Being Broke is Paradise

You wake up to the sound of a bird chirping the most pleasant tune. It's 9 am and the first thing you do is grab your phone and walk outside, seeing what the latest news are on LinkedIn. You then head to your local Starbucks to grab that wonderfully simple vanilla latte. As you tap your card to pay, wondering whether the company's shareholders are currently happy, you are interrupted by a sudden declination sound. You gasp out of shock. How could your beautiful red debit card not work?

You open up your bank app, thinking it was probably the card reader malfunctioning, but to your surprise you are greeted with a big round 0 balance. Pain hits you as you slowly exit the Starbucks building. You are broke. You stand at the bottom of the American food chain. You just graduated with a degree in finance, but your bank doesn't agree. You think about how great your peers have it, with their new mustangs and expensive fashion taste. You let out a slow sigh as you walk back home.

During your walk you start thinking about the good things in your life. Your house is in a nice quiet neighborhood. Waiting for you is your old school Honda in clean condition. You don't really get mail from banks or loan providers because you paid everything off during school. You have an older generation iPhone with the home button, which you love for its practicality. Overall, everything seems chill. You have a flashback to when you read The Millionaire Next Door. You are somewhat starting to match that profile. You have an antique car paid off in cash, a practical phone, a solid roof over your head accumulating equity, and no debt. And then finally you remembered your IB job you'll start soon. You are absolutely broke, at the bottom of society. But the road to getting that vanilla latte is right in front of you. It's so clean you know exactly when that will happen. Being broke is paradise.