01/12/2025
90% of people saving for "financial freedom" are chasing someone else's dream.
And they won't figure it out until they get there.
I talked to a guy who had saved for a loaded out 7 series BMW. The excitement lasted about two weeks. Then came the insurance, the premium gas, the parking anxiety. He got what he wanted and ended up with more stress on the back side of it.
This is happening everywhere. People absorb society's version of success without questioning it. The corner office. The vacation photos. The number in the account. They climb for years and reach the top of the wrong mountain.
The financial industry loves this confusion. Generic advice is easy to sell. "Save 10%." "Buy index funds." "Set your risk tolerance." These rules ignore the only thing that actually matters: whether the strategy fits the person using it.
I keep meeting disciplined savers who bought rental properties and can't sleep because of the monthly uncertainties. Natural entrepreneurs who chose index funds and feel completely disconnected from their money. People following "perfect" strategies they abandon in six months.
The copy-paste approach is everywhere. Someone reads about a tech worker's investment strategy and applies it to their teacher salary. A freelancer with student loans copies the moves of someone with job security and low debt. The risk math doesn't transfer.
You have a risk budget, same as a financial budget. Spend too much in one area and you need to be conservative somewhere else. Your job stability, your existing debt, your emergency savings, your experience. All of it connects. Ignoring the system means getting blindsided.
Here's what actually works:
Stop asking "what do I want" and start asking "what am I willing to sacrifice for." If you won't sacrifice for a goal, you don't want it. You like the idea of wanting it.
Map your risk across every area before picking any investment. Where are you already exposed? Where do you have cushion?
Pick strategies that match you
