Stop being an "economic girly" man!
Alright, let's get the quote in the title out of the way first because it's awesome. I want you to think about the quote - but not the politics behind - "Don't be economic girly men" while you read today's post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUzUbtIptqQ
Today one of my Baby Savers suggested to me that it should be considered perfectly fine to make lazy mistakes in terms of spending as long as you are saving in other ways in your life. For this person, that specifically meant taking a cab a few times per week instead of public transportation and never cooking his own lunch. At first I wanted to ignore the comment out of frustration because that kind of attitude could not be more opposite of what I want to inspire through writing this blog. But after a few deep breadths it occurred to me that maybe I can use this for constructive purposes.
To borrow a term from the very awesome, very Hard Saving, Mr. Money Mustache, that's just not Badass enough for me. If you really want to minimize the amount of years you need to work, you have to work at saving. Sometimes that means you need to toughen up like the Terminator and take the bus or stay up an extra ten minutes at night to prepare a cheap but delicious and nutritious meal for the next day. While these small expenditures may seem like just too much to avoid after a hard day of work, or like they just won't add up to make a difference, the arithmetic never lies.
Consider this, the maximum amount of money you could possibly save in a given year is your income less taxes and cost of living. If your income and taxes are constant, the only variable you have immediate control over is your cost of living. Reduce that variable to as low a figure as possible and you will find financial freedom much sooner in life.
Next time you are about to hop in cab, throw away $15 on lunch you don't really care about, or buy that new stupid gadget society demands you need to buy, say to yourself, Self, "Stop being an economic girly man!"