The Cost Of The Good Life
Last night I was talking with my family about the usual cheery topics- our lack of discretionary spending, how much it costs to eat healthily, why I can’t afford new swimmers. The usual fare for a Thursday evening. But it lead me to think about how much we earn, how much we save and how much we spend. And why, when we are earning reasonable incomes, are we not seeing the financial stability and benefits that should come with it? Of course there are a million reasons, but I’d be willing to bet that if our grandparents had anything like the income we have, they’d be doing amazing things with it. So, perhaps part of the blame can come to rest with our expectations, and the cost of the good life. Here are some suggestions on how to get the good life, without the attendant financial loss.
High Expectations
At some point in the past, expectations changed. Of course, some expectations in previous eras were high-pressure. You got married, had kids, bought a house. But the expectations of what made up the good life were radically different. If you could provide for your family, you were doing well. And while I probably have rose-coloured glasses about the past, there’s a lot we could learn from it. Think about your social life. For me, a social life implies being out with friends most nights of the week. Back then, you might go out for Sunday lunch. Most events were based around the extended family and the rest of the week, you’d go home and have dinner with your spouse and children. Eating out in a restaurant was a luxury, for me it’s an option I probably use about 50% of the time. And I would be outraged if someone told me I should deny myself the pleasure. To me, I approach eating out as if it’s a right. And this is, perhaps, where some of us have gone wrong, our expectations of the ‘good life’ have become synonymous with a life of ease.
New Costs
As part of the new good life we’re all living, there are costs that never would have impinged on previous generations. Our mobile phones and internet connections come to mind, as well as the upfront cost we shell out every couple of years for new computers. Yes, they are probably impossible to live without. Burt what about the cost of exercise? It’s quite easy if you got a couple of fitness classes a week or head to the gym, to be spending a couple of hundred bucks a week on exercise- a cost that would be completely alien to people of previous generations. Back then (rose-coloured glass alert), there was ideas about moderation. Moderation- not a word I find particularly pleasant. But something increasingly lacking in our new estimation of the good life- we’re not moderate about what we eat, so we have to go to the gym to work it off. Instead of staying within our mobile phone caps, we exceed them on a regular basis. We don’t fix clothes or appliances, we just buy new ones.
The Good Life
The good life, of course, means a variety of things to different people. But, speaking solely for myself, I think there’s a fair chance I would be happier if I spent less on the symptoms of a good life and actually invested money in building myself one, which would mean a case of lowering my expectations about what the good life entails. Good finances is often a series of choices- does the good life mean a night out on the town? Sometimes. But probably not several times a week. Stepping back a bit doesn’t have to be an indication of a lesser quality of life, getting old, getting boring, but instead a movement towards a new quality of life- one where your future is good and stable. Where you can spend time with friends and family, and support them when they need it. Where you can spend money on the things you really care about. And if you have that, who cares what it looks like from the outside?
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