Bitcoin is survival... seriously

Life’s just… a lot, dont you reckon? Seriously, it really is.

I’m in my late 30s, got three kids, and I’ve been wrestling with chronic pain for 15 years. Out of those 15, I've been out of work for six. The other six I have worked only part-time. As a result my earning potential has been smashed. My 401K / Superannuation has been impacted. I held a manager role for a few years but I struggled to keep it going. I even got my Masters. My wife’s pulling 60-hour weeks just to keep us afloat because of my lack of work. After getting discharged from the Army, I can’t shake this feeling that I’m just a burden on my family. That obviously has had implication on my MH. I always hoped and dreamed of going to work in a suit and earning a good wicket to support the family. Drive into work in a family car and coffee in hand. Some great work colleagues that end up being good buddies where we share a meal after work once a week. A supportive boss who actually humanises their staff. I've always been ambitious however chronic pain eats at that ambition slowly... until the ambition is over powered by exhaustion.

I’ve honestly tried to do things right. We managed to save a good chunk of cash in past years, but then it all got wiped out. First, by moving whenever the cold weather made my pain unbearable, and then by inflation just eating away at it. After that, we were basically forced to buy a place because finding stable housing here is a nightmare. Long-term leases just aren’t a thing, and with vacancy rates near zero every time a 6 or 12-month lease was up, we were looking at huge rent hikes or getting told to leave which led to the possibility of homelessness (as the owners were looking to sell due to the never ending appreciation of property). I remember we had our second child at the time and I was making calls to family and asking them if I could move in with them (in a different state and on the other side of the country). I felt terrible asking and there was a bit of reluctance for us to move in which is completely reasonable. They didn't say no, but we had 2 kids at that point and 2 dogs. Why I was evening asking somebody to move in with them in my mid 30s was just beyond me anyway. Especially in a country that called itself 'the lucky country'. My daughter was around 18 months at the time and the prospect of homelessness was just too much hence why I reluctantly bought a house.

We ended up buying a modest home, but even that mortgage eats up a massive chunk of our income. It’s no shock that most politicians in this country own property, so housing policy has been super favorable to them for decades – big conflict of interest, right? Houses here are just speculative assets; people literally buy and flip them. Alternatively, they hoard property, and property has become one of the most popular ways to build wealth over here. It just doesn't sit right with me. Property should be valued on its utility. It is security for people. It’s like a money cheat code at this point. Houses just keep going up. This whole idea of accumulating as many houses as possible has been pushed for generations, and it’s a huge problem.

And don’t even get me started on groceries. A hundred bucks gets you practically nothing these days. Two companies have a chokehold on the food supply chain and seem to be price gouging like crazy. The ACCC has barely done anything to fix it. As long as the shareholders get their dividends, I guess.

So, when you add it all up – taxes, insurance, food, childcare, mortgage payments – we really don’t have much left to actually invest in anything meaningful. It feels like we’re going to be stuck on a hamster wheel for the rest of our lives. Financial independence isn’t about lounging around and doing nothing. It’s about having the power to walk away from a job when you’re being bullied, take a shot at a business idea, spend more time with your kids, give them opportunities for extracurricular, travel and experience other cultures, or just take time off when you’re sick. There are hundreds of reasons why financial security matters, and it’s definitely not just about "buying a Lambo."

Anyway, I have zero doubt that a lot of people have turned to Bitcoin because of the sheer pressure of life and how unfairly money is distributed (even worse in developing nations). Buttcoiners can back the Central Bankers (likely have benefited from the trad-fi status quo) all they want, but the truth is, the free market and everyday folks are eventually going to find their way to Bitcoin. It just kind of… finds you, when you’re completely out of ideas and options.

This is what happened to me. Bitcoin found me. I like sharing the above stories because somebody else might resonate with it and/or going through a difficult time with their financial security.

PS I am fully aware and acknowledge that while our circumstances are difficult I totally appreciate this is likely x10 worse in developing countries and my heart goes out to you especially when governments are continually making conflicted poor choices to benefit those with influence (ie these endless wars).

TLDR: Basically found Bitcoin due to desperation and out of choices to escape the hampster wheel.