The days of company-provided financial security are long gone.

Unemployment rates are through the roof, employment benefits are being cut back, and pensions are getting scrapped.

Heck, these days most people would be lucky to have a mid-level executive job.

If you really think about it, how much of your financial future is at risk? How much of your financial future do you really control?

A Lesson From Cyprus

You might have read about the 2012-2013 banking crisis in Cyprus.

What happened was that the authorities ran the country into bankruptcy… and now they’re forcing the citizens to pick up the tab.

In political-speak, they’re introducing a levy on bank deposits. In regular-speak, they’re confiscating up to 60% of the citizens’ savings to pay for their mistakes.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: when the shit hits the fan, whose interest do you think the politicians will protect? Yours, or theirs?

When a country performs well financially, the politicians get the perks. But when it doesn’t, it’s the common people who end up paying the bill.

Oh yeah, sounds like a great deal.

You can work hard for decades and save a few hundred thousand dollars, but all that can be taken away from you at the stroke of a pen, at the sole discretion of a small group of people in power.

You can be a model citizen, pay your taxes on time, work hard, spend a little, save a lot… and do this for YEARS. And when the politicians screw up, all they have to do is reach into your pocket and help themselves to your money.

And there’s nothing you can do about it because legally, they’re allowed to.

Hmm… and I wonder who wrote those laws in the first place.

Are Politicians Evil?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that all politicians are evil, or that governments are out to get its citizens.

Their intentions are, quite frankly, irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what the politicians want to do, or intend to do.

What matters is whether this is something they CAN do, and the impact it has on you and the people you care about.

This Couldn’t Possibly Happen to Me… Right?

Now think about your government, your company, your boss.

Do they have the power (legal, or otherwise) to dictate your financial future?

Can your government freeze your bank account, if it wanted to?

Can your government confiscate your money, if it wanted to?

Can your boss fire you tomorrow, if he wanted to?

Can your company go bankrupt over the next 3 years?

If you’re like most people, the answer to most of these questions is yes.

Notice how, in each case, your financial future hinges on a single point of failure, and how it is ultimately dictated by the choices of someone else (i.e. not you).

In other words, you have absolutely no control in any of these situations.. and if ANY of them occur, you’re screwed.

Now I don’t know about you, but I find such a system too risky to depend on.

But what other option do we have?

A Resilient Financial Future

The first step to gaining control of your financial future is internationalization.

This means to choose a money making endeavor that’s not restricted by geography or a single jurisdiction. This way, we’re not at the mercy of any one particular political party or system.

If my local government suddenly introduces a 30% income tax for example, I can pack up and move out of the country within a couple of weeks, with little disruption to my financial future.

If my broker suddenly imposes a new levy on my account deposit, I can leave immediately and join a new broker in a matter of days.

I can do this because as a retail trader,

  1. I have multiple trading accounts both locally and overseas
  2. Moving funds from one account (and country) to another takes just a couple of days
  3. I can trade from anywhere in the world with electricity and a decent internet connection

The retail trading profession is resilient. The flexibility it allows for, in terms of lifestyle and legality, is unparalleled around the world.

And if I fail at trading, you can be sure it’s 100% my own fault… not because of a decision made by a boss, company or government.

Now that’s having real control over one’s financial future.

All you need is an open mind, a humble heart, and a determined spirit

If you’re ready to take on being responsible for your financial situation one, two years down the road, I’d like to invite you to check out the Positive Expectancy course.

You’ll be getting knowledge and skills that will benefit you for a lifetime. The earlier you pick these up, the more you’ll benefit from them.

Don’t wait until you’re in a bad situation before you start taking action to build another income stream. By then, it will often be too late.

Imagine you’ve learned to trade profitably 12 months ago… how different would your life be right now?