Thoughts On Escaping The Middle Class

I‘ve been thinking about financial survival a great deal lately. I’ve been asking questions such as how one party gains a financial advantage over another. How is it that the middle class has grown to be so large? It’s like a bell curve, with the middle class at the center with the most population while the poor and wealthy make up the minorities at either end of the spectrum.

I think this is a testament to how most people pursue mediocrity. They want to get by, but have a few luxuries as well. It would take way too much work or critical thinking to excel in personal finance. On the other hand, they hate the idea of being poor, and want to have the essentials covered.

The Balance Of Economics

Every time a transaction is pursued, a negotiation is happening. Even if one side demands a certain amount of money for an item, and the other side refuses to purchase the item, a long term negotiation has just been made. Chances are, the seller will lower the price of the item in order to make it more appealing to the next consumer.

Supply and demand comes into play as well. The rarer an item is, the more valuable it becomes in the eyes of the consumer. The consumer will be willing to pay top dollar for such rare items. Of course, if an item is abundant, competition between sellers ensues and the price of the item goes down. You know all this!

Really, when it all comes down to the end, this is a war of minds. It’s much like a game. You win at the game when you either (a) save more money than your fellow man or/and (b) make more money than your fellow man. The wise ones push themselves to sacrifice heavier than others, and work harder to earn more than others.

Success and Failure Compounds

Somehow, many rest in the middle class strata that they are accustomed to. But if you look at the lives of both the poor and the rich, you might find that usually their positive or negative experiences compound accordingly. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. This might be attributed to how money compounds with time in certain situations.

Let’s take the wealthy as an example. Many times they are debt free, have numerous investments, and assets that are increasing in value. All of these things allow them to not only maintain their wealth, but to increase it exponentially.

Now consider the poor. Many times they have overwhelming debt (the opposite of investments) and a lack of resources or life stability to recover. The interest compounds with time, and they are stuck in a rut.

I think it’s fair to say that most people wish they were in a better situation than they currently are. But how do you get there?

Understanding Momentum

To get to the point where you are financially secure, you must first start by working extremely hard. Not only in physical labor, but in mental labor. You must adhere to a financial plan without failure.

Remember those round, spinning playground platforms you used to play on as a child? You’d start out by working really hard, pushing against static inertia, almost going nowhere for a few seconds. Then you start spinning the platform faster, running beside it until it seems to go so fast that you have no choice but to jump on. That’s exactly how it is with escaping the middle class and climbing higher. It takes hard work at first, but simple maintenance will keep you moving in the right direction.

So, if you’re ambitious, daring, and want more from life, pledge to get out of debt and think differently about money. That’s what we do over at The Christian Dollar, and Peter was kind enough to allow me to share these thoughts with you today at Bible Money Matters. Have a great day and get that momentum started!

Originally published at biblemoneymatters.com.