Cash is king. At least for many of the savers with their thick cash cushion that seems to be the predominant mantra. While having a nice stack in your savings account was certainly a decent way to grow your wealth over a decade ago, this no longer holds true.
We all fall victim to appearances. We meet or see someone and form an opinion about that person. We decide within seconds whether we find someone attractive, likable, and draw our conclusions regarding their financial status. A recent study claimed to have found that it is possible to determine whether someone was wealthy just by looking at their faces.
“Money in reach is money that you are likely to spend.”
I apply a very simple principle to the above that has served me well: If I want to spend money on holidays, gadgets, a night out, or any other daily expenses, it has to be paid from my monthly income. Money in other accounts is untouchable: it is my crew of financial sailors that works hard to earn more money. Making it available for daily life’s spending would be like killing off my workforce and reducing its productivity.
I am going to go on a bit of rant here: The world’s resources are becoming scarcer, pollution is increasingly getting heavier, and our beautiful planet and many of its less fortunate citizens continue to suffer only to supply society with a never ending stream of new products, and still to many of us fall victim to ever shorter product cycles. Do we really need a new cell phone every year? Does the old one indeed work less well? Do we need 30 pairs of shoes of which half we never wear.
A German proverb states that Things that you don't know, don't make you hot or in plain English Things that you are not aware of, don’t need to worry you (Original: Was man nicht weiss, macht einen nicht heiss). In essence it is sometimes beneficial to not be aware of troubling events. If you don't know that the stock market is falling while enjoying a beautiful, sandy beach, it will not affect you. Only if you were to glimpse at your smartphone or laptop would a theoretical drop in your portfolio's value dent your mood.
The larger, the bigger, the better some say. I have learned that the smaller, the better. I am talking about our living spaces: our houses and apartments. If you live in places like New York, Tokyo, or Paris, small spaces are the norm. There is really no alternative. There isn’t enough space and the little space there is, is either already occupied or too expensive for ordinary citizens of the world. In any of the expensive and popular metropolitan areas you are simply not offered much choice.
Cars are technical masterpieces. Many as beautifully drawn and designed as pieces of art. Cars permit us to see friends and family, go to the most remote places. An enormous level of flexibility and freedom to go wherever we desire. Many of us love cars and many more depend on them. Ideally, they provide enough space for our belongings when going on vacation, carrying our mountain bikes or snowboards, and saving us money and hassle when moving our possessions between places. Cars are practical and offer a superbly comfortable and fun way to travel.
If you have been an avid reader of this blog, you have probably read about our monthly grocery budget. This might surprise you, but different from the average bank customer, I meet my ATM only once a month.
You see, I know that this ATM around the corner from where we live does not give me my money for free. No, it slows down my ship to the golden shores by reducing the members of my rowing team. It is like a downsizing cycle in a company, do it once, know the exact number of employees that have left, and concentrate on moving your company forward.
Do you remember the first time you were given a piggy bank? When I was a child I had a little plastic elephant and a ceramic penguin where I would stash away my extra coins. When someone gave me a bank note, I would always put it into the ceramic penguin and protect it like treasure. I was always positively surprised by how much money I had in my little treasure chest when unscrewing the piggy bank after a year.
Is it possible to save € 1,410 per year while watching television without missing out on your favorite shows, without missing out on the newest Netflix or HBO documentary? Money that you can easily save, or earn, depending on your vantage point, while indulging in the newest episode of Game of Thrones or Luke Cage. In fact, not only can you watch your favorite show and make money, you simultaneously save time and help the environment. Free money. No investment, no risk required. While you are earning thousands you can also do something for that waistline.
