EVEN now, everywhere we go - be it at home, school or office - we are reminded with the experts’ advice in only two words, “live simply,” which means using only as much money or food as is necessary.
Then we are warned, “Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses” or stop trying to have the possessions and social achievements that our friends and neighbors have. What rings true in the 50s, 60s, 70s and so forth is even more relevant today.
In my conversations with people who have financially made it, their most common theme is keeping their lifestyle expenses low. Truly wealthy people do not spend just to keep up with the latest trends. Rather, they look for expenses which are financial instruments that can add to their income.
As your income increases overtime, your expenses do not have to increase to match your income increase. Personal bankruptcy is caused by your expenses moving in tandem with your income increase. Christmas expenses take out a big chunk of family budgets. We have to take account for this particular expense and keep it within 10 percent of our income to go into the new year without our bank account a lot lighter.
Everyday, we must remember to live within our means which is keeping our expenses at 70 percent more or less of our income. Thus, living simply allows us to accumulate money. To accumulate money refers to building a nest egg so that sometime in the future, the income of this nest egg will be equal to or greater than our income generated from work. This is what financial independence is all about.
Moreover, a healthy body is something we should pay closer attention to as we age. We’ll find that keeping our weight off will help us limit our expenses in the long run. The alternative in not being healthy is hefty hospital bills and living a life of physical pain.
There are more than enough horror stories from our associates to convince us to avoid getting confined for illness. For those who don’t have time for calorie count, we may replace cakes, donuts, chips with fruits, dark chocolates, nuts. And we also make healthy food accessible in our kitchen. It’s simply a matter of finding a healthy eating pattern we can sustain for the rest of our lives.
A physically fit body is great for the mind. Staying active really helps stress away whether it is engaging in a well-loved sport, immersing oneself in nature or even something as simple as playing with one’s children/grandchildren. The best exercise is what makes us more effective during the week.
So hopefully, if we have not yet, let’s stick in doing these simple things which can have a long-term positive impact in our lives.