The Three Horsemen That Will Make You Rich Or Poor

I went for a walk last night as the sun set.  It’s March in Minnesota.  The snow banks were melting, causing cold, icy, and slippery side-walks as I walked.  This is the season in Minnesota where spring and winter mix together.  Warm afternoon air mixes with the sub-zero nights, and an icy mess appears everywhere outside.

I dodged frozen puddles and snow banks that looked like frozen lizard sculptures around my feet.  Tonight I was thinking about my two favorite subjects:  money and life.  I was asking myself if I am using my time alive to become the human being I want to be.

I talk to God when I walk.  I simultaneously speak to myself.  I use outdoor walks to try to understand who I am.  Am I living the mission I am supposed to be living?  Or am I just working a job so I can mindlessly afford a nice middle-class lifestyle as I slowly inch toward my eventual death?  I ask myself these question as I walk:  Am I living my life the right way?  What is the right way to live?  I honestly don’t know what I am supposed to do with my life most of the time.  That’s why I go for so many walks.  I desperately try to listen to the voice in my soul, and then do that over and over again.  Here’s a good visual showing why I walk so much:

As I walked last night, I thought about the financial decisions I make on a daily basis, and how they impact my overall life.  My thoughts floated around like butterflies in my mind.  I could almost see them land on bright, beautiful ideas that looked like blooming flowers inside my skull.

I decided to call the idea that blossomed inside my mind as I walked:  The Three Horsemen That Will Make You Rich or Poor.   I’ll list the three Horsemen below (Because they all start with the letter “H.”) These financial horsemen that you will encounter in life will either make you rich or poor, depending on how you interact with them.  The three horsemen are:  Houses, Hovercrafts, and Hobbies.

The First Horseman:  Hobbies.

Ask yourself right now; are your favorite hobbies making you rich or poor?  Are your hobbies expensive or cheap?  If your hobbies are expensive, it’s going to be extra-hard to save the cash you will need to buy investments and become wealthy.  However, if your hobbies are inexpensive, it will be a lot easier for you to become wealthy.  I believe cheap hobbies are one of the best gateways to building wealth.

For example, with just some gas money, I can spend an entire weekend exploring beautiful places outside.  We have another favorite hobby of inviting our best friends over to our house for dinner and a game night.  We buy food at the grocery store for around $10 or $15, and we have a great time hosting our best friends at our house.  Since our favorite hobbies cost so little, we’re able to save a spectacular percentage of our income without feeling like we’re missing anything.

Let’s compare this lifestyle one of my old favorite expensive hobbies:  Partying.  I remember back in the day, it was nothing for me to buy a $50 concert ticket, and spend my weekends blowing through cash on $20 parking fees, $20 dinners out, and $30+ drinks at the bar.  My money was flowing out of my pockets living this lifestyle.  My hobbies were eating up all my cash before it could even make it into investment accounts.

Looking back at the cost difference between my hobbies now and then, it’s no surprise why I felt broke in my 2o’s, and why I feel wealthy in my 30’s.  My current lifestyle allows me to take $20 and have a GREAT time!  My old lifestyle took $20 just to get out of my driveway!  It cost me a few hundred bucks before I could even feel lik