A Financial Attitude Adjustment
My husband recently told me about one of his work associates, who had retired early since he was raking in about $100,000 a year in policy renewals. When I heard this story, I thought of how wonderful it might be if my husband is equally successful in his business and is able to retire early as well. What an incredible blessing that would be!
My husband mentioned the story in passing to an acquaintance. Her response was to ask if his friend was still going to work part time. “No,” my husband replied, rather confused, “He retired. He doesn’t need to work.”
“Oh,” she said, “Well, I could never live on $100,000!”
And that, in my opinion, is a large part of what is wrong with the world.
Is it Just Me, or Are We Consumer Crazy?
Let’s keep in mind that I am living in an area with a very moderate cost of living, and an average income of around $30,000. Also, my husband and I have no dependants to support. And believe me when I say that I am quite certain I could find a multitude of ways to spend $100,000 a year. Indeed, I could even get used to spending 100 grand a year. But to say that I could not live with less than that would be absurd.
There is a pervasive culture of entitlement in the world that I find genuinely frightening. There is nothing wrong with being able to afford luxuries, but equating luxuries with needs is both dangerous and foolish. Buying organic produce, for example, is a very nice luxury. Shopping in only the nicest malls and stores can be lovely. Going out to eat is a ton of fun. And many people recognize that these things are indulgences, and are ready to cut them out if times get hard. But others need to come face to face with their own sense of entitlement.
You do not need the newest cell phone, the biggest television or this season’s coolest jacket, suit, toy, purse or shoes. You do not need to get your nails done or go out drinking every weekend with friends. You do not need to shop at the organic grocery. To enjoy material things is not evil in itself, but it takes my breath away when people are buried so deeply in their money that they can’t see the difference between needs and wants. This disordered thinking is just as likely in a 25-year-old as a 50-year-old, in a single man as a mother of two.
And our risk is that we will fall back into the pit of the recession by making the same mistakes again. If we continue to believe we are entitled to the best of everything the instant we want it, we will go right back to taking on debt and buying more than we can afford. There is nothing wrong with living within your means, shopping frugally and making things last, or with cautiously taking on debt when it is needed.
But there is something wrong with continuous instant gratification, and there is something wrong with confusing your passing desires with your daily needs. If we want to climb free of the recession entirely, a whole segment of the population needs a financial attitude adjustment.
Image by Muffet
Related posts:
I’m wondering if there was a miscommunication – perhaps the acquaintance thought it was 100k total, and not yearly? What is this acquaintance making at present? Are they walking around coated in gold?
Not coated in gold, no. But rolling in more money than she knows what to do with…yes.