Poker Face in the Rat Race

Poker Face Gremlin here.  Usually, I post articles about what is going on in my life; whether it be some sweet beers, investments made, sports, or something equally awesome.  However, this post is going to focus more on a train of thought.  It is an unusual one for me, typically I am all about sharing good news and ideas such as Dividend Growth Investing (DGI) with everyone I meet.  Today I am here to say that I am no longer doing that.  I will not be actively promoting DGI to people who do not care for the opportunity, no matter how awesome I know it to be.

For the past two years now whenever the chance presented itself I tried to see if people were interested in early retirement or passive income via investing.  Now to be fair I'm a fan of owning stocks directly, but if someone chooses to use ETFs or dividend oriented funds that is perfectly great.  Throughout that time I've come across a lot of flak and negative feed back.  Usually it is centered around the belief that such investments will never work to fund their lifestyle or that it will take so long to achieve something that it is not worth the time now.  Often there are also complaints about paychecks not being enough or costs that are too important to cut. It seems like they would fit so well into an article like this one: It's Called Work for a Reason that was posted by the New York Times - or many of the related articles.  Like the article, people who believe they are always going to work for the man exhibit deflections or elaborate defenses of lifestyle and necessity of their work.  Naturally, there is no shortage to the excuses available and its not worth airing that laundry.

The amount of people who simply see that road as the only road in life is astounding.  Luckily, my most of my friends and family at least attempt to be frugal in their lives.  Sure they are not all +30% savers or hardcore DGI investors, but they have their own merits.  Still not all of them do, and only my really good friends get to see up close and personal that this kind of change is possible.  However, those who are not in that circle will not get a second pass at the explanation.

Part of the reason I've found is its not worth it.  Folks will find any source possible to use to back up their case ~ some are very informed on finance, most are not.  In many ways this is difficult for me to comprehend, but in looking at it a different way its excellent.

Why is it so great that loads of people fail to see the plain genius of DGI or index investing?  The answer is found simply in the dividends we earn.  Listen, someone needs to work to produce those goods and services to create that profit.  All most everyone has done it, and there is no shame in being part of that group for a time.  Yet, there is something truly great about being in a different group that also sees an exit from the lifelong hamster wheel of work and misery. 

This train of thought has come around now that my work has me traveling a lot more too.  Now I do not mind traveling for work a few times are year or for fun (as often as I want).  Once you start getting on the move for extended periods of time, you will see your attitude towards that change.  I've already missed a few minor things in my personal life due to work mileage, and I do not intend on missing the great big ones.  Does that mean I am changing jobs or fields?  No not yet, perhaps, but the future will remain unknown as always.

I have a lot of plans for my life.  One day maybe I will retire to a life of traveling the world and doing fun stuff, or possibly to becoming a home-brewer.  There are so many amusing things in this world that it would be a shame not to experience as many of the good ones as I can.

- Gremlin
- Long live earning your freedom.