Escaping the Money: How to Be Free Financially

Money controls almost everyone. Only in our youth are we partly free of it; and even then we see our parents struggling and obsessing with money. The house or apartment, car, and food add up to thousands of dollars a month. Perhaps we see our money controls our parent's lives, and see why escaping money obsessions are important.

There is no golden rule to being free of money, but this essay will present some strategies. We will explores choices in careers, how money can be an obsession, and how wasting money takes control of our lives away from us.

Careers are about money. We pay our bills and, inevitably, hate being controlled by them. Consider a career that allows you to be free from money. We will still need to be paid. But sometimes working the job that we hate will lead to the one we love. If we work under someone, the conflicts with the boss can hurt what we love-or make us loathe the job more. Often there is no choice for us. We can only make the choice to work for ourselves when it becomes financially possible.

On the better days, escaping into the work can be fun. A career that allows us to escape will also allow us to be free from money concerns. The bills will still be there but, not only can we pay them, we can enjoy the way we made the money. A career choice should be one in tune with money; not controlled by it. That youth job may pay less than dealing with adults. Deciding to open our own business instead of making money for someone else can be pursued. We are supposed to take some chances in life. Work for what you love or dream of doing because that is more important.

Money is an obsession in many ways. We see the harsh affects it has on our self-esteem. We remember our parent's struggles with paying the mortgage. There is nothing quite like being broke. We fear not having money, and become obsessed with making it. Or we love making money: a huge paycheck at the end of the week lifts our spirits. We should never depend on that huge paycheck to make ourselves happy. Basing our happiness on a paycheck leads to a poor self-esteem in the long run. Being materialistic does nothing for us in the short term. We can escape the obsession and build self-esteem by meditating, becoming more religious, meeting with friends, and spending more time with family.

Often we spend the money we make on frivolous things: brand new shoes, new books, or take the family out to an expensive restaurant. Rewarding ourselves is good, but often we can be free by not spending the money on such things. If we do not spend the money, we are in control. If we do, we are being controlled.

So we work out all the ways to escape money but fail. We try again. This is not like getting fired; we still have a reasonable shot at attaining our dream of control after a few bumps in the road. When we find the right career, avoid obsessions, and stop buying things we don't need, we can improve upon our self-worth and control where life takes us.