Comment on Creating a Better Life By Spending Less Not Earning More by Dividend fireman.
This post really nails my FI issue. I’ve done fine on the income side, but very poorly on the spending side.
After countless spreadsheets, spousal arguments, spartan budgets that are doomed to fail, etc, I have resigned myself to a certain (read: high) level of spending. However, I’ve learned to separate out the small indulgences (dinners, Starbucks, etc) from the big ones (new cars every few years, really expensive vacations, expensive watches, etc).
Investing has helped me to “hide money from myself,“ which has pretty much prevented me from overindulging with big purchases over the last few years. This by itself has resulted in a significant savings on the expense side of the ledger. But I have learned to let myself indulge with the small expenses.
Great post!
