There is so much freakin' financial content out there on blogs, in magazine and online articles, Twitter posts and everywhere else that my head is spinning.
It seems like bloggers ranging from a mensch like me with a few dozen readers to those with millions of followers just keep reinventing the wheel over and over. There are only so many ways to hustle extra bucks, invest in low-cost index funds, invest automatically, become more frugal and the like to write about.
My own online reading preference skews towards financial information though, truth be told, I am growing weary of reading the same type of information over and over.
So many writers out there of various ages and on various media outlets seem to buy into the notion that if people only knew more about personal finances, that they would avoid mistakes such as the many that I have made. Perhaps you have made some, as well.
There is an assumption that everyone from Millennials to senior citizens has some type of knowledge gap on a wide range of issues. But knowledge alone has not proven to change people's behavior.
You could read financial advice until you are blue in the face, but if you fail to put it into practice, what good is it?
Just think about the last time you had an extra drink, smoke or dessert. Think about the last time that you bought something that you seriously did not need. Think about something that you paid for, like I have lately, that could have been avoided had you not procrastinated.
Me, I have spent an extra few hundred bucks in the last week alone due to my procrastination. Once was on registering for a conference that I will be attending next week but missed the early registration deadline. That cost me an extra hundred bucks or so.
Driving around with my vehicle emissions notice for six weeks before the check engine light came on, on Friday the Thirteenth no less, has cost me an extra $430, although I suppose getting the system in my old van repaired was the smart thing to do.
It was not a knowledge gap that I struggled with, it was more of a behavior gap.
The more self-help and financial information that I have read, listened to on podcasts and thought about at length has come to change my view of late.
I am coming to believe that, besides some basic simple truisms as depicted on Harold Pollack's and my own index card that some people may not know, we already know what we should be doing when it comes to our finances.
We should be stocking away money for a "rainy day" and for our retirement, whether it will be early, on time like I hope mine will be, or late. What we do not want is to never be able to retire, as many people fear.
We should continue investing automatically and Pay Ourselves First, even before we pay our mountains of bills. If by some chance you are one of those FIRE people and have no dependents or perhaps only one and you have a high-paying job and do not mind living a frugal lifestyle, well then la-di-da for you. You are most likely someone who has benefited from some form of privilege, but that is a post for some other time.
Most of us have to work hard to put food on our tables, a roof over our head, the kids through college and still stock away whatever we can for that thing called retirement.
All the advice in the world does not help one whit if you or someone else reads it, thinks to themselves, "Yeah, that's a good idea. I should do that" but then keeps on doing the same thing without changing any behavior.
Behavior change is a science on its own, and one that I intend to delve deeper into from time to time. And to make sure that I do not come across too preachy, I hereby admit to being badly in need of some behavior change myself.
When you have thought of things and done things the same way for as long as I have, it is easier said than done.
Whether it comes to money, creating more while consuming less, reducing my hoard of papers and books, being a better family man and friend and trying to earn a little extra scratch by making better use of my talents, I am definitely in need of some behavior changes.
Are you?
Comments
Post a Comment