In my continuing series of financial regrets and some “lessons learned” the biggest financial regret in my life is ever giving money to politicians. This year is an election year and because I have given money to candidates in the past, I am now bombarded with requests via email, texts and occasional calls to send in money to support a politician.
My answer is now NO to all of them. I think the first time I gave money to politicians was in the late 1990’s and I don’t even remember which candidate or party I gave money to and that just goes to show you how irrelevant it all was and will continue to be.
I know what you’re thinking, “but you can make a difference” or “every dollar counts” and so forth but don’t kid yourself. Like many charities, politicians simply waste money and even when they win don’t accomplish much to help anyone but themselves.
Here are some things to think about:
Were things that you NEED cheaper in 2000 than they are today? Shelter, Food, Utilities, Clothing? Of all those things listed, only clothing in some areas has been perhaps a bit cheaper than in 2000, all the other things are now more expensive.
If the goal of any politician is to make things better then why does everything cost more?
The answer isn’t politics but everything to do with central bank policies and endless debasement of the currency however you will never really hear any politician speak about the central banks.
I am done with politics and politicians, they waste too much time and serve as an endless distraction to getting things done for me such as planning for my retirement, wealth building and other activities.
If I could go back in time and do one thing it would be to tell myself to never waste a dime on politicians. If I go do two things, I’d go back in time and buy Nvidia stock as well!
Note that I didn’t call out anyone in particular nor any political party because it doesn’t matter, it’s all the same, they win and you lose. The best thing to do is not to pay to support this insanity.