OK, with a title like that, I better not be too stupid, to keep quiet, and to have good arguments.
That’s good, I have some.
THE Wall Street Journal published this week1 a salary survey. Pollsters wanted to know how much increase in annual salary would be necessary for people to feel “happy and less stressed” about the state of their finances.
Result: people who earn $25,000 a year said they would need to earn between 30% and 50% more to be happy.
People earning $50,000 said they would need to earn between 30% and 50% more to be happy.
People who earn $100,000 said they would need to earn between 30% and 50% more to be happy.
People earning $250,000 said they would need to earn between 30% and 50% more to be happy.
Do you see a trend?
I’m not saying that having better working conditions, better benefits, and, yes, a decent salary isn’t necessary. Of course it is necessary. Teachers are on strike these days to demand better working conditions, and I hope they get them before Christmas – which suddenly seems a long way off this year…
But it’s crazy to see how quickly this 1.3 kg mass of nerves that is our brain adapts to a bigger salary.
“But if I earned 50% more, paying my mortgage would be easy!” », you will say.
If you earned 50% more, your mortgage would be 50% bigger, and still just as difficult to pay.
You never feel like you’re earning enough. We always feel like happiness hangs just out of our reach. Even when you earn $250,000 a year.
What is the solution ?
I was thinking about it this week while watching Freedom. A goal for financial independencethe most recent documentary by young director Antoine Denis.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANTOINE DENIS
Antoine Denis, director of the documentary Freedom. A goal for financial independence
In this film, the last in a trilogy on financial freedom, in which I make a short appearance, Antoine Denis shows how money can actually bring freedom, happiness and reduced stress. But that has nothing to do with raising your salary by 30 or 50%.
Freedom, the documentary shows, begins the day we decide to pay ourselves first. It doesn’t matter what their income level is.
As businessman and investor Naval Ravikant wrote: “People who live well below their means enjoy a freedom that people who are busy raising their standard of living cannot imagine. »
We hear in particular Vincent Morin, holder of a master’s degree in business administration (MBA), who left his job at the age of 35 to take care of his young children full time.
Leaving your job to take care of your children is neither rare nor exceptional. What is exceptional in his case is that he used part of his salary for years to accumulate financial assets in his RRSP, his TFSA, and his non-registered account. Assets that today continue to enrich him by tens of thousands of dollars per year while he plays soccer with his children or prepares dinner.
“My last day of work, I thought it was going to be really special,” explains Morin in the documentary. I managed a team of 10 to 12 people. However, apart from a few specific people, no one called me. Even my boss forgot it was my last day. It just made me realize that we are all replaceable. »
We all know that money can buy us beautiful products. We are less aware that it can also give us freedom and time spent with those we love. And this is decades before the usual retirement age.
The key is to start young, says author and host Pierre-Yves McSween, in the documentary.
Before the age of 40, in my opinion, you are in the asset building phase. After 40 years, you can choose to be in asset destruction. But if you choose to destroy your assets from the age of 25, it is a very expensive choice. I have reached the age where I see people living with the consequences.
Pierre-Yves McSween, author and host
Arriving at 40 with empty pockets is extremely stressful – no matter your income level. It is difficult here to see where freedom lies.
Pierre-Yves McSween even suggests renaming the RRSP the “registered freedom savings plan” so that people understand that they are increasing their freedom by contributing to it.
Even people who contribute to a good retirement plan should work on acquiring financial assets in their RRSP and TFSA, in particular, explains financial author Karman Kong in the documentary.
“I want to take a sabbatical year at 40. My retirement plan is not going to allow me to do that. That’s going to be the money I’m going to have put aside,” she said.
Antoine Denis says this is the most personal documentary he has made so far.
“The values in the film best represent the values that I want to convey in relation to money,” he says.
Made without financing or advertising, Freedom. A goal for financial independence is available for sale on the Productions Iris website or for borrowing from libraries2.
Over the years spent being interested in the world of money, the 26-year-old director says he has understood that not worrying about one’s finances and leading a “a little bohemian” life in relation to these issues is very valued. in our society.
“Ironically, if you don’t care about money, you’re going to have to worry about money your whole life. The person who has investments will be able to stop thinking about them. That’s the big difference. »