The Employees Mind - Are We Stuck in this Way of Thinking?

Is that it's a culturally and socially-reinforced norm. In other words, we’re expected to find a company to work for with health benefits and a retirement plan to make our living, by being a good company person. When we're stuck in one way of thinking, we can often find that our minds are closed to other opportunities - some of which may simply be knocking at our door.

Being stuck in this way of thinking is bad because it can be difficult to dig ourselves out of it. Consider a river. A river has long since dug and eroded its way into a deep groove. If we’re caught in a fast-flowing river. It's not easy to swim out of, is it? Sure, some people might be blissfully ignorant and just float on their backs all the way down, only to find out that they're headed for a waterfall. But if you're like me, you want to swim out of that river as soon as possible to find out what's on the other side.

Greater wealth, independence, success - Maybe. Financial independence means that we don't depend on an employer for our money. When we depend on someone else for a paycheck, guess what? We don't have financial independence.

Let me ask you this. How financially independent would you feel if you made $100,000 a year? That's a good sum of money, isn't it?

But if we live a traditional life, let's take a look at how financially "locked down" we just might be.

1. · Mortgage: If we have a mortgage on our home that is set in stone for the next 25--30 years, then guess what? That's an expense we’re going to have to deal with - if we don't, we’ll face serious financial consequences that we would definitely prefer not to have. If our mortgage bill is $2,500 monthly, then we're going to have to find a way to make much more money than that every month for the next 25--30 years in order to ensure that we and our families are sheltered. Of course, if we have a steady job, this isn't always a major challenge - but what if we suddenly get laid off, we then find ourselves in need of a steady income again. In other words, if we’re locked in a mortgage, we're also locking in a lifestyle. It's important that we recognize this from the outset. A mortgage also means that we are tied to a specific location. Owning our own home also includes other financial commitments like property taxes, regular maintenance and unexpected repairs.

2. · Car loan payments: If we’re going to get around consistently, we will need a car, in most cases that means a car loan payments and another added expense just to lug ourselves to and fro. Thus again we have to consider just how much freedom this can actually take away from us.

Are these worth the money? In some cases yes, because we do need a home and car. However what most of us tend to do is get the very best that we can squeeze into our budgets - a lot of times stretching it. Just to keep up with or to better the Jones.

3. · College tuition for our children: If we are going to cover our children's college tuition costs, like most parents do - then we have a long-term massive liability in our future. This will significantly reduce our financial flexibility. That is if we plan on being able to afford it when the time comes.

4. · Income taxes: Our salary may be $100,000, but what we actually bring home is a different story. It's sad but true. If you consider yourself financially independent, you'll have to have a good handle on how much taxes you owe each year. If not, then you're just making a guess at best.

The reason is that in my opinion credit cards are not necessary and in most cases do more harm than good. Besides, that subject alone can take up an entire book. With that being said having a home, a car, children to care for, and a lot of income taxes are not necessarily signs of a bad life: but we do have to recognize just how constricting these financial commitments are.

When we look at all of the financial responsibilities we have, is it any surprise that we as the poor are constantly looking for work or that we fail to look outside the box in order to investigate other financial opportunities?

When we aren't thinking with our emotions and societies so called rules but rather with logic, then we're able to actually get a better hold on our financial situation and acknowledge when some risk is necessary. When we're being pressured into buying a home by our parents, friends and the culture at large - do we really stop to consider the exact financial commitments we're making, or are we simply buying a home for ourselves or with our wife because that's what we were told is the thing to do?

Means going outside of this traditional box and investigating other opportunities for making money. We need to abandon this whole idea of searching for money simply by browsing the want ads and websites like Monster.com - those are only ways you can search for employers. If we want to make a lot more money, we are going to have to start searching for clients and customers. In other words, we're going to have to stop thinking like employees and start thinking like joint venture partners and employers. This is the fundamental shift that will represent a turning point in our lives

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It is my hope and intention that this hub gets people thinking differently about their jobs and the money they make trading their time, but especially how they save and spend. Please feel free and don’t be shy to give me your input and possible improvements to this hub.