The Second Brexit
Last week, Britain voted to leave the European Union, rebelling against unfair taxation and arbitrary laws from policymakers across the sea. This historic move was labeled “Brexit” by the media. Ironically, this past July 4th weekend we celebrate the United States declaring independence, rebelling against unfair taxation and arbitrary laws from the British government. In a sense, the American Revolution was the original “Brexit”!!
Both “Brexits” were fundamentally about freedom—being free as a nation to self-govern, to direct resources to best benefit our home nation, to stand for our country’s sovereignty. In America, we still celebrate this courageous stand for freedom over 200 years later, throwing pretty awesome parties all over the country this past weekend—in true American fashion, we celebrated by spending over $800 million dollars on fireworks, drinking $1.7 million of beer, and consuming over 150 million hot dogs on July 4, 2016!
As Americans, we are blessed with amazing freedoms—free speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble—the Bill of Rights is a full of freedoms that we often take for granted. But, it is this devotion to freedom on which our country was founded—our three founding documents, The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, are called “The Charters of Freedom”!

As to the importance of freedom, that is truly the heart of financial planning: freedom to live the life you desire to live. Financial freedom is the ability to live where you want to live, to share with those you love, and to enjoy life without worrying about money all of the time.
Without financial planning, people don’t fail at retirement, they are simply limited by their resources and have a very narrow set of options for their future. Without choices and options, you are captive to what your money can afford, being held to a certain lifestyle dictated by your financial situation. It is this captivity that we seek to avoid by planning and setting aside resources today!
As is always noted, freedom isn’t free—there is always a cost or sacrifice. In the financial world, the sacrifice is often forgoing current fun to save for financial freedom in the future. But, this financial freedom is a worthy cause—certainly worth the current cost!