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My one pet peeve with MOST personal finance blogs out there is their almost religious commitment to being thrifty. I have read articles lately about refilling toothpaste bottles and reusing cereal liners. In my opinion that's not personal finance, that is borderline homelessness.
I know there are people out there that are mired in debt and need to use these gorilla tactics to crawl out of the hole they are in. I have been at those points in my life where I had to stretch every dollar reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllyyyyyyyy far. However, I suspect that there is another group of individuals out there that are so turned off by the "personal finance paupers" that they eschew personal finance blogs, articles and tv shows. My belief is that you can still have a comfortable life and build wealth. You just need to budget accordingly.
I have a confession to make: I eat out every day. That's right. Every day. No, I don't buy my food in bulk at Sam's Club. And you know what else, I drink alot of beer at bars. I have budgeted these things into my life because they make me happy. Could I sock a little bit more into my savings account if I ate at home and drank a six pack all by my self. Sure, but what fun would that be? I have been able to invest a hell of alot of money from age 22-29 without living a boring life. Does it help that I am single with no children? Sure. Does it help that I live in a city with a low cost of living (Philly)? Sure. Does it help that I have made a decent salary over the last few years? Sure. But I am convinced you can have your cake and eat it too. In college, I made $12,000/year. My pay was able to cover rent, electric, gas, car insurance, food and alot of partying. Did I have to skimp on luxuries? Obviously. But I budgeted around my priorities and 12K went a long way.
My view is personal finance should be about finding the sweet spot between growing your net worth and living a fulfilling life. Just my 2 cents.
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