Every headline I read details some sort of catastrophe, disaster, or maelstrom.

I, myself, have been contributing to it.

But today, I’d like to be positive, or better, act positively. I just need to get better acquainted with our newer subscribers.

You may or may not know, the Rude’s Four Pillars of Financial Freedom are:

1. Getting a second passport
2. Owning an online business
3. Owning a bit of crypto (or metals)
4. Getting in great shape

Most of the time, the above, or plans like it, encourage running away from governments and their associated tyranny.

What if I told you that you could stay in one place and accomplish the same objective of being free?

In this edition of the Rude, I will detail how owning my home business has allowed me to stay in one country with minimal interference from overarching bureaucrats.

The Home Office

One of my childhood friends had a father with a perpetual scowl on his face.

He was the most miserable man I’ve ever known.

To be sure, he was always kind to me.

But he never smiled for any reason.

I realized that my friend’s dad didn’t drive to work.

He’d walk a couple of blocks to the bus stop and then commute into New York City for his big corporate day job.

During the 80s, if you took the bus to work in New Jersey, you were poor.

But he wasn’t. He owned a car. Nevertheless, he commuted by bus, day in and day out, for decades.

I never understood why my friend’s dad was so miserable.

…Until I started commuting from New Jersey into New York City for my job at Lehman Brothers.

I’d get a ride from my mother to the train station. Then I’d switch to the PATH train. Then I’d navigate my way from under 1 World Trade Center to 3 World Financial Center.

Then I’d reverse the process at night.

Make no mistake: commuting day in and day out sucked.

After about three months of that commute, I resolved to find a better way.

When I moved to London and worked in banking, I cut my commute to 25 minutes on one train.

After I quit banking to become a corporate trainer, I started to work, at least sometimes, from home.

This was in 2007, long before the term “digital nomad” was invented.

Besides my enormous mistake of returning to a big bank in Hong Kong for three years, I’ve been working from home, at least partially, for 18 years.

Reducing or eliminating the time to commute is often the primary reason to consider starting a home business.

Erasing the additional commuting costs is enormously beneficial.

I’m not just talking about the cost of train tickets and the time it takes to get from A to B.

No stupid Starbucks coffee bills every month. (One caveat here: I don’t think the two SBUX lattes you drink every day are impoverishing you. You probably want to start with the 45% tax rate you’re paying for the privilege of working.)

Pam makes a pot of fresh Lavazza coffee every morning. Much better than SBUX’s burnt offering and way cheaper as well!

No ad hoc drinks after work that cost a ton in a city center.

No overpaying for lunch at Chipotle every day.

Oh, you miss walking the city streets and browsing through Barnes & Noble?

Think about how much time you’ll have to enjoy it once you work from home.

More Time to Do What You Want

I’ve known friends in banking who barely have a passing acquaintance with their children.

But other than the first year and a bit of Micah’s life in Hong Kong, I haven’t missed anything.

It’s great not noticing how fast he’s growing up.

As I see him every day, he looks the same to me.

Pam and I know each other. Like, really know each other.

Sure, I’ll enjoy my upcoming business trip to New York. I’ll be away for two weeks at the end of July.

But all in all, I love being with them both every day.

And it’s not just family.

You can see friends whenever they can get away from their work.

Haven’t been reading enough?

Want to learn that skill you’ve been stalling on?

Would you just like to enjoy a cappuccino at a lovely café every day?

You can do all that while building your home business.

Paying Taxes Differently

I don’t mean to insult anyone. But if you’re doing PAYE, you’re doing it wrong.

PAYE stands for “pay as you earn.” As in paying taxes as you earn your money.

Unless you’re an investment banker, corporate lawyer, or neurosurgeon - jobs with incomes so far outrunning expenses that taxes don’t matter - you want to own your own business.

PAYE allows the government to take your money too early and earn interest on it.

PAYE disallows you the privilege of getting paid your gross amount, saving for upcoming expenses like taxes, and then paying them when they’re due.

PAYE infantilizes the population by allowing the nanny state privileged access to their funds.

And then the populace celebrates - celebrates! - getting a “refund” from the government.

I’m positively embarrassed for those celebrants.

When you own your business, you pay taxes differently.

You work with your accountant - and yes, hire someone to do this for you - to set aside the right amount of money to pay the government when it’s due… and not one microsecond before.

In the meantime, your accountant works with you to maximize your income by taking advantage of any legal means possible to reduce your taxes.

You’d be shocked at how the tax you wind up paying as an entrepreneur is nowhere near what you’d pay on the equivalent income as an employee.

Even Warren Buffett doesn’t seem to understand that.

The truth is, how you make your money (income versus business revenue) matters more than the amount of money you make.

Wrap Up

Amidst all the negativity circulating, I wanted to remind you that now is the ideal time to start your own business.

You’ve undoubtedly got something unique to offer, even if you’re not aware of it yourself.

It’s incumbent on you to discover what that particular skill is and bring it into the world.

You’ll be richly rewarded for doing so.

Everyone gets paid in two ways: time and money.

Owning a home business allows you to maximize both.

Have a great day!