Excellence in the Mundane
Submitted by Concorde Financial Resources LLC on September 22nd, 2017There’s an excellent NY Times article I love from a couple years ago written by Roger Cohen titled, Mow the Lawn. In it, the author goes on to describe his wandering thoughts about success, work, passion and finding yourself in the “little things” of life. He goes on to suggest that true excellence in life is found in the mundane. The author states, “I’ve grown suspicious of the inspirational. It’s overrated. I suspect duty — that half-forgotten word — may be more related to happiness than we think. Want to be happy? Mow the lawn. Collect the dead leaves. Paint the room. Do the dishes. Get a job. Labor until fatigue is in your very bones. Persist day after day. Be stoical. Never whine. Think less about the why of what you do than getting it done.” I think this article needs to be read by everyone, but especially by every young person (say under the age of 40?) at least once a year. It invokes a sense of doing the little things well and finding joy in tasks that the “seek your passion” crowd might find to be too blasé or beneath them. My first point of advice, read this article. Then read it again. It’s a homerun.
The next takeaway from the article that I found was how applicable this article is to our own personal finances. One thing I’ve seen firsthand over the past 5-10 years out of college has been the millennial’s propensity to overspend on their lifestyle. We’re too shortsighted in our money. As with many things in life, we often just see the next 6-12 months in front of us and forsake the long view. We see a new car that we must have. Not the 5 years (60 months) of monthly car payments. A new house that will impress my friends. But not the strain that will have on my annual budget essentially leaving me ‘house poor’. A piece of jewelry that people will notice. But not the fact that jewelry is a personal preference item and many people might think yours is actually quite ugly. We get lost in the minutiae of the short-term or in the attempt to keep up with the proverbial Joneses, and of course we don’t see the long-term impact these spending behaviors may have next year, next decade or even on our own retirement. We can quickly be enslaved to these possessions. These possessions own us more than we own them. There should be a discipline and a labor to our finances. If we find these financial disciplines, I contend that we will find a greater sense of freedom from greed and the negative aspects of money. Let’s get into a couple of examples.
When you are 20, 30 or 40, most of us aren’t even thinking about retirement. Our heads are down, full steam ahead on the present. Academically speaking, we know the value of compounding returns and interest, but we still forsake that IRA, 401k or savings account. Why? Of course, the knee jerk response is, life is hard, expenses are piling up, kids are being born, etc. Trust me, I’ve been there (I’m still there somewhat). But you simply can’t fall prey to that mentality. It’s really no different than the “I don’t have time to exercise” mindset that many people begin to be enslaved to. The truth is, we are masters of our domain. If exercise is important to you, you will find the time. If retirement is important to you, as it should be, shouldn’t you be finding a way to maximize that savings? If you are committed to saving, time is of the essence. There is nothing more important to your future retirement than to start early. So how can we find ways to save? What can we do without? That gets me back to the heart of Cohen’s article.
If you’re serious about financial freedom, it’s time to hit some singles, do something small, paint the room, or ‘mow the lawn’ to steal his metaphor. Let’s excel in the mundane of our finances. How much are you spending on entertainment? Are you buying as much house as you can afford or as much house as you need? Do you need to spend $40 per week on coffee? Is that pint of beer really worth $8? It’s not that your financial advisor wants to always throw a cold blanket on your lifestyle, it’s simply that your advisor should be helping you plan for a richer retirement lifestyle. And that goal applies to anyone regardless of your income level. The single greatest thing you can do today, to enhance your retirement of tomorrow, is to limit your current spending. Full stop. I could throw some graphs and statistics at you to validate this claim but you’ll just have to trust me. A reduction in spending is the biggest step forward in the immediate future. And like exercise or any other mundane self-discipline, it’s going to be a little painful at first. There will be a minor adjustment period. It’s a self-discipline that will need checks and balances. The temptation will be like exercising in January. Strong start to the year, but fades away after a few weeks or months. Your expenses need that ongoing check-up. They need discipline. So, before you max out your spending, remember that there’s always a tradeoff and that your future self is being sacrificed for the lifestyle you choose today. So, consider upping that 401k contribution by 1 or 2% today. It’s like a diet. You’ll thank yourself later, while you endure minimal pain today.
- John Menser
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