The Freedom of Having a Billion Dollars

Last week, I talked about the Billion $ Bracket
Challenge that Warren Buffett was funding. Well,
Buffett is probably sleeping better at night since
he was relieved of paying out the billion to the
contestant who would have won if they picked
the perfect winning bracket for the NCAA 64
team basketball championship. My dream of
winning the money vanished when Dayton
upset Ohio State 60-59 the first day of the
tournament. A second day of upsets ended
everyone’s chances of winning it all.

Wouldn’t it feel great to win a billion dollars?
What an incredible amount of freedom that
would bring you. What would that feel like
for you?  There is another way to have that
billion dollar feeling that does not require
you to actual have it. The feeling I am talking
about is living a debt-free lifestyle. Just think
how much fun it would be to make your
purchases without borrowing money. When
the car salesperson says “Let’s run your
credit to see what type of payment you
qualify for,” you powerfully reply with,
“I don’t need a monthly payment. I am paying
cash.”

This is where the sixth philosophy of Money on
Your Terms comes in to play: choosing to live
a debt-free lifestyle.

Everyone has options in life. Everyone has choices
to make. We are given the option to finance just
about everything these days. Banks have a wide
range of loan products to offer consumers. Thus,
they are readily available and heavily advertised
to us. What happens when you borrow money?
It puts a constraint on your life and wallet.  First,
it costs you more for that purchase in the long run.
Much, much more… We are talking two to three
times the cost.

Second, you are living on their terms, not your terms.

Finally, you are working for the finance company
which you borrowed the money from to make the
purchase. I think if people really thought through
the restrictions they would be placing on themselves
before borrowing money, they would stop their
habit of maxing out their credit cards and financing
everything they purchase.

The majority of the population finds themselves
living with:

Bank loan terms
Student loan terms
Credit card company terms
Car loan terms
Mortgage company terms

If consumers continue to live under everyone
else’s terms, it will be an uphill battle for
freedom. If you find yourself living a debt-heavy
lifestyle, why not consider another way of
living called Money on Your Terms? This is
a powerful way of living that puts you in
control of your life and money. It’s about
time to make the move to gain that feeling
of freedom of having a billion dollars.