I had the good fortune of growing up with a reasonably charmed life. I didn’t really know how spoiled I was, because my parents emphasized hard work and humility. That being said, I’m old enough now to realize how lucky I’ve been, while still acknowledging that my younger years were a struggle. So now that I’m making some headway in my industry, I would like to give some advice to younger people, who also come from families that are “well off”.
Realize that your lifestyle isn’t the norm, and that if you want freedom you need to forget about it
Your parents are an asset, and they would be even if they didn’t have money. But it doesn’t make sense to expect to be able to do absolutely whatever you want if you’re living on their dime. It’s also unreasonable to expect to have what they do when you’re young and just starting out. Additionally, it’s unreasonable for you to expect to earn what they have without devoting your life to making money. Your parents worked hard for what they have. If they didn’t, they lucked out or loved their job. Do you want to dedicate your life to making money? Only? If not, forget what you know.
Focus on making money
This might seem contradictory, but you should focus on earning money for yourself as soon as possible. It doesn’t need to be a lot, but you want to be in a position where you feel like you could earn something without the help of your parents. I feel like this, kind of. I live in a poor country where most people are not totally self sufficient, especially at 25. This is because everyone knows what it takes to survive in this country, and they’re willing to open their homes and wallets for relatives. That being said, the time I spent focusing on money for the past 7 years gave me the skill set allows me to have a shot at making more than $40,000USD/year before the age of 28. The average person in my country earns about $5,000-$7,000. That’s like earning $160,000–$320,000 in America at the same age. Soon, I’ll be a true digital nomad: able to travel and earn money from every country. Focusing on money has made me far more free and financially secure than the average person in my country, and I’m going to work until my digital nomad status is set in stone. I feel much better than if I had just come to this country to smoke pot and work a dead end job.
Find a core identity
Unless you grow up in a community of wealthy people, like one of those all-white suburbs, you might come to find that you have no core identity. Maybe it’s because you went to an International School. Or perhaps you did too much schoolwork to introspect when you were younger. I suggest you take some time to find yourself. This should only be a year or two, but the good thing is that you have a cushion to fall back on.
Come up with a plan early and stick to it
If you come up with a plan early, you’re going to get good results. The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll have self confidence and the sooner you’ll be independent. Trust fund babies tend to be very insecure, because they have high performing parents who tear them apart. The younger you start to make headway, the better about yourself you’ll feel.
Your parents/family are going to be delusional about money, find real data points and stick to them
If your parents are self made, they and their friends have grown old, fat, and rich. Older people with money have been comfortable and getting their way for a long time. They’ve also been voting in favor of the creation of asset bubbles for the last 50 years. Work for them is oftentimes for paying the bills. A lot of the money they spend on dinners and vacations comes from investing. Oftentimes they’re going to say things about money that are completely divorced from reality. This is actually why a lot of trust fund babies go broke. They think it’s normal to spend $200,000 in a single year. Even in the USA, this isn’t normal outside of the major cities. The best thing to do is look at what the top 10% of people in your country make. If you’re spending more than that and you don’t “feel” financially and materially comfortable, there’s something wrong with either you or your country. As you get older, more people will cross that top 10% income threshold, which means you can also increase your income. But it should only double or maybe triple as you age. The difference shouldn’t be too drastic. Living in a major city can make averages look deceptive too. So, if you’re in a place like Toronto or New York look at the numbers for your city.
Overall, being a happy rich kid is all about agency. You need to break free of the mental barriers in your life and create your own identity. This is a different process for everyone. Some people might be born into a family business. Others might want to be white collar professionals like their parents. There’s nothing wrong with following in the footsteps of your family, but you have to develop a core identity. You also can’t be afraid of living like a normal person. If you’re afraid of doing that, your life is going to be awful.
Thanks for paying attention.
By Rising Current on .
Exported from Medium on November 8, 2024.
