Fifty Shades of Green

Which one is yours?

Shades of G̶r̶a̶y̶ Green

You’ve heard of the mega best-selling novel and movie, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, haven’t you?

Well, every time I hear or see a reference to that movie or book series, what immediately comes to my mind is that there are fifty shades of green, as well.

As in that green stuff that we strive so hard to accumulate and then use to pay for things. I acknowledge that many of us carry less of that green stuff around and both pay for things and get paid in many different ways.

I suppose that one could break up income and wealth statistics into quartiles, percentiles, or whatever statistical breakdown is most convenient. Socioeconomic status is typically broken down into far fewer categories — for example, those who are poor all the way to the one percent and everyone in between.

But even in my day-to-day and week-to-week life, I encounter both those who struggle to make ends meet and pay their utility bills all the way up to a developer/investor who told me earlier this week that he has neither the time nor the inclination to quibble over a million dollars here or there.

Thus my need to disclose that, like every personal finance writer on this and any platform, my own stories are framed by my own individual experiences with money, much as your thoughts on matters related to money are framed by your own.

In my own family’s social circles, and especially when it comes to the many developers, business owners, and investors who I know through my profession in economic development, we know far more people who are traveling, having in-ground swimming pools installed, and purchasing RVs in addition to their Teslas, Mercedes, and Bimmers.

My own family is likely the lowest income one of any that we know, and I earn in the low six figures.

A single mother with a low-paying job in the hospitality industry, or even unemployed or a gig worker only since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020, would have a vastly different viewpoint on personal finance matters than the institutional industrial developers with whom I regularly do business through my job.

One of them even controls a one billion, that’s with a B, develop-to-core fund to deploy this year and next alone.

This story is not meant simply to highlight further the growing disparity between the Haves and the Have-nots but to specify without going too far into the weeds that when I share stories about paying ourselves first or paying our mortgage down by thousands of dollars, it is done so from a solidly middle of the middle-class perspective.

With a stay-at-home wife and a middling government job in economic development, investing over $20,000 in a year is no easy feat for me. I realize that it is a paltry amount in some circles, and I know all too well that it is not the path to great riches. But it may be the path to at least becoming a little bit wealthy.

But by the same token, I further acknowledge that the amount is far more than a majority of Americans and world citizens could even contemplate investing.

Even this year, the annual report on how more than half of Americans cannot cover an unexpected $1,000 expense with their savings is still a thing, so it stands to reason that those same people are not paying themselves first before trying to cover their basic living expenses.

Thus when I reference fifty shades of green, I acknowledge that many people continue struggling economically and are unable to contemplate paying themselves first more than a few spare dollars here and there.

Meanwhile, many others are gaining wealth far more rapidly than you or I ever have, selling NFTs, staking cryptocurrency, making thousands off of their writing or freelancing, and whatnot. Medium is replete with stories about it.

I rarely have a day or two pass when I do not discuss projects in the millions or tens of millions with people with their own capital or the backing to do so. After doing this for over the past two decades, it sure makes one wonder why they are developing these projects and not yours truly.

My younger brother settled a case earlier this year in which he collected nearly $700,000 as his share. He is becoming rich as I continue grinding away day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.

I share that not out of jealousy, but to point out that when he idly mentions that he “only” paid something like $25,000 for a series of improvements to his new luxury home, it means something different than one of my neighbor friends who struggles to pay her utilities. Different from the millions of people who are in a worse situation than ever. This past spring’s Prudential Financial Wellness Census suggests that 46 percent of Americans still describe themselves as “financially struggling,” while 40 percent say it will take years to recover.

Not everyone is participating in the tremendous amount of wealth that continues to be generated as the pandemic continues into its third year.

So whichever shade of green your finances are, from the completely white block devoid of any green to the darkest green, which I would think of as someone with a billion-dollar fund or someone who collects millions of dollars per year from a trust fund, investments, successful business or whatnot, most of us fall somewhere in between.

Our Own Judgment is Shaded

All these and more are reasons why I felt compelled to share this point. While you, too, likely read myriad personal finance posts, articles, and stories, you will undoubtedly come across those who describe making millions per year with side hustles, investments, staking cryptocurrency, or some other tactic. You may also come across stories about how so many people barely have any income at all and are struggling to pay their rent.

Most likely, you fall somewhere in between those extremes as about ninety percent of us do.

Your own shade of green is sure to influence the way you take in information, whether the story is by Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money sharing how he went from broke to millionaire in five short years or the millionth story about how most Americans would be in a bind if they missed even one paycheck or about the three-quarters of renters struggling to pay their rent.

Sometimes we are quick to dismiss stories by those who rake in the dough doing things that we seemingly cannot or will not do. Likewise, when I come across a story about how someone made fifty or a hundred bucks with some side hustle, I am even more likely to skip it. I do not feel that it is worth the time and effort.

We all have things to learn from one another, and many of us seek our tribes through platforms and publications like this one where information and knowledge are freely shared.

I have personally made many financial decisions based on things that I have read here and elsewhere, from always paying ourselves first to opening a Fundrise account last year.

Whatever shade of green you are currently in, I know that you want to move to a higher echelon. A darker shade, if you will. If you have already reached one of the highest pinnacles and the darkest shade, then you can still learn various ways to grow and protect your wealth.

The next time that you see, hear, or read anything about Fifty Shades of Grey, I know that you will be thinking about what I just wrote about — improving your own shade of green.