Now you have a goal to achieve financial freedom. As I know we must invest our money so that we have enough passive income and become financial free. But you don’t mentioned about your “investing plan”. Just curious about this and would like to hear your opinions on this case.

Who really knows, but great questions none-the-less!

Think about it – You financed a college education and that gave you the higher earning power and options you have now. You also financed your home. So, you borrowed money for the two largest “life purchases” a person ever has. Now that you’ve established yourself by borrowing money left and right, you’ve decided to “check-out” of the a consumer-driven mindset. Well… That’s great, but Isn’t that a relatively easy thing for you to do now? That’s kind of like hearing a barbarian say “I’m going to lead a life of peace and harmony now that I have slayed all my enemies.”

My question is this. Lets say that you, me, or any of the others on here had this change of mindset at say… age 18. Where would be right now? Would we be better off now if we would have approached things like our education, or buying that first home differently? I honestly doubt I would. I financed the hell out of my twenties, but doing so got me to a place where I don’t have to finance anything in my thirties…

@Trav: All of these things specific to investing are a matter of personal preference, so I choose to plead the 5th.

@Rosa: The delineation is in the established fact that middle-class people trade their time for money. Whereas wealthy people invest and live of their money.

I have no intention of changing my “middle-class” values, which I hold dearly.

@Auden: Another investment related question (aka Pandora’s box). I will say this…I plan to pay off my mortgage as soon as possible…right or wrong, due to my personal preference toward the benefits & drawbacks of each.

Thank you all for your comments!

Two of my grandparents were middle class, college-educated people. Two were working-class people who managed to get comfortable in the post WWII boom years.

Guess which side of my family likes new cars, big houses, and fancy clothes? We actually live pretty close to how my middle-class grandparents lived – conserving what we have and saving for the future, having one car and an affordable house, giving the little kids in the family savings bonds for Christmas.

What I thought was strange was the conflict between two goals:
- Avoid debt (including mortgage debt)
- Save/invest as much of my income as possible

The more debt you’re in, the more you can invest. This is probably a dangerous piece of knowledge, but it’s true, and I think most of the people we’d consider to live a “wealthy” lifestyle actually carry quite a bit of debt. They profit from the fact that a 5% mortgage can be invested at 7%. It’s just that their assets heavily outweigh their liabilities.

My confusion comes from your original “middle class money mindset” list. 1) Saving, 2) spending less than you earn, 3) avoiding debt, 4) giving generously – those were all things I learned in my decidedly middle class upbringing.

To me, it seems as if you’ve gone from a consumerist-driven money mindset to a sustainable money mindset. The lifestyle we need to make us happy is different for all, along with the ways we get to that point, while those 4 things are sustainable no matter how you want to live your life.

@DDFD – I’m with you, I could care less about possessions. We entered the world with nothing & we’ll leave with nothing. The last thing we need to focus on while alive is seeking after possessions!

@D – Yeah, I’ve heard that before…need to read that book

@MLR – you’re exactly right…the MC mindset is just like so many other things in modern society…unsustainable. I’m happy that a change in thought patterns is gripping the States & taking them by storm.

It reminds me of another post I wrote titled, “Why These Hard Times Are Good For You”

@MostlyHarmless – Consumerism is definitely not just an American culture problem, it’s a “modern global culture” problem. I am very happy that you realize the need to follow your passions. That is so important in maintaining happiness & peace of mind.

Glad you saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Indian Money Mindset has all the items from your “middle class mindset” as well as “wealthy money mindset” except for (rather annoyingly) these two:

# Spend my “work” week pursuing my passions
# Never retire, but rather continue pursuing my passions

Which is sad, because to me that is the most important thing of all. I mean, why put in all the hard work and do everything ELSE right, just to drop the ball on the one thing that makes it all worthwhile.

To me, it is the equivalent of training hard for a marathon, and then calling it quits just a few steps short of the finish line, while you are yards ahead of everyone else.

Thankfully my dad is more pragmatic, he said essentially, “Do whatever you enjoy, as long as its a good career move.” And well, luckily, I love the whole software engineering thing, and here I am, working as a software analyst, still unable to grasp the fact that I get paid this much for something this fun

… looks like i went on a rant there…

I can’t 100% relate, but I can for the most part.

I have always had that “wealthy mindset” but have watched as a few of my sisters struggled with the “middle class mindset.”

The saddest part is when people keep getting knocked down so they try harder. In the long run, I don’t really think that MC mindset is sustainable if you want both wealth and happiness.

Glad you found your way, though.

Welcome to the club

Now, I don’t care how I make money (as long as there is enough to be comfortable with debts), I want a secluded right-sized house, and the time and good health to spend with my family.