Passive Investments are Freedom

Income from dividends or interest is basically freedom from having to work a job. Most Americans work today to pay for necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing. Imagine for a moment someone had passive income coming in from investments such as stocks that replaces their income from a job. Imagine they would not have to do anything else except live another day.

My goal in life is to avoid being miserable working a job for 50+ hours per week and burning myself out by 40. Then going into debt to purchase material goods because that job doesn't provide any happiness. I think most Americans would say they would want that too but are not prepared for the sacrifices of today. My long term goal by the age of 40 is to receive more than enough income where I can comfortably say no to more work. I won't have to continuously upgrade my skills and network to keep up with the economy. I won't have to think about getting my next paycheck at all.

Of course, I personally do not actually want to stop working at age 40, because that causes all kinds of mental issues that retirement creates, isolation, massively bored, etc. When I am receiving more income than I need or want, then I can quit my traditional job and work on different projects, only if I want to. What these projects are could vary, they could be investing in new businesses, purchasing homes and renovating, or investing in small businesses. Many people retire and then they are bored because they have nothing to do. I don't want that to happen to me. I like to be around people, and there won't be that many friends around that are retired at age 40. Quitting work too soon might not work mentally for me.

Another reason why dividends and interest payments are freedom is that I can easily withstand an unemployment shock. If there are massive layoffs due to new and improving technologies, then I can easily be laid off from a job and not worry about my next meal. This is why I am sacrificing what I can today so I can do withstand this down the line. I am continuously investing my cash into businesses where I believe I will receive a superior income return than a regular plain Exchange Traded Fund.