Sweat equity and the road to financial freedom

Wikipedia defines it as:

Sweat equity is a term used to describe the contribution made to a project by people who contribute their time and effort. It can be contrasted with financial equity which is the money contributed towards the project.

Our house could never have been built had we not enjoyed the finacial freedom that was created by the sweat equity (SwE) we put into our previous houses. When we moved from Vermont we were able to turn that SwE into cash to lower our mortage for the new house. We not only cut our house size down, but our mortage was cut drastically. Over the past years we have always done some to most of the work ourselves saving a lot of labor costs. Not only did it save us money, but we were able to put a part of our essence into each house that will live in that house for years to come.

I am a sort of Jack of All Trades and building has always been easy for me, but each project has produced new challenges and obstacles to overcome. With the help of books, magazines and the internet there is an endless supply of knowlege to help even the most technically challenged person learn the skills of building. In addition if you prefer a more traditional model of education the company that did our frame offers classes that are geared to the owner contractor. They offer classes in general contracting, electrical, plumbing, concrete counter tops, chainsaw maintence and many other skills. My recommendation it to take a vacation to the coast of Maine and take a Shelter Class. It may just be the best investment you make. See the link on this page for Shelter Institute.

So how does this equate to financial freedom?

When I finished school everyone was after me to put money into the market. Put away 10% of your salary they all said. They were finacial advisors that made money from my money no matter if I did good or bad. Many people would call that a swindle. Here is how it works. Convince 1 million people to give you $100. Charge them all a fee of one dollar and the swindler just made a million dollars. Now put a statement at the bottom in small print about no guarntees of a return and you have a legal scam artist. This never sat well in my stomach. Sure my investments have taken a nose dive this year, but I have not paid the swindler and my money is still there. So here is what I did.

1. If your company puts up a match put in enough to get the match. This way the company is paying the scam artist.

2. Invest in stuff that makes you feel good.

3. Leave it in there and do not watch it. Remember it is only money. Its worth is only what society dictates.

4. Try not to owe anyone any money.

5. Stay away from the ultimate scam (credit cards). We have one that has saved our bacon many times, but be sure to pay it off as soon as possible.

6. Buy less so you need to earn less.

Now for the important part.

1. Invest in yourself. Learn a new skill, plant a garden, raise some chickens, take a new class, start a hobby, build a shed or help a friend build a house to learn how.

2. So what if you screw up a project, you still have learned something.

3. Put in the SwE. It is not only good for the wallet it is good for the sprit.

4. SwE is a real and tangible object that projects your essence. Money is just a piece of paper that helps to assist in trade. We all need money, but it does not define who we are. (we wont get into how society has transformed money to self worth)

5. Teach your children as you learn. My construction skills have always been my back up. Once in college they were building new swimming pool. I went over to the foreman and told them I was a tile setter. He put me to work and I was able to make some money grouting the pool at night.

Here is the challenge>>>>>

Learn one new skill in each year.

If you decide to take the challenge please post a comment about the skill you have chosen.

peace......