The Middle Path

Woke up in the middle of the night. Nightmare! At my age? Ugh! Must be anxiety. Work is ramping up, so that is not surprising. As usual, my mind turned to my comfort routes. I don’t know if it’s just the simplicity of numbers, or the optimism of knowing that money can take me places? Anyway, here I am, reading yet another blog post on another get rich scheme by a guy who can sell you his eBook and ever-more-expensive eCourse on how to become an online investor, etc. 

Actually, every now and then I come across a good tidbit. This guy, Steve Adcock, has a few good recommendations on what not to spend your money on as an early retiree. They’re also good recommendations for avoiding “lifestyle creep” if you’ve gotten a raise. 

As an aside , I’ve never had more than a cost of living raise, but I’ve always put that extra straight into savings in an attempt to avoid lifestyle creep. BUT, that savings account tends to fluctuate ("Misc.") as it is intended for the unexpected. I’ve been very grateful for it on many occasions - car repairs being the most common. What savings account purveyors do you recommend? Feel free to comment.

Back on to Adcock - I especially like what he had to say about not buying the cheapest thing or the most expensive, from trial and error! I’ve also done a bit of Consumer Reports research, among other resources. Purchasing tools and products in the manner Adcock recommends only works if you’re willing to actually make an exchange within the refund window, so there’s a bit of receipt-keeping and organizational skill involved (neither of which I’m great at, admittedly). On the other hand, big ticket items that you don’t want to exchange like cars or refrigerators - don’t cheap out! But also, why go wicked expensive (read: luxury brand name) when you can’t afford to, or just don’t need to?

 

I do sympathize with people who just don't have the money to buy bulk or quality. They (we) do know how to "shop" - it's just that we don't necessarily have the funds to do it right now. You can buy a quality winter coat for $300.00 and it'll last you 10 years. That's $30 bucks a year - Awesome -  If you have $300.00 to spend on a coat (and for a kid who is going to outgrow it in one? Forget it!). Also, there is so much cheap crap being passed off as over-priced "quality", who the heck knows what you're getting anymore. This all sounds incredibly negative, so I'll stop there. There are a few brands I do stand by, and they are expensive (which is unfortunate). I'd recommend them, but I'm depressed thinking about how I can't afford them.

In the end, I’m not in a position to have experienced lifestyle creep (not having made a ton of moolah to begin with), but I’m definitely doing better. If you find yourself in that spot, I highly recommend going the middle path in your spending and then paying yourself first via a savings account. I don’t think I can say this enough!