Month: April 2017

Why I Don’t Use a Budget

The vocabulary word of the day is gamification. For my fellow millennial friends, I’m talking about Snapchat streaks. For anybody who doesn’t know what Snapchat streaks are, gamification is the use of game characteristics (point scoring, competition, etc) to incentivize an action.

The power of gamification is unquestionable. If you have sent someone a Snapchat every day for the last 147 days, despite not having anything to tell them you’re going to send another one to bump your number up to 148 the next day, guaranteed. Even though that number doesn’t actually mean anything.

The good news is that you can harness the power of gamification to improve your life. Many people have already done this, competing with friends to take the most steps in a day.

I personally use spending gamification instead of a budget. I understand that budgets are useful tools, but I also think they lock you in to a specific spending level, and there’s no incentive to improve further.

I track all of my spending each month, and each month I try to spend a little bit less than I did the month before. I spent $40 eating out last month? Let’s see if I can spend less than $30 on eating out this month! This reinforces my spending goals with an exciting challenge, instead of the boring, “How much is in my budget?”

This gamification technique also requires less work than a budget. All you have to do is keep track of what you’re spending, and usually your bank or credit card company does that for you!

So I challenge you to give it a try. Bonus points if you compete with a friend, and see who can spend the least amount on eating out/gas/groceries/clothes/alcohol for the next month. Good luck, and enjoy the game! #MoneyGoals

 

(Pictured: A young Greg lost in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Reserve, Colorado. Summer 2011)

Privilege

The world is not fair. So much in our lives hinges on two things, where we were born and who gave birth to us. In both cases we have no say in the matter. The hand you’re dealt is the hand with which you must play the game.

I understand that I was dealt about as good of a hand as anyone could hope for. I was born in a first world country to a middle class family as a white male in a system that unfairly favors white males. My parents read to me as a child, were patient and loving, and taught me how to excel at school and at work. The list could go on, but you get the point.

Others are dealt more challenging hands in the game of life. You might be born into a much less privileged situation than I was. I can imagine it is easy to disregard my thoughts and advice from that perspective, “Yeah, he can save money and invest it because he was born into a privileged life!”

I agree. I acknowledge that I will never fully understand anyone else’s perspective but my own, and my privilege may keep me from seeing things as others do. That being said, I believe that everyone’s unique perspective is valuable, and we all have things we can learn from each other. In the last few years I have had the opportunity to learn a great deal from hearing about different perspectives and life experiences.

And I want you to learn from mine!

I want the secret equation to become wealthy to be common knowledge. I want it to be a tool that everyone uses, not just those from privileged backgrounds. I want everyone to know the benefits of consuming less. I want everyone to know how to use a Roth IRA to achieve a comfortable retirement. I want everyone to have access to information that they can use to improve their lives if they so choose.

No matter who you are, I believe the ideas I discuss here are applicable to you. Everyone can benefit from simplifying their life or taking a closer look at how they’re spending their time and money. There is not a single human on this planet who is perfect, therefore we all can improve. Since people are still drinking toxic sludge, still buying $3,000 chairs with money they don’t have, and still spending billions on storage units for junk they don’t use, I’d say we have a lot of improvements left to make. #MoneyGoals

 

(Pictured: Hope Outdoor Gallery. Austin, Texas. March, 2015)

You Deserve Nothing

“You deserve way better than someone who treats you like that!” a supportive best friend says after a rough breakup. Respectfully, I disagree.

We are not deserving of anything. When you come into the world, the world owes you nothing. You are not entitled to a car, a roof over your head, or a job once you graduate. You aren’t entitled to a relationship with someone who treats you the same way you would treat your celebrity crush.

Instead, we earn what we want in life through our actions, and through hard work.

I learned this lesson in my teenage years, when my mom refused to buy me a phone. “All of my friends have one, and I have straight A’s, and I deserve it!” I firmly believed that due to my existence, and doing things I was expected to do anyways, that I was entitled to an iPhone.

“Get a job,” my mom would respond. Although this made me unhappy at the time, I know now that my mom was setting me up for a life of satisfaction.

I learned that if something in life isn’t the way you want it, you are responsible for changing it. Want a phone? Get a job. Think you should get a raise? Work harder, smarter, solve a problem at work, go the extra mile. Want great relationships? Work on yourself, improve your communication, become more patient, understanding, and caring.

Want a better life? Do what you need to do to get there. It’s not anyone’s responsibility but your own. #MoneyGoals

 

(Pictured: A pile of dirt that I used to fill in holes in my parents’ lawn. Mora, MN. August, 2016)

 

Four Things You Need to Buy to Be Happy

1. A big house.

Everyone knows that the bigger your house the more happy you’ll be. What easier way to let those around you know that you are a successful and cool person? Whenever anyone comes over to visit, they will ooh and ahh at your expansive living room, multiple guest rooms, and the kids will love the pool out back. Simply take out a 30-year mortgage, and don’t mind adding an extra hour to your commute. It will definitely be worth it once you have that three car garage.

2.  The most fashionable clothes.

First impressions are important. Unless you are draped in the newest, trendiest fashion, other people will think you are a failure. One little known fact is that humans are attracted to other humans with expensive clothes, even if they’re jerks. So essentially buying the best clothes will automatically make people love you, while also allowing you to treat other people terribly.

3. A luxury car (or cars if you want to be extra happy). 

Ok, you bought your huge house in the suburbs. Now since your commute is longer, you’re going to want a comfortable car to drive in. Consider a new Ford F-150! This vehicle will make you feel like you’re sitting in a La-Z-Boy, you won’t feel a single bump in the road. You will also never have to use your creativity in order to move things, just throw it in the bed of your luxury truck! As a bonus, it gets city MPG in the high teens!

If a truck isn’t your style, maybe you want to opt for a Mercedes Benz coupe. You deserve a 241 horsepower engine to move your less-than-200-pound body around. Think about it, it’s kind of like being a king in the old days whose carriage is pulled by 241 horses! This excessive power will signal to those around you that you are modern royalty. There was actually a scientific study done that reported that horsepower directly correlates with happiness. If you need to take out a loan, don’t hesitate. You can’t compromise when it comes to your vehicle.

Or why not both? And if you have enough available credit, maybe get a third vehicle? Why have a three car garage if you’re not going to have three cars?!

4. Restaurant meals.

Happiness comes from not doing work. This is why we love to go out to eat, so someone does the work for us. Having your food prepared and hand delivered to you, and then not having to do the dishes activates the part of our brain that tells us that we are super cool. I personally spend a lot of my time cooking, and it is a large source of unhappiness for me. Whenever I make food for my friends and family, they tell me how useless of a skill it is, and that I should have taken them to a restaurant. Restaurants are also known for serving the most healthy food, so you will know that you’re getting the most value for your money.

So next time you see someone who seems to be happy, just know that they probably have a gigantic house, multiple luxury cars, a walk-in closet full of brand new clothes, and they have not touched a dish towel in years.

Oh, and April Fools. #MoneyGoals