The pandemic didn’t just change how people work.

It created a new kind of golden handcuff.
You stay in the house you don’t really love because you locked in a 2% mortgage rate.
You stay at the job you outgrew because they let you work from anywhere.
You keep driving the car you want to replace because it’s paid off and buying a new one feels insane at today’s prices.
You’re not exactly trapped.
You’re just comfortable enough that leaving feels too expensive.
And that’s the strange thing about modern life:
Sometimes the things that give you the most freedom financially can quietly become the things that keep you from changing your life.
You don’t stay because you’re happy.
You stay because the alternative costs too much.