Get Out of Jail Free

Although this title is inspired by the game of Monopoly, this post is not about Monopoly, although Monopoly as a game is a true reflection of real life. If you can play Monopoly in real life, then you are on your way to becoming rich – buy an investment property (green houses) in choice locations, collect premium rents, and trade in four green houses for one red hotel. In the game of Monopoly, you go to jail through a roll of the dice. In real life, you go to jail for making poor choices, choices that leave you bound without options.

When you find yourself in a financial position whereby you have no options, you are in jail. You cannot simply stand up and walk away because you have no options. You may hate what you are doing and want out, but you have no options. You may like what you are doing but do not like the conditions you are operating in. You cannot walk away when you want to. You are in jail. If you find yourself in a situation – job, investment, whatever – whereby you cannot exit when you want to, you are in jail. You need a “Get out of jail free” card.

The easiest way to land in jail is to have only one source of income. Your life literally depends on it. If anything happens to that one precious income source, you are in financial trouble. When you have only one income source, then you are handcuffed to it. You have no choice but to hang unto it, as walking away is not an option. This is the main reason employees cling to jobs they hate. An abysmally low percentage of employees are passionate about their jobs.

Their dreams are far away from their jobs. They hold onto their jobs to pay the bills. They tolerate anything that comes their way, including pay cuts in some instances. They negotiate from a position of weakness. Some employees have the protection of unions, but that does not change the fact that they are dissatisfied with their jobs, nor does it protect their jobs during times of global economic downturns.

The easiest way to get out of jail free is to achieve financial independence or financial security. This means your fixed-income investments generate enough cash flow to cover your monthly living expenses. In effect, you can do without your salary. If you choose to keep working, it is because you want to, not because you have to. If you have had just about enough of your current job, you have the option to walk away into the sunset.

When you have multiple streams of income, you are no longer dwelling under the shadow of financial insecurity, fear of job loss, market downturns, etc. When one income source gets hit, you can still go on with the others, while creating new ones. You have options. You can choose. You are free. Clinging to job security is an industrial age idea whose time has passed. If you cling to job security in the information age, you may find yourself like a beached whale washed up at low tide. You can get out of jail free by creating multiple streams of income. It is a choice.