7Part I — The Money Warehouse: Foundations from Babylon
Chapter 7
From payday to a direction of your own
Your peace-of-mind number, your freedom number and the first outline of your own direction. The end of Part I: the foundations are ready, and it's time for the workshop.
For the first few years I lived from payday to payday, even when I already had some savings in my account. That changed not when I earned more, but when I wrote down where I was actually heading.
Two numbers that change your perspective
Worked example
Your peace-of-mind number and freedom number
- Annual living expenses
- 24,000 €
- Peace-of-mind number (6 months of expenses)
- 12,000 €
- Freedom number (25 × annual expenses)
- 600,000 €
The freedom number is based on the 4% rule — a simplification, not a guarantee. It serves as a compass, not a contract.
The freedom number seems a long way off. That's why the peace-of-mind number matters more at first. Once you reach it, the way you talk to your boss changes, as does the way you respond to a breakdown and make investment decisions.
Dirkforeman
Do you know when I stopped being afraid of losing my job? When I had a year's living expenses in the bank.
Bartnarrator
And what changed?
Dirkforeman
I started saying what I thought. I got promoted.
The foundations are ready when you have a buffer, a saving system and a development plan. Only now is it worth stepping into the workshop.
9 / 14 · Educational content, not investment advice.