Photo courtesy Luis Argerich
Have you seen the Matrix? There’s a classic scene where Morpheus offers Neo the choice between the red pill and the blue pill. The red pill will free him from the Matrix and the blue pill will send him back to the illusion that the machines have created to keep him pacified and under their control.
There are so many parallels to draw from this scene. There’s even a relevance to our finances. The “marketing machine” is trying so hard to keep everyone under it’s control. You can be sexier, slimmer, stronger, more cool if only you’ll buy in to whatever they are offering. Everyone wants a brand new car and it has to be a luxury machine. They’ve got to have the latest technology and have the most channels. Everything is about consumerism.
Along with that though comes huge amounts of debt, a lifestyle of living paycheck to paycheck, no emergency savings, no retirement, and nothing saved toward your child’s future education. Everyone is behaving just as the marketing machine would have them.
There are some however that have taken the red pill. They know how deep the rabbit hole goes. They are free from the control of the marketing machine. They drive nice used cars. They pay for things with cash not credit. They don’t worry about sudden unplanned expenses because they have a large emergency fund established. Their future is secure because they have a plan for retirement that doesn’t involve rice and beans every day. Their neighbors may find them a little peculiar, but they don’t mind because normal is broke. There’s freedom in being a little peculiar.
So, are you under the control of the machine? Would you like to take the red pill? I can help you along the journey. It can be scary at first, but once you’ve seen what life outside of the machine is like, you won’t want to go back. There are many of us out here to give you a hand. Once you start down the path, you’ll begin to recognize us. We’re waiting for you.