Good Enough Is Pretty Great
Good Enough Is Pretty Great
January 8, 2020 By Machinist
Have you ever noticed how much contradiction and disagreement there is in the advice being offered about personal finances? Suze Orman claims that buying coffee is like flushing a fortune down the toilet. Others assure us that we can tolerate a vice or two and still be responsible personal financiers.
Some people are convinced that owning a home is a waste of investable capital, while others are convinced that real estate, with its easy leverage is the best, most reliable passive income stream. Still others make the choice to pay off their mortgages early.
Some people wouldn’t stoop to driving someone else’s hand-me-down car, while others will gladly accept years of additional retirement as a trade for doing just that. Which advice is best? More importantly, which is good enough?
The reason for this disagreement is simple. People are unique and so are their finances. We all operate within the same economic system, so there are universal principles that apply to everyone, but beyond these foundational principles, we all get to decide how to make the most of our limited resources.
You can choose to buy your coffee, a big home, and a new car. Maybe you have the resources to support the purchase of all of these things, all at the same time. Perhaps you can even afford private school, and a fancy yacht, but at some point, you will reach the limits of your available resources and will have to start making choices.
The Point at Which You Start Making Choices Is the Determinant of Wealth and Happiness in Life.
And that’s the secret to economic success. Life operates within a framework of limited resources. Whether you are Jeff Bezos or Joe Schmo, your resources are limited. This is not a flaw in the universe. It is a key feature of life in the universe. And, as with nearly everything, understanding the rules and features of the system makes it easier to use the system to our advantage.
When we understand that we will never be able buy everything the world has to offer, we can get to work on what really matters – optimizing the benefit we can get from the resources we have. The key is to deliberately choose what we value most before we have exhausted our resources.
Life Is Short, But It’s Also Rich
I want to get all the joy and adventure I can get out Life. I don’t want to give up the things that make life great in order to have more money when I am old. I want a great life now, AND when I am old.
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