Enhanced living from the bottom up
Rule Number 15 — Buy quality when it comes to the items you interact with on a daily basis.
Within the petrol head realm it’s common for those afflicted to prioritise the purchase of a vehicle over most everything else. Houses, holidays, even diet in some extreme examples are compromised to funnel the maximum funds towards the automotive progression* as possible.
I’m sure there are similar examples within the realm of the house proud, who must prioritise post code. Or the Wanderlusters who must out-do their own and others previous vacations. Sacrifice all else, in the pursuit of one.
In my earlier days I fell victim to this line of thinking too, this top down approach to living where the priority of income/savings is distributed to the more expensive items first. The theory being the reward is worth the day to day sacrifice. Now don’t get me wrong I think delayed gratification is important, I’ve preached for years about the dangers of financing cars or other lifestyle items. If you want it, save and pay cash. So this isn’t in direct contrast to that, if anything it further supports that belief.
Let me offer an example: You really want that new Porsche but it’s expensive, so some saving is required. You calculate that if you live on beans and rice you could purchase it in 18 months. You then spend the next year and a half living in the cold, with basic provisions and only taking a bath once a month to maximise your savings rate. After which time you trundle down to the dealership and purchase your new car.
To some people this may seem entirely reasonable. But if you were to average your daily happiness I think the results would be 99% misery and 1% enjoyment. I’m starting to think a bottom up approach is a better way to live, maximising average daily happiness over peak happiness.
I believe you do this by allocating funds towards the things you interact with on a daily basis**. Buying quality at the bottom first before progressing up the pyramid. I’m talking about cutlery, bath towels, produce or clothing. Interacting with quality is simply enjoyable, which is why we all lust after exotic cars, but it’s also possible to achieve this in other areas of life. Buying a Trudon candle, with its organically farmed, chemical free wax and fine cotton wick is 10x more expensive than a mass produced equivalent, but it offers an elevated experience. An experience that you would otherwise miss if you were hell bent on handing over every cheque to the Porsche dealer.
In short: Don’t buy a supercar and sleep under supermarket sheets.
Again this doesn’t go against delayed gratification, but it does aim to dissuade from delaying experience. If the past year has taught me anything it’s that you shouldn’t tolerate a “I’ll do it one day” attitude, because that day may never arrive. I was under the belief that if I postponed vacations, relationships or health to focus my existance on the pursuit of becoming independently wealthy first, then I’d get around to living a great life. The visions of eating fresh olives while relaxing on a summer evening, as a Ferrari rests in the driveway of a beautiful home were the motivation to suffer now.
But why suffer? When I can easily buy some fresh olives and pull up a chair in the garden until the sun disappears over the horizon. The most expensive car Ferrari makes is in excess of €500,000, but I challenge you to find a jar of olives for more than €50!
The take away from all this is that dreams may or may not come true, but today has. And although we are all going to continue to pursue our ideal, it may also be possible to achieve part of that ideal now….so don’t wait.
/Si
*Each new purchase must improve on the previous, both monetarily and in reverence.
**I know you interact with your house or car on a daily basis, but stick with me.
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