How to Opt Out of the Subscription to Struggle and Build Wealth

In today’s America, it’s hard to shake the feeling that life itself has become a subscription, except you’re not paying for convenience. You’re paying to survive. And survival costs more than ever.

From rising rent to $200 grocery trips that barely fill a cart, the modern American dream looks more like a slow-motion nightmare. And yet, when people hustle to stay afloat by working two or even three jobs, they’re not applauded for their determination. They’re punished.

Let’s be real: America wants you poor.

The Attack on Poly-Workers and the Overemployed

Over the past few years, a quiet movement has taken root known as poly-working, or holding multiple remote jobs simultaneously. Some call it “overemployment.” It’s not fraud. It’s survival. In an economy where a single income can’t cover basic living expenses, people have found ways to monetize their time and skills to stay afloat.

But corporate boardrooms? They’re in uproar.

Companies are scrambling to tighten their digital leashes, tracking employee mouse movements, demanding constant webcam presence, or implementing AI to flag dual employment. Employers who once demanded “entrepreneurial spirit” are now furious that employees are thinking like entrepreneurs.

They want loyalty, not prosperity. They want your innovation but only on their terms. You’re allowed to struggle, just not to solve your struggle.

Life Is a Subscription to Struggle

From housing to healthcare, nothing in America is free and less of it is affordable. Basic human needs are monetized, repackaged, and served to you at monthly rates.

• Heated seats? $20/month to activate a feature that’s already built into your car.
• Insulin? Hundreds of dollars even with insurance.
• Upward mobility? That’ll cost you lifelong student loan debt.

Working harder no longer guarantees security. It just means you’re paying more to stay afloat in a system that was never designed for your success.

Healthcare: A Basic Human Right Everywhere Else

While Americans rely on GoFundMe for cancer treatments, countries like Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, and even Estonia provide healthcare as a public right not a for-profit service.

• An ambulance ride? Over $1,000.
• A hospital stay? Potentially bankrupting.
• Prescription refills? A financial burden even with coverage.

Meanwhile, citizens in other first-world countries can walk into a hospital and walk out treated without a bill chasing them. America doesn’t want you healthy. It wants you paying forever.

The Insurance Crisis: Even Protection Has a Price Wall

As if housing and healthcare weren’t enough, now even protecting your assets is getting priced out of reach.

Homeowners and drivers across the country are getting slammed with double-digit premium hikes if they’re not dropped altogether. In states like Florida and California, major insurers are fleeing the market. No refund. No warning. Just a letter and a deadline.

• Home insurance premiums: Up 50–100% in some regions.
• Auto insurance: Highest in history even with perfect driving records.
• Property taxes: Rising fast, especially in rapidly appreciating areas.

Families are being forced to choose between groceries and coverage. And if you think you’ll get your money back when they cancel you think again. You’re stuck paying more for less protection, and you’re still blamed if something goes wrong.

Wage Stagnation in a World of Billionaire Booms

While companies boast record profits and CEO compensation soars, worker wages barely move. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, many American workers are earning less than they did a decade ago.

The result? More people picking up side hustles. More people becoming poly-workers. Not because they want more they need more just to keep the lights on.

Yet when they adapt, the system pushes back.

The Demonization of Self-Sufficiency

When workers drive for Uber after work, freelance online, or juggle multiple jobs, they’re called dishonest or disloyal. But when corporations offshore jobs, eliminate pensions, or automate entire departments? That’s “innovation.”

• Layoffs + record profits = business as usual.
• Working two jobs to survive = unethical?

The message is clear: control is only acceptable when it’s in their hands not yours.

So, What Can You Do?

1. Stack and Diversify Your Income

• Freelance or consult using skills you already have (writing, teaching, bookkeeping, graphic design, etc.)
• Start a service-based business (cleaning, delivery, tutoring, mobile notary, Airbnb co-hosting, etc.)
• Sell digital products (e-books, printables, courses, templates) that generate passive income
• Do remote contract work from platforms like Upwork, FlexJobs, or Contra
• Start a content channel on YouTube, TikTok, or Substack—monetize with ads, affiliate links, and sponsorships
• Invest in machines that that you can make money with like: laser clearners, ballon stuffing, knitting machines, and 3D printers.

2. Build Financial Literacy

Learn how credit really works personal and business

• Open an LLC or sole proprietorship to access business credit and funding
• Understand tax write-offs and legal ways to reduce your tax burden
• Budget in a way that includes income growth goals, not just restrictions
• Take free courses on financial literacy (Coursera, Khan Academy, YouTube, Operation Hope, local libraries)

3. Invest Strategically

You don’t need thousands of dollars to start investing. Start small, think long-term.

• Use apps like Acorns, SoFi, or Fidelity to invest spare change or small amounts monthly
• Learn about real estate investing (even rental arbitrage, wholesaling, or REITs if you don’t own property)
• Explore high-yield savings accounts, money markets or CDs to make your money work
• Buy into income-generating assets like vending machines, digital real estate (domains), or mobile businesses
• Day trade stocks, options, crypto, etc.
• Purchase an exsisting business that is already profitable on sites like Flippa
• Explore global business opportunities like investing, or starting a business abroad.
• Buy and flip vacant land. Don’t know how? Learn how here

4. Upskill and Rebrand Yourself

• Learn in-demand remote skills: copywriting, UX design, cybersecurity, social media management
• Get certifications that boost income (Google certificates, Salesforce, Notary Public, Real Estate)
• Take advantage of free or low-cost training from Coursera, Udemy, Grow with Google, etc.
• Become a member of C.R.E.W Academy and learn about building real estate support businesses
• Sign up for free courses and training through Alison
• Create a personal brand that highlights your versatility and skills (LinkedIn, a personal website, or blog)

5. Turn Side Hustles Into Real Businesses

• Formalize your side hustle into a registered business
• Get a free EIN and open a business bank account
• Apply for grants, microloans, and business credit instead of draining personal income
• Offer packaged services or digital products to scale (vs. hourly)

6. Own Your Voice and Leverage Community

• Share your financial journey to build accountability and community
• Collaborate with others for shared resources or skills exchanges
• Follow and support creators, educators, and entrepreneurs teaching financial independence
• Join online communities like Black Women Expats, FIRE Movement groups, or Baddies with Business

7. Reimagine How You Live

• House hack: rent out a room, get a roommate, or host on Airbnb
• Relocate to a lower cost of living area (domestically or internationally) while working remotely
• Join co-op housing or community living to share expenses
• Negotiate every recurring expense: phone bills, insurance, subscriptions, etc.

8. Exit Systems That Keep You Stuck

• Leave toxic jobs or industries that underpay and overwork
• Opt out of financial systems that profit off your ignorance, educate yourself instead
• Cut unnecessary subscriptions and redirect that money to investing or learning
• Stop playing by outdated rules that no longer serve your reality (e.g., “stick to one job”)

You don’t need permission to build wealth. You need a plan.

Final Thought: You Were Never Meant to Just Survive

If you feel like life is a treadmill you can’t get off where every step costs more and gets you nowhere you’re not imagining it. The economy is rigged to extract as much as possible from you while giving you just enough to not completely collapse.

You don’t owe the system your exhaustion. You owe yourself peace, options, and a life where you aren’t penalized for being smart and resourceful.

So yes start that business. Take that contract. Work those two jobs. Play the game on your own terms.

Because if the system is designed to keep you poor, opting out is the most liberating thing you can do.

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