Money Money Money

Money is such the topic of discussion these days! Nobody has it, everybody wants it, or definitely wants more of it. But most people aren't really willing to do very much about it and they just want to sit there and complain and not try that hard and count on family or friends and dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. This is not good.

A few years ago when the economic situation drastically changed, I don't think people knew what exactly was coming down the road.. No one did I guess. Here were are today with gas prices almost at $4 per gallon, the housing market in a terrible position, people in tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars of debt. Most people can't afford to buy a house these days, even though the prices are on the lower end of the scale. It's sad and pretty pathetic actually.

I am part of this group of people, so please don't think I am putting anyone down or acting like I have figured it all out, because I haven't. And I have made plenty of mistakes along the way.

My generation, the 20-somethings, has been brought up very differently than my parents or their parents. Money is VERY different these days. Most people who own a house have had to sell it in order to survive, or are seriously thinking about selling it. Their debt is adding, which is not something they were brought up to do. Using a credit card used to be embarrassing! (Man, I wish times were still like that) People live WAY outside of their means, and don't care at all!! They stress and stress about their bills, and then go out and eat dinner for 2 at $100. Uhhh... hello?! What are you thinking?

My generation wasn't taught the money traits that our parents or grandparents knew and followed. And the generations after me.. My god. I am terrified. People just think money grows on trees. I don't know if America is worse than any other country, but I would venture to say that it's pretty close to being the worst at finances.. Just seeing how America is run and how they don't seem to care much at all for peoples well being. Everything here is about making money, and they don't give a f*** what it does to the people. These pharmaceutical companies basically running our food and medical system.. makes me sick. Let's not even get started with that topic!

I moved to Hawai'i a year ago to follow my dream. My dream was to live in Hawai'i and work on a boat. That is exactly what I did. I got a job on a dive boat and was a deck hand and snorkel instructor and all that good stuff. It was AWESOME! I woke up every day unbelievably happy and ready to live the most amazing life. Pretty quickly that job, which wasn't full time, wasn't getting close to paying the bills. The prices of things here are similar to Los Angeles, where I am from, but food is defnitely MUCH more expensive. And contrary to popular belief, getting fresh and local meat, fruit and veggies here isn't easy or cheap at all. I had to look for extra work.. and since then I have been in the hustle every day looking for every little opportunity to make some cash.

I found myself working jobs that made me extremely unhappy, to the point of being depressed and it was affecting me and my relationships as well. It sucked, to put it bluntly.  I remember the days when I first moved here and was "living my dream". There has to be a way that that can happen.. right? I mean.. this is America, land of opportunity! Where's my opportunities!?

I had two options.. Just like everyone else has these same two options.

1. Decrease the size of my dreams to fit into the financial budget that I had.
OR
2. Increase my finances to support my dreams!

Clearly.... I want option #2.

I don't need millions of dollars to live the lifestyle I want. I am happy living a simple life. I realized living here that I don't need fancy things or nice cars or expensive clothes. Simplicity is the way to go and makes me so much happier anyways. But, I would like to buy a house someday, and raise a family, and pay off my debt, and basically just live comfortably. This will require more than a deck hand paycheck of mayyyyybe $1600/month.

I keep seeing people struggling, saying they will do whatever it takes to make some money, but that's it. They "say" it.

I have been lucky enough to find a company that believes exactly what I do... Increase your finances to fit your dream. BUT... you dream has to be big enough and you have to want it badly enough. My dream is to fully enjoy the Hawaiian lifestyle I have chosen. Soak up the sun, swim in the ocean, work on a boat, hike, paddle, watch the sunrise and sunset, and so on. For me.. This is big enough. I don't want to be unhappy any more! I don't want to  live a life "working for the man". Same job, average pay, same thing every day for the rest of my life, with "the man" controlling my hours, days, schedule, time off, vacations, etc. No thanks.. not for me.

I've stopped trying to look for jobs. I am an independent business owner and I know I will be successful, because my dream is big enough to make me motivated, and happy, to put in the work to get there. In the meantime, I work a lot, but that's okay. I have hundred and hundreds of days left in my life.. :)

I wish other people would put there dreams at importance to and find a way to get out of the struggle. I can help if you would like :) My mentors and team are amazing and together I know we are going to do amazing things. Anybody I have ever met, know, or come into contact with I want to share this opportunity because it helps us all. I want to help you get to your dreams just like I want to get to mine.

I know one thing for sure.. You need some money to live and be happy... Not millions, but some. And there are people around me that I love and care about who may need my help someday.. if not yesterday.. And I want to be able to be there for them and not have it hinder my own life.

So here I am, on this path of fulfilling my dreams. You can follow me here and see how it is going, or you can join me and reach your dreams too. :)