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My Youtube feed lately seems to be filled up with a lot of “10 things that are no longer worth your money” videos. Sometimes the number varies ….. 5, 12, whatever. But the message is always similar – avoid expenses that will hurt your financial health over time. And generally the message is pretty sound – avoid car loan repayments, multiple subscriptions, take away food deliveries.
But a recent video from Christina Mychas left me feeling sort of sad. The list felt like it was part financial advice, and partly a guide on how to remove all joy from your life. Now I don’t mean to disparage Ms. Mychas, she puts good solid financial advice out into the world. But removing all 17 of her recommended items felt like a pretty quick path to feeling miserable.
May I illustrate by way of a few examples?
Eating out for breakfast. My wife LOVES eating out for breakfast. Yes, it’s a lot more expensive than a bowl of cereal at home, but it’s a real treat.
Going to the movies. Yes, a basic Netflix subscription and a packet of popcorn in the microwave is much, much less expensive. But getting off the couch, sitting in a cinema with other people, laughing and crying along with each other, is a whole different experience.
Flying. I live in Victoria, Australia, and a holiday in Perth, Western Australia without flying would be a nightmare. 7,000km in a car would sap every ounce of joy out of that trip. (By the way, Perth is a wonderful city. If you visit Australia, try to get across there if you possibly can).
I think I much prefer the thoughts from a couple of other folk. From Ramit Sehti:
“Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.”
And from Nick Maggiulli:
“So go out and enjoy your raises, but remember, only half.”
Nick lays out an argument for saving 50% of any raises you get, and spending the other 50% to improve your quality of life (https://ofdollarsanddata.com/lifestyle-creep/)
HD is the home of relatively frugal folk that have saving in their DNA. But we all gotta live a little.
Our philosophy: save on what you need so you can spend on what you want.
My wife and I are polar opposites on spending. She always says “ you can’t take it with you,” to which I reply “you won’t have to worry about it.”
But we have learned to appreciate others positions. We’ve certainly known people who squirreled away and denied themselves for decades assuming they’ll really enjoy life when they retire, only to drop dead shortly after retiring.
This. Too many friends who have died prematurely even before retirement! I’m not saying Spend like a drunken sailor but take advantage of enjoying your hard earned money when you can and don’t put off “til tomorrow “ too many things if you can plan to do them sooner.
I agree wholeheartedly. But actually putting this into action can still be difficult. Old habits die hard!
How coin