A really big percentage of people wake up every day and what do they do? They go to spend the rest of the day at work. And they find this completely normal for themselves. But have you ever thought about that how much of your life you spend working for others? Every day, day after day, the same thing happens – you go to work, spend there a lot of your time and then come back home to rest for a while, because you have to work the next day, too. But have you ever imagined what exactly part of your life you sell to work for others and actually chase their dreams? The average person works around 35-40 years in a lifetime and the average person sells (for a salary) one-half of his/her life to his/her employee. This might be OK if you love your job, but this also can be awful, if you hate it. So if you fall in the second case, you should know what the price of your freedom would be, if you decided to stop selling your life to chase other people’s dreams.
The Price of Freedom
According to the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO), the average yearly salary in the US in 2012 was around $40 000 ($39 156 exactly). So, the question here is what you should do to have this amount at the end of each year without having a job. Well, in fact, there are many ways for this and one of them is by an investment. Let’s say that you can invest your money at a rate of return of 12% per year. You put your money there and you get 12% more at the end of each year. So to get $40 000 yearly, we need to invest 40 000 / 0.12 = $333 333. So if you had 334 000 dollars you could invest them and have the average salary in the US without even moving your finger. But the best thing would be that you would stop selling your limited time because everybody’s time is limited and everybody should spend it the best way he/she can.
In this example, $334 000 can buy you freedom. If you need more money every year, you can obtain it by investing more, or at a higher interest rate. For example, $500 000 invested at the same yield could give you $60 000 yearly, or $5000 per month. And there are many places, where you could reach such a return on investment. You could buy bonds, you could invest in common stocks or dividend-paying stocks. Of course, higher yield = higher risk but this is how all things in life work. There is an investment strategy called Dogs of the Dow (see www.dogsofthedow.com), which yielded %17.7 on average for the last 45 years. There were ups and there were downs, but the average return on investment was 17.7%, which is far more than 12%. $334 000 invested in that rate of return would give $59 144 per year and one could withdraw $40 000 and reinvest the other $19 144 to compensate for inflation and risk.
In the following table you can see how much money you need to invest at different interest rates, to get the average yearly salary in the US:
| Interest rate | 2% | 4% | 6% | 10% | Â 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Money required for $40 000 yearly income | Â $2 000 000 | Â $1 000 000 | $666 667 | Â $400 000 | Â $333 333 | $266 667 | $235 294 |
Some of the richest people in the world have made their fortunes investing. The brightest example of them is Warren Buffett, who has made billions this way.
Actually, freedom is priceless…
Freedom is a precious gift – something that cannot be taken for granted. Whether it’s physical freedom or ideological freedom, the price of freedom is often steep and hard-fought.
Throughout history, people of all cultures, backgrounds, and countries have fought for their freedom. From the American Revolution to the civil rights movement, people have dedicated their lives to achieving liberty. More recently, the Arab Spring brought a surge of uprisings across the Middle East in pursuit of dignified freedom. In each of these cases, the fight for freedom was hard-fought, often resulting in both physical and emotional costs.
The price of freedom is evidenced in the sheer number of people who sacrifice their lives for a cause. In some cases, soldiers risk their lives on the battlefield to battle against oppressive regimes. In other cases, civilians risk their lives peacefully protesting in the streets. In both cases, the price they pay is costly and can even be fatal.
In addition to lives lost, the price of freedom comes in the form of tangible costs. During the American Revolution, for example, citizens had to pay high taxes to the British and face punishments for standing up for their freedom. Similarly, the suffragette movement cost women precious time and resources that were spent in the pursuit of voting rights.
The price of freedom is felt in many ways. People pay the price with their lives, their work, and their resources. All of these efforts come at a cost, and ultimately, freedom does not come for free. Yet the price of freedom is worth the cost – for, without it, our world would be immeasurably different.
