This article was originally published on October 30, 2023.
Open up Instagram, what do you see? Another 22-year-old with a Lamborghini.
If your experience with social media guru ads has been anything like mine, ever since the one time you “liked” or commented, or watched one of these ads right through, you might be feeling hunted by the amount of similarly sponsored “financial freedom” content that followed.
Usually it’s someone much younger than you, talking about how they used a “simple method” to quit their boring day job, and within a year or two, they were rich enough to buy their “dream car”. Usually it’s something tacky like a Lambo. Well, no – it’s ALWAYS a Lambo.
I’m not writing this as an “envy” piece. I’m writing it to validate people who feel behind, and to pull the curtain back on the stuff the ads conveniently skip.
If you’re already trying (working, saving, learning, building), you’re not failing. You’re just not being marketed to like you’re a success story yet.
1. “Financial Freedom” Requires Some Jail Time
I’m tired of hearing how you can start some new business endeavor and gain “full time passive income” for “minimal start up costs”. It’s not that it can’t happen — it’s that the framing is dishonest.
The boring reality is: whether you’re investing in education, buying tools, testing ads, or even just giving yourself runway to learn, you need capital. In most cases, the first place capital comes from is active income — yes, your day job.
Key Point: The only way to have a chance at financial freedom is to work and save money for the sake of saving money.
If you’re not saving anything at all, you’re not building options — you’re building pressure. If you need help getting consistent (even if you’ve failed at it before), start here: how to save money consistently (even if you’ve failed before).
The cool part is that if you have a job right now, congratulations — that’s at least half the battle. You’re in a position to gather resources, even if it’s slow, even if it’s messy.
2. The Initial Investment Has To Be In Yourself
Back in May of 2023, I saw an ad for a digital marketing and e-commerce course that I recognized from a year prior. Because it had found its way back to me after a year, I gave it the time of day.
It wasn’t a bad decision, but it perhaps wasn’t the best thing either. It ended up being a one-time fee of $3000 that I was still paying off at the time of writing.
The course is meant to be 6 weeks of learning all about marketing, social media advertising, building an e-commerce site — the end goal being to make 6 figures a year. It’s true that it can be done in 6 weeks, but given that I’m me, it took me months to even reach week 3.
I also know that inconsistency isn’t a moral failure — it’s a logistics problem. If you’re constantly online but still not moving forward, read this because it’ll sting in the right way: if you’re online every day but still not earning, read this.
Key Point: No matter how long it takes you, make knowledge and education your priority — because ANY IDIOT can make money.
The prospect of money isn’t what motivates me long-term. It’s education, leverage, and building a system that doesn’t collapse the second my motivation disappears.
3. Financial Roadblocks Are Inevitable — You Have To Spend Money To Make Money
It’s an old platitude that makes me sick, so I’m forcing it into the subheading. Unfortunately, it’s also true.
You have to be willing to inject cash if you’re trying to get your business off the ground. Those savings from point 1 matter, especially when you’ve just signed up for something expensive and you’re still learning what you’re doing.
Once your business starts, you still need cash behind you for marketing, subscriptions, tools, and fees. People who own a lot usually spend a lot — just with more intention.
Key Point: Don’t sulk about the cost of your education or your business expenses — especially when you have the potential to make a hell of a lot more.
If you want a clean way to test affiliate marketing without throwing money at cringe or acting like a guru yourself, this is the most practical starting point I’ve written: how to test affiliate marketing without spending money (or looking like an idiot).
4. Give Yourself A Break — There Will ALWAYS Be Opportunities to reach Financial Freedom
There will always be another Starbucks, another Bitcoin, another new platform, another wave. “Fear of missing out” is just an emotion — it’s not a plan.
Bitcoin didn’t explode because everyone was early. It exploded because hardly anyone was early, and most people missed it until it was obvious.
I’ve made money on CRONOS and DOGE and a few others. I’ve also lost a ridiculous amount too, which is why I’m allergic to hype now.
If you’re getting pulled into crypto narratives again, ground yourself with long-term reality checks like: is Bitcoin mining still sustainable long-term?.
Key Point: If you’ve come this far, you’ve done enough. Take as long as you need to be successful.
The gurus won’t lead with this because urgency sells. But even the better ones will admit (quietly) that most people need time and repetition, not adrenaline.
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5. A Day Job Isn’t A Bad Thing
“Quit your 9–5” is a marketing line. It’s not a strategy.
I’ve had a lot of jobs, and most of them were emotionally unsustainable. Still, having something stable enough to keep you functioning while you build is not a failure — it’s structure.
Key Point: Right now, what you need is a job that doesn’t drive you completely insane.
If you need a more grounded framing of why “financial freedom” is not just a rich-person fantasy (and why it starts with being fed up, not being lucky), read: financial freedom isn’t just for the rich — it’s for the fed up.
For me, what worked was finding a job that didn’t require constant mental gymnastics. Something essential, something steady, something that keeps the lights on while I keep building.
6. You’re Not Getting Any Younger, But You’ve Felt That Way For A Long Time
I remember being 13 and thinking it was “too late” to be an actor because other kids were already doing it. I was 13, which tells you everything you need to know about how unreliable that feeling is.
Gurus push “don’t delay” because urgency is a conversion tool. If you want a bigger breakdown of how social media guru culture misleads people (and what they conveniently don’t mention), read: 8 things social media gurus don’t tell you.
Key Point: Urgency is a marketing trick. If you’re healthy, you’ve still got time.
Forget how old you’re getting. As long as you have your health, there’s always time — and comparing yourself to younger people with rented Lambos is the fastest way to sabotage your own momentum.
7. EVERYTHING IS “HARD WORK”
I’m sick of hearing how “hard work” is the badge you need to earn success. It’s true that it takes effort, but framing it as “hard” is often just gatekeeping dressed up as wisdom.
Getting out of bed at 5am is hard. Having the energy to cook food is hard. Being alive is hard. The goal isn’t to find a path with no effort — it’s to find a path where the effort actually pays you back.
Key Point: If you view things as being “hard”, you can apply that thinking to literally anything. It’s HARD to be alive. Stop bullying yourself.
When you have the focus and the energy, you’ll get something done. When you don’t, you still move by inches — lists, reminders, tiny milestones, boring bricks.
8. Your Health Is More Important Than Anything
Your education isn’t the top priority. Your health is.
If your mental health is collapsing, your “future business” doesn’t matter because you won’t have the capacity to run it. Health first, then education, then success — in that order.
Key Point: Your priorities are 1) Health, 2) Education, 3) Success.
Start with whatever “health” means in your life right now: sleep, movement, less nicotine, better food, fewer emotional crashes. You don’t need perfection — you need stability.
BONUS BIT
Even while I’m still in the “squirreling away money” stage, I’ve built an ever-growing list of courses, tools, and guides I refer to. I’m not doing it to feel productive — I’m doing it to keep building leverage over time.
Here are a bunch of them in case you’re interested.
- Dropshipping Course by Finance Simple — Learn dropshipping from someone who failed upwards constantly so that you don’t have to.
- Stock Market Course by Finance Simple — The strategy this investor used to go from $500 to $230,000 in two years.
- Affiliate Marketing Course by Finance Simple — Sara’s approach to breaking beyond $10,000/month in commissions.
- How to Turn Savings Into Income — A guide on turning savings into additional income streams.
- Write A Book + Get Published + Sell it for FREE: All-in-one Guide — How to write with AI without losing your voice, and market without paid ads.
- 7 Day Budget Fix — A simple reset to get your money under control fast.
- Ultimate Stock Market AI Prompt Pack — Prompts to speed up stock research and decision-making.
Recommended reading on Wealth Foresight
- How to Save Money Consistently (Even If You’ve Failed Before)
- If You’re Online Every Day But Still Not Earning, Read This
- How to Test Affiliate Marketing Without Spending Money (or Looking Like an Idiot)
- Financial Freedom Isn’t Just for the Rich — It’s for the Fed Up
- 8 Things Social Media Gurus Don’t Tell You
- Is Bitcoin Mining Still Sustainable Long-Term?
Originally published at cadevirradt.wordpress.com on October 30, 2023. Some additions have been made on the new publication date of 16 July 2025.
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