Many U.S workers often find themselves grappling with financial anxiety, frequently involving a combination of concerns about making enough money to afford daily living expenses — while also doing their best to save for retirement.
Drawing from his own experiences, Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster whose show reaches millions of listeners, urges people to take a realistic look at what true financial freedom means.
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The high cost of rent, cars, gas, groceries and other recurring bills is only made more difficult for people to handle as inflation continues to stress the economy.
Because future Social Security benefits for which people plan will not be of sufficient value to cover all expenses, American workers also attempt to set aside enough money to save and invest for their retirement.
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They understand the need to contribute to employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and tax-advantaged Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), so a significant percentage of their income for day-to-day living becomes lost to those efforts.
Understanding anxiety about money, Rogan explains some advice he received as a young adult that has resonated with him throughout his life — and changed the way he views how people can achieve true financial freedom
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Joe Rogan recalls a major moment in his path to financial freedom
The Joe Rogan Experience podcast host said a friend of his from many years ago gave him some advice that he has never forgotten.
"We were kids. We were in our 20s," Rogan recalled. "He said, 'The only amount of money you need is so that you can go to a restaurant and not care what things cost.' Everything else is bullsh--. If you've got enough money, we can go to a restaurant. You don't worry. Just order a bottle of wine, order meat, order whatever you want to eat. You do not think about the price. He goes, 'That's real freedom.'"
Rogan explained how he interpreted that statement about a specific action to also apply to a broader outlook on life experiences involving finances.
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The podcaster said he was reminded of a specific time in his mid-20s when he experienced, on his own, a similar feeling.
"I got this development deal from Disney and it was like $150,000 and I couldn't believe it," Rogan said. "I had $150,000! This is nuts. And I felt like a physical weight lift off my shoulders, because back then I was a road comic. You do a gig on Thursday, it's 200 bucks. You do a gig here, it's $150. You're scraping together enough money so that you could pay your bills and eat."
"And it was all just trying to stay alive and trying to make it," he continued. "I didn't really think I was a legit professional comedian. It could all go away. And so I got that development deal and it was the nuttiest feeling in the world."
"I felt lighter," Rogan said.
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Joe Rogan explains financial freedom and money anxiety
Rogan clarified the fact that this new realization regarding his relationship with money was not about achieving an enormous amount of wealth.
"I was like, 'Oh that's the key. Get the monkey off your back. Get the bill monkey off your back,'" he said. "And the real freedom is not being rich. You don't feel any different being really rich other than the stuff that you can do. But the way you feel in the day is the same way you feel if your bills are paid. That's what you want."
Rogan also remembered a moment after the first time he had rented a nice apartment following a move to California, as he was sitting in his place in North Hollywood.
"I had a loft. I had a pool table in my apartment. I was like, 'This is amazing. How is this real? How's this mine?" he recalled wondering. "After a while, it just became my house. And then I realized, 'Oh, this is the same feeling I have when I'm home that I had in my sh--ty apartment in New York.' It’s the same feeling. This is home. It's the same feeling. It's not better."
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He explained that having a house and other possessions that are more than one can afford is simply not worth the financial stress.
"If you're renting a house that's way over your budget and you're doing Uber just to try to pay your bills, it's not worth that," Rogan said. "What's worth it is if it’s comfortable, if you have a TV and you have a nice bed and you can cook your meals, you're good. That’s what you need. That's all you need."
Rogan finished his thoughts with a few words about the stress that a lifestyle of relentlessly pursuing status and material possessions carries with it.
"The amount of effort that you have to put in to make the amount of money to get all these other things leaves you in this constant state of anxiety," he said. "I think people just get lost in this idea of constantly making more and getting more and chasing more."
"And I just concentrate on what I do."
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