When Is Enough is Enough
Oct 12, 2021
When Is Enough is Enough
This podcast was inspired by a conversation I had with a young woman who asked me, how could she save money while maintaining her quality of life?
She revealed her quality of life included $1,000 purses and $300 shoes. She stated her mother told her that she had worked hard and she deserved to have nice things now.
How many times have you told yourself…I DESERVE THIS?
Let’s be clear, there is nothing wrong with nice things… Jimmy Choo make some badddd shoes ladies!
BUT luxury purchases should never come at the expense of basic financial priorities.
FINANCIAL PRIORITIES:
- 9-12 months of basic living expenses
- Retirement plan to ensure you have adequate savings for the future
- Disability insurance to protect your income
- Life insurance if someone depends upon your income
- Debt reduction strategy, if you carry debt
We have to be careful with the I deserve it attitude. This attitude can prevent you from achieving your financial goals and keep you tethered to stuff.
There will always be some shiny object that catches your attention and convinces you that you deserve it.
At Some Point You Have To Say Enough is Enough!
More is not always better. If you live for having it all, then what you have is never enough.
We’ve been brainwashed into believing that spending is the American way. The more you buy, the more the economy grows.
Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the American economy
“Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life”
——-Victor Lebow (1950s Economist)
The consumer economy is wearing us out. We are working harder than ever at jobs we don’t like and for what…a diminished quality of life?
Not to mention that we're destroying the environment with all the waste, a byproduct of consumption.
Enough is Enough!
Many of us are sleep walking through life. We don't even know what our dream is anymore. We’re just doing what everyone else is doing. Keeping up with the Joneses rather than focusing on what it is that we really want. I believe what we really want is freedom.
Freedom to live our lives on our own terms with the people that we love. And that does not cost you anything. Perhaps a plane ticket.
Nobody wants to be in debt, in jobs they dislike, living one paycheck to the next. What type of life is that? And yet, that is the reality for A LOT of Americans.
Money Is A Tool That Serves You
Money is a tool that allows us to exchange it for goods and services. Money should work for us rather than us working for it.
Money should be utilized for the things that really matter to you. It should provide financial security for you and your family. I think it's time to take back your financial life. It's time for a financial revolution.
It's time for Americans to focus on what matters most, the very things that you don't have to pay for.
Happiness. Peace of Mind. Family Friends.Focus on your values. Focus on the experiences that bring you joy.
The older I get, the more I realized that I care less and less about stuff. I long for time with family and friends, for life experiences that take my breath away, but not necessarily my money.
Define your own American dream. Define your happy place. Live a life free of debt and its related stress. Define what matters to you because enough is enough.
The book mentioned in the show is 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal by Elizabeth White. Can be purchased here. https://amzn.to/3Fu1dsv
Originally written pre-pandemic in 2019.
