Last week I attended a business conference for the first time. The day before I realized that I have no appropriate (!) shoes for the occasion. Ok, I do have a lot of shoes, but none that I felt fit this event and hopefully many to come. And anyway, as a self-employed small business owner you need appropriate shoes, right? 😉 So I did go and bought some new shoes using money accumulated in our clothing budget.
(If you are a man, don’t worry, you can continue reading. It is not all about shoes…)
But that is not really what this post is about. It is about the things that we need versus the things that we want. I think that of the things that we spend our money on, a very little part is for things that we need and most part is for things that we want.
But what about all the fixed expenses that we have to pay, like rent/ mortgage, electricity, water, insurance, loans, etc.? These are things that, yes, we have to pay, but only because we have made the commitment to do so. We have made the choice to live where we live, how big a house we need, how much electricity or water we need and which insurances we wish to have (apart from those that are elementary). If we wanted to, or had to, we would almost all of us, be able to lower the costs in these categories. Because that they are commitments and often long term, it is a hassle to change them, but none the less possible.
Variable expenses are for the most part, much the same. Except for a certain amount to food, clothing, transportation, education and communication, much of these expenses are being spent because we want to and not because we have to. We chose to have cable TV, eat out, buy take-away, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against having all these things, I am just saying that a change of mindset is sometimes very refreshing. Sometimes we are so set on certain things that we think that they are things that we have to have. And if someone have the means, great, but often you see people working too much or getting themselves into financial trouble all because of what they think that they have to have.
Wants are great to have, but it is recommendable to acknowledge that they are exactly that and that we could probably have a happy life without many of them.
So, what do you think about the shoes? 😉
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