There’s a whole different world on the other side of personal finance. Once you crush your debt and save up a decent amount of cash, life totally changes. This side definitely doesn’t involve listening to your parents. It’s more about figuring out what’s next in a noisy world.
The other side of money definitely exists. This is the side that you get to after you’ve put the work in to get what you want out of life.
Josh wrote in with a great comment on our post on what to do after college:
“Great article. I graduated 1.5 years ago and I’m in a weird situation. I have actually travelled a lot and it’s not because I had a lot of money, or came from money or had my parents pay for college. I just went to junior college for a few years, then a small university near me in the midwest, and I lived at home, and I worked part time at a hospital, and graduated debt free because of some scholarships. So actually after graduating I have lived 9 months in Spain and 6 months in Lithuania. I’m currently in Barcelona, but I’m starting to feel pangs of urgency.
I like teaching, but not for the rest of my life, and I feel like my intelligence and other things are being under-utilized. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have had the time of my LIFE living over here, learning Spanish, traveling to visit friends in Portugal, Italy, and Franc. So all in all I’ve enjoyed it.
Now I feel a bit stuck about what to do with my psychology degree and I’m just kind of in a rut.
In a fun, exotic on-the-barcelona beach in summer-rut, but still…”
I can relate.
When you’re in debt, the process for getting out is actually pretty simple: JUST HUSTLE!
All you can do is hustle and work all of the time to pay off your debt and save up some money. Once you cross sides, life is a little different. You have more free time, less stress, more friends, and more to do. Yet, it feels like something is missing. You can’t put your finger on this…
What should you do on the other side of personal finance?
[Martin’s hint: Don’t worry if you’re not on this side of finance yet. You’ll get there. You work with me and I promise to get you there. Stick around to the end.]
Find something worth pursuing.
That’s me having a complete blast doing pro wrestling (and winning the match — all modesty aside!).
I have friends that went straight to work and all they do is work. When they’re not at work, they’re relaxing or getting ready for the next day of work. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’m assuming that you came here because you want to live a little bit.
The first thing that you have to do is to find something worth pursuing. You need to become addicted with something, a new skill, a new talent, or just something.
You won’t read this anywhere else because everyone wants you to play it safe. Screw that. Find a new hobby and go all in. Become a complete addict. I’ve done this with pro wrestling and BJJ with no regrets. I love it.
The next point is just as important as this one…
Do NOT listen to your friends or family.
Seriously, your family just wants you to find a stable job, get married, buy a house, have kids, go on one trip a year, and wait until retirement. Screw that!
Please do NOT listen to your parents. Do whatever you want. Your parents and friends will call you crazy. That’s okay. When they finally get it, they’ll apologize for doubting you.
“If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.” — Frank Zappa
Help someone out.
I can’t articulate why this works or how it works. If you’ve saved up money and are in a decent position, you should strive to help someone out.
You can help out in any of the following ways:
- Become a mentor.
- Give time.
- Become a coach.
- Start a blog where you share your ideas.
Get out there and be useful!
Find a way to make money and stay busy.
It’s important that you find a way to make money and keep yourself busy.
You can start an online business, get into freelancing, or just try out a few new jobs. I really don’t know what to say because it will depend on your dedication and level of success on each venture.
This is a time in your 20s where you get to try out different ideas and look for what you want to do with the rest of your life. There’s no reason to ever feel stuck.
This leads to…
Don’t get stuck in a full-time job that you hate.
This is obviously the most ignorant thing that one could write, but this is an article on the other side of money afterall.
Turner wrote into the aforementioned article with a great thought on working after college:
“The difficulty I encountered wasn’t about following my passions, as I didn’t know what those were. I find that you need to have experiences to know what you really want out of life and you aren’t going to get those working insane hours during the best years of your life in a cubicle.”
Brilliant. Thanks Turner.
I’m not sure how to put this. So try not to get stuck in a crappy job that you hate just because your parents think it’s a good job. It’s okay to quit the “perfect” job to try out something with less pay.
But Martin — How do I get to this side of personal finance?
Let’s get there right now! Why waste time?
I’ve tested out every single strategy, failed, failed again, made a fool of myself, failed again, and then finally figured out what works/what never works.
How You Can Destroy Your Debt >> The first step for you is to destroy your debt. You need to find the plan that will work for you and stick to it!
How I Graduated College Debt Free >> This might be too late for some of you. However, I share how I graduated from college without any debt. Boom!
How-to Save $25k by 25 >> The specific tips that I implemented to save a decent chunk of change by the time I hit 25. If it worked for me, it will work for you. You going to be outdone by a long-haired jerk?
The Guide for Financial Freedom by 30 >> The only framework that you need for saving huge money in your 20s and getting ahead while your friends stay behind.
You owe it to yourself to get to the other side of finance. Then when you get there, you need to find something worth pursuing to keep yourself busy. I can’t give you all of the answers. I just hope that I opened up your eyes to a whole new world today.
Its so important to pursue something you care about. If it can’t come directly from your job, you need to make it a big part of your life outside of work. Doing something you love can really make all the difference in living a good life. And afterall, living a quality life should be more important than living with financial stability.
I like that. That really seems like the trick to a good life. It’s all about doing things that you love to keep you focused.