Yesterday's post was all over the place, it was just me dumping unconnected thoughts to paper. My takeaways from reading that article yesterday was a few worrisome thoughts. Mainly, our economy depends on all of us spending money, often times money that we don't have. It highlighted, to me, that our recent positively trending economy depended on people racking up credit card debt, and burning through savings. Now that people have tapped out their personal resources, it will probably reflect in a dip to our economy (along with other, more significant, forces like interest rates, inflation, and political issues).
Minimalism, or making conscious finance decisions, doesn't benefit the economy in a significant way. I'm working on not spending money. How long can I drive my 2010 vehicle? How long will my 4 year old phone continue to service me? How long can I stay energized without giving Starbucks my hard earned $1300 per year? Will I ever buy another shirt again?
Business marketing doesn't want to see this. GM wants me to go buy a brand new car, and the banks want me to finance it for 6 (even 7 now!) years. Samsung (and Verizon, and Best Buy) are constantly trying to get me to buy the newest phone. Starbucks keeps emailing me to deposit money on to my app to buy more coffee and earn their great "benefits". The shirt store would like me to buy a shirt.
I'm working on making my purchases matter. I wasn't always like this, I had maxed credit and low savings. I've been open about extending myself to have the latest and greatest. It worries me that the economy seems to depend on us continuing financial habits that might not be best for us as individuals in the long run.
When my personal finances improve, my goal is to allocate my resources to help me buy me my time. A commodity that isn't replaceable. I work with guys that are still making big ticket purchases, and still working, at ages approaching 70. That's great if you enjoy what you do. However, our money habits and spending practices mortgage our time. We don't get that time back.
Again - this blournal was intended to chronicle thoughts and successes along this journey. Some entries will be like yesterday's, and probably not very meaningful to the reader. It will also highlight my ignorance of money matters, specifically the economy/market as I begin to educate myself. This is where my super intelligent readers can set me straight in the comments out by email.
I hope more begin looking at their financial health. Invest in you, your time. Buck the trend.
Minimalism, or making conscious finance decisions, doesn't benefit the economy in a significant way. I'm working on not spending money. How long can I drive my 2010 vehicle? How long will my 4 year old phone continue to service me? How long can I stay energized without giving Starbucks my hard earned $1300 per year? Will I ever buy another shirt again?
Business marketing doesn't want to see this. GM wants me to go buy a brand new car, and the banks want me to finance it for 6 (even 7 now!) years. Samsung (and Verizon, and Best Buy) are constantly trying to get me to buy the newest phone. Starbucks keeps emailing me to deposit money on to my app to buy more coffee and earn their great "benefits". The shirt store would like me to buy a shirt.
I'm working on making my purchases matter. I wasn't always like this, I had maxed credit and low savings. I've been open about extending myself to have the latest and greatest. It worries me that the economy seems to depend on us continuing financial habits that might not be best for us as individuals in the long run.
When my personal finances improve, my goal is to allocate my resources to help me buy me my time. A commodity that isn't replaceable. I work with guys that are still making big ticket purchases, and still working, at ages approaching 70. That's great if you enjoy what you do. However, our money habits and spending practices mortgage our time. We don't get that time back.
Again - this blournal was intended to chronicle thoughts and successes along this journey. Some entries will be like yesterday's, and probably not very meaningful to the reader. It will also highlight my ignorance of money matters, specifically the economy/market as I begin to educate myself. This is where my super intelligent readers can set me straight in the comments out by email.
I hope more begin looking at their financial health. Invest in you, your time. Buck the trend.
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