Financial Freedom 101

What is the true value of a coin?

“Which coin?” You might ask. 

Well…all of them. Right?

The average American between the ages of 25 and 34 years old earns a median salary of “$963 weekly ($50,076 annually)”, (CNN.Com). About $50,000 a year. This is not substantial. Especially depending on the state! The average accumulated annual rent costs of an American apartment sit at $17,616, this cost calculated from the average U.S monthly rental cost sitting at $1,468. What is especially harmful to one’s wallet in this is the rise of the cost of living, “Rents are trending upwards nationally and have risen significantly since their September 2016 rate of 1,348 U.S. dollars,” (Statista Research Department). Though this doesn’t account entirely for inflation as well, the issue still stands that one’s dollar is lessened in strength every day, though this is only noticed consciously in lump sums, though the effects are truly felt daily whether we choose to admit it or not. 

So, what about the coin, then? Why go on a rant about the cost of rent?

 Every year, people lose valuable money to laziness, lack of knowledge of compound interest even at a micro level of coins, which is essentially a microcosm of people’s lack of financial awareness overall, and of a belief that they are more financially secure than they truly are, “The United States government reported in 2016 that an estimated $62 million in pennies are lost every year in circulation,” (Bloomberg.com). Pennies alone! The average American can’t stand to lose this small change, as it accumulates so immensely over time that one would be losing out on a lot of funding that would be used elsewhere. With so little people saving change, or misallocating it, this becomes daunting.

A quarter lost every day of the year is $91.25, but now a quarter and a dime is $127.75, quite a large change with only 10c. But we know that often we will purchase an item and it may cost $1.35 at the store of one’s choice. In that, the difference would be .65c, so (.65c) x 365 = $237.25 saved annually. If I could hand you that total, you would accept it instantly! Nearly $240.00 saved off of a couple quarters, a dime, and a nickel a day. That $237.25, thrown into the S&P at a 12% annual interest with a $10 monthly contribution equates to $1,114.71 after 5 years. But wait, imagine, during that 5 years, you continued to save the 237.25, so your actual monthly contribution would be nearly $20 dollars ($19.77), that being the 237.25/12 months.. After the first year alone, that would be $500.98 at the same interest rate as before. Starting at $500.98, the next year would be $791.08. See where this is going? It is a trend of saving, but more so, a trend of increasing not only one’s money, but one’s economic value and opportunity. That 237.25 can be used to purchase a used computer, and allows one to reach an audience like they couldn’t before, perhaps even through a blog! It could be used to fund time and energy expenses into a youtube channel in an attempt to create a passive income over time. These are the true enablers of wealth. That 237.25 is nearly meaningless on it’s own; it couldn’t even pay for an entire month’s rent! Yet, that is not the point, and it never will be. As money has always been, and will always be, it is a tool, and one either chooses to wield it or let it collect dust in the garage hoping one day it will purchase a small vacation to somewhere you’ve always wanted to live. No longer! Take those coins and use them. No penny is ever too good to leave behind, let alone a quarter. Let alone two! Let that small side income, that small amount of savings become an opportunity to occupy your free time and become valuable, rather than wasting away watching entertainment. Stop indulging, start incorporating, and create a life with meaning where you can’t be bullied by time or people, and your life is your own.

These small changes in lifestyle, performed day to day are what allows one to adapt their lifestyle and perceptions, and these incremental changes soon become habit, and habit becomes nature. To change one’s life, to achieve true financial freedom, one must do the best that they can with what they have. The small changes become great changes, eventually becoming life changing. And then one day, by saving that 237.25, the small decisions made therein will envelope your life and allow you to truly become what you want to be;  no longer a slave to the dollar, to the rent, to the cost of living, to the boss at the office. Instead, be a warrior of the coin, a bender of the bill, a decider of your own fate. All through a couple quarters, a dime, a nickel.

All through a few coins. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/18/heres-how-much-men-and-women-earn-at-every-age.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1063502/average-monthly-apartment-rent-usa/