In Walden, Henry David Thoreau writes: "As long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail." (p.70)
This quote relates in some ways to my post discussing how to take the right kind of risks, in which I advised not to "stretch" to acquire more possessions.
As the old saying goes, first you own your possessions, then your possessions own you.
Take, for instance, a case of a new car. You cannot park it just anywhere. You must park it in the back of the lot, away from other cars (and especially SUVs), to avoid door dings and scratches.
Then you must wash it regularly. You cannot have a new car without washing it more frequently than you would an old car.
Of course, there are additional taxes, higher insurance payments, etc., all of which serve to enslave you to your car. You are now a car slave.
I believe this is the kind of slavery Thoreau was talking about. Slavery to possessions.
Nowadays, it's worse. We're not only enslaved to possessions, but also to companies that issue credit. I'm an extreme case in that I accumulated $46,351.39 of debt in my effort to become self-employed.
This was spread out over the course of about six years, and the money was not spent on lifestyle, but it matters not. I was (and still am) a slave to debt. Although that is changing. I expect to be free from credit card debt by year's end. Then I'll tackle the mortgage.
Whatever you are in slavery to, figure it out... and then determine to become free. Slavery to debt is most common. In fact, another well-known Internet marketer had accumulated even more debt than me before paying it down. I encourage you to read his advice concerning debt-free living.
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