Desperate moves

If you’re unemployed long enough, you will take the first offer you are given.

That is what makes desperate moves so desperate: You are willing to take anything that comes in your path.

If you invest time building a resilient system, the frequency of emergencies tends to go down.

The longer you are out of debt, the more you invest in a nest egg. If you have an emergency fund, having your car go out won’t disrupt the flow. The less artifacts you collect, the less credit card debt you will accumulate. And on and on and on.

Let’s be clear, the system that is set is rigged. Money flows to the top. And the rich do get richer. Social mobility continues to dwindle no matter how hard people work. What was true then isn’t true anymore.

Until we get the system right, the choice then is to figure out how to build a resilient system for ourselves. Personal choices are still a powerful tool despite the landscape:

• You don’t have to go a famous college when the community one down the road is a fraction of the price.
• You don’t need a new car. Cars lose 40% of their value over the first 4 years. That’s a good starting point.
• You probably are missing out on tax benefits by not hiring a professional.
• Accidents happen, do you have your financial affairs in place when the day comes that you leave this world?
• Don’t buy it unless you can go home and pay it off. Building credit is part of the nature of the business these days. But there are smart ways to do it. The reason why credit cards offer the incentives they do is because they are winning. Treat credit cards like Vegas. “The house always wins.”
• FOMO is real. Housing prices continue to skyrocket. Bitcoin seems to come and go. Be patient. Don’t skip steps.

Despite making all the correct choices, it still may not be enough. That is the world of inequality that we continue to build. We must keep demanding change.