5. Experiences tend to beat material goods in terms of money well spent.
First, the big things: Your education, your career choice, your work ethic, who you marry, who you work with, your skill set, your compensation, your health, your outlook, how you think about the world and the commitment you make to yourself about continually learning and improving.
Get those right, and those $5 lattes become pretty irrelevant.
NK: We agree on what’s important, in your parlance the big things. I would argue, however, that not only do the little things not take care of themselves, they often get in the way of the big ones.
Benjamin Franklin, America’s most famous frugalist, put it this way: “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”
Most of us have limited resources. Every dollar thoughtlessly spent means less savings, and in many cases more debt. Having some financial cushion is often the difference between being stuck in an undesirable job and having the freedom to pursue more education or work that is more fulfilling or challenging.
There are also lots of people who can’t afford to leave their job because too much of their paycheck supports a big house or fancy cars or seemingly trivial expenses that quickly add up, even as the job takes a toll on their health or family. The things we own, and more broadly the lifestyle we lead, often end up owning us.
And what happens when the career runs its course or vanishes along the way? People often assume they can spend freely indefinitely, but that’s rarely true. It’s better to seek a full life that is sustainable than to scramble to find one when the money dries up.
It’s true that being thoughtful about spending requires mental effort, but it also creates space to pursue the big things.
BR: We have been under lockdown for more than two months and many of us are not doing the routine things that turn out to cost of lot of money.