I heard an interview with the one of the pioneers of the FIRE movement, Vicki Robbins, who wrote the book, “Your Money or Your Life”…the book puts forth the POV that money is essentially life energy. For every item you buy or spend money on, you’re actually exchanging your life energy. For example, if you buy a $500 handbag or pair of shoes and you make $10/hour, you’ve just spent 50 hours of your life on that purchase. So, when you think in that context, it makes you ponder not only whether or not you want or need the handbag but also – is it worth 50 hours of your life energy?
As we discuss the journey to financial freedom and all the steps along the journey – saving, budgeting, setting priorities, investing, etc, I think Vicki’s list of key questions to ask oneself as you navigate purchase decisions are really helpful:
- Is the life energy that I’m spending to buy this item worth it? Does it yield enough happiness to be worth the life energy that it costs?
- Is this (purchase, choice, etc) taking me in the direction that I want to go?
- If I didn’t have to work for money, would I be buying this?
- If everybody did this or bought this, would the world be a better place?
Freelennial 