Money and The Dream

When moving towards a dream, there is very often (and rightfully so) a major concern about money. For every person the situation is unique. It begins by understanding your unique relationship with money.

The Coffee Shop

I went to a coffee shop. I sat down. I ordered a coffee. This makes logical sense… I am at a coffee shop, so I ordered a coffee. You might be thinking “Wow, this is the most boring post in the entire universe”. And in fact thus far, you are right  :)

But stick with me.

Izzy and Money

I’ll be straight with you. Some would call me cheap but I prefer to say “frugal”. I HATE to waste money. Here’s an example: You know those “free” plastic bags near the vegetables in the grocery store… I stock up on those. I don’t mean “kind-of” stock up on those. I mean I STOCK UP on those! I have no shame!

Coffee in Japan

Coffee in Japan, isn’t cheap. In fact, it is downright expensive. I used to wonder why they didn’t ask for the soul of my first child along with the price… Now I know it  wouldn’t cover the price. Example: The coffee shop I go to on Sunday, sells the equivalent of a starbucks small coffee for approximately $6.

$6!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dreams, Money

If that doesn’t shock you then I don’t know what will. That is CRAZY! Yet, I am more than willing to pay for it… In fact, this has become a weekly ritual. Every Sunday I head over to my local coffee shop, purchase a coffee and think about life. Not only do I pay the $6, I do it glady. I want to pay for it. I enjoy it, I look forward to it, I am excited about it. Why?

8 months ago, when I came to Japan I never would have spent that type of money on coffee. Yet, now I am glad to do it. Why? It is very simple. My relationship with money has changed.

Money is no longer an object to be hoarded… It is an item I exchange for opportunity.

Money and My Dream

For the first time in my professional career I am making decisions that may  lead to the loss of money. I am quitting my current job in August, and will be moving to a major city to train full time in martial arts. In other words become a ninja.  And I want to find a way to make money dong this. It will likely take a long time. I will likely be digging deep into savings…

Yet, I am gladly willing to lose every penny to my name to make this happen. Do I think this is smart? No, actually in most cases I would say “that is a STUPID idea.” But I have sat with this question for a while “Izzy, what are you willing to do to become a ninja and make money doing it?”

This is my life, this is my answer: I am willing to give up every penny to my name. 

Money and You

I want to be very clear. In no way, shape or form, am I reccomending you “go for broke” to chase your dream. As I mentioned above, I think that in many cases that would be rather stupid. I think you must begin to ask the question: What is my relationship with money? As you explore this question you will begin to understand what you need to do financially to move you toward your dreams.

The Bottom Line

In discovering my dream, I have had to reassess my entire relationship with money. It is a constant evolution and development. As I better understand the relationship I am able to move forward with comfort. I know what I am willing to lose. It won’t hit me by surprise. It is a risk I have deemed acceptable.

As you are able to better understand your own relationship with money it will open doors for you.

What is your relationship with money?

Every comment you write prevents the ozone from depleting (maybe…)

 

  • http://www.vishnusvirtues.com/ Vishnu

    Remind me the next time I come to Japan to NOT offer to go to your coffee shop and buy you a cup of joe. Just kidding Izzy – $6 is expensive. They make Starbucks look reasonable! I hear you about how to change your relationship with money. I think I’m going through a similar thing by actually having quit my job. I was actually going to do it full time and never go back to work. But then I got practical and now I’ve divided it up so I’m off for a few months, working for a few months, back and forth til I can realize my dreams and writing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 

    • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

      Hi Vishnu,

      I don’t think you’ll need any reminding… Once the cashier says “A million dollars please” you’ll tell them to take it back.

      I think it is a way smarter move to transition into following your dream then to just quit everything cold turkey. I will most likely be doing the same thing come August. I want to do some part time work here in Japan while I move into “becoming a ninja” full time. I think it is important that I address that in a later post. As I think this post, kind of implies I am jumping off a bridge and going to burn all my money in a bag.  Ideally I am hoping to work 2 to 3 days a week and have the rest of the time to focus on my dream. Though I will have to dig into savings to make this viable… But for it me it is worth it. 

      • http://www.vishnusvirtues.com/ Vishnu

         Sounds like a plan!

        Also, the blog design change? or just bigger sized font on the blog makes a dramatic impact for the better. Good work.

  • Sean

    In the name of preventing ozone depletion, I figured I would share my thoughts on Money and the Dream (you’re welcome Earth).  The truth is, I have a deep love for money.  Not the normal ring-on-the-finger, partners-for-life “love”, but instead the fiery, passionate, want-you-bad “love”.

    In my mind, much of the purpose of life is to be happy and I think your assessment of Money being “an item [you] exchange for opportunity” is exactly right.  Money affords me a myriad of opportunities and the more of it I have, the more opportunities I find.  At the same time, money can be a distractor and deterrent to achieving one’s Dreams.  I’ve found it’s very easy to focus on the wrong things.

    A few years ago I went through a “save as much as I can” phase where I cut back my spending as much as I could without going insane.  Where I cut back areas of excess, it was a great thing.  Where I cut back areas of my life I really enjoyed, it certainly wasn’t.  I had to come to the realization (much like you did) that spending money on things that make me happy (or push me towards my dream) are well worth it and generally yield multiples factors of happiness in return. 

    • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

      Yo Sean,

      Man oh man! I can definitely relate to you on this one. I think everyone has a natural leaning with money. Some people are excessive spenders when they don’t pay attention and some people are natural super cheap skates. I definitely land on the “super cheap skate” side. Though I prefer to call it “frugal”. 

      I often have to force myself to spend money at times. I have even put money in an envelope and told myself “Izzy you must buy stuff with this, you are not allowed to save it…” Of course, I still saved some of it, but hey that is still progress.

  • Lindsey

    Oh man, if this is going to save the ozone I’m totally going to write! (part of my quest to being a better person is to save the world). 
    I just have to say “I’m cheap and I don’t care!”. 
    Good post and makes a lot of sense.  My relationship with money is that I need to learn how to let go of that anxious feeling when I spend my money.  I have to assure myself that IT IS OKAY TO BUY NEW CLOTHES!  :)

    • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

      Hello Ms. Lindsey,

      I know this exact feeling. I have a problem where I compare every expense to “Video Games purchases”. Sometimes, I will think about buying new clothes but then I’ll look at the price tag and think “Izzy, you can buy a videogame with that money”… But then here is the problem – I rarely purchase video games because every time I am about to buy the game I always think “Do you really want to spend that much money?”

      It isn’t a logical system by any standard…

      But I am getting better about it. As I talk about in the post, I am slowly learning how to use money for freedom rather than massive hoarding.  

      Thanks for doing your part to save the ozone.

  • Andrew

    Awesome, well thought out post. 

    • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

      Thanks Andrew, I’m glad you liked it.

  • Grant

    The ninja strikes again! I was just paying tribute to my friend Mint.com, trying to better analyze spending/finances, right before visiting this post. That’s almost equivalent to an oxymoron…I’ll be visiting Starbucks in the am, but this time making it a venti. And when they ask for a name? “Izzy”…cheers.

    • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

      Mr. Grant Zanini,

      Coincidence I think not! The stars aligned and planted a seed in my heart. At that very moment you also had a seed planted… By the powers of the universe we have been connected across oceans, continents, and 10s of thousands of miles!!!

      Okay, maybe I’m getting a little out of hand… But if Nothing else I hope that you order your Starbucks under the name Mr. Izzy. And refuse to take it from the counter until they use the “Mr” portion.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the post.

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  • http://www.writingfromafar.com/ Tony

    Don’t underestimate the power of money and its ability to make your dream a reality. Following your dream usually requires a ton of it – there’s rent to pay, food, clothes, not to mention those expensive Japanese coffees. It’s good your relationship with money changed, you seem to have money in perspective, money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. You’re happy to exchange it to do something you love, and that’s good too. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need money any more. One of the most common problems I see stopping people from pursuing their dreams is “not enough money”. The other problem being people pursue money at the expense of everything else (think Allen Stanford). The true path is somewhere between the two. Sigh.

    • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

      Yo Tony!
       Welcome to the these neck of the woods :)

      Money is a crazy complex issue. I see a lot of things online that imply or directly say  ”Stop worrying about money!” which, personally I think is total bullshit! 

      Money is a big F’ing deal. 

      I think the key is understanding our own personal relationship with money. For me, I tend to be a saver. So, when things are bad I become Mr. Super Cheap Skate. 

      Other folks, have the opposite reflex. They become crazy spenders. 

      I think first we have to figure out our relationship with money. Why do we want money? What can it provide for me? What is good about money? What is bad about money? How can I use money in a good way? How can I use money in a bad way? 

      These are all questions I am constantly asking myself. As I gain a better understanding of my relationship with money I can begin to address the other issues such as  creating a budget, killing debt, saving for retirement, etc. 

      I hope to see you around and here more of what you have to say on future posts :)

      • http://www.writingfromafar.com/ Tony

        Hi Izzy, absolutely agree with you – there are a lot of blogs out there who as you say are downplaying the role of money. That’s a recipe for disaster. Most of the people I know who’ve made the move into the “life of their dreams” did so from a sound financial platform. Having said that, from time to time you do need to take a chance. You are absolutely spot on when you talk about a relationship with money – it is exactly that! Yes, you’ll see me hanging out here – I’ve added you to my feed reader. I added a link to you from my site too! All the best, Tony :)

        • http://www.30yearoldninja.com/ Izmael Arkin

          Awesome man. 
          I enjoy having people here who really understand the role that money can play. 

          When I got out of college I made some pretty big financial mistakes. I purchased a car, racked up some credit card debt and two months into my $43,000 a year job I had racked up $25,000 in debt… 

          It was stressful. But that is when I realized I got to figure this thing out. I read a bunch of financial books, learned about budgets, investing, retirement, and most importantly the psychology of money. 

          Fast forward a few years and I killed all my debt (I HATE DEBT WITH A PASSION!), run a budget monthly, and feel in a good financial position (for my age – I’m 29 soon to be 30). 

          There is no chance that I would be able to move to Japan and do what I am doing if I had not taken the financial steps I have taken. 

          Check out my post called “The 1 Financial Decision that can Make or Break Your Dream”. I discuss how budgeting has lead to the pursuit of my dream and I also offer my budget spreadsheet as a free download. 

          Also, thanks for the link man. 

          • http://www.writingfromafar.com/ Tony

            I wish I’d made such wise decisions in my 20s! :) What you are doing here is amazing. I checked out your spreadsheet – pretty cool. I also agree with you tracking expenses/budgeting is just essential if you want to turn your finances around. I’m almost OCD about it now, but the results are what count! :) Just checked out the article you suggested. Quality. In the words of Warren Buffett  ”Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving”. All the best! p.s. hope the Japanese is coming along well!