What if 21 year olds never drink alcohol at the bar for 5 years? How much less financial stress could they have?
I think there is a good amount of financially successful people that might agree with this. However, I don’t think many financially illiterate people can really see this. I’ll be honest so I am not hypocritical, when I was 21 years old I didn’t think about alcohol expenses when I use to drink at the bar. I wouldn’t say I was a huge spender, but I would still get sucked into buying everyone a shot now and then; for those that enjoy a good night with friends would probably understand this. There typically comes a point in the evening where someone has had enough liquid courage where they feel inclined to amp up the party with shots. This is where the party dynamics can generally change for most people.
I stopped drinking alcohol 3.5 years ago; not a single sip. It wasn’t because I was a hardcore drinker, but I wanted to feel clear and fresh all the time, 7 days a week. No exceptions. Since going this route I have a new type of mental clarity and mental capacity that I did not know was possible. I would now consider myself a learning machine and easily can do 15 hour work days now; I am not saying that people should aspire to do this, but it’s an observation. Most importantly, I love that I can be focused at a moment’s notice. Naturally, when I go out with friends on a Friday or Saturday night I am always the designated driver. Which is actually pretty cool as I know I can have fun and be alert at any moment.
With all that said, when I go to the bar now it’s quite fascinating to observe all the patrons in the environment. Especially the drunk ones and the really drunk ones. I remember listening to Ted Nugent give his views on observing people under the influence and he said things like, “Look at drunk people just slobering, falling, all over the place and not even present.” I am paraphrasing but something like that. After listening to him I tried looking at people who are highly intoxicated and literally said “Holy shit!” It was like stepping out of the matrix for the first time, metaphorically.
I couldn’t believe that I went through phases where I was in that condition. But, that’s also when I did not know it was possible to be high on life. Once removing alcohol and you give yourself time to adjust then some really unique things can happen. You can learn to find a place of happiness and courage that you didn’t know existed inside you. You can also find yourself highly energetic and full of resolve. Like I said earlier, 15 hour work days happen in my life very often and I use to think that was impossible. Again, not saying that it’s healthy or something one should aspire to be, but I didn’t know I could be like that.
I remember listening to a Youtube clip of Tai lopez where he said, “Your brain is like a muscle it will get faster and faster.” That phrase became embedded in me more than most phrases that I attach myself to. Imagine if they taught us that in school from the beginning? I mean, I don’t think school is real life or real world reality at this point, but that’s a topic for another time. That would have been extremely potent if they taught me sentiment with positive reinforcement rather than negative shameful language patterns. That’s something that also will probably be in another one of my posts.
Now, coming back to the main point of this piece of writing. I do not believe I would have ever thought about the amount of money a person can save if they did not spend money at the bar. Ever. Once I got rid of alcohol and developed more clarity, along with tons and tons of self development with mentors and other life experiences, financial literacy has become a huge focus of my life. Imagine if you are someone that went to the bar every weekend for 5 years. How much money would that take away from your bank account?
More importantly, how much money would that take away from investing in assets that appreciate??? That’s probably the most important thought of this post. There were weekends where I spent $200-300 on alcohol; not often would I spend that much, but I OBSERVED many other people that did. Now, let’s say you are one of those people and spent $200 every weekend for 5 years. How much would be the total money spent?
$50,000 over 5 years of spending $200 a weekend at the bar! That’s right, $50,000. For some people that could be a whole years salary. Or, 3 years of renting an apartment.
Now, what if I told you that that $50,000 could have turned into $1,000,000,000 one day? If you could see into the future and new that if you invested $50,000 into something and that could have turned into $1,000,000,000 would you have still spent the $50,000 on booze?? Probably not. And just so people don’t think I am out of sorts, that could have happened if you invested $50,000 into Bitcoin. At the current price of Bitcoin I could have invested $50,000 and it could have turned into $1,000,000,000.
Now, let’s be a little more conservative for a minute. Someone could have invested $50,000 a few years back and would have found themselves in the 6 or 7 figures as well. And not just Bitcoin, many other crypto assets, currencies, stocks, and even real estate. If only people could give up short term pleasure for long term financial stability. And, some people would say money doesn’t buy you happiness. Now, Dan Pena would say, “If you don’t think money won’t buy you happiness then you don’t know where to F****** shop.” If that mindset is too much for you, then you could say, “The absence of money would definitely not be a good thing.” Look at this as how you want to. It’s your freedom to choose.
To sum up these thoughts, I do have regrets in my life. Sometimes, I like to say I have reflections but I don’t feel regret. Well, that’s not always true. I wish that in my early 20s I would have been more focused; especially around financial literacy. Would I have cut out drinking completely, I want to say yes but I am not sure that’s reasonable. I would say this, over the 5 years that I did have alcohol, I should have never bought a single drink at the bar and just saved a ton of money!
If you know someone out there where these thoughts might be helpful then please share it.
Best regards,
The Observing Man