear Lucilius, you should never hope for exemption or seek escape. – Seneca

Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems – Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace

I don’t know who said it better: Biggie or Seneca. But the point is the same. The more successful you are and the more responsibility you have, come with taxes.

Marrying your girlfriend comes with the tax of buying a ring.

Surrounding yourself with successful people comes with the tax of doing expensive activities together like going out to dinner.

There are things in life you just have to pay for whether you like it or not, but usually it’s because you’re in a fortunate position of having the leftover money to do it. So be grateful, and just pay your taxes.

Cut Your Burn

Burn – The money that is necessary to spend every month to survive, over the money you have saved plus income.

For the most part, all my money goes to two major categories: rent and food.

Since these are the two major categories of my spend, then I have two ways to cut my burn:

Another tip to cutting your burn, is just don’t leave the house. If you’re not leaving the house, you’re not burning money unnecessarily.

Endgame

The last rule that I follow when it comes to money: is just don’t spend more than you make.

The theme of my philosophy on money: is just focus on doing something you love and delivers value to other people. Everything else is just noise.

* I’m broke, but I’m hustling.