Money

One of the objectives of the Middle Start is to get enough money to pay for a reasonable old age, not of course that meaning that I am about to sign off or claim a pension yet. In truth, I do not have a pension to claim, or investments to live off.  

First thought of the day. The ability to earn money is more important than money. This covers a lot. Of course, having money brings with it the ability to earn money.  Health helps too. A demented 90 year old is not going to make good investments and even the most secure fortune can be squandered. 

Nothing beats McCawber's advice. Annual income £20, Expenditure £19 19 shillings and six pence = heaven Annual income £20 Expenditure £20 pounds and six pence = MISERY 

I woke up with half a dozen schemes as to how I might make some money. The best one was using the ideas that Dearest and I are putting together, put them into a company and sell half to a Pharmaceutical  company. This is not so absurd, since if you read my other blogs you will understand my interest in psychology. However, no one gets anything for nothing, and any scheme that is going to sell, is going to take a lot of work to get together. 

My resolution for this year has been more money in than out. So far January has not been a great success. Even before tax, there was a lot more out than in. I can make excuses, but I have spent money I have not earned, although in fairness, I have started back to work, even if I have not yet got a job. 

The problem with money is that no one teaches about it, at least not in a reliable and consistent way. There are numerous courses on 'How to make a million on the Internet'. Mostly these are variations on the old scam 'How to make a million' - Put an advert in the paper that says 'How to make a million - send £10 to PO Box 295 for full instructions'

'How to make a million on the Internet' courses sell information that will persuade people to 'send £10 to PO Box 295 for full instructions'. Nowadays, everyone is chasing smaller and smaller rewards for greater and greater effort. 

I know this because I have sent a large number of £10s to various schemes or scams. The information is all the same, and a year later it is everywhere for free. It is very difficult to sell information, except perhaps in a niche market.  

My attitude to money runs deep. At the start of the Industrial Revolution, the factory owners wanted to get people to work in their factories, so they offered them money, lots of money. However the workers found that they only needed to work for a couple of days in order to get everything they wanted or needed and they did not turn up for the rest of the week. This meant that orders were not fulfilled and and the factories lay idle. So the factory owners cut wages. This then meant that the workers had to work the whole week to buy what they needed. 

The modern freedom is financial independence. This is freedom from job slavery. The modern citizenship is financial independence. Only people who are financially independent can make objective decisions as to how the country should be governed, as to how children should be educated. The first step of government should be to help its people achieve financial independence. 

Middle Start is the journey of an ordinary somewhat misguided 50 something towards financial independence. I am documenting this journey, mostly for myself. But may be one day it will serve as a guide to other people in my position who want to avoid the mistakes that I am about to make.