In response to the recent economic conditions, people are cutting back in many, many ways. For the most part, this is good; America desperately needed to examine our spending ways and trim the fat.
Expenses that drain the bank without giving us much real value should automatically get the boot when tightening the reins. We can give up Starbucks lattes, cable TV packages, magazine subscriptions, and fast food runs without sacrificing too terribly much. In fact, we are probably better off without such trivialities- it feels good to shed them.
However, there are other expenses that, while not necessary to life like food or shelter, play an important role in our well-being. We can definitely scale back on such expenditures, but we lose a lot of benefits when we do. I’m talking about things like…
-Gym memberships or other fitness costs.
-Healthy eating habits.
-Things that improve productivity (cell phone, internet, etc…)
-Reasonable fun/recreation expenses.
Unless absolutely necessary, we shouldn’t cut things that add significant value to our lives. We essentially have to weigh the financial cost with the benefits received from the expenditure in trying to determine whether it is justifiable.
By eliminating too many sources of value, it’s likely you’ll at least temporarily improve your financial situation, but it probably won’t be worth it. Whereas it’s almost a relief to dump a lot of junk from our lives, cutting goods or services of genuine value is not pleasant. The feelings of despair that are already difficult to avoid only intensify when we remove important inputs from our lives.
When times are tough, one needs to be optimistic and operating at full mental capacity to break out of the rut. Living a deprived lifestyle is certainly a barrier to this recovery.
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