I didn’t grow up with money.
As a kid, I remember how we got our furniture. And it wasn’t from a furniture store.
Once a year, the town I lived in had a gently used / unwanted furniture give-away event. If you had anything that you wanted to part with, you would set it out on your driveway on that day. And it was understood that if anyone wanted what you were giving away, they could just pick it up and carry it off.
Growing up, we’d make a day of it. All of our furniture, and I mean everything, was acquired this way. Mattresses, a couch, mismatched dressers, a dinner table, and more.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I didn’t have a sad childhood. Quite the opposite. We were a happy family! And I have fond memories growing up.
But we certainly didn’t have a lot of money. And that means I had a front row seat seeing life through a money scarcity mindset.
Now in life, I’m in a much better financial situation. Realistically, I don’t have the money constraints that my parents did. That means, I spend zero energy worrying about day-to-day or month-to-month expenses anymore. I just know there is more than enough money to our family name to cover these and more.
I’m not telling you this brag, but rather…
Having gone through a childhood where my parents had to get creative in order to make ends meet vs. now not needing to worry about day-to-day or month-to-month expenses…all else equal, I’d much rather have money.
As Naval Ravikant says, “you can’t fix your problems with money, but you can fix your money problems with money”.
Having money means that I don’t have to stress about mortgage payments, budgeting for an upcoming vacation, deciding if I can afford the Uppababy Vista stroller, etc.
But more importantly than toys, vacations, and mortgages…having money has given me the ability to take an extended paternity leave / mini-retirement.
Right now, I have time freedom over each day – meaning I have the luxury of time to wake up slowly in the morning, and time to be present while playing with Jackson, time to go on a daily family walk in the afternoon, and time to just bond as a new family of three.
It is a luxury. And I have Bitcoin to thank for it.
You won’t be able to save enough to pay for all the expenses
Doing some quick back-of-napkin math, you’ll quickly see that working a 9-5 and saving a part of each paycheck isn’t enough.
That’s because if you are just holding USD, your hard earned money is literally becoming worth less (and less) each year. This is inflation in action.
Choosing to have money
I’m sure you already figured out that saving money (ie. USD) isn’t enough.
To me, back to the choice of having money vs. not, it is table stakes that investing needs to be part of the equation in order to account for additional expenses as a new dad.
Before Bitcoin, I invested in both real estate and the stock market.
I’ve made money on both. And I still own both. But when it comes to upside, the numbers don’t lie. Bitcoin has been the best investment. And will continue to be the best investment. By far.
Historically, here is how much each asset grows per year:
Savings account: 0%
Real estate: 5-10%
Stocks: 10-15%
Bitcoin: +200% (since inception from 12 years ago)
As you can see, the returns on Bitcoin easily beat out the stock market, real estate, and basically every other possible investment out there.
How could it not? Bitcoin has been engineered to perform like this. And right now, exactly according to plan, we are at the start of another bull cycle.
With where Bitcoin has come, and where it is heading, I believe Bitcoin is the best vehicle to build long term wealth. In future posts, I’ll share the various “ah ha” moments that helped me develop my conviction, but for now, let’s recall a key first stat to help you have your first “ah ha” moment.
On average Bitcoin grows at +200% per year. This is orders of magnitude better than stocks, real estate, etc.
And this is why I choose to allocate a part of my portfolio in Bitcoin.